A question for those that support strict gun control laws?

Question

This is coming from seeing an answer on another question...

At what point did a gun become an animate object with the ability to jump up and start killing people at will?

As far as I know guns are inanimate objects that can't decide whom to kill or injure.... they can't even fire unless there is some person that is able to pull the trigger.

Is that still true? Or am I missing something when people say guns kill people?

Answer 1

There may actually be intelligent life here after all!!

Answer 2

Do a little research and you'll see that guns make it a whole h**l of a lot easier to kill people. Why are so against a background check to see if a person is a mental patient or an ex con? I mean really - you cons have NO problem with warrant less wiretapping but a background check for a gun - then you start to care about the Bill of Rights? Does it really make you feel good as an American that nutjobs and rapists can go buy a gun legally?

Answer 3

I'm not for strict gun controls, no.

However, I'm not for people owning Howitzer's. I think the class 3 weapons are handled very effectively, as I have never heard of a criminal robbing a bank with an M-60

Answer 4

Part of  the PATRIOT Act is that things (guns)can be confiscated as evidence, without evidence that they or their owner were involved in any crime, If you are a suspect. do you know the government has "a list" with over 1,000 citizens names,they are not terrorist. Do you see how this has gotten out of hand? Americans are giving up their freedoms.

Answer 5

I'm not all about strict gun control, but people do kill people, and people will kill people; where is the need to give them an easy button to do this if we can agree that killing is wrong?  If people REALLY want to kill other people, why not make guns not available?  They might think about killing less.  And mathematically speaking, the more guns you have available, the more often than can be used, for legitimate, illegitimate, and even accidental purposes.  If increasing availability increases the probability of use, and use is often fatal, where is the benefit?

Answer 6

No, you are absolutely correct.  Guns don't kill people, it is people who do the killing.  Firearms are the most efficient means of self defense.  They do not require great strength of operate.  Even handicapped people can use them to defend themselves.

So, why would anyone want to prevent American citizens from defending themselves?  Probably, because they are a threat to criminals, both street criminals, and the kind who want to enslave us.

Iguana:  I would certainly be against registering my car, if there were groups in this country trying to abolish my right to own one.  Because confiscation is the only reason for registration, when it comes to firearms.

Answer 7

The number of physicians in the U.S. is 700,000.

Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year are 120,000.

Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171.

(Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept. of Health Human Services)

Guns

The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000.

Yes, that is 80 million.

The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500.

The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.000188.

Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.

Remember, "Guns don't kill people, doctors do."

Happy lucky or lucky happy: Background checks are already performed in order to buy firearms. In fact jumping through flaming hoops was just added.

The ready availability of guns today, with waiting periods, background checks, fingerprinting, government forms, etc., is responsible for the recent school shootings and other crimes, compared to the lack of school shootings and other crimes in the 40s, 50s, and 60s which resulted from the availability of guns at hardware stores, surplus stores, gas stations, variety stores, mail order, etc. Not to mention the customers were all 12 years old or younger.

avail: With the majority of gun crimes being committed in heavily gun restricted areas like Chicago.... Go figure....

Illinois had a population of 12.8 million w/ a murder rate of 6.1/100K (780)

Chicago had 22.2% of the population of Illinois yet accounted for 60% of murders w/ a per capita rate of 16.4/100K

Cook County had 41.4% of the population of Illinois yet accounted for 73.6% of murders w/ a per capita rate of 10.83/100K

The Cook County murders in raw number/per capita increased 4.4% and 4.9% respectively while arrest numbers and rates dropped over 18% from '05 to '06.

If Chicago were to fall into Lake Michigan, the Illinois murder rate would drop to 3.14

Were the rest of Cook County to follow suit, the rate would drop to 2.74.

So far this year, murders are up 13%.

And where are the strictest gun laws?

"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Can it be supposed that those who have the courage to violate the most sacred laws of humanity ... will respect the less important and arbitrary ones ... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants, they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." — Thomas Jefferson

http://www.youtube.com/user/DOUGandFRIEN...

Strict gun control only leads to an outright ban....England, Australia both come to mind.

Answer 8

They would rather be stabbed with rusty butter knives.

