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GunTV Aims To Premier 24-Hour Shopping Channel For Firearms

HughPickens.com writes: Mike McPhate reports in the NY Times that two home shopping industry veterans, Valerie Castle and Doug Bornstein, are set to premier GunTV, a new 24-Hour shopping channel for guns, that aims to take the QVC approach of peppy hosts pitching "a vast array of firearms," as well as related items like bullets, holsters and two-way radios. The new cable channel hopes to help satisfy Americans' insatiable appetite for firearms. The channel's forthcoming debut might seem remarkably ill-timed, given recent shootings at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs and at a social services center in San Bernardino, California but gun sales have been rising for years, with nearly 21 million background checks performed in 2014, and they appear on track to a new record this year. The boom has lately been helped by a drumbeat of mass shootings, whose attendant anxiety has only driven more people into the gun store. The proposed schedule of programming allots an eight-minute segment each hour to safety public service announcements in between proposed segments on topics like women's concealed weapon's apparel, big-game hunting and camping. Buying a Glock on GunTV won't be quite be like ordering a pizza. When a firearm is purchased, a distributor will send it to a retailer near the buyer, where it has to be picked up in person and a federal background check performed. "We saw an opportunity in filling a need, not creating one," says Castle. "The vast majority of people who own and use guns in this country, whether it's home protection, recreation or hunting, are responsible . I don't really know that it's going to put more guns on the streets."

633 comments

  1. why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show? by wolfgang_spangler · · Score: 1, Troll

    What a ridiculous bias filled, ill-informed summary.

  2. Not ill timed... by Kenja · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Every time there is a mass-shooting or similar, gun sales go up because the marketing department of the gun manufacturing lobby (NRA) goes into full swing about how the gubement is gona take yer guns. So this is perfectly timed to capitalize on the latest shooting.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:Not ill timed... by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Every time there is a mass-shooting or similar, gun sales go up because the marketing department of the gun manufacturing lobby (NRA) goes into full swing about how the gubement is gona take yer guns.

      Actually, the NRA and gun manufacturers don't HAVE to do any marketing after a tragedy like this...the Democrats, led by Mr. Obama himself, often have their first or second words out of their mouths.."We need 'sensible' gun control"....they want to ban semi-automatic weapons that "look scary", etc.

      The second something happens, many US citizens are afraid with good reason from many of our elected officials, that they want to start banning and removing weapons.

      I added the removing of weapons, in that...if they banned the AR-15 tomorrow and the AK-47....unless they confiscate the existing ones, you'll not see a drop in their numbers for decades upon decades upon decades. There are just too many out there!!

      So, yes, for gun owners, the left start jumping up and down about more restrictive gun laws while the corpses are still warm minutes after a tragedy like this occurs.

      Funny thing is...it appears that overall, gun violence in the US has been in a downturn over the past number of years. It is just these "spree" killings that has seemed to have popped up lately.

      I'm still wanting to know what "sensible" gun laws will be. So far, this last one, happened in CA which has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the US, yet all weapons seem to this point to have been made legally. What laws would they introduce to prevent the recent shooting? Any more changes over the CA laws and you start to seriously impede law abiding citizens' rights to buy, own and use weapons, which are the vast majority of gun owners.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    2. Re:Not ill timed... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      And it has nothing to do with Hillary saying she wants to take them, right?

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    3. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The NRA is not part of the gun manufacturing lobby that's the NSSF(National Shooting Sports Foundation). The NRA is a training and competition organization turned civil rights organization.

    4. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It seems like the right-wing lunatics have already stockpiled plenty of guns for their attempt at installing a theocracy. This is a really late attempt at capturing the violent sociopath dollar.

    5. Re:Not ill timed... by sycodon · · Score: 1
      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    6. Re: Not ill timed... by cayenne8 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Considering how the government is trying to take them, it is a rational fear.

      Of course the government needs to have the cops go door to door and collect all of those things.

      Well, I believe how they did it in Australia, was they first required all weapons to be registered, so the govt knew where they were located and who had them.

      Then, the confiscated them.

      Mr. Obama, not long back, mentioned on TV (approx 1:36) specifically mentioned the models of Australia and the UK when it came to guns....I'm surprised more folks didn't catch onto that one.

      If he's looking to those models for "sensible" gun laws, then confiscation is what he considers to be sensible.

      He says it here again (first time I heard it)...at marker 5:26 and runs a few seconds.

      If that is the model he wants, then, registration and then confiscation is what he considers "sensible" gun control laws.

      I also am catching on to him more and more conflating gun "safety" with gun control....the two terms are not interchangeable, but he seems to be trying to steer the conversation that way.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    7. Re: Not ill timed... by SumDog · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Since when is the government actually succeeded in taking American's guns away? The only laws proposed are at preventing future gun sales, but they never actively try to take guns (except through useless gun buyback programs).

      I use to support US gun laws, until I spent a year in Australia and three in NZ. From outside, America is bat-shit fucking insane. You have to register a car. You need a license to be a hair stylist. You need a license to practise medicine. I don't understand what's so crazy about needing to register firearms? It's not fucking unreasonable. It's called sanity!

    8. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, with Obama blaming 2A supporters for the two recent shootings and demanding access to firearms be controlled mysterious list that someone can wind up on for unknown reasons, with no way to get off of it, be the gatekeeper for firearms... this is Kafka territory.

      Hillary isn't any better. She is well into ex post facto/bill of attainder territory, wanting to pass laws just to go after gun owners.

      If Obama didn't start blaming gun owners as "accessories" for every school shooting, firearm sales wouldn't be through the roof. In fact, every time there is a mass shooting, or Obama opens his mouth, local gun shops get completely cleaned out. One shop owner has had to close his shop until next week because people bought -everything- in his shop, down to the tacti-cool underwear.

      The problem is that jihadis are not stopped by gun control laws. NYC's laws (where someone rots at Rikers for a year or two before they even see a judge) is a damn good deterrent to keep the muggings down and the criminals disarmed. But people who are willing to commit suicide by cop are not going to be stopped. The only way to stop insurgents is to have a deterrence. Where I live, where the gun ranges have single's nights, if someone whips out an AK, someone will have a mag emptied into the offender before they even got the charging handle pulled back. Strangely enough, there have been jihadi incidents, but they were stopped quickly. It is the "gun free zones" where the insurgents go to, as they know they have a lot longer to do mayhem.

      Sad thing, I used to be an Obama supporter. However, what has happened on his watch, with domestic terrorism attacks almost becoming the norm, would never have happened under a previous administration. Now, it is a cycle of attack->blame-the-US-people->we-need-more-gun-control.

      We don't need a Chamberlain, or a Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne diplomat. We need a Churchill, and a strong leader.

    9. Re:Not ill timed... by cayenne8 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      A sensible start would be, all guns locked away in gun clubs and in homes, jail time for carrying one outside the home or gun club.

      No, that doesn't work for me.

      If my gun is unloaded and locked away in a safe, or worst off-site from my house at whatever a "gun club" is....it does me no good for self defense.

      I don't think many criminals breaking in my place are going to be polite enough to wait for me, to run down the hall, to the safe and fiddle the combination to open it, and then load the weapons, etc.

      No..I sleep with a 9mm with 15 in the magazine and one in the pipe. All I have to do is grab it beside my bed, flip the safety and start shooting. I tend to have several guns this way around my house so that I'm never far from one. I just like it that way. No kids.

      But what would your law do..to people that live more rurally? There's a lot of folks not living in cities. and they regularly use guns to go hunting, to shoot wild animals threatening family or livestock...etc. Why hamper them?

      You're wanting to punish the vast majority of responsible US citizens for the acts of a few, but granted effective bad folks?

      Screw them....I have noticed that you don't see any many terrorists trying shit in the southern states like TX, LA, MS, AL.....I think its because most every one is loaded up to the teeth. Most folks I know carry loaded firearms (at least one) in their cars with them wherever they go. If Achmed trys some shit...he'd likely be getting caught in a hail of return fire LONG before the cops show up.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    10. Re:Not ill timed... by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Funny thing is...it appears that overall, gun violence in the US has been in a downturn over the past number of years. It is just these "spree" killings that has seemed to have popped up lately.

      I hear that multiple-shootings (and other acts of terror, insanity, or political action by violent means) in the US have also declined substantially. (Don't have a footnote handy or I wouldn't have hedged the statement, but it squares with my personal experience.)

      What has increased is news coverage of them when they occur. This is, of course, what should be expected: As they become more rare, they become more newsworthy.

      --
      Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
    11. Re:Not ill timed... by JeffOwl · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A sensible start would be, all guns locked away in gun clubs and in homes, jail time for carrying one outside the home or gun club.

      How in the world is that going to make the slightest bit of a difference? Assume that these people obey all the laws on the books, and never carry a gun outside the home, so they never get in trouble. Then, when they want to commit mass murder, the law prohibiting them from taking the gun out of the home is going to stop them and make them think "well, I was going to shoot a bunch of people but it would be against the law to take the guns our of the house, so I'm stuck."

    12. Re: Not ill timed... by MBGMorden · · Score: 1

      Since when is the government actually succeeded in taking American's guns away? The only laws proposed are at preventing future gun sales, but they never actively try to take guns (except through useless gun buyback programs).

      When people debate censorship do they only worry about the government going back and censoring the stuff that's already out there, or is the prospect of censoring future content a major concern as well?

      Any attempt to prevent people from acquiring new guns is "taking their guns" as much as confiscation of existing guns would be.

      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
    13. Re:Not ill timed... by aicrules · · Score: 1

      Not sensible at all. Make it illegal to carry a gun outside the home and locked away from usefulness in defense is NOT sensible in anyway. At what point would that have stopped the San Bernardino? They could have had all their guns locked away right up till they loaded them and brought them to the party. And the same exact thing would have happened.

    14. Re:Not ill timed... by aicrules · · Score: 2

      Barstewards suggestions were not sensible and would not have stopped any part of the San Bernardino shooting.

    15. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      Dear Complete Fucking Idiot (Barsteward),
      Your proposed legislation would have done absolute fuck all to have prevented the shooting. Congratulations, asstard. You seem to have confused your innate understanding and skills in dog-fucking with the understanding it would take to write a sensible law. According to your retarded-ass, fucked up, completely idiotic idea, this would be the fallout, according to the motherfucking US Department of Justice:
      1000 extra murders every day
      500 extra rapes every day
      That's what, according to the USDOJ, defensive gun use prevents. In the US. Daily. If those numbers seem high, blame the fucking USDOJ. A gun is roughly 10x more likely to save a life than end one. Only one third of attempted rapes in the US are successful -- because guns prevent the other 2/3rds.

      The average US car is likelier to kill you than the average gun. Think about that. Every car you see parked in a driveway. Every car you see on the street. Every car you ever see -- is more likely to kill a person than any fucking gun. While gun ownership has skyrocketed, you are 40% less-likely to be killed with a gun today than 30 years ago (during the Assault Weapons Ban). Indeed, you are much MUCH less likely to be murdered. In fact, if you're not in a gang, and you're not committing suicide, then pools, peanuts, and selfies are deadlier than guns.

      But Fuck You. Fucking idiot. You illustrated, precisely, why assholes like you shouldn't have ANY control over ANY laws involving guns in this country.

      What the fuck were you smoking with your post? dud bullets? Exploding magazines? Holy fuck, stupidest idea fucking EVER considering that 99.9% of all gun use is fucking LAWFUL and LEGAL. What the Fuck? You have severe issues, hombre.
      >Let's put poison in random beers, so that alcoholics will randomly drop dead when they drink it!
      >Let's make cars explode, randomly, so people will think twice about driving their cars!
      >Let's replace sugar with cyanide in some sodas, then people will think twice about that Big Gulp!

    16. Re:Not ill timed... by GLMDesigns · · Score: 1

      You're not showing intelligence and a grasp of the issue if you think that right-wing == theocracy. Especially if your definition of right-wing is everyone who is not left-wing.

      --
      If you're scared of your govt then you need to further restrict its powers
      Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond
    17. Re: Not ill timed... by dywolf · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Except they didn't confiscate them in Australia.
      Minor detail I know. But since when has that ever stopped you from posting your ignorance?

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    18. Re: Not ill timed... by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 1

      Registering weapons is dangerous, I agree with the "gun nuts" about registering weapons being a bad idea. But requiring someone to have a license to PURCHASE a gun, and some reasonable requirements to be met for that license really doesn't seem too horrible.

    19. Re:Not ill timed... by Kohath · · Score: 1

      A sensible start would be, all guns locked away in gun clubs and in homes, jail time for carrying one outside the home or gun club.

      Because putting innocent people in jail is "sensible" ? What kind of person believes that?

    20. Re:Not ill timed... by dywolf · · Score: 1

      if you honestly don't know what sensible means, its only because you've long ago closed your ears while posting the same lalalallala BS every time.
      And no, California's laws aren't particularly restrictive at the state level. While individual cities may be stricter, rural areas and suburbs are just as lax as the rest of the nation, which, once again, almost completely negates the supposed 'most restrictive' laws you try to trot out every time. Your sign is especially apt; it's not a statement, but a disclaimer for your thoughts.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    21. Re: Not ill timed... by twotacocombo · · Score: 1

      Since when is the government actually succeeded in taking American's guns away?

      Google "California SKS confiscation".

    22. Re:Not ill timed... by dywolf · · Score: 1

      who receives the majority of its funding from the firearm manufacturing industry.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    23. Re: Not ill timed... by parkinglot777 · · Score: 1

      Considering how the government is trying to take them, it is a rational fear.

      Of course the government needs to have the cops go door to door and collect all of those things.

      Define "take them"? What "them" are you talking about. All guns? Certain types of guns? Certain rules for having guns? Please don't generalise too much because that is a misleading info (e.g. shotgun/handgun != semi-auto assault rifle).

    24. Re: Not ill timed... by cayenne8 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't understand what's so crazy about needing to register firearms?

      Well, for one reason, the government has absolutely NO reason to know how many or what weapons I have. I"m law abiding, not committing crimes with them, and therefore they have no need to know.

      But mostly, in many cases around the world, the FIRST step in confiscation of weapons, was registration of them. First they learn who has what, then they know where to come to take them away.

      The government really has VERY LITTLE need to know much about my personal life, what I own or what I do. They should stay as much out of my life as possible. That's they way is it supposed to be set up here in the US.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    25. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, there are laws that are aimed at confiscating a citizen's property (ie: guns). New York and California have them, so, too, does Connecticut and, I think, either Maryland or Massachusetts.
      The instances where a person's guns are seized are not widely reported on, but they do occur.

      " From outside, America is bat-shit fucking insane."
      Of course... from outside, a person is not knowledgeable about our past, nor the reasons our Country was founded.

      " I don't understand what's so crazy about needing to register firearms?" - it's called a Right. Look it up. Cars, hairstyles, etc., are not Rights.
      And, since past history has shown what happens to people who register their firearms, I would think you would understand why Americans are so opposed to this violation of our Rights.

      do you have to register yourself to worship a god? go to a street corner and speak your mind? Petition your government?
      Do you really think people should HAVE to?

    26. Re:Not ill timed... by mwehle · · Score: 1

      I hear that multiple-shootings (and other acts of terror, insanity, or political action by violent means) in the US have also declined substantially. (Don't have a footnote handy or I wouldn't have hedged the statement, but it squares with my personal experience.)

      How many multiple-shootings did you experience in past years, and how many this year?

      --
      Wir sind geboren, um frei zu sein - Rio Reiser
    27. Re:Not ill timed... by TigerPlish · · Score: 1

      Really? You're sure about that? Hate the NRA much?

      How about the people who, when faced with news of home invasions, random acts of terrorism, and other atrocities decide to arm themselves? All of these people are NRA-brainwashed stooges? Every single one? You don't think, for a second, that common people, without being "told what to do" by the NRA or Fox are arming themselves just out of common sense? That's a neat little fantasy world you live in.

      There's never a cop around when you need one -- right that instant, when some meth-head kicks down your door to rob you in your house. Or when some redneck decides he's Going To Do Something About The Government.

      Or when some brain-damaged, mentally-troubled person decides to open fire on an entire theater?

      Or when some Koran-addled islamic radical decides it's time to go get their 72 virgins.

      Where's the cops then? You have to be your own cop.

      All it's going to take is ONE.. just ONE armed citizen putting a few holes in a mass shooter before the mass shooter can kill masses to drive the point home -- that an armed citizenry is not to be fucked with. This will happen. One day, an armed citizen is going to prevent a mass shooting.

      Such an event may look something like this.

      If you're too scared or too close-minded to see this, then good luck when you need help from the police.. and they're not there. Who knows.. maybe a private, unassuming, low-key person who is carrying concealed may come to your aid.

      How would you feel then -- let's say at a movie theater -- if you're in the aftermath of a citizen-prevented shooting? When you can see the shooter lying in a pool of blood, dying, all his arsenal on display? Would you still think the person who took down the shooter to be an NRA stooge? Would you condemn and vilify the citizen who just stopped a mass-shooting-in-progress?

      Yeah... I didn't think so.

      Grow a pair, America, and fight back. Just because Europe takes it lying down doesn't mean we have to. Learn self-defense. Arm yourself with fists, knives, knees, a solid kick to the head, pepper spray, firearms, whatever it takes to protect you and yours.

      --
      The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
    28. Re: Not ill timed... by wyHunter · · Score: 1, Informative

      Why do you need to register a car? Why, so an agent of the state can find you if he deems you have done wrong. It's not that America's gun laws are crazy, it is that people like you are crazy.

