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DT's comments:

on The Reality of Guns

Did 40% of the scientists who conducted the study to determine the 40% have mental illnesses themselves? If so, their findings are suspect.

posted 2 years, 3 months ago
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on The Reality of Guns

Guns do not necessarily create/foster violence in our society. I do not think it is appropriate to implicitly imply that that is the case. Let's focus on the reasons for violent tendencies (whether with a gun, knife, or any other object) before we even worry about the particular instrument used. The reasons might include movies and video games.

posted 2 years, 3 months ago
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on The Reality of Guns

The main difference is that driving is a privilege, while gun ownership is a right.

posted 2 years, 3 months ago
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on The Reality of Guns

Why do our nation's police officers carry guns? There are a lot of cockamamie ideas such as to protect themselves, citizens, etc. We could save a lot of money in public safety if they were armed with fruit and vegetables instead.

posted 2 years, 3 months ago
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on The Reality of Guns

What in the world are you talking about?  

Interesting statistic: I am 3X more likely to be abducted by aliens than to believe a statistic.  Data is science, statistics are often politics.  

posted 2 years, 3 months ago
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on The Reality of Guns

I own several guns.  I own them for recreation, as collector's items, and for self-defense.  I purchased all of them legally through fedarally-licensed firearms dealers.  I keep a handgun locked in a mini safe at my bedside.  My other guns are locked in a full-size safe.  I have never pulled my gun out in self-defense and pray daily that the need never arises.  I have fired my guns many, many times at paper and steel targets on legal firing ranges.  I teach my young children the NRA's Eddie Eagle gun safety program (STOP!  Don't touch.  Leave the area.  Tell an adult.).  When my children are older, I will teach them to safely shoot.  I am personally opposed to hunting, but I would never deny other sportspersons their right to responsibly engage in the hunting tradition.

Having worked in public safety for many years, I know that there are a small minority of people who will disregard any law.  An even smaller minority is absolutely psychopathic (e.g. Jared Lee Loughner).  Because nobody is 100% sure of who or where these particular people are at any given time - and because I'm 100% sure that I'm not one of them - I own a gun to protect my family.  Although some people do use guns to kill others, I do not believe that the number of guns or gun laws has any correlation to the number of psychopaths, gangsters, etc. in circulation in our society.  That might help explain why gun ownership has increased while crime rates have simultaneously fallen over the past several decades.

You can protect your family however you choose.  I will protect mine by the best means possible: education, communication, a healthy environment, prayer, and a gun.   

posted 2 years, 3 months ago
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on The Reality of Guns

If we were to earnestly focus our attention on the issues of poverty, addiction, and crime, we wouldn't even be having this discussion about guns.  By providing an easy target (pun intended), the gun debate diverts our attention away from these much more complicated issues - it's a lazy person's argument for what ails us.

posted 2 years, 3 months ago
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on The Reality of Guns

Excellent post.  As long as we are asking rhetorical questions, what were "undercover investigators" from New York City doing in Arizona?  Assuming they were law enforcement, shouldn't these investigators have been enforcing the law in New York instead?

posted 2 years, 3 months ago
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