13 Comments Add your own

• 1. snuss  |  December 2nd, 2008 at 1:04 pm

  Good question. Obama said the Washington, D.C. gun law was O.K., until the Supreme Court overturned it. BEFORE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wu9jE1MnAE
  AFTER: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/27/barackobama.usa
  http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/06/obama-camp-disa.html
  Can you say back-pedal?

  BTW, since violent crime has gone down in every state in which concealed-carry has been enacted, wouldn’t THAT be a “sound” gun law?

• 2. Orlando Clay  |  December 2nd, 2008 at 3:52 pm

  snuss wrote: “BTW, since violent crime has gone down in every state in which concealed-carry has been enacted…..”

  FALSE. Instead of trying to force-feed us with NRA propaganda, snuss, try this little exercise in distinguishing fact from fiction, from the archives of the Orlando Sentinel:

  “Florida is the state most often cited by the gun lobby as “proof” that concealed weapons laws reduce crime…..Florida’s rates actually rose in comparison to the national rates in the first year following implementation and didn’t show any significant decline until the 4th year…..in the subsequent years, it has returned to the historic levels vis-a-vis the national rates.”

  Gosh, snuss, don’t you just hate it when facts get in the way of your ideology?

• 3. echo4charlie  |  December 2nd, 2008 at 5:53 pm

  No body’s firearms are going to be taken away unduly. Do you know how many senators and congressmen, not to mention other high brass, are avid hunters and sportsmen (not to mention members of the NRA)?

  If they outlaw semi-automatic pistols, or handguns in general, buy a rifle. If they outlaw that, but you still feel that need to shoot, buy a nice compound bow.

  Big deal.

  I enjoy target shooting, but, I’m no hunter. I don’t care to hunt. I enjoy the sport of target shooting.

  I believe concealed carry is a good law, and should be implemented to those who are pedigreed to such a privilege.

  But until then, it’s illegal.

  I see a lot of people carrying them tucked into their waistbands, etc. It’s illegal here, so wrong. And, really, it’s tacky. Who’s to say someone else doesn’t see it too, pulls it out of their waistband, holds them up, and takes their money?

  I someone must break the law, and concealed carry, at least buy a proper, secure holster…………….

• 4. hokumboy  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 9:19 am

  Plaxico Burress could start doing PSA’s for the NRA on the advantages of concealed carry. It really was a plus for him!

  I’m just thankful he shot himself and not someone else in the club. If we do pass a concealed carry law in this state, will there be any guarantees that besides being able to prove you know how to handle a deadly weapon, you will have to prove you’re not an idiot?

• 5. jake  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 11:58 am

  Orlando C:
  Please provide a more specific citation for your quote. “Archives of The Orlando Sentinel” is too broad. Please name the article from wich you obtained the quote.

• 6. jake  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 12:18 pm

  I pity that poor fool Plaxico. Mayor Bloomberg wants to make him the example to all who dare to violate the Sullivan law. Oh wait !
  They don’t call it the Sullivan law any more: not since we learned about “Big Tim” Sullivan and how “gun control” came to NYC.
  While Bloomberg is fearful that any mercy shown to Plaxico will undermine the law, and breed disrepect for law in general, he doesn’t seem to feel the same way about immigration laws. He is proud that NYC is a “sanctuary city”.
  Pick and choose, pick and choose, Bloomy. Only enforce laws you like. Just don’t object if others do their own picking and choosing.

• 7. hokumboy  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm

  I can find no pity for him at all. His stupidity endangered a great many people. For no reason but macho pride.

• 8. snuss  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 1:19 pm

  Quote:”If they outlaw semi-automatic pistols, or handguns in general, buy a rifle. If they outlaw that, but you still feel that need to shoot, buy a nice compound bow.

  Big deal.”

  Yeah, it IS a big deal.

  The 2nd Amendment isn’t about hunting or target shooting. It is about the right to defend yourself, your family, and your property. So long as I don’t violate REASONABLE gun laws, what difference does it make to you whether my gun is single-shot, or semi-automatic?
  Don’t infringe on MY rights, just because of YOUR paranoia.

• 9. snuss  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 1:41 pm

  Quote: “Gosh, snuss, don’t you just hate it when facts get in the way of your ideology?”

  If they were true, I might.

  Check out: http://www.kc3.org/CCDW_Stats/fla_model.htm

  Since adopting CCW (1987), Florida’s homicide rate has fallen 21% while the U.S. rate has risen 12%. From start-up 10/1/87 - 2/28/94 (over 6 years) Florida issued 204,108 permits; only 17 (0.008%) were revoked because permittees later committed crimes (not necessarily violent) in which guns were present (not necessarily used).

  I did read one statistic in where violent crime in Florida DID go up: Crime against tourists, since they don’t carry guns.

  BTW, LEGAL gun owners don’t seem to be the problem.

• 10. jake  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 7:24 pm

  Let’s not follow Bloomy’s example and convict Plaxico before the trial. Certainly, he was carrying a pistol without a permit. Certainly, he was not competent to handle that weapon. Thank God he was the only casualty. What reasons he felt he had, to justify this violation of law, and risk the consequences of his actions, is still unknown. He will have to make his case in court; I cannot speculate
  what reason he will offer for his actions.
  It seems he will be joining a long list of atheletes who disgraced themselves in one way or another. Add one more name to the list of fallen stars, from “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and Pete Rose, to Strawberry and O.J.
  It is the gulf between what might have been– a long and glorious career followed by an honorable retirement– and what self-destruction they commited, that makes us cry “Oh the pity of it! Oh the Pity of it!”