    29. Re:Not ill timed... by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Every time there is a mass-shooting or similar, gun sales go up because the marketing department of the gun manufacturing lobby (NRA) goes into full swing about how the gubement is gona take yer guns. So this is perfectly timed to capitalize on the latest shooting.

      Yup, the faithful also do the same with ammo. A report goes out tht the majick negro army or the hipster revolt is going to take away their ammo, and presto - the in stock stuff gets sold out in no time.

      It's not like they faithful can be manipulated or anything.

      During the Last Big Gun Panic I was looking for a nice pistol, and everything I wanted was sold out, and the prices were heading far north.

      Nothing like fear based marketing to fear based people.

      just wait for the response I get from them, it's like they want to be taken advantage of.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    30. Re: Not ill timed... by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      Many states have this requirement, including California. So what will you say, that folks shouldn't be able to buy guns? We both know that isn't the answer in a free society.

    31. Re:Not ill timed... by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      Deportation.

    32. Re: Not ill timed... by fche · · Score: 2, Funny

      Mandatory "buy-back". It's entirely different from confiscation. All together. "It's entirely different from confiscation."

    33. Re:Not ill timed... by c0d3g33k · · Score: 2

      Here's some data for you so you don't have to rely on "I hear that ..." and "... my personal experience". I picked this one because it seemed to take a measured approach, including a reasonable definition of "mass shooting" than is generally used (in other words, there are more gun-related shootings than presented here because they don't fit the definition). Glancing through this, I don't see a distinct trend upward or downward in either frequency or fatalities. Certainly nothing I'd call "substantial".

      US Mass Shootings, 1982-2015: Data From Mother Jones' Investigation

      Some context is available here: A Guide to Mass Shootings in America

    34. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is so ignorant it's hard to know where to begin. But for the sake of brevity, let's just say you're a know nothing fuck-tard and leave it at that.

    35. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You only have to register a car to drive it on public roads, and yes there are lots of uses (farm, offroad, racing) that don't use public roads. The other examples are for providing a service to others..the stylist doesn't need to register scissors.

    36. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The issue is that while I know what sensible gun laws are, I have seen no evidence that anyone pursuing more firearm legislation agrees with me on any detail of that. I want to know exactly what barrage of incoherent and tyrannical legalese these arrogant aspiring despots have in mind when they misuse the word 'sensible.'

    37. Re:Not ill timed... by ClickOnThis · · Score: 2

      The NRA is a de facto heat-shield for the gun-manufacturing lobby.

      Whenever a debate arises about the availability of guns that can kill lots of people very quickly, it's the NRA (not manufacturers) that speaks up in favor of keeping these guns in the marketplace.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    38. Re:Not ill timed... by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 0

      Scary stuff. Makes me glad I don't live in a nation where I have to carry a gun when I go to bed. I can honestly say I have never felt that kind of ongoing fear for my safety and for that I'm honestly glad.

      Genuine question - do you not see a need for society to do something about that ongoing, low level fear (I'm not saying what the answer would be)? Or are you happy having to take a loaded firearm to bed?

    39. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Umm...the factory workers? Are you trying to insinuate certain politicians because you should look at where the real big bucks come from then.
      http://www.opensecrets.org/

    40. Re:Not ill timed... by rHBa · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I'm not sure the gun ownership laws in the US are the major issue, to me (as an outsider, European) it seems more a society thing, the whole 'right to bear arms' doesn't sound like a healthy mindset to me.

      Not only that but the attitude of a large proportion of people in the US seems to be that "because I have the right to own a gun I should own one!" where as the vast majority of western Europeans, even though in many cases they *could* own a gun, would think "why would I want a gun?".

      One thing they're trying out in the UK at the moment, to try and discourage smoking, is a complete ban on tobacco advertising, including in the shop. So anywhere that sells tobacco products has to keep them out of site, behind a screen with no branding visible. If you were a shop that only sold tobacco products I believe you would have to have a plain front to the shop with no products or branding visible.

      Maybe something like that, over time, could help discourage the 'gun culture' that seems endemic in the USA..?

    41. Re: Not ill timed... by cayenne8 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Except they didn't confiscate them in Australia.

      Minor detail I know. But since when has that ever stopped you from posting your ignorance?

      Well, yes they did..they banned them and forced them to give them up..

      Oz does apparently have a restriction from uncompensated confiscation of private property, so they got around that with a "buyback"..but you really didn't have any choice in the matter. A rose by any other name....

      But yes, I consider Mandatory Buy Back of Guns the same thing as confiscation of guns.

      And mandatory registration of guns is the first step for that....and Obama and crowd know this.

      And really...name calling and insults? Why can't we just deal with facts and have a nice adult conversation?

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    42. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The chief grievance that led to the American Revolution was "No taxes without representation".

      And didn't Australia, New Zealand, and Canada all managed to obtain independence from Britain without resorting to armed insurrection?

    43. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't stop there!
      Also read up on the freed slaves. Follow them closely on their journey through the postwar South, then again during Jim Crow. Then again through the 60's.
      That'll come in handy when someone blindly suggests that the 2nd Amendment is an embarassing anachronism.

    44. Re: Not ill timed... by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      Are you implying that foreigners can't read American history books?

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    45. Re:Not ill timed... by dcbrianw · · Score: 2, Informative
      I don't think anyone could write this any better than cayenne8, so I won't try. But I will add a few of my own points that I think support it.

      * Not only has a mass murder happened in CA which has amongst the strictest of gun laws within the US, gun massacres have happened in France, which has restrictions far greater. * These massacres have happened in places that by and large prohibit the carry of guns.
      * I read roughly 1-3 stories per week of people using guns to prevent bad things from happening, many times without even the pulling of a trigger.
      * My parents' generation as students commonly carried a firearm to school without incident so they could use it recreationally afterwards while today, many children's first exposure to the concept of firearms happens via repeated role playing in violent video games and other entertainment.
      * While the USA ranks #1 in _gun_ murders, the USA ranks #111 in murder. Excluding the most restrictive US locales w.r.t. gun ownership would make that number significantly higher.
      * By a per-capita comparison of 2009-13, Norway, Finland, Slovakia, Israel, and Switzerland exceed the US in mass murder by guns and have much more restrictive laws.
      * Gun control laws have enabled harm brought to innocent people, e.g. Carol Browne, Amanda Collins, and Shaheen Allen.
      * An evil person wishing to inflict mass casualties can do so without a gun: e.g. Oklahoma City, Waco, 9/11, Boston Marathon.
      * The same politicians who call for new gun restrictions vehemently oppose expanding effots to control who and what crosses US the border. (Narco terrorists have their own submarine fleet for smuggling to the US. Think about that for a few minutes.)
      * Prosecution of gun law violations has dropped by 25% in the current US presidential administration.
      * In comming years 3D printing will become more accessible and thereby make the fabrication of gun parts possible without the thought of legal restrictions. (Related note: the San Bernadino terrorists modified guns that complied with the laws at the time of their purchase to function in ways the laws prohibit.)

      I have no illusions about the touchiness of this subject. You have the right to your opinion, and I have the right to mine. Mine is that these facts signal that more gun restrictions will not decrease violence, but rather pose risk to increase it due to responsible people having reduced access to firearms for protection. I don't own a gun because of paranoia or a desire to fulfill any fantasy of heroism. I simply would rather have it and not need rather than need it and not have it. I didn't join the NRA because another member encouraged me or because a purchase bundled a membership. I joined after listing to my local representatives talk about gun control.

    46. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Driving, operating a salon, and dispensing medical advice are not rights. Firearm possession is.

    47. Re:Not ill timed... by cayenne8 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Genuine question - do you not see a need for society to do something about that ongoing, low level fear (I'm not saying what the answer would be)? Or are you happy having to take a loaded firearm to bed?

      I'm not worried about a low level of fear...I very seldom think about it.

      But people DO break into houses, I'm guessing they do where you live too. They often carry weapons...at least a knife or club or whatever.

      I prefer to have the option to blow them away and have the cops come by later to collect the floor meat afterwards.

      I want to have as much force available as humanly possibly to defend my home, loved ones and property.

      Walking around minding your own business....or just being friendly, around me or my home, no problem.

      Break in my home for any reason....you're fucked.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    48. Re:Not ill timed... by DogDude · · Score: 1

      The second something happens, many US citizens are afraid with good reason from many of our elected officials, that they want to start banning and removing weapons.

      What is this "good reason" that people have to be so afraid that they need to arm themselves with guns? What is this terror that grips gun people so fiercely?

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    49. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps the answer is to do something about that constant low level fear many of you guys seem to live with. To me that is much scarier than the fact that guns are available.

    50. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think many criminals breaking in my place are going to be polite enough to wait for me, to run down the hall, to the safe and fiddle the combination to open it, and then load the weapons, etc.

      Out of curiosity, how many criminals have broken into your place? Is this a real threat or a delusional one?

    51. Re:Not ill timed... by harrkev · · Score: 1

      California's laws aren't particularly restrictive at the state level.

      Ummmm. Yeah. They banned the .50 BMG round. No guns that shoot that ammo are allowed in California. Number of CRIMES committed with the .50 BMG in the entire US? None. Zilch. Nada. So, the round was banned just because some politicians didn't like it, not to solve any particular problem.

      Plus, to get around this law, there is a "California legal" .49 BMG round that is almost identical. Number of crimes committed with that LEGAL bullet? None.

      Please explain why that particular ban makes any sense at all.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    52. Re: Not ill timed... by jedidiah · · Score: 2

      Where I live, there are still very real threats from wildlife. Some of that carry, only do it to deal with unruly wildlife. Thugs and terrorists aren't even part of the equation.

      We haven't quite trashed the environment in America yet.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    53. Re:Not ill timed... by bws111 · · Score: 1

      Completely false. Let's see any reputable source backing that up. In actuallity, less than 5% of their money comes from the firearms industry.

    54. Re: Not ill timed... by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If you can't meet reasonable requirements to purchase a weapon, you should not be able to buy guns. Free societies do need to impose limitations: you can't drive without a license, criminals are thrown in prison, murder is forbidden, and you can't walk around nude (in most places).

      But the difference between unacceptable restrictions and acceptable restrictions are the details. The government shall issue a license, unless some legally defined criteria are not met. And those criteria need to be carefully chosen to ensure the government cannot be arbitrary. Perhaps felony convictions, perhaps mental illness diagnosed by a doctor, perhaps possessing certification that you have received firearms safety training meeting some curriculum requirement. The license cannot cost more than it takes to create (i.e. it's not a tax, not a wealth barrier), and no criteria for the license can exist that cannot be proven in documentation or argued in court. I left off "watchlist", those are always "secret" and you can't argue yourself off of one in any reasonable fashion. So we couldn't have stopped San Bernadino because our government is too busy being nefarious.

      Registering weapons does empower the government to find you and your weapons and have them removed. I'm definitely against that in all cases.

    55. Re: Not ill timed... by jedidiah · · Score: 2

      I always thought the registration of cars was bogus. The fact that we have accepted questionable nonsense is not a good excuse to double down on the nonsense.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    56. Re: Not ill timed... by random+coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well its obvious that you at least haven't so its likely they haven't either. Do you even know what sparked the Battles of Lexington and Concord? The British troops were sent to confiscate the American's guns.

    57. Re:Not ill timed... by jedidiah · · Score: 0

      Every time we have a shooting outside of the ghetto, liberals get their panties in a bunch and get a hate-on for long guns which in the broader context are pretty irrelevant. "Assault rifles" are the least used weapons when it comes to gun murders. Hand guns are far far more prevalent.

      Ignorant liberals just fixate on the stuff that looks scary. The media is happy to feed the frenzy.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    58. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The *average* person in the US has a 30% chance their home will be broken into, while they are home, over the next 10 years.

      That is definitely not to say that 30% of US homes will be broken into over the next 30 years. We're talking a mean game of "averages" here, but it's not a delusion. It's about as "Delusional" as buckling your seatbelt even though you probably aren't going to get in an accident today. Is getting in an accident a real threat or a delusional one?

    59. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Only cars that drive on public roads are registered. Ever see any registration on a NASCAR car? You aren't required to register any car. Lots of car collectors have cars that are unregistered; because they don't drive them on public roads. Lots of people race cars on the weekend that aren't registered and couldn't be registered.

      If you want the Car and Gun analogy to play out then everyone's state CCW license should be good for every state, including states that don't want to issue them like NY, NJ, and CA, and the public should produce billions of dollars worth of public shooting ranges for those "registered guns" use.

    60. Re:Not ill timed... by CaptainLard · · Score: 2

      Here is the best analysis of the best data I've seen...

      http://fivethirtyeight.com/fea...

      If only someone with more official access could study this in detail ( http://www.pri.org/stories/201... ) maybe we wouldn't have to guess

    61. Re:Not ill timed... by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      The NRA is just a convenient scapegoat. Democrats try to represent it as a corporate lobbyist when it is in fact a genuine grass roots organization. They want to try and kid themselves and everyone else. They don't want to deal with the inconvenient reality that most people don't agree with them.

      They are trying to ignore a diversity of opinion that is historical in nature and goes back to before the founding of our republic.

      Today it's far too easy to wrap yourself into an echo chamber of your choosing and lose sight of this.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    62. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      In England, the majority of thieves that break into houses do so when the family is home. They are home invasions so the owners can tell them whats valuable to steel. In the United States the vast majority of thieves that break into houses do so when the owners are away, or asleep(and don't wake them, aka, cat burglers). What is different between these two countries? Which scenario would you prefer?

    63. Re: Not ill timed... by RelliK · · Score: 0

      > Well, for one reason, the government has absolutely NO reason to know how many or what weapons I have. I"m law abiding, not committing crimes with them, and therefore they have no need to know.

      Does the government have any reason to know how many cars you have? How many houses? How many businesses? etc. Lots of things require registration & licensing.

      > But mostly, in many cases around the world, the FIRST step in confiscation of weapons, was registration of them. First they learn who has what, then they know where to come to take them away.

      Name those cases.

      > The government really has VERY LITTLE need to know much about my personal life, what I own or what I do. They should stay as much out of my life as possible. That's they way is it supposed to be set up here in the US.

      The people who scream most loudly about government staying out of their lives are also the ones who want to impose their version of religion on others, restrict access to contraception, criminalize homosexuality, etc. What's a greater invasion of personal life: gun registration or "trans-vaginal ultrasound"?

      --
      ___
      If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it.
    64. Re:Not ill timed... by VAXcat · · Score: 1

      Stop - every word is wrong. Gun sales skyrocket after a tragedy not because of gun company marketing. but because of all the gun banning rhetoric the liberal politicians spew. People think they need to stock up before bans go into place. If the issue of gun control had never ever been mentioned, the ownership of guns would very likely be half what it is today. Talk about the law of unintended consequences...

      --
      There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.
    65. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-driver-with-concealed-handgun-prevents-mass-shooting-in-chicago-2015-4

      And then Uber banned its drivers from carrying.

    66. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't understand what's so crazy about needing to register firearms? It's not fucking unreasonable. It's called sanity!

      100 million people will killed in genocides in the 1900's. Every single one of those genocides was preceded by gun registration and confiscation. If that doesn't raise the hairs on your neck, you either have no heart or you didn't read it right. Naziism accounts for 10% of those genocides.

      Those "fucking unreasonable" people have a much stronger grasp of extremely-recent history than you do, obviously. Maybe, in your mind's eye, if you were to look out upon the skulls of a hundred million dead humans, you might be inspired to think twice about innocent "gun registration" policies and ditch some of that ignorant "sanity" you claim to have.

      Otherwise, just piss on those 100 million dead. Their voices mean nothing to you.

    67. Re: Not ill timed... by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 2

      Yes, the first shots were fired because Americans were collecting weapons and gunpowder in order to fight the British.

      Keep in mind, though, the the second amendment starts with "In order to have a well-trained militia." So licensing gun owners is perfectly reasonable, requiring rigorous training is perfectly reasonable, and making guns unavailable to those who are not licensed is perfectly reasonable--in order to have a well-trained militia.

      If the reason for personal gun ownership was to prevent government tyranny, I would think that probably would have been spelled out. Don't you?

    68. Re:Not ill timed... by CaptainLard · · Score: 0

      Actually, the NRA and gun manufacturers don't HAVE to do any marketing after a tragedy like this

      Yeah but they do anyway. I gotta say, Apple has got nothing on the NRA. They may be the most prolific marketing entity of all time. They manage to convince enough people that "background checks at gun shows = the world is going to murder you tonight" to completely dominate all legal aspects of firearms from local up through the federal government. No matter the rhetoric, more and more guns are sold. And selling guns is their job mind you, the whole "protect yourself" is just the marketing.

    69. Re:Not ill timed... by rhazz · · Score: 2

      No..I sleep with a 9mm with 15 in the magazine and one in the pipe. All I have to do is grab it beside my bed, flip the safety and start shooting. I tend to have several guns this way around my house so that I'm never far from one. I just like it that way.

      Wow. I always thought Americans weren't that different from Canadians, just similar people with slightly different cultures. But I really cannot imagine what kind of place America must be to make the populace so terrified of getting killed in their sleep that they have to go to bed with a loaded firearm within arm's reach.

    70. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you confuse a right from a privilege.

    71. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A good start might be to find out which well regulated militia people are part of before selling them a weapon.

