would you support a constitutional amendment to ban handguns?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

No, you gun grabbing Republican.

[John Dibble]

i wish kids in the inner city were free to go outside and play without fear of being shot up in a drive-by.

how many (innocent) people have to die before we get serious about doing something?

Walter, you've already admitted it would pretty much be impossible to get rid of all the guns the criminals have, so why would banning them change that? How will removing a method of self-defense of law abiding citizens while the criminals still are packing, as you admit, make people feel safer?

If you want to get serious about gun crimes, then punish the criminals, not those who use their guns responsibly and in the bounds of the law.

Also, I think you're seriously exaggerating the problem. According to the CDC, there were only 1,822 homicide by firearm deaths in the age groups of 0-19 in 2003 out of a population of 81 million in that age group - I seriously doubt most of them go outside worried about getting caught up in a drive by.

[MODU]

Walter, you've already admitted it would pretty much be impossible to get rid of all the guns the criminals have, so why would banning them change that? How will removing a method of self-defense of law abiding citizens while the criminals still are packing, as you admit, make people feel safer?

Well, if you ban all guns, the cops can shoot anyone that has one, and poof, the criminal aspect is gone.   *dies laughin*

[WalterMitty]

Maybe offering bribes for people in inner cities to give up their guns might work better?

like a gun buyback program?

those dont work.  what tends to happen is people bring their old, cheap, saturday night specials in and use the money they receive to buy a newer gun.

[WalterMitty]

i wish kids in the inner city were free to go outside and play without fear of being shot up in a drive-by.

how many (innocent) people have to die before we get serious about doing something?

Walter, you've already admitted it would pretty much be impossible to get rid of all the guns the criminals have, so why would banning them change that? How will removing a method of self-defense of law abiding citizens while the criminals still are packing, as you admit, make people feel safer?

If you want to get serious about gun crimes, then punish the criminals, not those who use their guns responsibly and in the bounds of the law.

Also, I think you're seriously exaggerating the problem. According to the CDC, there were only 1,822 homicide by firearm deaths in the age groups of 0-19 in 2003 out of a population of 81 million in that age group - I seriously doubt most of them go outside worried about getting caught up in a drive by.

that is 1,822 preventable deaths.

[dazzleman]

i wish kids in the inner city were free to go outside and play without fear of being shot up in a drive-by.

how many (innocent) people have to die before we get serious about doing something?

Walter, you've already admitted it would pretty much be impossible to get rid of all the guns the criminals have, so why would banning them change that? How will removing a method of self-defense of law abiding citizens while the criminals still are packing, as you admit, make people feel safer?

If you want to get serious about gun crimes, then punish the criminals, not those who use their guns responsibly and in the bounds of the law.

Also, I think you're seriously exaggerating the problem. According to the CDC, there were only 1,822 homicide by firearm deaths in the age groups of 0-19 in 2003 out of a population of 81 million in that age group - I seriously doubt most of them go outside worried about getting caught up in a drive by.

that is 1,822 preventable deaths.

That assumes the ban would be effective, which it would not be.  It would have no impact on removing guns from the hands of criminals.  Do you truly believe that a person who has no trouble shooting an innocent child would be deterred by a law against having a gun?

The real answer is to enforce the laws we have strictly.  Felons who caught with guns illegally get off with probation in liberal jurisdictions that favor these sorts of laws.  If they got locked up for an extended period of time, maybe things would be different.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Looks like Mr. Bubble Gum is outvoted 23 to 1.

[John Dibble]

that is 1,822 preventable deaths.

As dazzleman pointed out, that presumes that the ban would be effective, which I must again mention that you have admitted it won't be. It's either going to end gun violence or it isn't - make up your mind, Walter, which is it?

It also presumes that in every case that if a gun wasn't available that another method, such as a knife stabbing, would not have been used. You can't say that to any degree of certainty, and given that murders by other methods still occur I would be that a fair number of these would even if guns were not available.

[WalterMitty]

that is 1,822 preventable deaths.

As dazzleman pointed out, that presumes that the ban would be effective, which I must again mention that you have admitted it won't be. It's either going to end gun violence or it isn't - make up your mind, Walter, which is it?

It also presumes that in every case that if a gun wasn't available that another method, such as a knife stabbing, would not have been used. You can't say that to any degree of certainty, and given that murders by other methods still occur I would be that a fair number of these would even if guns were not available.

would a ban end gun violence?  no, of course not.  it would, however, be a  step in the right direction.

we may not ever get the guns off the street, but doesnt it make sense to stop manufacturing these things?

as for stabbings, innocent people dont die in drive by stabbings.  and you and i and everyone else knows that handguns are the weapons of choice for would-be murderers.

[John Dibble]

would a ban end gun violence?  no, of course not.  it would, however, be a  step in the right direction.

If you want to end gun violence, or pretty much any violence period, go to the source - the people commiting the acts.

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No, it doesn't, because frankly I want innocent, law abiding citizens to have a viable means of defense from the uncivilized thugs who want to steal from them, assault them, rape them, and murder them - especially the thugs who still have guns. How exactly would you propose a 120lb woman fend off a 210lb rapist who has a gun?

