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Should Americans Abandon Their Rights to Bear Arms?
Since March 10, 2009 44 have been killed in the United States in mass murders. A total of 200 have been killed in American in 50 mass murders since Virginia Tech in April 16, 2007. (ABCNews, April 4, 2009)
Please vote on the question below. Your comments are welcome!
Please vote on the question below. Your comments are welcome!
Posted by jrayrice at 4/4/2009 9:02 PM 
Categories: Surveys
Tags: gun laws AK-47 virginia tech abandonment issues mass murders american abcnews weapons of mass destruction guns killings
Categories: Surveys
Tags: gun laws AK-47 virginia tech abandonment issues mass murders american abcnews weapons of mass destruction guns killings
I'm from the UK and I have never understood the American right to bear arms. We have guns in the UK but it is far more difficult to get hold of one. I personally know nobody who owns one and only one or two who have ever fired one (and only then on a clay pigeon shooting range).
It seems to me, from my limited knowledge, that it is not diffcult for people in the US to get their hands on guns. Maybe I'm wrong - but the fact that youngsters and college students can suddenly go on a rampage supports my theory.
In my opinion, you guys should do something about it and make it more difficult to acquire firearms. The problem is that I would imagine too many people have them now (I would be interested to know the statistics).
I'm all for freedom, but freedom to shoot people is stretching that a little far.
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Thank you for this post. Our country has been built on a consciousness of violence, and as it result, it is manifesting quite vividly in our culture. You can see it escalating in our schools and communities. Post such as these help to enlighten the collective consciousness.
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You points are well taken! Thank you for looking in! We need it.
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Thank you for your insight. As I travel outside of America one of the things I see we export is pathology and we as a nation need to become aware of this in order to stop it! Right or wrong we are a role model.
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As a child I was always told the Violence creates violence and all through my life this is what I see on my travels around the World, both amongst children and grown-ups. Today this seems to be as real as ever especially now when we have the internet, TV and films where violence is depicted as rawer and rawer and crime is rising all the time, more often than not involving shooting.
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Excellent points! Until recently there were no games on the market that taught conflict-resolution. One of first came out of Israel.
Thank you for sharing your insight!
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Here in WV our Dept. of Natural Resources sponsors a program called "Hunters Helping the Hungry". This program provided 638,726 pounds of highly nutritious meat to needy families throughout West Virginia in the 2008 hunting season.
While there may be a need for tighter gun control there is also a survival aspect to gun ownership in many parts of our nation.
I'd be interested in knowing the comparison of deaths by gun and deaths by drunk driving.
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Death by gun and drunk driving are both issues that need to be address. Because more people died of the flu than AIDS are we just to be concerned about the flu?
It is great that your program feeds the hungry!
Thank you for your comments.
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Certainly not. But how many people feed their families with the flu?
There will always be someone that wants to kill someone else. Outlawing guns will not stop it from happening. When there is a will there is a way.
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No one can take away from the good your agent does for the poor!
I agree that outlawing guns will not stop people from killing each other, but it would go a long way in decreasing the numbers.
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I think the right to bear arms should be abandoned. Just recently, a news anchor asked this same question to a caller and her response was stupefying:
"Well, its not guns that kill people. It's people that kill people."
I ride a vanpool consisting of women mostly, and almost all of them own a handgun, "I feel safer," they say.
Thanks for this post.
Mama Shujaa
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Thank you! There is nothing I can add!
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I find it disconcerting that individuals are so cavalier with their consideration to dissolve a right afforded to us by the Constitution. Do any of you know who made this statement, “They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety?” Or this, “But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” I find it funny that those who drive for the 2nd Amendment's dissolution lack the requisite data to back up their argument that disallowing gun ownership will stifle violence, or at the very least preclude the consideration to commit a violent act.
“I'm all for freedom, but freedom to shoot people is stretching that a little far.”
This is subnormal reasoning, to presuppose the vast majority of gun owners purchase firearms with the intent to exercise a right to shoot people is utterly nonsensical. How many people are robbed at knife point? Do we consider banning knives next? According to your logic people who possess knives acquire them because they want to become Jack the Ripper. To infer that the existence of a thing inherently propagates an impulse that would not otherwise manifest had it not been available is without logical considerations. The human component, its psychological construct, and its deportment are all variables we selectively avoid when considering an act of violence involving a firearm occurs. You want to end violence and build a Utopian society where peace and love reign? Good luck. How do you plan to circumvent socio-political factors, culture variants, religiosity, and even our own vices?
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I do not believe that the 2nd Amendment will ever be changed! It probable would cause the 2nd Civil War in this country, destroying all of us.
Carter (2002) stated that, "Public debate and discussion about guns in American society are rarely guided by research." (p. xxv)
The more firearms circulating in a society, the more likely it is to suffer large numbers of violent crimes, suicides, and accidental death. Guns are just another weapon: Assault with a gun, whether inflicted by another or self-inflicted, is many times more likely to result in death or serious injury then with any other weapon (Lindgren and Zimring, 1983).
Carter, Gregg Lee. (2002). Guns in american society. CA: ABC-CLIO
The only use of a gun, rife, or machine-gun is to kill, hit, or destroy the target(s) it is fired-at!
As for your knifes, it is not an issue in this posting. In countries where knifes have become a problem, their government have chosen to address them like Japan.
I agree with you that we do not consider the threat firearms pose to the safety and well-being of the individuals, their families or society.
Me working toward a safer and healthier society has been a personal and professional goal of mine since I started high-school. I am proud of that and owe no one a justification or apology.
Lets just agree to disagree!
The 2nd Amendment does not make me feel more secure. In fact, it makes me feel more unsecure in today's times. We need metal-detectors in our high-schools to keep students and teachers safe. However, in 19-states professors need to be concerned in their colleges and universities which of their students is packing a gun, because it is legal. That to me makes no sense, nor diminishes my intelligence!
Thank you for your comment!
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