    72. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So because it worked a few centuries ago it still applies today? If the 'government' turns on you, who do you think is coming? A bunch of senators with guns? If you think for any second you can fight the U.S. Military (who you need guns to protect you from, but for some reason pay all of your taxes to?) you're 100% delusional.

    73. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're the type of paranoid fucktard that a proper mental health screening would prevent from ever owning a gun.

    74. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Every time there is a mass-shooting or similar, gun sales go up because the marketing department of the gun manufacturing lobby (NRA) goes into full swing about how the gubement is gona take yer guns. So this is perfectly timed to capitalize on the latest shooting.

       

      Hey moonbat, you have no effin' idea of what you're talking about. So, STFU. The best gun salesman in the US right now is the turd in the WHite House - ask any gun shop owner. Sorry, I forgot - you're a non-gun nut.

    75. Re:Not ill timed... by ageoffri · · Score: 1

      The real common sense approach that would be sensible is I can go buy any man portable firearm that I want. You are free to not buy any firearms. Then to really add common sense to the mix, everyone knows that education is the key to life. So require the Eddie Eagle program in pre-K through 1st grade. Then in late elementary or middle school, start firearm safety and proficiency courses. This would kill two birds with one stone. First it would reduce the illogical fear so many people have of firearms and second it would introduce safe handling and basic skills.

      --
      -- Slashdot, making the Left look conservative since 1997.
    76. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have absolutely no "low level fear" simply because I am armed and can and will defend my family and myself. Can you say the same? Thought not.

    77. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A sensible start would be, all guns locked away in gun clubs and in homes, jail time for carrying one outside the home or gun club.

      Because putting innocent people in jail is "sensible" ? What kind of person believes that?

       

      Liberals, for one, believe in that. People who tend to vote for the turd with a D after his/her name for another.

    78. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How many multiple-shootings did you experience in past years, and how many this year?

      I can't say I've paid attention, because the chances of me dying in a mass shooting are exponentially worse than the chances of my hitting a lottery.

      You want gun control?

      Cool. Let's start talking about handguns instead of scary black "assault" rifles. Let's start talking the problem of inner cities. Let's start talking Chicago.

    79. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ummmm. Yeah. They banned the .50 BMG round. No guns that shoot that ammo are allowed in California. Number of CRIMES committed with the .50 BMG in the entire US? None. Zilch. Nada. So, the round was banned just because some politicians didn't like it, not to solve any particular problem.

      Why the hell do you even need a .50 BMG anyway? Just what kind of trouble are you expecting, Son?

    80. Re: Not ill timed... by JazzLad · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Does the government have any reason to know how many cars you have?

      Forgive my cherry-picking, I only have time to address one of your items: The answer is no*

      *unless I am driving on public roads.

      If my gun is in my home, it is not the government's business. You could argue that if I carry in public, it is - and the car analogy kinda falls apart then because it suggests carrying in public means ok to require registration (I vehemently agree with several above, registration is a very slippery slope). The only counter I have (in the time I have) is in addition to (pretty much all) analogies being imperfect, we have also compromised that we can't have "any kind of gun" even in the privacy of our own homes (whereas I could have [to the best of my knowledge] pretty much any car - roadworthy or not - on my private property and be fine), I am limited** by draconian laws written in knee-jerk reaction to gangsters during prohibition.

      **Yeah, I know some of those are just a tax-stamp away, but I still can't have (for example) a P90.

      PS: For what it is worth, I'll scream for the govt staying out of both my life and yours.

      --
      "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." - Every fascist, ever
    81. Re:Not ill timed... by mccrew · · Score: 1

      I have noticed that you don't see any many terrorists trying shit in the southern states like TX, LA, MS, AL.....

      Fort Hood, TX.

      --
      Hey, Windows users, there is no such thing as "forward" slash, there is only slash and backslash.
    82. Re:Not ill timed... by k6mfw · · Score: 2

      Every time there is a mass-shooting or similar, gun sales go up because the marketing department of the gun manufacturing lobby (NRA) goes into full swing about how the gubement is gona take yer guns. So this is perfectly timed to capitalize on the latest shooting.

      I don't think they have to fire up their marketing dept, more people go to gun stores shortly after a mass shooting anyway. There are ***only two*** political positions. One group wants more regulation, the other wants less. Each group is so opposed to the other's views there will never be agreement (really, take a look at the replies. All are "you are anti-American, part of the problem," etc. and this is why nothing will ever get done). The more shootings the more gun sales, and the more drive for various political groups to push their cause. Meanwhile as the economy further tanks, there are more frustrated people, and some of them will take it out on others. I think the only certain thing is there will be more shootings, become more commonplace, and we will have to simply "live" with it like a third world country. Time to review that training video or take another course in how to deal with active shooter situations.

      --
      mfwright@batnet.com
    83. Re: Not ill timed... by crow_t_robot · · Score: 0

      How long after they confiscated the guns did it take before they started marching them to the FEMA death camps?

    84. Re: Not ill timed... by crtreece · · Score: 4, Informative

      Lots of things require registration & licensing.

      How many of them are rights specifically called out in the constitution?

      Name those cases.

      1911 - Turkey, 1935 - China, 1938 - Germany, 1964 - Guatemala, 1970 - Uganda. I'm sure these come up a lot, without any background info. This seems to have actual supporting documentation.

      are also the ones who want to impose their version of

      Nice job spinning the conversation on to an unrelated topic. OP didn't make any mention of religion, abortion, or homosexuality, and those have no direct relationship to gun control. Excellent example of the backhanded ad-hominem attack.

      --
      file: .signature not found
    85. Re: Not ill timed... by Notorious+G · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Keep in mind, though, the the second amendment starts with "In order to have a well-trained militia." So licensing gun owners is perfectly reasonable, requiring rigorous training is perfectly reasonable, and making guns unavailable to those who are not licensed is perfectly reasonable--in order to have a well-trained militia.

      If the reason for personal gun ownership was to prevent government tyranny, I would think that probably would have been spelled out. Don't you?

      No. The second amendment is "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." A part people get hung up on is the "well regulated" phrase and they think it means legal regulation. It does not. The phrase "well regulated" meant something different back then (similar to the way "gay" meant one thing in the 1920's and quite another today). At the time of drafting, well regulated meant essentially "well equipped". If you were to phrase it today, the second amendment should read, "A well equipped Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to possess weaponry, shall not be limited in any way."

    86. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    87. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, we've got one helluva winning streak going...

    88. Re:Not ill timed... by labnet · · Score: 2

      It must suck to live in country where you feel you need to have a gun close by to feel safe.

      --
      46137
    89. Re:Not ill timed... by clickety6 · · Score: 1

      Imagine living in a first world country where a mass shooting might be so common that it's not considered newsworthy!

      --
      ----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
    90. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Screw them....I have noticed that you don't see any many terrorists trying shit in the southern states like TX, LA, MS, AL.....

      Then you haven't been paying attention.

      I think its because most every one is loaded up to the teeth. Most folks I know carry loaded firearms (at least one) in their cars with them wherever they go. If Achmed trys some shit...he'd likely be getting caught in a hail of return fire LONG before the cops show up.

      If I recall correctly, the only thing that stopped Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi was an incredibly lucky couple of shots by a security guard.

    91. Re: Not ill timed... by labnet · · Score: 1

      Americans still look batshit crazy. I suppose when you grow up in that culture, it is hard to see what the rest of the world sees.

      --
      46137
    92. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, they did. They still have 'some' types of weapons. But they had to turn in most modern weapons, over 600,000.

    93. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can actually look things up, mass killings (4 or more dead) are on the rise, with more mass shootings this year than there have been days.

    94. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Free societies do need to impose limitations: you can't drive without a license, criminals are thrown in prison, murder is forbidden"

      Simply forbidding / banning a thing does not make it go away. Murder has been forbidden for quite some time yet we seem to have an inexhaustible supply of it the world over.

      Why the folks who think banning $evil_item will magically make the world a safer place is a mystery to me. Hasn't worked for thousands of years. . . . but it will work this time I swear :|

      After all, it's worked so well so far for just about every crime we have a law for :|

    95. Re: Not ill timed... by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      Many states have this [gun registration] requirement, including California.

      Another reason not to live in California.

      Thankfully, we still have states' rights (at least for now) so if you don't like the CA gun laws, you can move to a state where they are more to your liking.

      Just exactly how the US was set up originally...

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    96. Re: Not ill timed... by crtreece · · Score: 1

      It's wonderful that anonymous tough-guys can call people names on the internet. If you don't like the law, call a constitutional convention, and change it.

      --
      file: .signature not found
    97. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice attempt at diversion.
      You know damn well what was meant by that. Despite constant gaslighting, we have these politicians/bureaucrats (Obama, Feinstein, Holder) on record as supporting the idea of gun confiscation. Yet when we behave accordingly, as any other market for a good facing potential scarcity would, we're called "crazy".
      It's threadbare, guys. Give it a rest.

    98. Re: Not ill timed... by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      No they didn't. I live in Australia AND owned firearms at the time of the buy back. The weapons had to be registered and then if you wanted to continue keeping them you had to get yourself a license for those firearms. If you did that you didn't have to hand them in. Unless of course they fell into the new restricted categories (which one of my rifles did).

      Mandatory registration IS the first step in preventing guns falling into the hands of people that shouldn't have them, even by your own laws. It isn't the first step in taking them away from legal owners.

    99. Re: Not ill timed... by crtreece · · Score: 1
      Who do you think are members of the military? Most of them are American citizens that believe that those centuries old rules are worth protecting, with their lives if necessary. How many of them do you think are going to willingly deploy within their own country, in order to implement orders that essentially break their oath of office?

      Or are you thinking that the higher ups are just going to use drones and/or cruise missiles to take out resisting gun owners?

      --
      file: .signature not found
    100. Re: Not ill timed... by suutar · · Score: 1

      given that they didn't spell out the reason for any of the other amendments, I'm going to go with "no".

    101. Re:Not ill timed... by bigfinger76 · · Score: 1

      The state militias include every able-bodied male (white males originally).

    102. Re: Not ill timed... by Razed+By+TV · · Score: 1

      The thing that is finally starting to bug me is that guns with clips exist for one reason: killing people efficiently. That's what a gun is for. That is the purpose of a gun. Yes, you can take your semi-auto to the range, or to hunt, but that's not what it was created for.

      Do I think that responsible people should be allowed to own semi-auto guns? I used to think so. Not so much after this past year. I feel that people who would use guns for violence have spoiled it for the rest of us. I don't think the cost in lives is worth it.

      Bolt action, break action, pump action, anything that disallows for wholesale murder is fine with me. If you're really that afraid of your government, I'm not sure how much more semi-auto is going to help you against their fully automatic weapons, IR scopes, and night scopes.
      If you're really interested in defending your house from intruders, a pistol probably isn't the best choice if you care about your kid in the next room.

      I wouldn't be against registration of semi-auto weapons, but I wouldn't care if they took them away so it's a little moot. Registration of non-semi weapons might be a little overboard. I hadn't really considered them to be a problem.

    103. Re:Not ill timed... by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      JonnyCalcutta got modded down so I expect the same. But I don't have any fear of someone breaking into my home and hurting me or my family. It is absolutely true that break-ins occur where I live, but they are rare, and ever rarer are they home-invasions where people get assaulted. I could only find old numbers but there were 158 instances of home invasion in 1998. In a population of 22 million I would rather take those odds than the risks of keeping a loaded firearm in a house.

    104. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. The number of indiscriminate school/theater/mall/etc.. mass killings definitely seems to be trending toward zero. Why I remember hearing rumors of them happening all the time back in the 70's and 80's. The media just didn't report them as much because people weren't as interested back then. We should all just forget about this over-hyped nonsense and go see a movie. I hear the new Batman is supposed to be pretty good ;)

    105. Re: Not ill timed... by Viewsonic · · Score: 1

      It was created because at the time the USA had no standing military and relied heavily on the minutemen.

    106. Re: Not ill timed... by Zak3056 · · Score: 1

      But requiring someone to have a license to PURCHASE a gun, and some reasonable requirements to be met for that license really doesn't seem too horrible.

      Question: how is this different than...

      • A poll tax
      • Identification required to vote (this one has been a REAL hotbutton issue of late)
      • Requiring that you license your printing press (or the modern equivalent, the computer)

      In essence, that's really the argument that's being made here: that a civil right (one thought important enough at the time to be specifically mentioned in the bill of rights) be gated behind some administrative requirement. Historically, the Supreme Court has frowned VERY heavily on that sort of thing, except when applied to the 2nd amendment, and while it MAY "make sense" (depending on your point of view) it is certainly ignoring the spirit of the law.

      --
      What part of "shall not be infringed" is so hard to understand?
    107. Re:Not ill timed... by I+kan+Spl · · Score: 2

      Questions like, "Why do you need it" are irreverent if the ban has no effect on crime when the ban is said to help with crime. The 50BMG ban in California came about because one state senator made a press conference announcing that the 50BMG round had "heat seeking bullets", as if a chunk of lead had some active guidance system.

      The history of the cartridge was that some military equipment (ships, tanks) used it during WWII as a mounted gun designed to damage other pieces of large equipment. Mostly, it was an anti-truck gun. We attempted to use it for anti-air purposes as well, but it didn't work well for that unless the attacking planes were under 100 feet and the cartridges were fired from banks of machine guns mounted on large ships. The military today has all but phased out the use of this cartridge as it has been replaced more effective rounds. It is still used in some cases in an anti-material role to break truck engines, but even that is being replaced with the easier to carry 338 Lapua round.

      A rifle in 50BMG cartridge easily costs $10,000, weights an excess of 20lbs, and is usually 4 feet long. You'll spend an additional $5000 on the riflescope in addition to the rifle when you want to shoot it. The ammunition costs $5-$8 per shot. The recoil is such that anyone except the most trained folks will injure their shoulder when firing it. This is why they are never used in crime, they are just not practical for any self-defense or hunting use.

      They are extremely good at very long range target shooting though, and that sport is very challenging. You have to account for the curvature of the Earth and the direction the Earth is spinning in order to hit the target. A shooter will spend 20 minutes doing trig and calculus for each shot to calculate exactly how to hit the target.

      In reality, California banned a rifle that upper middle class folks used instead of golf clubs on private resorts specifically set up for long range shooting. The ban was designed to annoy gun owners, with no effects at all on public safety.

      --
      My UID is prime and so is this number: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0.
    108. Re: Not ill timed... by Whorhay · · Score: 2, Informative

      It happened in California recently. The state legislature changed the list of crimes, conviction for which, would strip the right to possess a firearm. They did not notify any of the affected people who had legally registered firearms, giving them time to sell or otherwise dispose of their guns. Instead they showed up on their doorsteps with SWAT teams.

    109. Re: Not ill timed... by RelliK · · Score: 1

      > 1911 - Turkey, 1935 - China, 1938 - Germany, 1964 - Guatemala, 1970 - Uganda. I'm sure these come up a lot, without any background info. This [mercyseat.net] seems to have actual supporting documentation.

      None of these cases had anything to do with gun registration. Stop parroting bullshit. Any *actual* examples where gun registration lead to genocide?

      --
      ___
      If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it.
    110. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People throw arguments like this until they need the government to come save them in some way, perhaps in the form of:
      - Police
      - Fire brigade
      - Welfare
      - Legal defense
      - Public housing
      - Education
      and so on.

    111. Re: Not ill timed... by FlyHelicopters · · Score: 1

      That mistake has been made by many people over the years...

      Syria has used advanced weapons to try and crush the rebels and hasn't done so for 4 years.

      Russia couldn't do it in the 80s in Afghanistan, we couldn't do it in the 70s in Vietnam.

      Never understimate citizen soldiers willing to do whatever it takes to defend their homes.

      After all, the British Army was the most powerful in the world in 1776, and few people in the world gave those silly upstart Americans any odds of winning, yet win they did.

      The US Army wouldn't stay in one piece either if turned against the people, parts would break off. Even if it was intact, the US Army has 8,000 tanks. You could put all 8,000 of them in LA and drive around for an hour and not see one.

      You could send the entire US Army into LA and it might get lost among the 18 million people.

    112. Re: Not ill timed... by crow_t_robot · · Score: 1

      Who the fuck says "fire brigade?" Is this 1848?

    113. Re: Not ill timed... by crtreece · · Score: 1
      I'd like to verify the requirements for this project. In order to meet your objective, I need to find legislation that is titled "Repeal of gun ownership privileges in the pursuit of genocide"?

      Welcome to the real world, where there are shades of grey, and there can be many smaller parts that contribute to a bigger picture.

      --
      file: .signature not found
    114. Re:Not ill timed... by DogDude · · Score: 1

      "Diversion"? I asked, AC, why gun people are so afraid of everything. I'm unarmed. I don't need to be armed to the teeth. I don't get what they're so damned afraid of.

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    115. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In addition, I would add to the car analogy:

      City dwellers may not be aware of this practice, but many states (can't be bothered to Google it right now) allow vehicles to be registered as for farm use which grants them exemptions from things like inspection or emissions requirements. One could argue that there is still a registration requirement but in my state, many farm use vehicles are even exempt from titling requirements.

      I bring this up to support your point that what you do with your stuff on your property is your own business, so long as you are not committing some other crime with said stuff. I also think that it would be a bureaucratic nightmare to attempt to issue some sort of exemption for firearms owners who might have perfectly legitimate reason to carry a firearm.

