Supreme Court strikes down gun ban
Jun. 26th, 2008 09:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
olde_fashionedHallelujah!! Praise be to God.
Supreme Court strikes down gun ban
And I love the sign in this pic!! ^^ ;-D
Note: Please don't comment if you're looking for an argument, debate, or otherwise negative remark. Comments will be screened and deleted if necessary. Thank you.
Supreme Court strikes down gun ban
And I love the sign in this pic!! ^^ ;-D
Note: Please don't comment if you're looking for an argument, debate, or otherwise negative remark. Comments will be screened and deleted if necessary. Thank you.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 04:54 pm (UTC)I'm so irritated by people not using their brains. One of my friends on facebook is all like "(name) is grieving the people who are going to be injured and killed by guns." Like, HELLO. Like people like me are going to go out and hurt people with our guns? I don't think so. The people who have a disregard for the law are, and those are the people who don't care of guns are legal or not (criminal thinking to himself: "Oh wait, I was going to shoot someone with a gun, but since guns are banned, I'll have to find another way to kill this person.").
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Date: 2008-06-26 05:15 pm (UTC)OH I love that. That's so true!!!! It's a total joke that banning guns will prevent violence. If anything it will INCREASE it due to the honest, law-abiding citizens no longer having a means of defending themselves and deterring the criminals.
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Date: 2008-06-26 05:21 pm (UTC)Last Saturday we had a big birthday party for my nephew down at the beach and Joel and I left a little bit early to go visit some friends. We decided to stop by the house first to change clothes (smoky bonfire made us smell bad) and when we got home the door was wide open. We didn't know if it was because someone in the family had just spaced out or if there was an intruder, so the first thing Joel did was go downstairs and get our rifle. He searched every room with it to be sure the house was empty. Believe me, I felt a lot safer knowing that if he ran into some thug with a gun (or any other weapon), he could easily have defended himself (and defended me!) with the rifle (I don't think the bayonet was on it at the time though, haha).
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Date: 2008-06-26 05:25 pm (UTC)Wow, that must have been frightening!! I'm grateful it turned out to be nothing, and that you had someone with you to protect you. 8-/
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Date: 2008-06-26 05:27 pm (UTC)We had a bunch of people over (in-laws and stuff) and apparently they were REALLY slow getting out of the house and I suppose one of them forgot to close the door and one of my family members spaced and didn't think to lock it. Sigh.
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Date: 2008-06-26 05:49 pm (UTC)Stupid people. (er, no offense...) I think I would chew somebody's ear off for that one!!
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Date: 2008-06-26 05:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 06:05 pm (UTC)luckyblessed that it was spared.no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 06:10 pm (UTC)My brother, when he came back from Iraq (marine) said sothing to this extent. It was "If guns kill people then spoons made Rosie O Donnelle fat."
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Date: 2008-06-26 06:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 06:35 pm (UTC)^___^
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Date: 2008-06-26 06:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 07:18 pm (UTC)Amen Sister!
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Date: 2008-06-26 07:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 09:08 pm (UTC)Now would be a good occasion for another batch of patriotic icons * hints * :P
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Date: 2008-06-26 10:02 pm (UTC)Heheh!! Have you any images/stock/fodder in mind? (you who are to blame for my Vigee Le Brun obsession, HA HA)
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Date: 2008-06-26 11:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 12:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 09:17 pm (UTC)And the sign on the left needs to be displayed everywhere...
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Date: 2008-06-26 10:03 pm (UTC)YES.
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Date: 2008-06-26 09:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 10:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 03:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 03:18 am (UTC)Thanks for the link!
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Date: 2008-06-26 11:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 12:16 am (UTC)They briefly mentioned on the news tonight that the crime rate in D.C. (the reason for banning handguns in the first place) rose after the ban. Gee, I guess no one could put two-and-two together??
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Date: 2008-07-06 01:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-06 03:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 03:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 05:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 06:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 10:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 04:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 04:34 pm (UTC)poor english policemen!
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Date: 2008-06-27 04:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-28 09:34 am (UTC)But if you were ever in the situation where there was a criminal with a gun, the special forces would be sent in with their firearms to protect you.
I believe that's the same policy in most Europe as well.
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Date: 2008-06-28 08:43 pm (UTC)I suppose, that being used to it makes a big difference than coming from America where the very idea of gun control sends most pro-gun people into a frenzy. ;-P We are very fond of our rights!! ;-)
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Date: 2008-06-28 09:28 pm (UTC)Having grown up in a country where guns are banned, I find the concept of wanting to keep the right to bear firearms a little bizarre. Just as I am sure you find the idea of not having the right equally alien.
I have found it very interesting reading about this issue. Just one of the many reasons why our differences can make life richer and more interesting :)
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Date: 2008-06-28 09:34 pm (UTC)LOL! I feel the same way!! I suppose that since our country is so much younger, and so steeped in a culture that is left over from our forefathers having to carve a life out of the wilderness and hunt and defend their families from animals, indians, and other things, that it's just hung on and become a part of who we are. :-)
Yes, I agree!! And I love learning about what life is like across the pond. ;-D I find it fascinating!
