Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
In light of yesterday's tragedy in CT, and new screams about gun control, I thought this should be a topic of discussion. I will state my opinion and will not flame or ridicule those of different viewponts. In fact, I welcome them. It's an interesting conversation if it doesn't become a pissing contest.
I have been affected by gun crimes both directly and indirectly. When I was 19, I was held up at gunpoint by two men. One had a .357 revolver, the other had a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun. I was at college at the time; they got away with all of $16.12. One was a good kid running with a bad crowd, the other one was a dirtbag. They were caught and both did at least 7 years; I believe the dirtbag did 10. A couple of years later, one of my best friends from childhood and high-school was murdered locally at point-blank range by a 12-gauge to the face while he was passed out from drinking. He had been drinking with the "friend" that shot him. The "friend" just wanted to know what it was like to kill someone. One of my older brother's friends was shot in the stomach outside a bar shortly after graduation and died of his wounds, and a friend my sisters was shot and killed trying to stop a crime while he was at college. I knew both of my siblings' friends pretty well.
At no point have I changed my stance on gun control. I have remained pro gun, pro CCW, and pro open carry. Why, with all this gun violence around me?
First and foremost, not one of these instances involved a legally-obtained weapon. In the first two cases, they were stolen and in the second two cases they were .22 caliber rimfire Saturday Night Specials that had never even had serial numbers in the first place. Call a .22 a pea-shooter, but they take more lives yearly, both human and animal, than all other calibers combined.
Secondly, there are mitigating circumstances in each case that would have changed the situation dramatically. In my personal instance, had I owned my Colt M1911A at the time, all three guys in the car likely would've taken a bullet. They were drunk and I knew it; it made my fear that much worse but had I been armed that would've worked to my advantage. I could've plugged each one of them (even though the guy in the back seat wanted no part in any of it, I would've taken a shot at him). In the case of my dear friend, I have always said that if Mike had been awake, the two guys involved in his murder would've been the ones in the box. Let's just say you had to know Mike. I have never seen anyone so fearless in my life. In the other two cases, well, I don't think Donny ever thought he'd get shot trying to sell an ounce of weed, and in Scott's case, having a pistol in his hand while getting the guy's attention probably would've saved his life. He was holding a folding knife which isn't so good when you're 15 feet away and don't know the guy's packing.
Last, gun control just plain doesn't work. Look at what happened with drugs. At one point, cocaine, heroin, and morphine were all used for medicinal purposes and were freely available at the local druggist. Now the former two are outright illegal, and the latter is highly controlled. Marijuana is Schedule 1, but it's less harmful than a Red Bull (and it might've saved Hostess were it 100% legal
). I can make one or two phone calls in a small town and get any one of them within an hour or two, despite the best efforts of local and federal agencies that spend billions of dollars to stop that kind of nonsense (I don't do any of them, it just seems like I do). Liquor was readily available and led to the rise of La Cosa Nostra to huge power during Prohibition. In other words, the outlaws still got, and still can get, their fix. Why should we expect any different results with banning guns? Addicts still get their drugs, and criminals will still get their guns. At one point, I owned three unregistered guns, including the aforemention Colt and two 12-gauges.
Simply put, killers will find a way to kill. Knife, baseball bat, fists, garrote... they're going to do it if they've set their mind to it.
I don't believe we need to take away the guns of responsible citizens. However, I do think we need better government communication and communication between the government and healthcare. My idea for "gun control" is this: I believe in background checks, and I think those would be more effective if medical personnel were able to "flag" certain people and prescriptions were state or federally registered. I don't think a psychiatrist should be violating doctor/patient privelege if they simply call the authorities, give a name and pertinent information, and say nothing more than "red flag" because this person has expressed thoughts of violence or ill will towards society. I don't see a reason why anyone taking federally-approved mind-altering drugs like Prozac, Xanax, Ritalin, etc. shouldn't be tagged and denied gun ownership. Known side effects should flag someone, period. I have personal experience with the side effects of Prozac in particular; it made one of my ex-girlfriends a complete psycho when she took it to battle what was essentially drama-queen depression (she was a teenager). I'm glad she wasn't armed in a few cases.
