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ORIGINAL: Sinergy

Taking guns away from people will not solve the causes that drove this person to murder a whole bunch of people, it will only add a level of complexity to him doing so.

I would prefer to deal with the cause of the problems, rather than the methodology the problem is expressed.

Sinergy

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ORIGINAL: Lordandmaster

All right, when people claim to believe that air flight would be safer if passengers were allowed to bring firearms on board, I'd say the conversation has reached the point of no return.  Something tells me you don't truly believe that, and you just can't think a way out of the dead end that your ideology has now led you into--but, really, whether you do or don't, there's not much point in taking this further.

Have fun, guys.

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ORIGINAL: SEVADom

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It would probably lead to explosive decompression and cause the plane to crash anyway but that's beside the point.

Actually, the explosive decompression thing (caused by handgun fire) is a myth propagated by Hollywood. The size holes that could be caused by handgun ammo (and yes, they definitely would create holes if they hit the fuselage) would cause air leaks.
It would take a several foot across hole created all at once (say, with a bomb) to cause explosive decompression.

So I vote to allow ccw holders to carry on planes. Were that to happen, and become known, I suspect the incidence of hijackings on American aircraft would decrease to near zero. (I'd feel safer, whether I was carrying or not.)

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ORIGINAL: juliaoceania

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ORIGINAL: meatcleaver

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ORIGINAL: Aileen68

That's sad that you think that gun owners sit around all day wondering and fretting about all around them.  I have a lot of guns in my home.  I'm not paranoid in the least.  In fact, just the opposite.  I'm quite comfortable knowing that I have a better chance of protecting myself and my family from an intruder or an animal.  I live in a rural area without a police force.  We rely on the state police and their response time is fifteen minutes at a minimum due to the area they cover.  A lot can happen in fifteen minutes.

There must be an awful lot of intruders in America for people to be so concerned about them.

I have never worried about that in my life. I lived bordering the Sierra National Forest growing up... all our neighbors had guns. We had wild animals... never felt afraid of the animals either.

There are places I have felt afraid, thankfully I have never had to live in one of those places.

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ORIGINAL: cyberdude611

The state has a right to protect the citizens, but sometimes (actually many times) the state isnt able to. It can take police 15-30 minutes to respond to an emergency call. If someone is breaking into my house, who is going to protect my family since police are the only ones allowed to have a gun?

The whole anti-gun philosophy just doesn't work. The state can't do everything for you. In the time it takes for police to get there, you are on your own. And the burgler has a huge advantage. Homeowners owning a gun evens the playing field. In fact, there is a city in the state of Georgia that has made it mandatory for every household to own a gun. Since the law was passed, burglaries and theft have plummitted. And the homicide rate did NOT increase.

Even going one step further...what if you live in an area prone to natural disasters? Say a major hurricane for instance. If you get a bad one that knocks out power, phones, and emergency services are overwhelmed... you will be on your own for sometimes a number of days. You have to have some sort of back-up for self-defense.

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ORIGINAL: lockedaway

There are a number of states where you can strap a gun to your hip and walk around. You aren't carrying concealed. So what country are you thinking of?

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ORIGINAL: meatcleaver
I think there has been one thing made abundantly clear by many pro-gun Americans, they are paranoid. This preoccupation of 'what if' this happens or that happens goes beyond any rational and sensible consideration. They must be looking over their shoulders most of the time, they must viewing their neighbours with suspicion and any stranger they happen to meet they must be wondering as to what mischief they are planning. How can people live with what must be a constant suspicion that everyone they interact with or anyone just out of vision must plotting against them. Either that or they are stretching reality to fit in with their desire to possess and play with guns. I've lived in supposed questionable inner city areas most of my life because I find them much more stimulating areas than suburbia but I've never had a constant nagging fear that I need to be armed to protect myself. I just don't think the vast majority of people I meet are planning to do me down and even if they were, I'm not going to ruin my life by being constantly paranoid. 

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ORIGINAL: juliaoceania
I have been to Nevada, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nevada, Idaho, Montana. I lived in Oregon and in Wyoming. I have passed through Colorado. I even spent time in Atlanta. I have never seen anyone with a gun strapped to their hip that was not law enforcement....

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You paint a wonderful picture of America.

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I've lived in supposed questionable inner city areas most of my life because I find them much more stimulating areas than suburbia...

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gbuys will get drunk and go out into the street to have an old time gun fight

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ORIGINAL: cloudboy
Your relativism stance here makes it seem we debating matters of taste (vanilla v. chocolate ice cream) instead of public policy.

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ORIGINAL: stef

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ORIGINAL: meatcleaver

I think there has been one thing made abundantly clear by many pro-gun Americans, they are paranoid.

I think the only thing that's abundantly clear here is you cannot stop yourself from bashing anyone with whom you share a difference of opinion. 

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I'm not going to ruin my life by being constantly paranoid.

No, you're going to ruin it by being bitter and alone.  Yes, that's so much better.

~stef

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ORIGINAL: Pulpsmack

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You paint a wonderful picture of America.

Sorry... you want a travel brochure, go to another thread.

Nice, completely irrelevant comment though. First you bash Americans for wanting to own guns because there's no reason given your uninformed view over there.  Then you throw out this irrelevant statement when someone points out some truth to the contrary.

We can play "cultural superiority" all day long but by all means, do that in another thread where it's actually relevent (perhaps the one where the brochures are being distributed). Back to the subject at hand, you inadvertently put your finger on the pulse of the argument however, with this statement:

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ORIGINAL: Pulpsmack

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I've lived in supposed questionable inner city areas most of my life because I find them much more stimulating areas than suburbia...

This is why America is such a wonderful place to live (Not implied as a comparative statement). We have the freedom to own property and be assured it is secured from seach and seizure,  to drive a car that's capable of tripling any legal speed limit, to speak out against the government, and to own AR-15s. In short we have freedoms that many/most other places don't. These freedoms are an integral part of the "stimulation" that draws people to this land. With stimulation comes such "questionability". So be it. That is the price of the freedom. So who are you or (anybody else for that matter) to judge me/others for having/liking/using firearms? When you live an eco-Christlike existence where you live with no luxuries or excesses and have your side of the street spic and span in terms of morality and productivity then you and your criticism(s) might have a leg to stand on.

So by all means, walk down the street tall and proudly in your smug superiority because you don't "need" a gun. Pardon my sadism if life deals you a tragic hand we know about in the future and I can't restrain myself from wallowing in the irony. But in the mean time I suggest you and your ilk come down from those high horses of yours when you hear about someone enjoying one of their eccentric pastimes, or feeling the need to prepare in such a way, unless of course you are prepared for similar scrutiny with your choices in life.