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Date: 2008-06-27 02:51 pm (UTC)Huzzah! I saw this yesterday and was very happy. :D
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Date: 2008-06-27 04:24 pm (UTC)I was too!! Sadly Spencer was at work when we heard, or else I am sure he would have started a whoop and a holler. (lol)
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Date: 2008-06-27 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-05 01:33 pm (UTC)I'm writing an essay on American gun culture and to be honest, if the right for all to bear arms was legal in my country I'd be freaked out! I come from Australia and we initiated tight gun control laws in 1997 when a man with a rifle went on a rampage in a small coastal town and killed 35 people. Previously to that event, rising violence involving other firearms also caused much concern for the Australian public. However, since the introduction of those laws the percentage of stolen rifles has decreased, and we don't tend to hear of drive by shootings, children shooting their siblings or students walking into colleges and slaughtering innocent people. I understand that in a population such as the size of the United States, it would be very hard to keep control of what hands guns end up in. But there is no way I believe that one has to own a gun just so they can feel safe knowing they can defend themselves. Essentially I would feel like one of the bad guys, knowing how to hold a gun, clean it or even trigger it. No one I know ever has ever held or used a gun (unless in a video arcade of course :P ) and I'm glad of that.
I've been to America once before, and I'm not saying that I didn't feel safe there walking down the streets. But if I ever lived there just knowing that almost anyone could own a gun, that some stupid people leave their guns just anywhere for children to "play" with would not make me rest easy at night. I do believe (but correct me if I'm wrong) that the right to keep and bear arms for self defence was written in the 1700's when the young American nation in a predominantly agrarian society relied on hunting for food, to keep trespassers off their land and to protect themselves from highwaymen etc. You would think that a few hundred years later, that the mentality of the people would have changed. That a people with an armed Police force, judicial system and new technology could find a way to stop guns being a part of modern culture. I unfortunately don't have a solution to this massive problem, but I wish I did. I do think however, that it needs to start with the people themselves. Americans who live in a Democratic country are in the position to protest for what they think is right for the betterment of the people. Is it not also a violation of the constitution to murder someone? And how would that be prevented further when it is still legal for people to bear arms for so called "self defence"?
Please enlighten me on your views! I'd really like to know an American's point of view on the subject. thanks for your time :)
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Date: 2009-03-14 01:33 am (UTC)First off, I would like to thank you for your intelligent and respectful comment, and way of wording your questions. I do appreciate it when people take the time to polite, and as my mom has always told me, honey attracts more flies than vinegar. ;-)
I'll try to answer your questions as best I can, but I do not have all the answers, so I hope I don't confuse you any. If you're looking for a more in-depth opinion, I could direct you to my brother who is much more up on this subject than I am.
I suppose a large part of this could be attributed to the different lifestyles involved, and what we are used to.
Yes, we have shootings and murders, but crimes are committed by criminals who have no respect for laws. If we outlaw guns, only the law-abiding citizens will be unarmed, not the lawless. Why should they respect a new, anti-gun law, when they pay no heed to any others? The passing of a ban or restriction on gun use and ownership would merely disarm the good people in society, not the bad. Bad people have weapons, they always have, and they always will.
Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Knives, axes, glass bottles, even cars have all been used as deadly weapons, so even if guns were taken out of the equation, that wouldn't prevent people from killing each other.
A while back there was a man who decided to go to a mega church on a Sunday morning and shoot all the people he could find. He killed several people, I believe, and was hunting for more before his murderous rampage was stopped short by a female security guard, who was wearing a gun and killed him in order to save the lives of countless innocent parishioners, including children. In that case, and many others, there would have been a much greater loss of life had not someone good been able to step in and protect the unarmed and helpless. What would have happened had that security guard not owned a gun?
(continued in next comment)
no subject
Date: 2009-03-14 01:36 am (UTC)But if I ever lived there just knowing that almost anyone could own a gun, that some stupid people leave their guns just anywhere for children to "play" with would not make me rest easy at night.
Would it make you rest easy at night if the police in America and Australia (I don't know if they are already like this in your country) were like those in England, who aren't even allowed to carry guns when they respond to an emergency? I don't know about you, but if I had some crazy man with a gun break into my house in the middle of the night, I wouldn't want police armed with beanbags and tazers coming to save me!
a people with an armed Police force, judicial system and new technology could find a way to stop guns being a part of modern culture.
But the police cannot be everywhere at all times, and all the technology and judicial systems in the world cannot prevent man from doing what he has done since the dawn of time. Cain didn't need a gun to murder Abel, and criminals today will just find another way to kill if we eliminate firearms.
Benjamin Franklin, one of our founding fathers, wrote that "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both. It's true, too. Little by little, as we agree to have our rights taken away from us because we are afraid, we lose more and more of those supposedly "God-given, inalienable rights" that countless servicemen have fought and bled and died to keep for us. Banning guns, or even partially restricting them, is not the answer to rising crime rates. It would merely be treating the symptoms, instead of the cancer.