      First, there's self defense. "I leave work late at night" or "I live in a rough neighborhood" should suffice. And while I know the IRS technically keeps track of where I live and work, I'm not sure I need the government involved to decide what constitutes an unsafe environment on my behalf, much less what level of risk I should deem appropriate.

    116. Re: Not ill timed... by RelliK · · Score: 1

      You listed several cases of genocide and civil war. None of them support your "slippery slope" thesis that gun registration leads to genocide. Try again.

      --
      ___
      If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it.
    117. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you are far more likely statistically for that person breaking in to take that gun from you and use it against you than successfully use it for defense. You are actually at far higher risk of being killed by having the gun in your house ready for use. However for many people it does seem to act like a safety blanket providing them with a false sense of security.

    118. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Same Ac, accidentally hit submit (my phone has a shit keyboard)

      Secondly, I know plenty of people who carry guns for reasons of self defense, but it's nothing to do with fear of burglars or being mugged. They carry firearms because they might run into a bear. Who might not care for their presence but, being a bear, is not able to politely ask them to be on their way. If "I might run into a bear" is enough to grant a hypothetical firearms ownership exemption, it's overbroad enough to be useless from a practical perspective and, again, the government should not be in the business of telling me how much personal risk I should be willing to ensure just to go about my daily business. In addition, the caliber of handgun we're talking about here (.357 or .44 magnum in a lot of cases) is more than enough to wreck a human shot with it. What did Dirty Harry carry again?

      These are just two examples from the top of my head as to what registration scheme seems doomed to fail at actually curtailing gun violence in our country. And that's not even getting into other poster's concerns that registration is the first step toward confiscation.

    119. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seems reasonable to me (apart from the whites only bit, but anyway...)

      If the government can classify any male in a certain age bracket a "militant" simply by virtue of being a male in that age bracket, why is it unreasonable for me not be counted as a part of my state's militia, given that if I had brown skin and lived elsewhere, my age and gender would classify me as a militant?

    120. Re: Not ill timed... by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 2

      It's not going to go away, that's not even really the point. Even in countries where guns are banned, there is a non-zero number of gun deaths yearly. There are fewer, however, and that can be shown clearly. Murder has not gone away either, but I would argue that if there were not laws against it, and penalties for doing it, there'd be a whole lot more murders. Even assuming a sane world, it is at times easier to kill someone than to work around them.

      The problem is that the incidence of gun violence in the US (based on my data, loosely obtained) is about .01% yearly. Compared to other countries that have not outright banned guns, but which require licensing, we are at least 10x their incidence, in some cases much, much more. It seems like a simple thing like licensing might considerably reduce our gun issues, and not hurt or curtail the freedom of anyone that wants to own a gun and can demonstrate basic responsibility and sanity.

      I'm really not sure why a legit gun owner wouldn't want this, if only to ensure that one day public outrage won't get his guns taken away because bleeding hearts got upset over a total nutcase who shot up someplace. We already had a poorly thunk assault rifle ban that utterly failed to do anything but get a politician some votes. Anything we can do to reduce the number of whackjobs shooting places up that doesn't hurt anyone seems like we a thing we should do happily, without a fight.

    121. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you can't meet reasonable requirements to purchase a weapon, you should not be able to buy guns. Free societies do need to impose limitations: you can't drive without a license, criminals are thrown in prison, murder is forbidden, and you can't walk around nude (in most places).

      But the difference between unacceptable restrictions and acceptable restrictions are the details. The government shall issue a license, unless some legally defined criteria are not met. And those criteria need to be carefully chosen to ensure the government cannot be arbitrary. Perhaps felony convictions, perhaps mental illness diagnosed by a doctor, perhaps possessing certification that you have received firearms safety training meeting some curriculum requirement. The license cannot cost more than it takes to create (i.e. it's not a tax, not a wealth barrier), and no criteria for the license can exist that cannot be proven in documentation or argued in court. I left off "watchlist", those are always "secret" and you can't argue yourself off of one in any reasonable fashion. So we couldn't have stopped San Bernadino because our government is too busy being nefarious.

      Registering weapons does empower the government to find you and your weapons and have them removed. I'm definitely against that in all cases.

      If you can't meet reasonable requirements to have a child, you should not be able to conceive. Free societies do need to impose limitations: you can't drive without a license, criminals are thrown in prison, murder is forbidden, and you can't walk around nude (in most places).

      But the difference between unacceptable restrictions and acceptable restrictions are the details. The government shall issue a license, unless some legally defined criteria are not met. And those criteria need to be carefully chosen to ensure the government cannot be arbitrary. Perhaps felony convictions, perhaps mental illness diagnosed by a doctor, perhaps possessing certification that you have received parenting training meeting some curriculum requirement. The license cannot cost more than it takes to create (i.e. it's not a tax, not a wealth barrier), and no criteria for the license can exist that cannot be proven in documentation or argued in court. I left off "watchlist", those are always "secret" and you can't argue yourself off of one in any reasonable fashion. So we couldn't have stopped San Bernadino because our government is too busy being nefarious.

      Registering childrearing does empower the government to find you and your children and have them removed. I'm definitely for that in all cases.

    122. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It worked pretty damn well with drugs. I'm in my mid-40s and have never even seen an illegal drug.

    123. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Posting AC due to moderation.
      Depends on location... home invasions are not uncommon, and rural residents are particularly vulnerable as there are no neighbors to offer aid / call for help. When the prisoners escaped in upstate NY, the running joke was "all 2 residents of the county who did not already own guns are purchasing them now." Also, wild animals such as bears (though as a Canadian you probably are laughing at the thought). I can also see the argument in favor of gun ownership in a major city (I've called the police in NYC and waited an hour and a half for them to show up). In a standard middle class suburb though (where the majority of Americans live nowadays), that is when the potential need for one is so low that it becomes more dangerous to have one around.

      As for me personally? I have a samurai sword for home protection. A 40" blade offers a bit of range and grants you the upper hand against anyone except someone with a handgun.

    124. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly. In none of those cases did a government kill innocent people. Oh wait.

    125. Re:Not ill timed... by mjwx · · Score: 1

      But people DO break into houses, I'm guessing they do where you live too. They often carry weapons...at least a knife or club or whatever.

      Or far more likely a gun. If you have easy access to firearms, so do the criminals and lets face it. If they have broken into your house they have the drop on you. Now I'd rather a potential inturder only be armed with a knife or club as that means even unarmed, I have a fighting chance against them. If they have a gun they will be the ones blowing you away. However you'll find that not having easy access to guns turns criminals into complete and utter cowards, so much so that home invasions are not a common thing here in Australia.

      I prefer to have the option to blow them away

      What is far more likely is that your own kid blows themselves away. Or yourself. Even the NRA loves to parade the fact that the most gunshot victims are the victims of their own gun.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    126. Re:Not ill timed... by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 1

      But people DO break into houses, I'm guessing they do where you live too. They often carry weapons...at least a knife or club or whatever.

      No they don't. Burglars are violent only 7% of the time (plus or minus a point or two depending on the year). Of those violent burglars, only 12% of them had a gun at the time. (Just possession, not necessarily brandished or fired.) So burglars with guns? 0.8% of all burglaries.

      Burglars are some of the least violent physical criminals, if not the least violent. They are non-confrontational. You don't get to play out your happy little Rambo fantasy. When your house is burglarized and all of your guns stolen, you won't be home. Nobody will be. Not even the dog. Owning guns does not make you safer from burglars. It makes you less safe, because guns are an extremely attractive target to a thief. If you boast about your collection when you're at the range, you had better boast about your gun safe that's bolted to the basement floor too. Or Larry's shiftless cousin will be visiting your house some quiet weekday afternoon.

    127. Re:Not ill timed... by Charcharodon · · Score: 1
      ...or it might have something to do with all the leaders of the Liberal party talking about how we need to do something about gun violence before the bodies are even counted much less cold.

      I haven't seen too many NRA ads on TV taking a pro-gun stance but every media outlet has been plastered Obama and the rest of the criminals front and center within hours of each of the recent shootings.

    128. Re: Not ill timed... by Charcharodon · · Score: 1

      that is some fucked up logic. That would translate into "I didn't rape those women, I paid them what they were worth after I had (forced)sex with them>"

    129. Re: Not ill timed... by Charcharodon · · Score: 1
      We went through all that nonsense in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. It didn't work then and it won't work now.

      The funny thing was the arguments that tore it all the various gun control laws down were from the civil rights movement. You can't take someone's rights away even if you pass a law to do it. So thank all those women's, blacks, and gay activists for setting the legal precedence for gutting all the gun control laws in the US.

    130. Re: Not ill timed... by fche · · Score: 1

      "It isn't the first step in taking them away from legal owners."

      Didn't you say that you had to hand one of your "new restricted category" rifles in? Stockholm Syndrome much?

    131. Re: Not ill timed... by BoberFett · · Score: 1

      Not sure when they'll get around to death camps, but how's free speech doing down there?

      But nah, I'm sure they'll never take anything else away. Government only ever cares about it's citizens, it would never act against the people's interests...

    132. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You ONLY see these shootings in GUN FREE ZONES! Ever wonder why??????

      Look at Mexico - it's a disarmed country and how much gun violence do they have.....
      Look at England - they banned guns and the criminals now use knives on top of guns - so England banned the use of knives. Hell even Boy Scouts can't carry pocket knives now over there. And an old women was arrested for stabbing a burglar that broke into her house.

    133. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny thing is...it appears that overall, gun violence in the US has been in a downturn over the past number of years. It is just these "spree" killings that has seemed to have popped up lately.

      Okay, here's my wacko conspiracy theory on this.

      What I find interesting is, of the 30 largest mass shootings since 1949 (http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/us/20-deadliest-mass-shootings-in-u-s-history-fast-facts/index.html) half of them have taken place since Obama took power. That makes me think the FBI is behind at least some of them in order to try and push his political agenda (http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/05/01/230223/ny-times-fbi-foils-its-own-terrorist-plots). If you actually look at their scandal history, the FBI has never truly been a law enforcement agency, but instead has been used as the president's (or the power elite's) personal brute squad for most of their history.

    134. Re: Not ill timed... by swillden · · Score: 1

      Does the government have any reason to know how many cars you have?

      Forgive my cherry-picking, I only have time to address one of your items: The answer is no* *unless I am driving on public roads. If my gun is in my home, it is not the government's business. You could argue that if I carry in public, it is - and the car analogy kinda falls apart then because it suggests carrying in public means ok to require registration

      Dig a bit deeper.

      With respect to vehicles there is registration of the vehicle and licensing of the driver. These two government involvements have different purposes.

      Vehicle registration has three purposes. First, vehicles are titled and the titles are registered with the government because they're high-value items which would otherwise be even more at risk of theft. Titles and registration enable the government to keep track of who owns the vehicle so ownership transfers are done in a controlled way, making vehicle theft less attractive because the stolen vehicle cannot be used in a normal way. A vehicle can be used for a short period of time and then discarded or it can be chopped up for parts, and even that use is limited. So vehicle owners (who think about it) support titling and registration.

      Most guns aren't high-value items, and therefore gun owners wouldn't really benefit from titling and registration.

      Second, vehicles are registered so they can be taxed, to pay for the roads. There's no analogous public support for guns. Public gun ranges, I suppose, but those can be easily supported by use fees.

      Third, vehicles are registered so their safety and emissions characteristics can be controlled and managed. Cars with faulty brakes, broken windshields, nasty exhaust and other negative characteristics endanger everyone on the highway (and elsewhere). Some of this, like broken windshields, can be managed by on-the-highway policing, but other parts can't be. So annual registration provides a control point to enforce inspections.

      Faulty guns (e.g. broken safeties, etc.) could conceivably pose similar problems, but they're not sufficiently widespread to warrant a registration and inspection process.

      Then there's the licensing of the driver. You do not have to have a license to own or drive a vehicle, but you do have to have a license to drive on a public road. Similarly, you don't have to have a license to own or use a gun, but in most states you do have to have a license (concealed weapon permit) to carry a gun in public places. In both cases, the licensure offers the government a chance to ensure that people driving/carrying in public have the requisite education to be able to do so safely.

      So, the car/gun analogy is pretty good.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    135. Re: Not ill timed... by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      Americans still look batshit crazy. I suppose when you grow up in that culture, it is hard to see what the rest of the world sees.

      Ok, why should I give a flying fuck what the rest of the world sees the US like?

      If you like what your country does, live there an enjoy it, I don't judge you by the "strange" ways I see you let yourselves be ruled.

      We seem to like they way we are, if we want to change our internal ways, we will, but it would have 0% to do with what outside countries think of us.

      And frankly, if we're so bad..WTF do we have SO damned many people wanting to immigrate here or seek refuge here?

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    136. Re:Not ill timed... by swillden · · Score: 1

      The NRA is a de facto heat-shield for the gun-manufacturing lobby.

      Whenever a debate arises about the availability of guns that can kill lots of people very quickly, it's the NRA (not manufacturers) that speaks up in favor of keeping these guns in the marketplace.

      This is arguably true, but misleading nonetheless. It's misleading because it appears to imply that the NRA exists to front for the gun manufacturers. It may do that, but that's not why it exists. It exists to meet the goals of its individual members, who are also it's primary source of funding. It is true that the interest of those members, who like to be able to buy guns, align nicely with the interests of gun manufacturers, who like to be able to sell guns, but it's the former that the NRA serves.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    137. Re: Not ill timed... by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

      Who do you think are members of the military?

      If I recall correctly, they're the ones who rounded up American citizens and sent them to internment camps in 1942.

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
    138. Re:Not ill timed... by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      ...where as the vast majority of western Europeans, even though in many cases they *could* own a gun, would think "why would I want a gun?".

      Well, I can think of one reason right off to bat.

      They are a hell of a lot of FUN to shoot!!

      I love collecting them. I like to shoot them out at the range, or when we're out on someone's land where it is safe to knock off a few hundred rounds on an afternoon. If you like hunting, they are nice for that.

      I've done reloading of my own casings with friends and hope to get into that soon.

      Guns can be a lot of fun....and the fact that there there for self defense too is a plus. I mean, the cops are NOT there to prevent crimes, they are only there to come and investigate after one happens, they rarely get there in time to help.

      Hell, in New Orleans alone....response to an active crime from 911 calls take up to and over an hour in some parts of the city.

      It is up to YOU to defend yourself....

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    139. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds great, there should definitely be a license for other constitutional things too, like practicing religion and posting on forums. Sounds amazing. Let's get right on it. Maybe first we should have tests for voting, too. Sweet.

    140. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've never understood the line of thinking where "we can't completely fix problem X" is used as an argument for "we shouldn't try to do anything about problem X".

    141. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Drivers licenses, vehicular registration, insurance, license plates, social security/numbers, etc are all a prior restraint on the peoples right to be free from draconian legislation. None of these are reasonable or rational. You can arrest someone without requiring them to have a drivers license, you can seize a vehicle without someone having registered it, you can hold someone liable without them having insurance, you can pull someone over without a license plate, and social security is certainly a violation of my rights to be free from non-essential government interference in my life. And there is absolutely no reason I shouldn't be able to walk around nude no matter what you sensibilities are. Deal with it. There is *NO* harm to anyone else if I fail to get any of these things. On the other hand the government has no problem using violence against me if I choose not to obey.

    142. Re: Not ill timed... by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      Australia doesn't have the same obsession with owning guns that the US does. When the Port Arthur massacre occurred there was popular support for restricting ownership of firearms. The basic premise of the new laws were that you needed a valid reason to own one, and self defence is specifically excluded as a reason. Valid reasons include sport, hunting, or work (plus a few other specific niches). I am a competitive pistol shooter and so got a handgun license and licensed my pistols. I'm not a rifle shooter, and don't have a lot of interest in that class. I am also not a hunter. So I didn't have a reason for wanting to keep my crappy old ruger .22 rim fire semi-auto rifle.

      Whether or not you think those laws are justified or not, what the government didn't do was confiscate the weapons. What they did was put a framework around owning them and you could decide whether you wanted to work in that framework or not. If you decided to not operate in the framework they bought your gun off you.

      To be honest I don't believe that restricting gun ownership as such is what would make the difference in the US. Personally I think that storage of firearms, tracking where those firearms are, and making it much much harder for undesirables to access them will have the biggest impact. While the mass shootings grab the press the sheer number of firearm incidents in the US outside of the mass shootings is still crazy high. On top of that it appears that Americans are very willing to pull the trigger on each other, for what ever reason. While that remains the case gun control will only be a bandaid, a better question is why are people so willing to shoot other people there. Taking guns out of it the homicide rate in the US is nearly 4 times higher (3.8) than the rate in Australia, that is something I would be focussing on.

      As an aside, there are some REALLY annoying aspects to the Australian gun laws, particularly if you are a competitive pistol shooter. I like to shoot 10m air, Sport, Standard and IPSC. For that I need 4 different pistols. As a result I have to do a MINIMUM of 16 shoots a year, 4 with each pistol, in order to maintain my license to own them. God help me if I decided I wanted to use a different pistol in the same class as it adds another 4 shoots. It is really really hard to make sure you do 16 certified shoots a year as it is. Add into that, that the pistol I use for Sport comes in a kit that allows it to be chambered for two different calibres and so counts as 2 pistols BLERGH. I got round that by selling the larger calibre parts to my club.

      Another annoying one is the magazine restriction. I can only have a 10 shot magazine, which is annoying as hell in IPSC, but bizarely there are no limits on how many mags you can carry. So I have got really really really good at counting to 8, dropping the mag out and slamming in another from my belt. But that said I really hate 28 shot comps for that exact reason, your time goes right down.

