geekmarine
Senior Member
Posts: 1100
Registered: 05-00 |
I am so tired of the gun control debate, primarily because I feel like neither side is being reasonable. First off, each side treats the others like a pack of deranged lunatics. It's idiotic. Most people, regardless of their position on gun control, are defending their position because they believe their position is what's best for the country. Advocates of gun control aren't fascists looking to take away your ability to defend yourself, they simply feel that restricting access to guns will make the world safer. Opponents of gun control aren't rabid gun nuts, they simply believe that the right to gun ownership is the best way to increase safety.
As for myself, though I don't own a gun myself and most likely never will, I do believe people should be allowed to own guns for purposes like hunting or self-defense. That said, I think limits need to be placed on the kinds of weapons available to the public. For instance, I'm no expert on guns, but to me, it seems that large-clip assault rifles aren't really practical for self-defense. They're made for... well... assault. If I were defending myself from an intruder or something, I'd rather have a small, lightweight, easily concealable weapon like a pistol. In a one-on-one confrontation, I'd think reaction time would be the most important factor, and I could react and aim more quickly with a pistol than a big, bulky assault rifle.
Also, I don't really see a problem with clip sizes. If you're defending your house from a burglar, however it goes down, it's incredibly unlikely to result in a drawn out gun battle. Yeah, it's possible that you could unload an entire clip into a person and they'd still be standing, but chances are, an ordinary burglar isn't going to put up that kind of a fight.
Finally, to go on a tangent, I'm really tired of these fantasies that keep popping up after these mass-shootings of, "Well if I'd been there with my gun, I would've put a bullet in the guy's head and it'd be over just like that." I'm not saying this as an argument in favor of more gun control, but rather, I'm simply tired of these deluded fantasies. Having a gun doesn't automatically make you a superhero. It doesn't guarantee the bad guy will be stopped. I remember these fantasies in the wake of the movie theater shooting, and I was just like, "Come on." It was dark, it was crowded, there were smoke grenades, and the shooter was wearing armor. There's no way you can say with any certainty that having a gun would have put a stop to the situation. You might hit innocent bystanders, you might miss completely, you might hit him but have the bullet repelled by his armor... Heck, another person with a gun in the movie theater might mistake you for the attacker and shoot you. I'm not saying that there's no chance of someone with a gun being able to help, but there are simply too many variables to simply declare with 100% certainty that a civilian with a gun would have solved everything.
|
01-16-13 19:46 