I no longer own a gun. I do not want to own a gun, but I feel that if I so chose, I should be able to do so to protect myself and my home.
You may sound off; all opinions are welcome.
I have been affected by gun crimes both directly and indirectly. When I was 19, I was held up at gunpoint by two men. One had a .357 revolver, the other had a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun. I was at college at the time; they got away with all of $16.12. One was a good kid running with a bad crowd, the other one was a dirtbag. They were caught and both did at least 7 years; I believe the dirtbag did 10. A couple of years later, one of my best friends from childhood and high-school was murdered locally at point-blank range by a 12-gauge to the face while he was passed out from drinking. He had been drinking with the "friend" that shot him. The "friend" just wanted to know what it was like to kill someone. One of my older brother's friends was shot in the stomach outside a bar shortly after graduation and died of his wounds, and a friend my sisters was shot and killed trying to stop a crime while he was at college. I knew both of my siblings' friends pretty well.
At no point have I changed my stance on gun control. I have remained pro gun, pro CCW, and pro open carry. Why, with all this gun violence around me?
First and foremost, not one of these instances involved a legally-obtained weapon. In the first two cases, they were stolen and in the second two cases they were .22 caliber rimfire Saturday Night Specials that had never even had serial numbers in the first place. Call a .22 a pea-shooter, but they take more lives yearly, both human and animal, than all other calibers combined.
Secondly, there are mitigating circumstances in each case that would have changed the situation dramatically. In my personal instance, had I owned my Colt M1911A at the time, all three guys in the car likely would've taken a bullet. They were drunk and I knew it; it made my fear that much worse but had I been armed that would've worked to my advantage. I could've plugged each one of them (even though the guy in the back seat wanted no part in any of it, I would've taken a shot at him). In the case of my dear friend, I have always said that if Mike had been awake, the two guys involved in his murder would've been the ones in the box. Let's just say you had to know Mike. I have never seen anyone so fearless in my life. In the other two cases, well, I don't think Donny ever thought he'd get shot trying to sell an ounce of weed, and in Scott's case, having a pistol in his hand while getting the guy's attention probably would've saved his life. He was holding a folding knife which isn't so good when you're 15 feet away and don't know the guy's packing.
Last, gun control just plain doesn't work. Look at what happened with drugs. At one point, cocaine, heroin, and morphine were all used for medicinal purposes and were freely available at the local druggist. Now the former two are outright illegal, and the latter is highly controlled. Marijuana is Schedule 1, but it's less harmful than a Red Bull (and it might've saved Hostess were it 100% legal
). I can make one or two phone calls in a small town and get any one of them within an hour or two, despite the best efforts of local and federal agencies that spend billions of dollars to stop that kind of nonsense (I don't do any of them, it just seems like I do). Liquor was readily available and led to the rise of La Cosa Nostra to huge power during Prohibition. In other words, the outlaws still got, and still can get, their fix. Why should we expect any different results with banning guns? Addicts still get their drugs, and criminals will still get their guns. At one point, I owned three unregistered guns, including the aforemention Colt and two 12-gauges.Simply put, killers will find a way to kill. Knife, baseball bat, fists, garrote... they're going to do it if they've set their mind to it.
I don't believe we need to take away the guns of responsible citizens. However, I do think we need better government communication and communication between the government and healthcare. My idea for "gun control" is this: I believe in background checks, and I think those would be more effective if medical personnel were able to "flag" certain people and prescriptions were state or federally registered. I don't think a psychiatrist should be violating doctor/patient privelege if they simply call the authorities, give a name and pertinent information, and say nothing more than "red flag" because this person has expressed thoughts of violence or ill will towards society. I don't see a reason why anyone taking federally-approved mind-altering drugs like Prozac, Xanax, Ritalin, etc. shouldn't be tagged and denied gun ownership. Known side effects should flag someone, period. I have personal experience with the side effects of Prozac in particular; it made one of my ex-girlfriends a complete psycho when she took it to battle what was essentially drama-queen depression (she was a teenager). I'm glad she wasn't armed in a few cases.
I no longer own a gun. I do not want to own a gun, but I feel that if I so chose, I should be able to do so to protect myself and my home.
You may sound off; all opinions are welcome.