      So what I am getting at is I don't think the Australian system is perfect, and I wouldn't recommend copying it wholesale. But I don't believe that registering your firearms is the first step to removing them from you. I believe that firearms should be treated as what they are. They are something that allows someone not very skilled to do a lot of damage, potentially even by accident. So you should have to keep them locked up, you should have to store the ammo separately and you should have to control their movement. I believe the saying of "with great power comes great responsibility" is absolutely the right way to think about guns.

      And if you are a responsible owner of a firearm, then responsible laws around them should have no impact on you at all.

       

    143. Re: Not ill timed... by fche · · Score: 1

      "Whether or not you think those laws are justified or not, what the government didn't do was confiscate the weapons. [...] If you decided to not operate in the framework they bought your gun off you."

      I mean really, of course that is confiscation.

      "And if you are a responsible owner of a firearm, then responsible laws around them should have no impact on you at all."

      That's a True Tautological Scotsman of regulation. If you agree to the "responsible" regulations, you will be free to enjoy living free of further impact of regulations. (Until they're changed again.) And if you disagree with the regulations, you weren't "responsible" in the first place.

      The statists have you trained well.

    144. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The thing about registration is that you don't need to register the guns - you need to register the *gun owners*.

      That said, would I be willing to be registered in exchange for certain benefits? Sure... as long as the benefits gave me the freedoms that are being denied. Re-open the NFA registry for new full auto stuff (actually, remove it... the govn't argued that Millers un-taxed FA wasn't normal military issue... what is issued today? FA SBRs...), give me nationwide concealed carry, same as a police officer under HR218....

    145. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "How many of them are rights specifically called out in the constitution?"

      How many rights established in the constitution don't have qualifiers defined in law?

    146. Re: Not ill timed... by KGIII · · Score: 1

      Do you know why the British were marching to Concord, New Hampshire?

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    147. Re: Not ill timed... by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      The British troops were sent to confiscate the American's guns because the Americans were using those guns to engage in armed insurrection.

      TFTFY.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    148. Re:Not ill timed... by KGIII · · Score: 1

      Heh... Do you know how much one of those rounds cost? *I* don't even like that price. Seriously, it's like $4 per round the last time I bought some. I like to go out and touch off a couple hundred rounds. That's like an $800 afternoon, more if I bring friends and have other firearms out.

      However, it's hard for it to not bring a smile to your face.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    149. Re:Not ill timed... by KGIII · · Score: 1

      You just need some collector, aficionado, or (better) licensed dealers as friends. ;-)

      I'm not in your area or I'd offer to hook you up, depending on what you were looking for. I probably have "too many" (there's no such thing) as it is. No, seriously, I probably have too many - as in, it'd take three men and a boy to move them all as well as their safes.

      Any specific model you were after? Use-case? Depending on your state laws, private sales over the internet *might* be possible. Consult a lawyer.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    150. Re: Not ill timed... by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      If you say so. Personally, I think the US has a problem, and a big one at that. Maybe it makes me a statist, or they have me well trained, but I am not a supporter of free for all gun ownership.

    151. Re:Not ill timed... by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      The NRA is a de facto heat-shield for the gun-manufacturing lobby.

      Whenever a debate arises about the availability of guns that can kill lots of people very quickly, it's the NRA (not manufacturers) that speaks up in favor of keeping these guns in the marketplace.

      This is arguably true, but misleading nonetheless. It's misleading because it appears to imply that the NRA exists to front for the gun manufacturers. It may do that, but that's not why it exists.

      That may not be why the NRA was created, but that is in fact what it has become. As I said, a de facto heat-shield for the gun industry.

      It exists to meet the goals of its individual members, who are also it's primary source of funding.

      A long time ago perhaps, but not any more. Less than half of its revenues come from program fees and dues. The bulk of its revenues comes from "contributions, grants, royalty income, and advertising, much of it originating from gun industry sources."

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    152. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wouldn't expect a micro dick ammosexual to be rational in any way. You prove the theory.

    153. Re:Not ill timed... by swillden · · Score: 2

      Less than half of its revenues come from program fees and dues. The bulk of its revenues comes from "contributions, grants, royalty income, and advertising, much of it originating from gun industry sources."

      Nope. It is true that just under 50% of the NRA's revenues come from membership dues, but another quarter comes from individual contributions. This means that nearly 3/4 of its revenues come from individuals. Another 5% comes from selling merchandise. Really, there's no reason to read half-baked slanted summaries. The NRA's income tax filings are available and break all of this down.

      But if you like summaries, here's a better one, complete with a nice pie chart: https://www.quora.com/Where-do...

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    154. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The British troops were sent to confiscate the American's guns because the Americans were using those guns to engage in armed insurrection.

      TFTFY.

      You kind of made his point for him. You can't have an armed insurrection without the arms, therefore anything that facilitates the confiscation of arms is problematic.

    155. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fort Hood, TX.

      Gun-free zone.

    156. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because if you're a peasant in a war torn third world shithole it's a step up to become a peasant in a violence torn developing country shithole like the USA.

      The only reason 50 million Mexicans don't try to get to Europe is that they can't walk there.

    157. Re:Not ill timed... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      I'm not worried about a low level of fear...I very seldom think about it.

      But people DO break into houses, I'm guessing they do where you live too. They often carry weapons...at least a knife or club or whatever.

      I live in a large city and sleep with my front door open to the street. I have no weapons and never needed them.
      I never lock my door even when I go out, same applies to my car.
      Sure someone somewhere is commiting crime around here, but becasue I don't watch much news perhaps I'm not living the same level of fear that you are.

    158. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah....except the British sent a small force of second rate military to fight the French in the Colonies.

      The local rabble were a mere irritant. The French won the war.

      They really do teach you nothing there huh ?

    159. Re: Not ill timed... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      the government has absolutely NO reason to know how many or what weapons I have. I"m law abiding, not committing crimes with them, and therefore they have no need to know.

      Same should apply to cars too right? Do you have a license?

    160. Re: Not ill timed... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      PS: For what it is worth, I'll scream for the govt staying out of both my life and yours.

      Until someone bigger and uglier comes along and fucks your shit up, then you''ll complain like a bitch that they're not doing enough to look after you...

    161. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ".....nor the reasons our Country was founded." Ahhhh....the treacherous rabble who stabbed their benefactors in the back in the pursuit of a quick buck from their smuggling rings, and who refused to bear any of the costs of being protected during the previous Indian Wars ? Or do you mean the religious lunatics who were thrown out of Europe and fled over the Atlantic keeping a scarce foot ahead of the hangmans noose for treason a few hundred years earlier ?

      Which reason do you mean exactly ?

    162. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Didn't the Supreme Court already strike down a DC law concerning trigger locks or requiring the gun in the home to be in a disassembled state by reasoning that the intent of such laws was to render the weapon ineffective and unavailable for use when needed, thereby destroying the right granted by the 2nd amendment?

    163. Re: Not ill timed... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      How many of them are rights specifically called out in the constitution?

      I find it funny that you treat this piece of paper as some unquestionable truth that must be obeyed. That is pretty much how religions work.
      As a thinking human, I like to think that human values and rights can be discussed and questioned at any place or time, not only in one specific window of time around the end of the 18th century.

    164. Re: Not ill timed... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      And, since past history has shown what happens to people who register their firearms,

      Does it? Where exactly? We have to register our firearms and we have a higher standard of living than you. So history shows our policy to gun ownership is better than yours.
      Perhaps you should be less worried about what might happen in the 18th century, and pay more attention to the 21st century you live in? Americans seem have some Amish complex where they think the peak of humanity was reached sometime around 1850...

    165. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not the NRA going into full swing on that, it's the lying, constitution-trampling, tyrant in the oval office. Just whip out another executive order and violate the 2nd amendment once again.

    166. Re: Not ill timed... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      If you were to phrase it today, the second amendment should read, "A well equipped Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to possess weaponry, shall not be limited in any way."

      Not likely. If the second amendment was tabled today it wouldn't get passed. There's a reason it's called progress, becasue as time goes find better ways to approach the same problems

    167. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The government shall issue a license, unless some legally defined criteria are not met. And those criteria need to be carefully chosen to ensure the government cannot be arbitrary.

      Here in California laws aren't shall issue. They may issue the license, but only if the arbitrary "just cause" is satisfied. The person who determines what is and is not "just cause" is the local sheriff and the law is purposely vague such that "just cause" is basically whatever the sheriff personally decides it is. Finally, there is no appeal of the sheriff's decision and no legal recourse if the request is denied. Finally, it's now illegal to open carry any firearm anywhere in California. So here is the situation: Open carry is illegal in California, and concealed carry is subject to arbitrary and capricious restriction without due process. The laws, in combination, have effectively destroyed the 2nd amendment right. There are many cases currently winding their way through the state courts here in California concerning these and other rights-destroying gun laws:

      California Open Cary

    168. Re: Not ill timed... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      No they didn't. I live in Australia AND owned firearms at the time of the buy back. The weapons had to be registered and then if you wanted to continue keeping them you had to get yourself a license for those firearms. If you did that you didn't have to hand them in.

      And do you remember what happened immediately afterwards? The King of England invaded and raped your wife! Not so smart now eh?

    169. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you think some people's lives are worth less than others? That they should not be allowed the opportunity to defend their own life if it should come down to it?

    170. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And yet the don't head south either.. Land of Free Shit is what everyone's migrating for.

    171. Re:Not ill timed... by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      Another thing that I find odd is what appears to be the American willingness to shoot each other. The number of posts I have read recently which run along the lines of "I'd shoot police coming to take my guns!" is insane. And of course most of those people are just keyboard warriors but still, it's a scary how comfortable people appear to be with shooting people in America.

    172. Re: Not ill timed... by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      Whoa. WTF? Sorry my brain isn't working fast enough to get that to make sense.

    173. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your first paragraph might be accurate, but the second contains many lies that the Left loves to use over and over. You speak as if violent home invasions never happen. Go google your city name along with "home invasions" and see some of the things people are capable of.

      And yes, despite the Left's claims that people with guns will always shoot their family members or themselves, or have their guns used against them before they can react, people with guns DO actually defend their homes with weapons. That's not an isolated incident, either. You'd know this too, if you were honest about this discussion and based your opinion on logic and facts instead of emotion and fearmongering.

    174. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're unarmed? Sounds like you're an easy target to me. Just sayin'. (And in case anybody is stupid enough to not realize it, no, that was *not* a threat.)

    175. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Answer honestly - some guy decides that he wants to rape and kill (so there's no witness) your mom/daughter/wife/girlfriend (pick a female in your life you respect and love very much).

      What would you prefer she do?

      1 - Call 911.

      2 - Shoot the son of a bitch dead.

      Those are her only two real choices, which would you choose? Now, go ask her what SHE would choose.

    176. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I want to have as much force available as humanly possibly to defend my home, loved ones and property.

      So, where do you keep the grenades?

      You mention people breaking in my house, but it's a matter of probabilities. How many places get broken into here where I live? Does it justify having a gun by my side every time I go to bed? Does it justify having it stolen when I leave it next to bed and they break in during the day, when I'm not home? Most of us, living outside of the US, have concluded it doesn't make sense to keep guns around...

    177. Re:Not ill timed... by matfud · · Score: 1

      In what world do you live in. In England the vast majority of burglaries are when nobody is home. There are some cases of vulnerable people being conned into letting a fake official in to read a meter or check for leaks. But you wouldn't shoot them as the owner doesn't tend to know valuables are missing until much later.

    178. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just out of curiosity... Where do you live?
      I don't know that many places where people don't feel like they need to lock their doors... must be great.

    179. Re:Not ill timed... by Citizen+of+Earth · · Score: 1

      A sensible start would be, all guns locked away in gun clubs and in homes

      What if you don't live at a gun club?

    180. Re: Not ill timed... by fche · · Score: 1

      "Personally, I think the US has a problem, and a big one at that."

      It has several problems.

      "Maybe it makes me a statist, or they have me well trained,"

      No, that does not make you a statist. Embracing state control of your life, lying to yourself about whether confiscation is occurring or not, lying to yourself about whether responsibility and regulation are so intimately tied -- that makes you a statist.

      "I am not a supporter of free for all gun ownership."

      Fine, at least that is an arguable position (though literally "free for all" is a straw man position).

    181. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why are so many Americans so scared in their own homes? Is there really that many violent home break-ins?

      Not trying to disparage anyone with the above but it is hard for outsiders from other first world countries to comprehend.

      I'd say the other reasons such as armed rebellion against the government etc are just nonsense trotted out by deluded fools whereas self defence is at least a valid if seemingly (to me) paranoid and depressing reason.

    182. Re: Not ill timed... by ProfBooty · · Score: 1

      Full auto is only really good at suppression, and mass fire. For the individual, a semi auto and accuracy is superior. IR and night vision scopes are legally purchasable by the public.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      His 90 minute rampage killed 14 people and injured 32 more largely using a bolt action hunting rifle and shooting from long distances from the top of a clock tower.

      Attacks like his are infrequent, but can cause far more panic over a wider area. For example, the DC area spent 3 weeks in a panic as the DC sniper killed 10 people.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Using a bolt action rifle rather than a semi-auto would have had the same effect.

      --
      Bring back the old version of slashdot.
    183. Re: Not ill timed... by crtreece · · Score: 1
      Where did you get the idea that I have some unbending, unquestionable loyalty to an existing set of rules? We seem to be having a discussion about them now. This is an issue that has been a topic of discussion since the 18th century, and still is open for discussion.

      Are you trying to say that setting up a system of rules for society, which includes a number of methods to change the rules, is an archaic 18th century idea? If you have some better method of managing society, perhaps you would share it with us.

      --
      file: .signature not found
    184. Re: Not ill timed... by PauloftheWest · · Score: 2

      Not likely. If the second amendment was tabled today it wouldn't get passed. There's a reason it's called progress, becasue as time goes find better ways to approach the same problems

      That is why they wrote it down as an amendment, because they knew the tyranny would return (the book "The Founders’ Second Amendment" has tons of references on this.)

      --
      ~Less think, more do
    185. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obvious troll is obvious

    186. Re:Not ill timed... by SomeoneFromBelgium · · Score: 1

      The *average* person in the US has a 30% chance their home will be broken into, while they are home, over the next 10 years.

      Are you sure about this number? It seems awfully high. It would seem that burglary is a bigger problem in the US than here in Belgium.
      I just looked at the statistics (208 burglaries/day on a population of 11 mil.) this comes down to about 15% chance of a burglary in 10 years...

    187. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You should have used the sarcasm tag, because I don't think RelliK is going to understand otherwise.

    188. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      " the whole 'right to bear arms' doesn't sound like a healthy mindset to me."

      Well, if you're English, I understand that - you folks don't believe in the premise of self-defense.

      Here in the US we believe that folks have the right to defend their lives and their possessions, and guns are the most effective way to do so.

    189. Re:Not ill timed... by DogDude · · Score: 1

      Sounds like you're an easy target to me.

      In real life, in the United States today, I'd say that whoever posts something like this has some mental illness that probably needs to be addressed. There's a level of paranoia(?) there that's not healthy.

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    190. Re: Not ill timed... by JazzLad · · Score: 1

      Huh, what an insightful post. Surely you have reviewed my posting history and discerned that while I claim to not want a meddlesome government, what I really want is a nanny state to take care of me. Pride swells in my heart for Slashdot that our ranks are growing (quite recently, in your case) with professional psychoanalysts that provide such thoughtful discourse without thought of remuneration.

      What was that sarcasm flag again?

      --
      "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." - Every fascist, ever
    191. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "In both cases, the licensure offers the government a chance to ensure that people driving/carrying in public have the requisite education to be able to do so safely."

      Ok. I have a plan - let's teach about guns in school. Mandatory for everyone. Then, when you graduate high school (and should at that point be a responsible adult), you are automatically issued a license to own, buy, carry a gun. If you commit certain crimes, that license can then be revoked, but they'd have to be very serious crimes that put lives or personal safety at risk.

      There's no need for gun registration, and you really don't know who owns a gun, as the sales are not registered - why would they need to be? So a stolen gun can be returned to its owner? Well, if I have a gun stolen and report the theft to police, I'll give them the serial number. Prior to that, they have no need of that information. Then when the gun is recovered, they know who it belongs to and can return it. In the case of guns they don't have the info for, they could post the serial number on a board, and the dealers could look there. If they can show that they had ownership of that weapon before it was sold to an individual, they can take possession, and they can return it to the owner for a small fee. If the owner is unavailable, the gun could be sold and the profit split between the shop owner and the city. That's just one idea. Work out the details on who sells it and who gets the money, but don't destroy the weapons - there's no reason for destruction of weapons, unless they're irreparably damaged, and even then, they should be sold for parts.

    192. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Until someone bigger and uglier comes along and tries to fuck your shit up, then you have to shoot their ass

      FTFY

    193. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you one of those folks who don't believe in the right of self defense?

      That's where England is today. If you injure someone who is trying to hurt you, YOU go to jail. This actually makes sense to people? THAT is something I can't wrap my brain around. The right to defend yourself against harm by others has to be the absolutely one of the most basic rights there is, immediately behind breathing and eating. Yeah, I know, if governments could figure out how to regulate those last two, they would, and some businessman would make money off of them.

