Let's hear it for the American right to bear arms ... at all costs

[phishtaper]

i like that ... word of the day: "glommed". i shall use it at least twice today.

examples -

"In addition to my double-double, I glommed a dutchie."

"Drats! These backyard mosquitoes have glommed us."

[meggo]

i totally agree that this was a case of extremely poor judgment on the parents' part, and yes, even if guns are taken out of the equation, other bad things could happen, like drowning.

but doesn't it seem like keeping a handgun in your home is exposing yourself and/or your children to an unnecessary risk? whether it sounds righteous or indignant or not, i have never heard of this kind of thing happening in canada [but i could be wrong, and it could just be a matter of time, who knows].

ugh. i hate guns. just yesterday in ottawa a guy was convicted - of manslaughter, of all things - for killing another guy with a sword in a children's park. of course this is awful, but i imagine if they'd all had guns it would have been a lot worse.

[AD]

just yesterday in ottawa a guy was convicted - of manslaughter, of all things - for killing another guy with a sword in a children's park. of course this is awful, but i imagine if they'd all had guns it would have been a lot worse.

The accomplice of the deceased fired shots first.

Also, I think it is a big leap of logic to blame the death of the child in the States on the Constitution, or the perceived or real right to bear arms. It was an accident.

[phishtaper]

doesn't it seem like keeping a handgun in your home is exposing yourself and/or your children to an unnecessary risk?

my dad had a handgun (pistol) in the house when i was growing up. my earliest memories are that we were very explicitly instructed that it was not a toy and that we were never to touch it. it was inaccessible to my sister and me, kept unloaded and locked away. but it always made me nervous knowing it was there.

so, the answer to your question (as framed) is not altogether a straight-forward one. my answer would be "it depends".

[ollie]

but doesn't it seem like keeping a handgun in your home is exposing yourself and/or your children to an unnecessary risk? whether it sounds righteous or indignant or not, i have never heard of this kind of thing happening in canada [but i could be wrong, and it could just be a matter of time, who knows].

Maybe Canadian parents are just more responsible?

[meggo]

just yesterday in ottawa a guy was convicted - of manslaughter' date=' of all things - for killing another guy with a sword in a children's park. of course this is awful, but i imagine if they'd all had guns it would have been a lot worse. [/quote']

The accomplice of the deceased fired shots first.

Also, I think it is a big leap of logic to blame the death of the child in the States on the Constitution, or the perceived or real right to bear arms. It was an accident.

1. maybe if the accomplice didn't have a gun, no one would have gotten killed. maybe.

2. of course it was an accident. i'm just saying that having a handgun is like playing with fire. in my opinion.

i see what you're saying to PT, and ollie i know that banning handguns is not going to fix everything and protect everyone, it just seems like it would probably be a good step. in my opinion.

[ollie]

Right. Which was obviously supplemented by a clear acknowledgment that the very comment you glommed on to was a good one. I acknowledged that before you posted.

To be fair, you're not the only one I was painting with the righteous indignation brush.

[Kanada Kev]

my dad had a handgun (pistol) in the house when i was growing up. my earliest memories are that we were very explicitly instructed that it was not a toy and that we were never to touch it. it was inaccessible to my sister and me, kept unloaded and locked away. but it always made me nervous knowing it was there.

so, the answer to your question (as framed) is not altogether a straight-forward one. my answer would be "it depends".

Yes, I agree, it does depend. However, what I still don't get is why have a handgun in the house in the first place? If it is there for "protection" then how is it going to be useful when you NEED to protect yourself and the gun is locked away and the ammunition is in another part of the house locked away?

If the handgun is for "sport" then keep it locked up at the gun club. One would assume that regulations at a gun club would make it the safest place to keep it.

Anyone who has kids, or was one , knows that things that are deemed "off-limits" are VERY tempting. Accidents happen. But also, accidents can be avoided.

[AD]

meggo, w.r.t. to the Midway Murder, I wasn't disagreeing with you or anything, just pointing out that there was indeed a gun involved.

Don't bicycles / allergies / choking / etc kill many times more children each year than guns? The US Constitution allows for all these instances to happen as well.

Guns and esp handguns are silly to leave around, loaded, where your children can find them. Trigger locks are pretty cheap. If you absolutely have to keep your gun under your bed because you fear so much for your family's safety, get a trigger lock. Kids can't figure that shit out.

[phishtaper]

of course being told not to do something tempts a kid to do it, kev. and i did more than my fair share of idiot kid things and have the scars to show for it. but the guns were a very different deal. i guess we were just taught to respect them and honestly I can tell you I was never tempted.

maybe i grew up in mayberry, i dunno. and its difficult to equate then to now. i would never have any gun in my house now ... i prefer my vicious guard dog named Paris. lab crosses are scary, ya know.

[Thorgnor]

The only people I knew who had guns that weren't hunters all kept them real fuckin'close, and always ready... that's why they had guns... they were expecting trouble.

[afro poppa]

It amuses me that I acknowledged Dima's point at the very beginning of this thread, which I specifically said is a good point, yet people skip that part and decide to refer to me as exhibiting "righteous indignation", with others sheepishly supporting that unfounded remark.

My only indignation is regarding inattention to detail. Read before you post.

If your talking about me, I was laughing at righteous indignation in general. Not in this thread and certainly not on your part...your A-OK in my books

Edited May 29, 2009 by Guest

[Blurry]

I think someone in this thread needs a withdrawal from the vibe bank

[phorbesie]

so stone mtn, you did not post the article (subject says it all) with righteous indignation? riiiiight.

[AD]

OTTAWA-About 100 illegal handguns have been confiscated by Ottawa police over the past six months, part of a national haul of 8,200 firearms seized since just last fall.

[Tricky]

I think the real issue isn't just parenting alone. It's giving guns to "retarded " parents that keep them loaded under their beds. Come on!

[The Constable]

There's a community in north Georgia, not too far from where I currently live, where one of the prequalifications for home ownership is gun ownership. They have a surprisingly low crime rate.

[Kanada Kev]

That may be true. How's their domestic abuse rates? I'm sure they have higher accidental handgun injuries/deaths than in counties that don't have handguns

The argument for giving everybody a handgun to make communities safer is like saying every country should have a nuclear warhead to make the world a safer place.

[Freak By Night]

Why stop there Kev? I think every household should have a nuclear warhead!

[AD]

All we have to do is get rid of kids. They're the one accidentally shooting each other. They're the ones with no gun education. They can't even drive!!

[phorbesie]

[Freak By Night]

Ahh a world without kids.... future generations will thank us!

[ollie]

Ahh a world without kids.... future generations will thank us!

You just won the internet.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

Ahh a world without kids.... future generations will thank us!

[Freak By Night]

I can't take credit for that - I stole it from "American Dad".