Yes, it is constitutionally wrong (not to mention morally and Biblically!) to murder someone, but self defense from an "imminent threat" is not considered murder in this country. I don't know about yours, though. If there was a home-invasion robbery, and a father shot the man who was about to murder his children and rape his wife, would that be a crime?
Allow me a brief hypothetical here -- let's say it's late at night, and a man walking home from work is accosted in an alley way and threatened with a gun by a robber who demands a wallet. The bad guy has a gun, and he has control of the situation because the other man is unarmed and basically helpless. But if you give the innocent man a weapon, it tips the balance in favour of the victim, and gives him a chance to defend himself and his property without being at the mercy of a merciless criminal. It's common sense, if you think about it.
I hope I've helped you in some way, but if you still have more questions please feel free to ask! Good luck on your paper. :-)
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Date: 2009-03-14 09:18 am (UTC)It is very true when you say that "guns dont kill people, people kill people" however how is it that Australian gun bans work so well that the majority of the population don't need to bear arms to feel safe? Now a total gun ban in America may not work even I can see that. But if you tightened gun laws to make it harder for people to access firearms wouldn't that make a bit of sense?
The story you described to me in your reply about the man who went on a killing rampage in a church is horrible! But how easy was it for that man to access a gun? He could have broken into someone's house and the likelihood of him finding a gun could have been great assuming that many Americans keep their guns at home. Perhaps then the gun woud have been safely locked away. But what if it wasn't? And there's another possibility; what if he bought the gun illegally? Or maybe he had simply attained one himself through the proper government approved way? My point is that there are so many ways for him to attain a gun and also he isn't the only person in America who has the same bad intentions. Now let's say he came to Australia and decided to open fire in a Church (or anywhere else for that matter). Well for starters he'd have to find a gun. And a very small margin of the population actually own firearms so stealing one would be difficult. Legally attaining one would be harder too as he has to wait at least 30 days before he receives a permit and before the gun is properly and strictly registered, has to pass a test, have no criminal record and be over 18 years of age.
Even after all that lets say he did manage to shoot and kill innocent people. The gun would still be registered in his name and he would be brought to justice.
We Australians are now living under laws which stress the idea that owning a gun is a privilege and not a right. And although I understand that there are the law-abiding, good people in America who carry guns purely for self defence, I suppose I still can't see why I would have to teach my kids how to use a gun just so they could feel safe. I don't want the little old lady who lives next door to need a gun in case some loser broke into her house and threatens her with a gun so then she needs her own gun for self defence and then there's just all these guns and gun gun gun blearghhh. It just seems like a vicious cycle of never ending violence.
But
Sorry for the long comment by the way! I tend to get a bit carried away when the topic is interesting teehee ^.^ and thanks for your patience.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-30 06:20 am (UTC)Since I have next to know knowledge about Australia as a nation and a people, I can't fairly address why a gun ban might seem to work there. I'm curious as to the statistics and any research that has been done on this? Do you have any references, etc.?
But one thing about America, is that a ban on guns goes against our Constitution (and therefore is technically illegal) and goes against everything our ancestors fought and died for in giving birth to this nation.
But if you tightened gun laws to make it harder for people to access firearms wouldn't that make a bit of sense?
We have the right to KEEP arms, and then the right to BEAR arms. These rights "shall not be infringed", which means that "tightening gun laws" is blatantly un-Constitutional.
The gun would still be registered in his name and he would be brought to justice.
Criminals almost always get guns illegally. Plain and simple.
We Australians are now living under laws which stress the idea that owning a gun is a privilege and not a right.
In American, Western culture, and even Christianity, it is not only a right, it is inalienable and fundamental.
I know it's hard for non-Americans to understand our culture, and not be frightened by it at times, but owning a gun is not about killing other people. It's about our right to live our lives free from fear, and able to defend ourselves, our families, and our property.
I don't want the little old lady who lives next door to need a gun in case some loser broke into her house and threatens her with a gun so then she needs her own gun for self defence and then there's just all these guns and gun gun gun blearghhh. It just seems like a vicious cycle of never ending violence.
I completely agree with you here, and I don't want the little old ladies to have to carry guns, either! But the fact remains that we live in a world that sadly, has some very evil-minded people living in it. And those people couldn't care less about that little old lady, and in fact might even want to steal from her, rape her, or even murder her, for the sheer pleasure of it. No society can entirely eliminate those sorts of people, and no amount of laws are going to protect the innocent civilians from those monsters. The police cannot be everywhere.
don't feel like I've lost any liberty of rights just because they've tightened gun laws further within the last 10 years. In fact, I feel that I'm living in a place signifcantly free from gun culture.
It's a bit of a difficult thing to explain, but I can only say that Americans are more freedom-minded than most other nations. It was, after all, the reason the colonists rebelled in the first place - indeed, the reason the Pilgrims came to the New World was in search of religious freedom. So perhaps we jealously guard our freedoms and the right to exercise them. ;-)
Sorry for the long comment by the way! I tend to get a bit carried away when the topic is interesting teehee ^.^ and thanks for your patience.
Not at all! You're intelligent, and have been very polite, so I thank you for that. ;-) I've enjoyed talking with you, and again, I wish you every success on your paper.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-14 06:44 am (UTC)