    194. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good! You finally realized that the 2nd Amendment is largely based on the idea that the citizenry has the right to armed insurrection as a means of redressing government gone terribly wrong, presumably after the more civilized means have failed or been eliminated by said government. In the US, the basic idea is that the government has power only with the consent of the governed, thus the governed have the right to revoke government power, by force as a last resort if necessary. Of course, during colonial times, the King quite naturally saw things differently; we disagreed, so then followed insurrection, revolution, and independence.

      - T

    195. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm going to go a bit pedant first - "guns with clips". Very few guns use clips. And these clips are used to reload a magazine. And most magazines cannot be reloaded with a clip, at least pistol magazines. Please use correct terminology, or you weaken your arguments by displaying your ignorance. If you don't know the basics, why should we trust your insight?

      Let's go on a hog hunt. We'll give you the bolt-action (see how nice I am? I'm not going to leave you with only a single-shot rifle - that would be downright cruel!), I'll gladly use my semi-auto, you know, the one with the magazine that holds 20 rounds. I'll use a few of those rounds to save your ass when the hog charges you after you piss him off with your first shot.

      See? There IS a perfectly valid reason for rifles with removable magazines.

    196. Re: Not ill timed... by crtreece · · Score: 1
      Touche! I wonder how many of those doing the job of interring the japanese-americans were of japanese heritage themselves.

      I'd expect that those involved would justify their actions with "it's part of the war effort, and we are helping keep the nation safe". Typing that out makes me a little scared to think about what current military would think about such an order regarding firearm owners. Hopefully there would be enough pushback that it wouldn't happen.

      --
      file: .signature not found
    197. Re: Not ill timed... by JazzLad · · Score: 1
      You've obviously given the analogy more thought than I, thanks for your insight (I completely agree with the following caveat).

      Most guns aren't high-value items, and therefore gun owners wouldn't really benefit from titling and registration.

      I'm not aware of anyone registering their jewelry with the government - their insurers, sure, but not the government. I personally think registering my car with an insurance company is plenty and don't feel the government really adds much benefit ... but, I register it because I want to drive on public roads - if I didn't, I would not register it (insure it if I considered it high-value, my current car, heh, I don't even insure [I have coverage in case I hit someone else, but just liability]).

      --
      "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." - Every fascist, ever
    198. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Do I think that responsible people should be allowed to own semi-auto guns? I used to think so. Not so much after this past year. I feel that people who would use guns for violence have spoiled it for the rest of us. I don't think the cost in lives is worth it."

      Ok, so you take away the semi-autos. Using a bolt action well, at a distance, is hard. What's a mass-murderer to do? Explosives. THIS is what scares me most about this push to eliminate certain guns - I'd rather be shot at than blown up. You're gonna force these guys to figure out that making explosives really isn't that hard.

      True, the SB couple had defective bombs - believe me, the next group will make sure their bombs will work before they deploy them.

    199. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Same should apply to cars too right? Do you have a license?"

      For my car? No. They have no need to know how many cars I own. I can buy any car at all and not register it, and drive it as much as I want, UNLESS I wish the privilege of using public roads. If I have my own roads, I need never register ANY vehicle.

    200. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "The chief grievance that led to the American Revolution was "No taxes without representation"."

      True.

      In response, the colonists tossed a bunch of tea into Boston harbor. Kind of a non-violent protest. No shooting.

      British started arresting folks for being terrorists. Still no shooting.

      British said "turn in all your guns and gunpowder (ammunition). Shooting started.

      Fair summation?

    201. Re:Not ill timed... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      * California may not have the strictest gun laws, and mass shootings seem to be a lot commoner here than in Europe. * Where are you reading stories of people using guns to prevent bad things from happening? I never noticed that back when I read the newspaper completely. * Violent video games don't seem to drive crime, which has decreased while violent video games got more popular.] * The US is theoretically a developed, first-world, nation. Comparing the US to less developed countries is not helpful. * That looks an awful lot like cherrypicking, in that Norway, Finland, Slovakia, and Switzerland are small sections of Europe that have had unusual (by European standards) shootings. Compare the US with Europe, or compare individual US states to individual European countries, if you want to clarify anything. * I tried looking Carol Browne up on Google and Wikipedia, and got nothing firearm-related. Nor have you said how gun control adversely affected her. Remember that guns are iffy at best in self-defense, and most people will be reluctant to shoot someone else. Given a criminal against an ordinary citizen with a gun, the ordinary citizen is likely at a disadvantage. * Waco was a special case. It is possible to make bombs, but it doesn't seem to happen anywhere near as much as mass shootings. If we can cut the number of mass shootings, we likely eliminate a lot of terrorist activity. * Your apparent disagreements with politicians are irrelevant to gun control, and the narco-submarines are small boats. There are multiple companies that want to sell you submarines of roughly equivalent size. * What relevance does less prosecution have? Is it political in basis, and if so why is that relevant? * I'd bet that 3D gun printing won't much alter the differences in gun violence by first-world country.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    202. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "as time goes find better ways to approach the same problems"

      Ok, I'll bite - give me your better way that a 90-pound woman can defend herself against a 200-pound assailant intent on doing her grievous bodily harm.
      A rape whistle? Great, now you have a rapist who is deaf in one ear.
      Mace? Doesn't work on everybody - google the cop who maced a guy in a car and was then, maybe three to five seconds later shot DEAD by that same individual.
      Taser? Maybe, but if two guys approach her, she's screwed - literally.
      Gun? BINGO! Preferably one with a hefty magazine capacity, in case there is more than one assailant, or he's on drugs that make him resistant to being put down.

      I'm waiting.

      Phasers? Ok, I'll buy that - where can I get one?

    203. Re:Not ill timed... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Do you actually plan to start shooting without identifying what you're shooting at, and before you've completely woken up? Well, I guess nothing could possibly go wrong with that.

      I'm sorry to hear that keeping guns in safes would prevent using them for hunting or shooting wild animals.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    204. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You didn't mention India. Why would that be?

      Maybe because Mohandas Gandhi himself said (in his autobiography, no less!) “Among the many misdeeds of British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest”.

      Please correct me if I'm wrong ... wasn't he a pacifist?

      Too funny - captcha is "disarm" Lol!

    205. Re:Not ill timed... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I don't see how armed civilians would have changed the Aurora theater shooting noticeably.

      The gunman stood where he was hard to see, and used some sort of smoke or mist to obscure vision further. If you're firing into an area where you know a person has to be, you're going to miss most of the time. It would take massed fire to have some confidence of taking the guy out.

      The gunman had a good view of the audience, and would likely shoot someone lining up a shot.

      When people are getting shot, people are trying to run away, and that's difficult in a theater. Most non-criminals want to make sure they can get off a clean shot, which would be difficult to do without risking another civilian popping up in the line of fire.

      You do realize that there have been civilians with guns at some mass shootings, don't you? There was at least one at the recent Oregon shooting, for example. You seem to be assuming that a good guy with a gun will always take down a bad guy with a gun, without causing further havoc (consider that guy who shot at carjackers, missed them, and hit the victim in the head).

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    206. Re: Not ill timed... by Sibko · · Score: 1

      This also happened in Canada, sans SWAT teams.

      The RCMP reclassified some firearms after they had been classified and legally sold in Canada. Overnight they made many thousands of Canadians into criminals through no fault of the citizens. Literally their firearms were legal to own one day, then illegal to own the next. Even worse, the criminal codes in Canada demand minimum sentencing (I believe, 3-5 years) if indicted for gun-related crimes, like owning a prohibited weapon. So even if the judge took pity on the citizens involved, they would have been facing jail time no matter what. Thankfully the RCMP and government didn't actually go after anyone.

      After this happened, the Conservatives passed some legislation taking away the ability of the RCMP to reclassify firearms like this. In addition to some smaller things like integrating the ATT (Authorization to transport form) from being a separate piece of paper to being a part of your firearms license, and allowing your guns to be taken away if you're ever accused of domestic abuse.

      Speaking of the RCMP and government going after people - We had a short-lived firearm registry, it didn't help solve any crimes, it cost a lot of money, and it ultimately got scrapped. But that didn't stop the RCMP from keeping the list of registered firearms in their database anyways, nor did it stop them from using that list to illegally confiscate firearms during flooding in Alberta a few years ago.

      Anyone who says that gun registration preceeds gun confiscation is 100% correct. The actions of the Canadian government and RCMP have proven it.

    207. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Teach it in schools. Start in elementary school, through high school. make it a requirement that everyone learn about them, including how to shoot them (unless a verified conscientious objector, but make the bar on that a bit high). When you graduate high school, you automatically get that license. Subject to revocation if you commit serious felonies that involve personal injury or death.

    208. Re: Not ill timed... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      It is, but I'm looking forward to using it when arguing with feminists.

      "So if she regrets it the morning after, it's rape? That's like saying if he leaves $10 tucked into her torn-off panties, it's prostitution."

    209. Re: Not ill timed... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      I bring this up to support your point that what you do with your stuff on your property is your own business, so long as you are not committing some other crime with said stuff.

      Surely 'my gun on my land is my business so the state has no right interfering' has the same arguments and justifications as 'I killed you on this land and the state has no right interfering as it's now my land'

      Face it, the land doesn't belong to you. The state kindly grants you a number of freedoms associated with control of that land, but avoiding registration of guns could be a freedom that they don't grant.

      If you disagree, try seceding from your state.

    210. Re: Not ill timed... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      No, good points. I too can't believe that Australia doesn't consider self defence a justifiable reason for gun ownership, what with all those bears, wolves and lions running around.

    211. Re: Not ill timed... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      That's where England is today. If you injure someone who is trying to hurt you, YOU go to jail.

      As someone living in England, I should inform you that you're talking nonsense.

      Self defence is legal, permissible and a valid defence in law here.

    212. Re: Not ill timed... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      The thing that is finally starting to bug me is that guns with clips exist for one reason: killing people efficiently. That's what a gun is for. That is the purpose of a gun. Yes, you can take your semi-auto to the range, or to hunt, but that's not what it was created for.

      Bullshit. Killing people is one of its potential uses, but that doesn't invalidate its other uses, remove the markets for guns that allow those other uses or prevent the gun manufacturers and customers from creating and buying weapons for those uses.

      Shit, design a gun incapable of shooting other people but able to instakill a coke can at 200 paces and I'll buy it. Shooting guns is fun.

    213. Re: Not ill timed... by Cederic · · Score: 1
    214. Re: Not ill timed... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      So either issue a rifle and a rocket launcher to every muslim in America or accept that you don't support armed insurrection at all.

      You could, maybe, I don't know, arm a militia instead of letting every cunt in America buy any fucking firearm they like.

      Before you reply: I know they can't buy _any_ firearm they like, but on the flipside half the cunts in America also don't own any firearms

    215. Re:Not ill timed... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      For a start, I'd tell her to learn some new fucking choices, and right now.

      Anybody willing and capable of killing and raping a woman has a very good chance of being able to prevent her shooting him too. So relying on that as the sole defence is pretty fucking stupid.

      Or just move somewhere that this isn't a regular issue or a terribly high risk. I mean, I've managed to go my entire life without knowing anybody that's been raped and killed.

    216. Re:Not ill timed... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      How many left wing theocracies are there?

      Authoritarianism could be an extreme on either wing but the theocracies seem to adopt facism which would put them on the right.

    217. Re:Not ill timed... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      ou don't think, for a second, that common people, without being "told what to do" by the NRA or Fox are arming themselves just out of common sense?

      Nope. 'Oh noes, criminals, terrorists, home invaders. I have to army myself' is more likely to lead to 'how the fuck did that 2 year old kill my wife' than 'I shot dead a criminal that would have killed me otherwise'.

    218. Re: Not ill timed... by swillden · · Score: 1

      Yeah, the value thing is just one of the reasons. On its own it wouldn't be sufficient.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    219. Re:Not ill timed... by cwsumner · · Score: 1

      The state militias include every able-bodied male (white males originally).

      Actually, that was a hundred years later. Originally there was no such restriction. And even later, it was not in every state.

    220. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "you can't drive without a license"

      Tell that to most of the illegals in Texas! And the fun part - because they don't have a license, none of the penalties apply that apply for licensed drivers, because ... wait for it ... THEY DON'T HAVE A LICENSE!!! Yes, our laws really ARE that stupid.

    221. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We SHOULD do something, but only if it actually has a chance of actually fixing the problem. Instead of more laws, or registration, or anything else, how about we just enforce the laws already on the books? Seriously, because a lot of our gun laws are simply being ignored, or maximum sentences are not being handed out. WHY? If Bad Johnny is on his fifth gun conviction, why is he getting a four year term instead of the ten year maximum (to use Chicago as an example)? I think anyone should get the maximum after their second conviction - when you come up for number three on, you get the maximum, with no possibility of reduction, but that does . not . happen. But we're "tough on crime". Yeah.

    222. Re: Not ill timed... by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

      Typing that out makes me a little scared to think about what current military would think about such an order regarding firearm owners. Hopefully there would be enough pushback that it wouldn't happen.

      Responsible firearm owners are mainstream, so there's no way that would happen. But you know something? The mainstream majority almost always doesn't need its rights protected. It's protecting the rights of minorities that makes something like of a Bill of Rights meaningful.

      On that note, if you want an interesting thought experiment, imagine what would have happened if all those Japanese-American citizens were armed and were willing to use their guns to defend themselves against a government which was determined to take away their civil rights. This is, after all, one of the "gun nut" slogans, right? How well do you think that would have worked out?

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
    223. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First, the rocket launcher probably doesn't fit with the intent of the framers with respect to the 2nd amendment. Second, it's not the proper role of government to equip citizens (Muslim or not) with armaments, presumably funded via taxation, any more than it is to provide them with Bibles (or Korans and so on), or health care. Third, we don't require the other half of the populace to acquire firearms for much the same reason we don't require voting, which half or more of also don't do - both are considered rights, not enforced responsibilities.

      Furthermore, if every Muslim citizen and legal immigrant in the US legally allowed to do so were to purchase an "assault weapon" tomorrow, I'd have no problem with that. I would hope that they would sign up for safety classes and other instruction at the same time, but that's about the extent of my concerns.

      Also, the phrasing "support armed insurrection" seems calculated to elicit an emotional response similar to the phrasing "pro-abortion". I don't know anyone who loves the idea of armed insurrection, nor any who love the idea of abortion. I do know people who are staunch supporters of 2nd amendment rights, just like me; I also know people who are pro-choice, just like me. Nice try at emotional manipulation through choice of phrasing, but no participation ribbon for you.

      Wait, you didn't specify "Muslim" with the intent of scaring me into an answer contrary to my own opinions did you? Gosh, no, based on your posting history on this topic, you surely wouldn't try a foolish rhetorical (and baldly discriminatory) trick like that...

      You should be ashamed of yourself for trying to use "Muslim" as a scare tactic. Most Muslims, like most people in general, including US gun owners, are basically peaceful. At least everyone can now see you for exactly the sort of person you truly are, some kind of mini-Trump.

      - T

    224. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry dude, you're scared. You're scared about burglars, you're scared about "Achmed" (ya racicst fuck), you're scared about whatever boogyman of the month is. You "need" your guns as a security blanket- just like scared little kids. You can put as much lipstick on that pig you want but the fact is, you're scared.

    225. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really? Who's spinning around here? Damned near every mass shooting we've had has been based on religion, abortion, or homosexuality. It happens all the time. But you conservative types want us to ignore why your fellow conservative brethren keep doing shit like this.

    226. Re: Not ill timed... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      It was a joke. The second Amendment was designed to prevent the King of England invading...

    227. Re: Not ill timed... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      That is why they wrote it down as an amendment, because they knew the tyranny would return (the book "The Founders’ Second Amendment" has tons of references on this.)

      The tyranny is that you are handcuffed by a document written over 200 years ago. There's some good stuff in there, but like any historical wisdom, not all of it relevant today.

    228. Re: Not ill timed... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      It's quite naive to think that a Slashdot user wouldn't create new accounts every so often.
      I've been here since before your UID was created, and one thing I've learnt in that time is to always argue the point, not the person....

    229. Re: Not ill timed... by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      I'm gratified to see my little barb actually sparked some interesting discussion.

      Did I not call the thing for what it is?

      I sincerely doubt that any court in the US is going to rule in favour of anyone's "right to armed insurrection", no matter how it's phrased.

      In any event, thank you, Cedric and "T". Coffee's ready now if either of you care for some.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    230. Re: Not ill timed... by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      Lol Sorry Jack. Obvious in hindsight.

    231. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And not having to be part of a trained well regulated state millitia to own a gun does not fit well with the intent of the framers with respect to the 2nd Amendment. But you're 100% on board ignoring that, because what you want and demand are RIGHTS, not RESPONSIBILITIES.

      Also, to the framers, you would have no right to vote, since that was reserved for those landholders who owned the workers on that land.

    232. Re:Not ill timed... by TigerPlish · · Score: 1

      I'll just leave this here.

      When cartoonists are saying it.. well.. draw whatever conclusions you want.

      Hint: Look just behind and to the side of the lightsabre.

      --
      The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
    233. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm sure the coffee would be cold by the time it got here, but it's OK, I've got some at hand, thanks.

      I sincerely doubt that any court in the US is going to rule in favour of anyone's "right to armed insurrection", no matter how it's phrased.