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You keep using the drive-by rhetoric, but how many innocent people actually die in drive-by shootings? It happens, for sure, but I would bet you are greatly exaggerating the problem.

I'd also like to point out that crime rates have been going down yet gun ownership has been increasing.

[nclib]

No, though it should be harder to get a handgun.

[AkSaber]

No way!!! Making it easier for criminals to prey on law abiding citizens will in no way reduce crime.

[jerusalemcar5]

Guns should be banned in general.  I mean please, how many people are actually saved by having a gun, does anyone know that stat?  There is no reason to have them and there are too many mishaps.  I would absolutely support a ban, no question. 

[TomC]

 

Guns should be banned in general.  I mean please, how many people are actually saved by having a gun, does anyone know that stat?  There is no reason to have them and there are too many mishaps.  I would absolutely support a ban, no question. 

John Dibble or David S would know.

But as I always say, you'll only 'confiscate' my guns when you take them from my cold, dead body.

Mr. Heston? Is that you?

But seriously, I vote no. I'm not into guns at all, but I am into freedom. I'm not going to pick and choose which freedoms to allow based on my own personal preferences.

[John Dibble]

I mean please, how many people are actually saved by having a gun, does anyone know that stat?

John Dibble or David S would know.

Based on various studies, guns are used in self-defense somewhere in the range of 800,000 to 2.5 million times annually in this country. If even 1/16 of those uses are life saving, then 50,000 to 156,250 lives a year are saved through defensive gun use, which still far surpasses the total number of lives lost in murders by all methods.

[TheresNoMoney]

Definitely not.

[Republican Michigander]

No.

And I wouldn't turn mine in if it was banned. That law would not be worthy of being followed.

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

I'd use it on public officials who tried taking it from me.

[MasterJedi]

No, it's a right that we can have our guns.

[jerusalemcar5]

Guns should be banned in general.  I mean please, how many people are actually saved by having a gun, does anyone know that stat?  There is no reason to have them and there are too many mishaps.  I would absolutely support a ban, no question. 

John Dibble or David S would know.

But as I always say, you'll only 'confiscate' my guns when you take them from my cold, dead body.

Mr. Heston? Is that you?

But seriously, I vote no. I'm not into guns at all, but I am into freedom. I'm not going to pick and choose which freedoms to allow based on my own personal preferences.

So I assume you support a person's freedom to commit murder.  Guns are a serious threat to human life and should be treated as such.  Smoking tobacco in public should also be banned.

[Gabu]

The problem is that, as Al stated, gun ownership has basically always been a way of life in America, and an amendment banning guns is not going to change people's frames of mind.  America is already far enough down that it would take a very long time to reverse it.  It would be like trying to get every Canadian to own a handgun.  It just wouldn't work.

[MasterJedi]

Guns should be banned in general.  I mean please, how many people are actually saved by having a gun, does anyone know that stat?  There is no reason to have them and there are too many mishaps.  I would absolutely support a ban, no question. 

John Dibble or David S would know.

But as I always say, you'll only 'confiscate' my guns when you take them from my cold, dead body.

Mr. Heston? Is that you?

But seriously, I vote no. I'm not into guns at all, but I am into freedom. I'm not going to pick and choose which freedoms to allow based on my own personal preferences.

So I assume you support a person's freedom to commit murder.  Guns are a serious threat to human life and should be treated as such.  Smoking tobacco in public should also be banned.

Driving cars is a serious threat to human life, so should we force people to not drive? No, guns should be legal. If you don't like it move to Canada.

[??????????]

Guns should be banned in general.  I mean please, how many people are actually saved by having a gun, does anyone know that stat?  There is no reason to have them and there are too many mishaps.  I would absolutely support a ban, no question. 

John Dibble or David S would know.

But as I always say, you'll only 'confiscate' my guns when you take them from my cold, dead body.

Mr. Heston? Is that you?

But seriously, I vote no. I'm not into guns at all, but I am into freedom. I'm not going to pick and choose which freedoms to allow based on my own personal preferences.

So I assume you support a person's freedom to commit murder.  Guns are a serious threat to human life and should be treated as such.  Smoking tobacco in public should also be banned.

You'd make a great Soviet.

[Bdub]

No.  I would never support one.

[John Dibble]

Guns are a serious threat to human life and should be treated as such.

No, guns are inanimate objects. If nobody touches one, it doesn't shoot. Guns are tools just like any other in that it is the user who determines the use. The serious threats to human life are those who are behind guns maliciously, recklessly, or negligently - go after these people(the real threats to human life), leave the literally millions of responsible gun owners alone. There are 65 to 80 million gun owners in this country, with over 200 million guns, 65 to 70 million of them are handguns. The total number increases by roughly 4.5 million annually.

Yet, with millions of handguns, the total deaths by firearm number roughly 30,000 a year, half of which are suicides which I don't think you can really blame the gun for. Statistitically speaking, this shows that guns aren't dangerous. Of course, this isn't necessarily true - guns can be very dangerous, which is why gun owners must take great care in treating their firearms with great care. The vast majority of gun owners are responsible in how they handle their firearms, so as I said don't punish them for the actions of other people.

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Don't get me started, and try not to get off topic - too many threads go off on tangents because of this.