• 11. Milton Waddams  |  December 4th, 2008 at 10:54 am

  The real shame in the Plaxico deal is that he didn’t hit himself in the junk. Then the idiot couldn’t breed.

• 12. Echo4Charlie  |  December 7th, 2008 at 9:04 pm

  Snuss,

  I’m not paranoid, I just roll with the punches, and adapt.

  I’m for concealed carry, and firearm ownership. But, I’m not one to break the law.

  I improvise and adapt.

• 13. James  |  January 21st, 2009 at 9:00 pm

  Hi all,
  Started reading this and thought I might try my hand at commentary on the subject of gun control. I currently believe that gun control laws are fairly soft.

  Don’t get me wrong, I love shooting and own 8 firearms including several pistols and have plans to earn a CCW and buy a dedicated CCW pistol. I hunt, I live in an open carry state, and have worn my holster in public areas (National Forest, and Dispersion Campgrounds).

  Honestly the draw for me has been on the one side a fascination for the mechanical workings of intricate machines. For the same reason, I wear a mechanical watch. It is less convenient than a casio, ironman, or similar electronic watch in that when it slows or ceases to function the fix is not going to be as simple or inexpensive as a new battery.
  On the other side is the desire for a quick handling firearm for protection during hikes into the deep back-country of my state or indoors when “things go bump in the night”. My state has rather brazen mountain lions, and I have shot one that continued to harass my campsite after rocks and warning shots failed to drive it off. Further, I live in a rather “rough” neighborhood with hollow-core doors that my landlord refuses to replace with actual exterior doors. If I had to, I would shoot another man who enter my home and attempts to attack me. that is not to say that I would come out of the bedroom guns blazing. Rather, my wife and I would close the bedroom door and allow the man free reign. If he attempted to enter, I would kill him. I believe any robber in that position, has weighed that the things he wished to take are worth the risk he places himself in and should be prepared for the ramifications. Further, he has weighed the life of my wife and I as worth less than what little more he coudl take from our 10′x10′ bedroom. I certainly have no intention of further betting on the goodness of heart of a man attempting to break down my bedroom door.

  All that being said, I still believe the gunlaws are lax. I believe that a person should be responsible for the firearm(s) he owns. This should mean mandatory gun locks to prevent discharge by minors. Mandatory safes to discourage theft (steel, and bolted to the floor). I believe that CCW should mean something. The actual requirements are a joke in terms of accuracy requirements. I also believe that non-frangible bullets should be illegal to carry in a pistol within city limits. A bullet that misses and can pass through walls to harm innocent civilians? I also believe that every gun owners name and gun (and serial #) should be connected until that gun is sold. If that gun is ever used for a crime: the person who owns it better have a very detailed and verified report about it’s theft or loss on file with the police or ATF to avoid charges. I own guns, but wouldn’t mind having to have jumped through more hoops to own them.

  Now, that being said: I also believe that no gun should be outlawed. If you can afford it and it doesn’t constitute an incendiary device or WMD, then by all means: if you meet certain requirements, buy it. Own it. Use it responsibly. Semiauto machine guns, fully auto rifles or pistols? Why not? Perhaps the person just wants a piece of mechanical genius like I would? Or they like taking it to designated shooting areas and letting off steam?

  BUT: you better know how to use it. 40 hour training. 100 hours of training. 400 hours of training. By Audited and Certified instructors. The gun can only be sold by certified dealers and sold back to those same dealers. No interpersonal commerce. Mental capacity testing, stress tests, psychological profiling. These are just ideas. But I think that the idea of an appropriate number of hoops could work to provide for a more responsible gun owning public. I think it would lower the number of violent crimes committed with firearms.

  Also, I believe that gun ownership is a personal right. I know that the intention of the act was to provide for states to fight against an oppressive central government through the use of local militia and/or minutemen. However, I believe that both (militia groups, minuteman groups) have been phased out nearly completely. I also believe that the state and federal political beaureaucracies are so similar and imbedded within each other that they are now one and the same. Not that I believe anyone should go shooting up their town hall, but I do believe it has fallen to the public in general to be there own protector of their rights are should therefore provide for being or forming their own armed citizens. An armed populace is much less likely to lay down to the demands of a hypothetical oppressive government. (it should be noted that I cannot imagine the US Government becoming such a truly evil enterprise that would require an overthrow, such a thing would be truly hard with the balance of powers equation. I’ve only ever seen it done, and poorly at that, on the silver screen.) But there it is, with the utter integration of state and federal governments and the phase out of minutemen groups and local militia in all except radical and fundamentalist camps (KKK, white supremascist groups, cults, etc) the rights formerly held by those loose associations of patriots should fall to the average citizen instead of being completely written off.

  Sorry for the long rant, but I’ve had these thoughts for a while and it felt truly wonderful to put them to paper in a more or less “organized” manner.

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