      Soap box, ballot box, jury box, ammo box - to be employed in that order (sorry, I forget the proper attribution). If things were to ever get that far, which I consider very unlikely and fervently hope never comes to pass, we would be well beyond civilian courts. Military tribunals at best; at worst, a second civil war that would make the first look like a Sunday picnic in comparison, along with predictable global economic impact and a host of follow-on problems.

      If you meant some kind of SCOTUS ruling beforehand, I'm not sure how anyone would achieve standing without things having gone terribly awry. Anything too small would just be handled as domestic terrorism; too large, and things have gone beyond courts. Maybe there's some plausible middle ground scenario, but I don't see it. Perhaps a SCOTUS majority opinion might include such a finding (whether for or against) as a tangential determination integral to some larger ruling, but I cannot imagine a plausible case that would prompt such an outcome.

      Practically though, I would say that if things were to go so far off the rails, those who would seriously consider exercising a right of armed (what other kind is there, really?) insurrection would assume it regardless of the judiciary, and let the losers be condemned by the history books, as always.

      - T

    234. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've never understood the line of thinking where "we can't completely fix problem X" is used as an argument for "we shouldn't try to do anything about problem X".

      Well, first off, stop trying "fixes" that don't really address the actual problem - like registration. That will never stop someone from committing a crime. It only makes it easier to confiscate.

      Second - PUNISH the folks who break the law. We have not really tried that in the US, not in any meaningful way. We have hundreds - probably thousands - of gun laws, but most are weakly enforced, if enforced at all.

      My idea? First gun crime - 1 to 10 years in prison - no time off for ANYTHING. You serve the sentence given.
      Second gun crime - 10 to 100 years - no time off, again.
      Third gun crime - mandatory 100 year sentence - no time off, again.

      Most of your gun crime will stop.

    235. Re:Not ill timed... by TigerPlish · · Score: 1
      --
      The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
    236. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah, an AC who apparently slept through high school history classes. However, if you didn't grow up in the US, then much of the snark embedded in my response doesn't apply to you - feel free to ignore it.

      And not having to be part of a trained well regulated state millitia to own a gun does not fit well with the intent of the framers with respect to the 2nd Amendment.

      If you had read the contemporary writings, the idea of the federal government restricting and removing those civilian arms which did not fit with "well regulated" was considered unconscionable. They were well aware of the relevant history, but most considered it too obviously "wrong" to include in the first 12 articles of amendment approved by congress, 10 of which were ratified and collectively known as the Bill of Rights. I suppose it's possible that you didn't sleep through this in high school history classes, depending on the depth of the curriculum. However, you still should have learned that the government properly only has those powers granted by the people through the Constitution. So, the government was not granted the power to restrict or remove such arms. For context with regard to what sort of arms the government trusted the people to keep, you might also remember that civilian-owned cannons were not considered a problem at the time. Finally, you might consider by what means would a privateer effectively serve a letter of marque and reprisal if the appropriate arms for the task were not allowed. I've seen credible arguments for and against whether such implicitly approved arms fit with "well regulated". Anyway, if private citizens of the time could own shipboard artillery, personal arms which don't accord with "well regulated" don't seem all that dangerous in comparison.

      It occurs to me you might be differently misinformed, based on "part of a trained well regulated state militia". It is self-evident from the writings of the time that the 2nd amendment affirms an individual right, and that was confirmed by SCOTUS in "Heller". AIUI, we've not quite recognized full "incorporation" of the 2nd amendment via the 14th amendment, but these things move slowly. If you meant that gun rights hinge upon explicit membership in a state militia, you're supporting a view that has always been as misguided as the "Dredd Scott" decision (even SCOTUS gets it wrong sometimes).

      But you're 100% on board ignoring that, because what you want and demand are RIGHTS, not RESPONSIBILITIES.

      First, some well deserved snark: It's not called the "Bill of Responsibilities" for reasons which should be obvious to anyone sufficiently well informed to comment on these matters. Are you a quiet sleeper, or did your history teachers just ignore the snoring?

      More seriously, the Bill of Rights was introduced as an affirmation (not a grant) of specific rights, largely to quell concerns of anti-federalists (in hindsight, it seems they had some good points). The responsibilities of exercising a right are assumed to be integral to the right. There is an illustrative, if simplistic, saying, "Your right to swing your fist ends at my face". Our civil liberties carry an intrinsic responsibility not to infringe the civil liberties of our fellow citizens (or human beings, depending on the interpretation of "The People", which is still argued at times), and there is an implied concept of reciprocity. So, for a concrete example, I can worship whatever deity I like, but I do not get to sacrifice your first-born child (nor even mine) in the pursuit of my religion - that's the responsibility part, and you'll not find it codified in the Constitution.

      Also, to the framers, you would have no right to vote, since that was reserved for those landholders who owned the workers on that land.

      Now I'm convinced you slept through high school history. Go ahead and check the Constitution and Bill of Rights for voting eligibility standards, but I won't hold my breat

    237. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I added the removing of weapons, in that...if they banned the AR-15 tomorrow and the AK-47....unless they confiscate the existing ones, you'll not see a drop in their numbers for decades upon decades upon decades. There are just too many out there!!

      That's like a 600lb man not dieting, because it would take years to lose the weight.

      Wouldn't it be great if decades and decades from now there were no AR15 or Ak47 on America's streets? Why *not* start now with that?

    238. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The NRA has them all terrified....of each other.

    239. Re:Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Another possibility is the intruder finds the gun while you are sleeping and kills your whole family with it. Or your kids do, and shoot each other which (stastically) happens every day in USA.

      Fun fact: For every time a gun is used in self-defense in the home, there are 7 assaults or murders, 11 suicide attempts, and 4 accidents involving guns in or around a home. I don't like your odds, but feel free to gamble with your families life anyway!

    240. Re:Not ill timed... by GLMDesigns · · Score: 1

      I don't know of any left wing theocracies (except maybe the spiritual franciscans) but too many people take the approach "not left" therefore "right." And the more "not left" you are the more "right-wing" you are.

      Ayn Rand, for example. is considered "extreme" right wing (even though she is an atheist).

      --
      If you're scared of your govt then you need to further restrict its powers
      Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond
    241. Re:Not ill timed... by jwhitener · · Score: 1

      "well, I was going to shoot a bunch of people but it would be against the law to take the guns our of the house, so I'm stuck"

      "well, I was going to murder this person, but the laws against murder won't let me. I guess I'll just stay home"

      So we should do away with laws because criminals might not obey them? What a bizarre worldview.

    242. Re:Not ill timed... by MoarSauce123 · · Score: 1

      We can only hope that the gubement comes finally through and does take away the guns. What the frack does anyone need a gun for? Besides that, if you have one your are more likely to get shot yourself.

    243. Re:Not ill timed... by MoarSauce123 · · Score: 1

      Why be afraid? If you are then argue even more against any laws that are put in place to counter terrorism. Since 9/11 about 400 US citizens have been killed by terrorist, but over 400,000 were shot by the many firearms within the country. Body counts are always a bad metric, but in this case it is a drastic difference and clearly shows that both politicians and the public have their priorities wrong. The only one who gets it mildly right is the Gov from CT banning anyone on the (much criticized) no fly list to buy a firearm although the CT review process of such a ban typically results in allowing the sale. Same provision was put in front of Congress and the Republicans shot it down. Yes, they want to keep potential terrorists off planes but are perfectly fine with them buying guns. Seriously?? Things can only turn for the better when this idiotic conservative think is gone. Repeal the 2nd Amendment or finally enforce it in a way that makes sense today. Well-regulated militias are police, state police, and national guard, but not every Dick and Jane in suburbia.

    244. Re: Not ill timed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no, the buyback was limited to those weapons made illegal by the new law, primarily semi-automatic (ie, self loading) weapons.

      again, stop trying ot make it out like they banned all weapons fucktard

    245. Re:Not ill timed... by JeffOwl · · Score: 1

      I can't tell if you are a troll. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and explain it to you in a way you can hopefully understand. You see, the idea is that people who are going to commit a major crime like murder don't care how many laws they break. More legislation to deter crimes that are already illegal doesn't impact anyone except those that aren't a threat anyway. You see, the law suggested by the other poster would make something illegal that, in and of itself isn't a problem. The behavior they want to deter is already illegal, so additional laws aren't going to help solve the problem that they want to solve.

  3. Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Cheaper than Dirt is where most guys that really like guns go as you can get all the parts you need. Cabela's lets you fondle them and will have prices better than most gun shops. And ordering a gun online or from a shopping channel will have to be picked up with the added fees at a local gun dealer anyways so unless they are 30-50% less on everything than normal sources it will be an epic failure of a channel.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    1. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by avandesande · · Score: 1

      Yes, I guess that is the issue. Enthusiasts are probably not going to shoot themselves cleaning their gun. Someone that is talked into buying a gun on television? A bit scary if you ask me.

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
    2. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Funny

      Cabela's lets you fondle them

      But not naked. I know because I've tried.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    3. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      You or the gun?

      On second thought, don't answer that.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    4. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      CTD has done horrible price-gouging in past "black gun" and "ammo shortage" scares, so I wouldn't give them the time of day, let alone my business. Terrible people running that place.

      Agree with the rest of your points however.

    5. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cheaper than Dirt must be using some really expensive dirt for comparisons... they are over priced gougers that cancel back orders when retail values go up (but not wholesale prices) so they don't have to honor the old pricing

    6. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      Cabela's is a beautiful store instead you stop and think, "Everything for sale in this huge, overdecorated store is dedicated to one purpose: to help people kill things!" (Ok, maybe some of the kid's toys are an exception.)

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    7. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What a bunch of anti gun Nazi's.

      Some hunt for food, and it's regulated to control deer populations.

      77% of crimes happen away from home, why not carry for defense?

      When seconds count the police are minutes away. That's right the police just show-up to put you in a body bag...

      Don't like guns, repeal the 2nd Amendment or STFU!

    8. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      Cabela's is a beautiful store instead you stop and think, "Everything for sale in this huge, overdecorated store is dedicated to one purpose: to help people kill things!" (Ok, maybe some of the kid's toys are an exception.)

      Yeah, but you gotta pay sales tax when you go into Cabela's. Online purchases, at least ammo...save that tax money!!

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    9. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      Let's see, Cabelas is mostly dedicated to hunting, fishing, camping, outdoor activities such as boating. Hunting and fishing? Yes, you are killing. However, even if you are a VEGAN you kill things to eat them. At least if you kill it yourself, you are HONEST about it, rather than being a hypocrite saying 'Oh I couldn't kill things' while chowing down on (almost anything).

    10. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some if it is about cooking the yummy stuff you shoot. And there is stuff for camping and hiking, which could be done combined with or completely independent from hunting/fishing. And the tractors are big enough for more than just wildlife food plots.

      I guess from your perspective grocery stores and everything in them are just there to help you poop.

    11. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by jandersen · · Score: 1

      We ought to have a "SPAM -1" tion in the moderation drop down list.

    12. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Yes. We are humans. What do the people of your home planet do?

    13. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by ageoffri · · Score: 1

      I don't know anyone who uses Cheaper than Dirt after Obama came into office, the joke among my friends is Cheaper than Platinum should be the new name.

      --
      -- Slashdot, making the Left look conservative since 1997.
    14. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Save the tax money for now. You do file your use tax, right?

    15. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by crow_t_robot · · Score: 1

      Welcome to capitalism.

    16. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shut the fuck up, you weak-minded bitch.

    17. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Cheaper than Dirt is where most guys that really like guns go as you can get all the parts you need. Cabela's lets you fondle them and will have prices better than most gun shops. And ordering a gun online or from a shopping channel will have to be picked up with the added fees at a local gun dealer anyways so unless they are 30-50% less on everything than normal sources it will be an epic failure of a channel.

      I had to wonder about this.

      You can go to a store and buy something for $40, who would buy the same thing from a TV channel for six easy payments of $29.99 plus $49.99 shipping and handling.

      Hey, but I think there'll be enough people who are crazy enough to support this channel. Mostly they'll be the anti-"gubbermint" types.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    18. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      They sure do get cranky when you start to disrobe while handling the Barret or their scopes.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    19. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      Not everything there is for killing things. The camping section..... well the tents kill the grass under them....

      Ok it's all for killing.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    20. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LEGALLY you have to pay the taxes anyways. Are you one of those un-american liberals that doesn't pay his sales tax?

    21. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      Your friends don't pay much attention outside of 2 year old news. I still get the lowest prices through them on a lot of the stuff worth buying, Just bought a Daniel Defense medium profile 16" 300 blackout barrel and it was $40.00 cheaper than everywhere else.

      I'm a price whore, I will go where ever the price is the lowest for the good stuff like CMMG, Daniel Defense, Rainier, etc...

      Now the low grade china crap? yes you can find that cheaper elsewhere, but then people that buy that junk are OK with shooting steel cased rounds and screwing up their $40.00 bolt and $20.00 china upper.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    22. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And a "DUMB -1" moderation option for comments like yours.

    23. Re:Only non enthusiasts will buy from it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You need to get out more. If a random stranger stopped me on the street and asked: "Who charges the most money possible for a firearm" my answers would have been Cabela's and CtD in that order. Not that I've never purchased from them (if you're vigilant you can find a deal every once in awhile) but in my experience they're often the most expensive place to buy.

      Try Bud's online: way cheaper and they'll help you find an FFL for the transfer. I paid less than $20 for my last FFL transfer which is a lot less than the markup at either of the two places you mentioned.

  4. Does not compute by c0d3g33k · · Score: 0

    The juxtaposition of 24-Hour Shopping Channel and "I don't really know that it's going to put more guns on the streets." makes my brain hurt.

    Unless they plan to deal in 100% used merchandise, that' pretty much exactly what it's going to do.

    1. Re:Does not compute by Drethon · · Score: 1

      Still has to go through federal background checks. If those are effectively performed, we wont have more guns in criminal hands anyway.

    2. Re:Does not compute by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      Correct me if I'm wrong but once they are in private hands what is stopping them being sold on the private market? Do they have to go via a broker who checks the background of the new owner?

    3. Re:Does not compute by Drethon · · Score: 1

      As far as I know there are little controls there. How does this differ from a gun sold at a normal gun shop though? Once it is sold it enters private hands. My comment was addressing guns sold via TV vs those sold by a gun shop and I'm not seeing how this changes the initial sale process as far as background checks anyway.

    4. Re:Does not compute by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      Probably not at all. I was working on the assumption that it might increase the total number of guns sold. In which case, if x% of legal guns sold ends up on the black market, then this will lead to more guns in the black market. That said that is a total assumption and it may just be that gunTV cannibalises other sources it will have no impact.

  5. Different demographics by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 3, Insightful

    >> debut might seem remarkably ill-timed, given recent shootings at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs and at a social services center in San Bernardino, California

    The market for this channel (hunters, rural or suburban gun owners) isn't the demographic that kills for its political beliefs (Planned Parenthood), religious beliefs (San Bernardino), shoots up schools, or is involved in street gangs. Selling more guns and accessories to these folks won't increase violence one iota.

    1. Re:Different demographics by OverlordQ · · Score: 1

      Holy shit, somebody that gets it. It's a miracle.

      --
      Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
    2. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ORLY ?

      The demographics that kills for its political and religious beliefs, shoots up schools or is involved in street gangs never, ever intersects with hunters, rural or suburban gun owners ?

      On which planet ?

      Wishful thinking, n. : the formation of beliefs and making decisions according to what might be pleasing to imagine instead of by appealing to evidence, rationality, or reality. It is a product of resolving conflicts between belief and desire.

    3. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The market for Star Wars toys was originally little boys aged 4-11. Others got sept up in it. The marketing for My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is for little girls. That audience has become more diverse, just because it's a channel for one audience doesn't mean others won't see it and go "Oh, cool, I want one of those."

    4. Re:Different demographics by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The market for this channel (hunters, rural or suburban gun owners)

      How would you know that? TV shopping channels are all about impulse purchasing. That's why they have so many deals that have a timer on them.

      The demographic they're going for may well be people who are sitting home alone watching cable TV at three in the morning, half-drunk and pissed at their ex-wives, angry at the boss. Let's face it, a lot of "GunTV viewers will be people channel surfing after an evening of watching Fox News and looking for solutions to their problems that are all focused on "them people out there".

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    5. Re:Different demographics by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 3, Insightful

      >> The demographics that kills (people) never, ever intersects with hunters, rural or suburban gun owners?

      Pretty much.

      Consider the deer hunting season just concluded in Wisconsin. This year, about 700,000 hunters went out with loaded guns, many of them drank heavily at night, many of them were annoyed with each other, and yet no one was shot. Meanwhile in Milwaukee (a city in Wisconsin), where there are 700,000 people (and not everyone has a gun), multiple people were shot and killed over the same period (http://www.milwaukeepolicenews.com/category/homicide/).

      Go a little further south to Illinois/Chicago and you'll hear an even worse story: I think more than ten people a week are dying down in Obama's old stomping grounds from thug-initiated violence. If even one of those murders was caused by a hunter, rural or suburban gun owner, I'm sure it would be big news.

    6. Re:Different demographics by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 2, Informative

      Sort of like how letting all the Syrian refugees come to the the US won't increase violence one iota since the demographic of Syrian refugees isn't terrorists.

    7. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Selling more guns and accessories to these folks won't increase violence one iota.

      Maybe it won't increase premeditated gun violence much, but unless you're talking about cap guns or squirt guns, injury/death through suicide and accident is statistically a given.

    8. Re:Different demographics by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Holy shit, somebody that gets it.

      Here's a guy that "gets" GunTV:

      http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/i...

