Mass Shooting at Connecticut Elementary School

[BEAL]

Freedom isn't free you know.....buck o'five I reckon it costs.....

[Kieran McConville]

America... FUCK YEAH

[corianderstem]

Originally Posted by cobl04

I do worry for the States sometimes.

It's okay. By the time we've all died violent deaths by gunfire, your whole country will have gone up in flames.

So ... another year or two, maybe?

[Popmartijn]

Originally Posted by Diemen

The problem with the gun control debate in this country is that, by all accounts, the vast majority of gun owners and NRA members support reasonable stances like yours (i.e. mandatory training, universal background checks, etc), but the leadership of the NRA simply refuse to acknowledge it and respond to any perceived threat to their stances with rhetoric so extreme (they're coming to take our guns!) it prevents any reasonable debate from taking place.

How true. Quinnipiac just published the results of polling they did on this issue (National (US) Poll * February 7, 2013 * Americans Back Women In Combat for the basics). Some results are surprising:

The Quinnipac poll also finds that 92 percent of Americans, including 89 percent of Republicans, supports requiring a background check for all would be gun buyers. Fifty six percent support banning assault weapons and high capacity magazine clips.

Also from the Quinnipiac poll, this is critical:

Who do you think better reflects your views on guns, President Obama or the National Rifle Association?

Obama: 43

NRA: 46

Okay, so nine in 10 Americans supports universal background checks, and solid majorities back the assault ban, both of which are opposed by the NRA and regularly characterized by the organization as gun-grabbing tyranny — yet people think the NRA better represents their views. There’s been a lot of chortling on the right about the NRA’s favorability ratings, but this poll makes it plain: People don’t have any idea what the NRA really stands for.

(those quotes are from The Morning Plum: GOP resolve on sequester begins to crack )

It looks to me that gun owners and gun lovers (and the U.S.A. as a whole) are better off without the NRA that with such an influential, extremist and out-of-touch organization.

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by Popmartijn

It looks to me that gun owners and gun lovers (and the U.S.A. as a whole) are better off without the NRA that with such an influential, extremist and out-of-touch organization.

The problem is that the NRA is widely considered to be just about the most powerful lobby in Washington. They may really only represent the gun industry, and not gun owners, but they are feared in Congress.

[BEAL]

And that poll shows just how gullable, ignorant and/or stupid a majority of Americans are when it comes to actually following the issues, and the statements an organization makes.

[LemonMelon]

Where the fuck is that guy's birth certificate anyway? The NRA has a birth certificate.

[INDY500]

Originally Posted by BEAL

... shows just how gullable, ignorant and/or stupid a majority of Americans are when it comes to actually following the issues, and the statements an organization makes.

[BEAL]

Kind of like WMDs and Al Qaeda in Iraq.


NRA doesn't want universal background checks because it means fewer gun sales

[Jive Turkey]

Originally Posted by BEAL

And that poll shows just how gullable, ignorant and/or stupid a majority of Americans are when it comes to actually following the issues, and the statements an organization makes.

[INDY500]

Originally Posted by BEAL

... shows just how gullable, ignorant and/or stupid a majority of Americans are when it comes to actually following the issues, and the statements an organization makes.

"Pop is our best music to date"

[Jive Turkey]

you win

[Moonlit_Angel]

Touche, INDY. Touche .

(Belated welcome back, by the way.)

[corianderstem]

A Pop slam? I'm wondering if Nick66 and Indy500 are the same person.

Also, Stevie Ray Vaughn avatar = yay.

[Pearl]

Originally Posted by Jive Turkey

you win

Originally Posted by Moonlit_Angel

Touche, INDY. Touche .

I'm floored too. Nice one, INDY.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had gone to the Tanner gun show
on Saturday and they took me back with them on Sunday. I
remember this as being in November or December of 1998. When
Eric and Dylan had gone the previous day, a dealer told them
that they needed to bring someone back who was 18. They were
both 17 at the time. This was a private dealer - not a
licensed dealer. While we were walking around, Eric and Dylan
kept asking sellers if they were private or licensed. They
wanted to buy their guns from someone who was private - and
not licensed - because there would be no paperwork or
background check. At one point Eric was interested in a gun
from a licensed dealer. The dealer asked me if I would fill
out some paperwork and I said, "No, I didn't feel comfortable
with that.' I didn't want to put my name on something that I
wasn't going to have control of.

They bought guns from three sellers. They were all private.
They paid cash. There was no receipt. I was not asked any
questions at all. There was no background check. All I had to
do was show my driver's license to prove that I was 18. Dylan
got a shotgun. Eric got a shotgun and a black rifle that he
bought clips for. He was able to buy clips and ammunition
without me having to show any I.D. The sellers didn't write
down any information. I would not have bought a gun for Eric
and Dylan if I had had to give any personal information or
submit to any kind of check at all. I think it was clear to
the sellers that the guns were for Eric and Dylan. They were
the ones asking all the questions and handling the guns. I
had no idea what they were eventually going to do with the
guns. When I look back at it, I think I was kind of naive. I
wish a law requiring background checks had been in effect at
the time. I don't know if Eric and Dylan would have been able
to get guns from another source, but I would not have
helped them. It was too easy. I wish it had been more
difficult. I wouldn't have helped them buy the guns if I
had faced a background check.

Signed

Robyn Anderson

[Jive Turkey]

Had Harris and Klebold waited until they were 18 and needed background checks, would anything had come up preventing them from owning the guns? I support background checks, but bringing them up as a possible deterrent to a specific case isn't very productive

[LemonMirrorSky]

This is what happens when guns are allowed to be kept at home...

Oscar Pistorius arrested after 'he accidentally shot dead girlfriend after mistaking her for a burglar' | Mail Online

South African paralympian, Oscar Pistorius accidentally shot his girlfriend on Valentines Day mistaking her for a burglar.

[Vlad n U 2]

That's terrible.

However, from what I understand, it's commonplace for people to have a gun underneath their pillows in South Africa due to the high levels of crime there.

[LemonMirrorSky]

Originally Posted by Vlad n U 2

That's terrible.

However, from what I understand, it's commonplace for people to have a gun underneath their pillows in South Africa due to the high levels of crime there.

Yea I believe so. But I still just don't see the point of keeping guns at home. I'd rather they make it extremely difficult for anybody to procure a gun.