Lawyers, doctors, or guns

cowboydoc · Sep 4, 2001

Glenn,
I don't necessarily agree with your post as to me if you take away even one right and especially one so basic to our freedom as guns then how long will it be before the rest of your rights are gone? I know you didn't advocate gun loss but it's the apathy towards the situation that concerns me. I know alot of people don't care about guns but what about some of the things that us "country folk" don't care about as well. What we should be focused on is not how something affects me me me me me me but rather how something affects our country as a whole. Todd made a very good point, and I might add he has debated this very well and acted like a gentleman in his discussions, that he would fight for other people's right to bear arms but he just wants more control and safety issues built into it. I would be for that if not for the fact that there are already safety issues built into hunting. You already have to pass a hunters safety course as a kid to get a license. Now as to gun ownership itself people are smart enough to know you shouldn't point a gun at people, you should lock up your guns, etc. What are you going to teach people that they don't already know? Then we will see restrictions and record keeping from this and it will just be another tool that the liberals can use to strip away one more right. We lose rights in this country all the time. Just look at Washington, DC. They now have a camera on every corner to give you a ticket for speeding and red lights. Doesn't matter that you weren't driving the car you still get a ticket and it's up to you to find out who was driving your car at that time. Whatever happened to being able to face your accuser. Hmmm how many questions can you ask a camera? One by one freedom is being gobbled up and we are being more and more controlled. Spending by the govt. never decreases. They just keep getting more and more and more people hooked into the system. And Hillbilly hit it right on the head about the moral decay of our society. No better way to say it. Wouldn't need laws if people weren't morally corrupt. But hey enough of my soapbox just be careful when it's something that affects you and not the rural area. And Todd while I don't agree with your opinions you have stated your opinions in a very respectable manner. We all need to be in this together for basic freedoms.

Edited by cowboydoc on 09/04/01 12:11 PM (server time).

CVHoss · Sep 4, 2001

Glen,
While I respect everyone's opinion and understand that Todd isn't advocating abolishing firearms, it is the idea of licensing one's Constitutional rights that I take issue with. The Constitution, and it's amendments, is a entire collection of laws, rules, and rights. It isn't a document from which you can pick and choose which parts you will abide by and which ones you'll choose to ignore. It's a "take it or leave it" situation. Yes, the Founding Fathers had the great sense to build in a provision for changing this document as the times and situations changed, but there has been no amendment taking away the right to "keep and bear arms". Requiring me to pass a test and get a license to exercise my right to own a firearm is comparable to requiring a literacy exam to exercise the right to vote. Or maybe we should be required to pass an exam on the Theological teachings of a church before we are allowed to participate in that religion. Laws can only take away my Constitutional rights as punishment for committing some crime. If I commit a felony, I can lose my freedom, my right to vote, my right to privacy and my right to own firearms. But until I've committed such a crime, ONLY a Constitutional amendment can restrict those freedoms. That's what the Founding Fathers intended. Though they gave us the ability to change the Constitution, they intentionally made it difficult. The freedoms given us by that document are our most valued possessions and should not be changed or thrown away without due deliberation. It is each individuals right to decide whether they exercise their Constitutional rights or not. You don't have to vote, you don't have to go to church, you don't have to exercise free speech and you don't have to own a gun, but without due process, no one has the right to prevent me from doing any or all of these.

Hoss

fishman · Sep 4, 2001

JonE,

The recent spate of shark news has all the hallmarks of a media-fabricated emergency. Must be a slow news month./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Anybody have the statistics on this year's number of shark attacks vs. previous years?

fishman · Sep 4, 2001

Toddler,

I just want to say thanks for effectively presenting your views in the face of so much criticism. I completely disagree with you, but you have a right to your opinion.

Many of your ideas have merit, but there are a lot of people that would use those as simply a step in their ultimate goal of removing guns from our society. Sarah Brady, director of Handgun Control, um, I mean The Coalition for Gun Safety has gone on record to state that the ultimate goal of their organization is to outlaw guns. They support many of the same restrictions you do. It is no accident that they changed the name of their organization after the election. There is little doubt that the Democrat's gun control plank cost Gore the election. Anti-gun organizations have to camoflauge their real intentions now. "Safety" sounds so much more soothing than "Control".

As to your question about right-to-carry states. The states I was referring to (Missouri is one) don't allow their citizens to carry a concealed weapon. It does not mean that you can't own guns. What it does mean is that if you are away from your home, you cannot legally carry a gun unless it is in full view. Obviously this would not work for the shop owner who is locking up, the citizen stopping at the ATM after dark, or the couple walking to their car after the movies. Just because most of us (myself included) don't have much reason to be armed with a concealed weapon, doesn't mean that others don't. It should not be a crime for an otherwise law-abiding citizen to be prepared to protect themselves or their family, wherever they might be.

Hillbilly · Sep 4, 2001

Yes,
It is ridiculous how the big 3 networks harp and beat the same old drum on something like these shark attacts,it is so uncanny,last night I was listening to the news about another "shark attact" the way they make it sound I start having visions of the old Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds" you would have thought the sharks were going to come right into our homes. I was watching the NBC news one day and the Today Show, Matt Lauer had the CEO of Ford on there talking about the "Excursion" the mammoth 4 wd SUV,he was so rude with that CEO making Ford sound like they were criminals for putting such a big vehicle on the road,it is unsafe for people in small cars and such a gas guzzler,the liberals even think if you own a big vehicle you should be obligated to buy insurance that would protect other people,in other words you are a high risk to smaller cars,its funny they did not mention school buses etc............Talking about turning things around.
And as far as our forefathers and the constitution,they wrote the constitution after the Revoluntary to keep this country free and to keep people from being persecuted for the afore mentioned rights,and the gun owners and hunters are persecuted in this country.

I often thought how brilliant our forefathers were for drafting and wording something so well and with such foresight! Way back in 1776,it holds up so well and is a legal document that is for our benefit and not to be distorted.

Hillbilly · Sep 4, 2001

Same here in West Virginia,guns are just about as common as forks,spoons and knives in the kitchen drawer and soap at the sink.

Alan L. · Sep 4, 2001

Hillbilly

Try Fox News. They aren't near as liberal as the other networks. Thank our founding fathers for the electoral college. Without it, rural America would not be given a voice in the presidential election. Fortunately it rarely matters, but this time it did. I know there are quite a few conservatives in the big cities - even in the Northeast and left coast, but you are WAY outnumbered.

Alan L., TX

Hillbilly · Sep 4, 2001

I forgot to mention "Fox News" I know we are out numbered and that is downright scary when you think about it.

ERNIEB · Sep 4, 2001

Hillbilly, I am required to keep at least a half a million dollars worth of liability on my dump truck. Considerably more than the average car.

Ernie

kubmech · Sep 4, 2001

Removed for lack of intelligent content, way too many beers last night/w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

Edited by kubmech on 09/05/01 04:21 AM (server time).