Criminals will always have guns illegally. Atleast let us get them the legal way to defend ourselves!

Answer 9

You are right.  I agree with you and favor probably more relaxed gun laws than you (I personally am against the "assault weapons ban",  for full automatic rifles, high cap. pistols, license to carry concealed etc... ) but the argument you are making is misguided.

The real Pro-gun control activists use STATS that handgun crimes account for x% of deaths in the US per year.. blah blah blah... but what they NEVER tell you is that most, if not ALL these gun deaths come from criminals (ie. gang bangers, robbers, etc) discharging ILLEGALLY possessed guns.    THe problem is, was, and always will be CRIMINALS having guns.  It's not me (and my 12 gauge Mossberg 500) or you, or any other law abiding 2nd ammendment believer.. its the d**n criminals.  

And the part that these gun control activists REALLY dont get is that even if you restrict the gun laws- that in NO way means criminals are going to care of follow these laws.  

Take DC handgun ban that was recently overturned by the Supreme court... banned the sales and possession of handguns in the DC area.   So pretty much the law abiding citizen could no longer go into the local gun shop and purchase a pistol... but bet your A$$ the gang members were still getting illegal pistols from the next state over to keep their turf/drug war doing.  

The gun control people are MISGUIDED and should really be going after the real problems.. those who would and could actually pick up their guns and fire on unarmed people for no reason other than intimidation, threats, turf wars, drugs, etc.

Answer 10

Bullets kill people actually

Answer 11

It never did.  You'll get no argument from me on that one.   But just pay close attention to the news when a shooting is being reported.   As often as not, the reporter will say someone was killed by a gun, or a gun killed someone.    Conversely, guns are used millions of times each year by law abiding citizens to defend themselves.   When did you last hear one of these stories on the evening news?

Answer 12

People kill people.  The weapon can vary anywhere between a gun, a knife, a baseball bat, their hands...its just a talking point for gun control - that's all it is.

Answer 13

You are right on the mark.

Do some research and pick you brain about this:

The cites in this nation with the highest crime rates are the ones with the tightest gun laws.

The states in this country with the highest percentages of gun ownership have the lowest crime rates.

Its about lack of education, family values and morals.  That's what drives crime.

Its not about guns.

Answer 14

I don't know if I support strict gun control laws. I really don't know enough about the subject to have a good opinion. Any sort of educated opinion would likely have to take in to account the findings of scoiologists on the relation between gun control and crime rates, and these studies seem to be complex and disputed.

One thing I am certain of is that your argument is incredibly stupid.

By your reasoning, there would be no reason to restrict nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. After all, these are not animate beings. They can't work unless someone "pulls the trigger." Consequently, they shouldn't be restricted, right?

Guns can make it easier to kill people, and the fact that guns lack any sort of conscious intentionality is no argument against controlling them.

Again, I don't know enough about the gun control debate to have reached any sort of solid opinion. All I can say is that the debate would be greatly improved if people like you stayed out of it. Nobody with any intelligence should think what you wrote makes any rational sense at all.

Answer 15

are you against registering your car too?

Answer 16

I'm a gun lover and believe that it is bad decisions of the person possessing the gun that kills people, but even then, I have no problem with gun control.

Without gun control, people like me would not be able to process enough evidence to prosecute and convict any murderer without an eyewitness.

Just because guns don't kill, doesn't mean we shouldn't control who has them. We control who drives do we not? An automobile requires a registration, serial numbers, and the entire system that moves the car is regulated. Automobiles have yet to be banned even after the government has done exactly the same thing right-wing gun fanatics claim is a gun ban if we do it to guns.

What you are arguing against is gun ban, not gun control.

Drugs don't jump up and kill anyone either...guess what....they are controlled. So your little argument against control of guns is about as silly as it gets. Want to make those arguments against gun ban...fine I love my gun. But then again, I don't have a history of criminal or irresponsible use of weapons either, but if someone kicked in my door and tried to rob me, I'd definitely let it rain hot lead on them. I am greatful for gun control, because it helps takes the criminal off the street, and helps keep gun out of the hands of crazy people.