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    9. Re:Different demographics by OzPeter · · Score: 1

      Selling more guns and accessories to these folks won't increase violence one iota.

      So the bell curve doesn't exist on your planet?

      --
      I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    10. Re:Different demographics by Barsteward · · Score: 2

      the points of complaint are not against those sensible owners, its the ease with which the nutjobs can get them

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    11. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't really understand your argument. The Planned Parenthood guy was a rural gun owner. The Sandy Hook kid's mother was a suburban gun enthusiast. What difference does it make who the market for such a channel is? Any market for the channel is still capable of contributing to acts of violence.

    12. Re:Different demographics by DaHat · · Score: 1

      the points of complaint are not against those sensible owners,

      Not explicitly, but they will harm legit owners more as things they own may suddenly be declared contraband (if some like Feinstein got their way)

      its the ease with which the nutjobs can get them

      And what exactly are those policy suggestions? We saw recently just how well California law did little to prevent the terrorists from lawfully acquiring two of their weapons.

    13. Re:Different demographics by Obfuscant · · Score: 2

      TV shopping channels are all about impulse purchasing. That's why they have so many deals that have a timer on them.

      Because to see those timers, you have to be watching the channel, and the intended market for those who will be watching the channel are exactly as the OP said. Who cares if a decent, law-abiding citizen buys something from that channel because he wanted to beat the timer to get a good deal? He's not going to decide to go shoot up a school just because "I got this gun with 32 seconds left on the Flash Deal on Gun TV!".

      The demographic they're going for may well be

      it may well be exactly as stated. You putting motives in their mouth doesn't make it true.

      and looking for solutions to their problems that are all focused on "them people out there".

      Well, what a shame that those people won't have to go to the local gun store and go through a background check by buying guns from the nice people on television, huh? Oh, wait. They'll have to go through the same restrictions as if they walked into the local gun store and plunked down a pile of cash.

      What I want to know, from the summary, is how "two way radios" got to be "gun related"?

    14. Re:Different demographics by Obfuscant · · Score: 2, Insightful

      the points of complaint are not against those sensible owners, its the ease with which the nutjobs can get them

      You need to listen to what the anti-gun people say a bit more closely. "Nobody needs ..." isn't directed at the real criminals who use one or two guns to kill people, it's directed at the collectors who are quite sensible in their ownership and don't kill anyone. The guy earlier who would allow guns but only if locked in safes at gun clubs or at home wasn't talking about just the criminals keeping them inaccessible to even the owners. (How do I get my gun from my house to the gun club where I can shoot it if it is locked in the safe?)

      In any case, since the buyers from Gun TV will have to go through the same process to actually take delivery that other sensible owners do, then the access won't be easier to the nutjobs any more than it already is.

    15. Re:Different demographics by dywolf · · Score: 1

      up until Dear shot up the PP, he was just another responsible gun owner.
      so were the nutjobs who went to Bundy's ranch to defend him from Federal Agents enforcing the law: just more responsible gun owners.... until they weren't.
      two of those formerly responsible gun owners then moved onto Vegas and killed a couple police officers.

      your thesis that these are different demographics is willfully ignorant (or intentionally deceptive) BS.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    16. Re:Different demographics by dywolf · · Score: 1, Insightful

      and there's the dog whistle

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    17. Re:Different demographics by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

      >> up until Dear shot up the PP, he was just another responsible gun owner

      Not true. According to NPR (http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/29/457756325/what-we-know-about-the-alleged-planned-parenthood-shooter):
      "Dear had several run-ins with the law. The records show nine criminal filings under his name: Two "personal intrusion" — or peeping Tom or eavesdropping — ...two animal cruelty charges."

       

    18. Re:Different demographics by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      Plus, the recent NYT article pretty much shows you what anti gunners want - full civilian disarmament. Great way to make sure folks are vulnerable to being a) mugged raped murdered by thugs, b) murdered by terrorists, and c) murdered by their own government. Oh, "c)" can't happen? Ask the Indians.

    19. Re:Different demographics by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Who cares if a decent, law-abiding citizen buys something from that channel

      I would phrase the question, "What decent, law-abiding citizen is watching GunTV?"

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    20. Re:Different demographics by Cyberax · · Score: 3, Informative

      Really? Let's search the web for "hunting incident". We get: http://abc30.com/news/16-year-...

      Perhaps it's an aberration? Let's dig further: http://animalrights.about.com/... - 1000 people per year are shot in hunting incidents. Hmm...

      Let's dig further. Do we have reliable statistics? Nope. NRA blocked them, so we must assume that the real number of gun victims is greater.

    21. Re:Different demographics by Nikkos · · Score: 2

      Unfortunately there have been 5 deaths hunting in Wisconsin this year.

      http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/hunt/I...

      3 of which have been during deer season:
      One, a woman didn't unload her firearm before passing it up to her boyfriend in a tree stand (gun safety 101)
      The other two were self-inflicted accidents of some sort, seemingly unsafe handling.

      More hunters died from heart attacks and car accidents though.

    22. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Consider the deer hunting season just concluded in Wisconsin. This year, about 700,000 hunters went out with loaded guns, many of them drank heavily at night, many of them were annoyed with each other, and yet no one was shot. Meanwhile in Milwaukee (a city in Wisconsin), where there are 700,000 people (and not everyone has a gun), multiple people were shot and killed over the same period (http://www.milwaukeepolicenews.com/category/homicide/).

      Go a little further south to Illinois/Chicago and you'll hear an even worse story: I think more than ten people a week are dying down in Obama's old stomping grounds from thug-initiated violence. If even one of those murders was caused by a hunter, rural or suburban gun owner, I'm sure it would be big news.

      Well firstly so far at least 22 people were shot in Wisconsin for accidental or intentional shootings while hunting this year. The problem there is it is so common that this isn't something that makes the news. Go check the incident reports on the government website. This is PURELY the hunting related shootings and excludes any murders in the region.

    23. Re:Different demographics by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 1

      and there's the dog whistle

      If you keep hearing dog whistles that no one else hears... maybe you're the dog.

    24. Re:Different demographics by CaptainLard · · Score: 1

      suburban gun owners) isn't the demographic that .... shoots up schools, or is involved in street gangs.

      Their kids on the other hand.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    25. Re:Different demographics by ScentCone · · Score: 1
      Are you really not following the part where any such order involves the delay, travel, paperwork, fees, background check and multiple visits to a licensed FFL in order to consummate the purchase?

      Let's face it, a lot of "GunTV viewers will be people channel surfing after an evening of watching Fox News and looking for solutions to their problems that are all focused on "them people out there".

      I wonder if you can appreciate the depth of the irony here.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    26. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you read your second link, Canada, which has mandatory licensing and safety education, also has hunting accidents. So keep your outrage contained please.

    27. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and there's the dog whistle

      If you keep hearing dog whistles that no one else hears... maybe you're the dog.

      What'd the dog do for you to insult him like that?

    28. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The market for this channel (hunters, rural or suburban gun owners) isn't the demographic that kills for its political beliefs (Planned Parenthood), religious beliefs (San Bernardino), shoots up schools, or is involved in street gangs. Selling more guns and accessories to these folks won't increase violence one iota.

      Sort of like how letting all the Syrian refugees come to the the US won't increase violence one iota since the demographic of Syrian refugees isn't terrorists.

      False comparison.

      Syrian refugees aren't citizens and have no right, or good reason, to be here. Therefore, there's no reason to risk terrorists coming in with the refugees as they did in Paris and have been planning to do in the US.

      On the other hand, US citizens have a constitutional right to possess guns for protection from both the common criminal and terrorists who perpetrate mass shootings. And, since you can't banish guns out of existence, it will always be better for a population to be armed so they can defend themselves, than leaving them disarmed and defenseless like the countless who've been gunned down in so-called "gun-free" zones. That's just common sense.

    29. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately there have been 5 deaths hunting in Wisconsin this YEAR.

      ...

      And that would merely be a moderately bad AFTERNOON for Chicago.

      Or Baltimore.

      Or New York.

      Ever hear of Bunny Friend Park shooting? Probably not - as it doesn't fit any desired narrative. 17 people - including children - were shot by gang members in New Orleans.

    30. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's always fun seeing someone's internal boogeyman model that drives the way they see the world get transcribed into text.

    31. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      This is so wrong. This was the deadliest deer hunting season in 5 years for wisconsin, with two confirmed deaths and at least two more gunshot injuries.

      http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/story/news/local/2015/11/27/deer-season-deadliest-years/76302796/

      You need to get your facts straight. Many of us are responsible but people will always do stupid shit with guns and wisconsin is no exception. I should know, I grew up there.

      When you lie or obfuscate the repercussions of gun ownership, you do a massive disservice to those of us who ARE responsible gun owners. Spouting misinformation that a quick 10 second google search would prove false, it doesn't help your case.

    32. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At least two people died and 4 were injured in hunting accidents this wisconsin deer season. The above poster is simply wrong.

    33. Re:Different demographics by jimbolauski · · Score: 1

      The question is will the Gun Shopping network actually increase impulse buys. Take my neighbor for instance, his car was broken into, by broken into I mean he left it unlocked and someone rummaged through it. He decided that he needed a gun to protect himself in-case someone decided to break into his house and slapped down $200 for a 9mm Hi-Point two magazines and 30 rounds. Impulse buys all ready happen having a shopping network won't likely change the rate at which guns are purchased.

      --
      Knowledge = Power
      P= W/t
      t=Money
      Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
    34. Re:Different demographics by rhazz · · Score: 1

      This year, about 700,000 hunters went out with loaded guns, many of them drank heavily at night, many of them were annoyed with each other, and yet no one was shot.

      I'm confused how hunters not murdering their hunting buddies that they are essentially on vacation with is somehow comparable to day-to-day city murder statistics.

    35. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/three-deaths-reported-in-wisconsin-s-hunting-season/article_abe0033c-97c9-11e5-bddb-ff1ea2594463.html

      Bzzzt! Wrong! Since there is no concerted effort to collect data to get statistical information, we cannot come to a statistically meaningful conclusion, therefore there is NO evidence that gun owners are either murderers or, due to incapacity or sheer stupidity, accidental homicidal maniacs.

    36. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Go a little further south to Illinois/Chicago and you'll hear an even worse story: I think more than ten people a week are dying down in Obama's old stomping grounds from thug-initiated violence.

      Recently it was 75 shot during a single three day weekend. In a gun free city.

    37. Re:Different demographics by ganjadude · · Score: 0

      over 300 million americans.... 1000 is not a problem

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    38. Re:Different demographics by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      one who needs a new gun or ammo or accessory? obviously

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    39. Re:Different demographics by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Are you really not following the part where any such order involves the delay, travel, paperwork, fees, background check and multiple visits to a licensed FFL in order to consummate the purchase?

      If you're shopping on TV, you're probably not thinking all those things through. All you see is, "5 EZ payments of $69.95 for this beautiful Chinese handgun, with the engraved faces of Jesus and Ronald Reagan on the grip. And if you act now, we'll send you this high quality paper target in the silhouette of Barack Obama."

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    40. Re:Different demographics by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      I was teaching a buddy of mine how to shoot one day (on my property in northern Minnesota) and he is one of those people who probably shouldn't have a gun but at least I am trying to teach him proper handling and usage. Unless he figures it out he seems likely to end up as one of the stupid who injures himself or others. The simple concept of unload the fucking thing was lost on him for a while when we would go down to examine the targets as he was confident in the safety. I heard so many times working with him "but the safety is on" it wasn't funny. For the longest time I wondered how people have accidents with firearms, I now know.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    41. Re:Different demographics by hey! · · Score: 1

      This year, about 700,000 hunters went out with loaded guns, many of them drank heavily at night, many of them were annoyed with each other, and yet no one was shot.

      Not because hunters are somehow immunized from being mass shooters; it's because (a) mass shooters are exceedingly rare in just about any identifiable population and (b) if you are a mass shooter you're not going to out into the woods; you're going to go to a school, shopping center, or other place where people congregate.

      Go a little further south to Illinois/Chicago and you'll hear an even worse story: I think more than ten people a week are dying down in Obama's old stomping grounds from thug-initiated violence.

      OK. (a) The per 100,000 resident homicide rate is 15.1, which puts in 19th on the list of American cities ranked by murder rate, right below Indianapolis and above Milwaukee. That's not a very high rate for a large American city (e.g., St. Louis at 49.4/100000), but it works out to big numbers when you multiply it by Chicago's huge population: 2.7 million. (b) Obama is has nothing to do with the murder rate in Chicago as opposed to anywhere else.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    42. Re:Different demographics by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      If you're shopping on TV, you're probably not thinking all those things through.

      So? How does that change the facts of what's involved in actually possessing the purchase?

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    43. Re:Different demographics by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      I would phrase the question, "What decent, law-abiding citizen is watching GunTV?"

      When watching TV becomes a crime, only criminals will have TVs. Do you really not understand the implications of the question you just asked?

    44. Re:Different demographics by bigfinger76 · · Score: 1

      He was off by 2 deaths. When the difference is that small, it's safe to say it's a non-issue. Describing it as the "deadliest" even seems over the top. Why not "bloodiest" while you're at it? That way, you can add those horrific injuries and boost the total.

    45. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Selling more guns and accessories to these folks won't increase violence one iota.

      What happens when "other" folks, the types that are violent, figure out they can also get guns and accessories from this source?

    46. Re:Different demographics by Mr.+Shotgun · · Score: 1

      What I want to know, from the summary, is how "two way radios" got to be "gun related"?

      That would be Steven Spielberg's fault, after he "improved" E.T. the ATF placed high capacity radios under the National Firearms Act just to be sure.

      --
      Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the (supposed) good of its victims may be the most oppressive
    47. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By the same logic there is no evidence they are NOT murderers or homicidal maniacs and therefore all precautions should be taken till proven otherwise right?

    48. Re:Different demographics by bloodhawk · · Score: 2

      As a long time gun owner in Australia I saw the introduction of the gun laws here as a wonderful blessing. The number of times we saw people who shouldn't be allowed to touch a gun let alone own one up until that point was horrendous. To add to your example, We watched friends with absolutely no concept of the "do NOT point a gun at someone even unloaded", "never transport or keep a loaded gun". back in the 90's I was almost one of those victims as one said moron turned up with his guns preloaded and as he got them out of his vehicle his 308 left a bullet hole in the wooden pole about 6 inches to the left of me at chest height. Some people simply don't have the mental capacity to handle them safely.

    49. Re:Different demographics by mjwx · · Score: 1

      The market for this channel (hunters, rural or suburban gun owners) isn't the demographic that kills for its political beliefs

      That is completely wrong. The market for this channel isn't hunters, rural or suburban gun owners, it's for nutbars who are too scared to go to a proper gun store.

      What self respecting gun owner... or person in general would forgo paying $40 to get something from a proper store in favour of paying six easy payments of $29.99 + $19.99 shipping and handling? If you're a legit gun owner, its cheaper and easier to go to a store.

      Only the people who want to think their purchases are under the radar. This may not be solely the demographic that kills for political belief or out of insanity but if we drew a Venn Diagram, there'd be a lot of overlap.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    50. Re:Different demographics by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 1

      What I want to know, from the summary, is how "two way radios" got to be "gun related"?

      Preppers. Doomsday cultists. Nutjobs, basically.

      They have this ongoing fantasy that civilization will end and Macho Men with Macho Trucks and Macho Guns will rule the world as God intended. The ones buying the radios are some of the least insane—they at least aren't planning on the Every Macho Man For Himself scenario that so many subscribe to. They want to be able to communicate with Cousin Lenny when all the power is out, all the phones are down, and the Internet doesn't work. But they're too lazy to get a HAM license, so... two way radios.

    51. Re:Different demographics by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 1

      WTF is a false comparison? Comparisons are not true or false.

      Syrian refugees aren't citizens and have no right, or good reason, to be here.

      If only citizens could be here, North and South America would be uninhabited by humans. We as the current occupants of this country get to decide who gets to come here legally. So yes, the ones we grant permission to come here, have the right to come here (because we gave it to them).

      Therefore, there's no reason to risk terrorists coming in with the refugees as they did in Paris and have been planning to do in the US.

      And in addition to the Syrian refugees who might be terrorist, we also have right wing gun nuts who might be domestic terrorists, so we'd batter be safe and kick all those shitheads out of the country in the name of safety as well.

      On the other hand, US citizens have a constitutional right to possess guns for protection from both the common criminal and terrorists who perpetrate mass shootings.

      How many shootings were prevented by "good guys with guns"? Zero? Almost zero? I honestly don't think gun control will actually work, so I don't really have a strong desire to see it happen, but this fantasy that people are using their guns to stop mass shootings is retarded.

      And, since you can't banish guns out of existence, it will always be better for a population to be armed so they can defend themselves, than leaving them disarmed and defenseless like the countless who've been gunned down in so-called "gun-free" zones. That's just common sense.

      Yeah and in this case "common sense" is wrong. Guns are not saving anybody. People get gunned down in gun-full zones all the time too. Common sense (i.e. the sense that people commonly have), is really good for substituting fantasy for reality.

      If good guys are always shooting bad guys in movies then it must be happening in real life too.

      What I don't understand is how supposedly Christian people fight so hard for the right to defend themselves with deadly force when placed in danger, but completely reject the idea of helping people of a different religion if it means the slightest chance have being exposed to danger (and ignore other dangers like those posed by gun ownership).

      Hell, a bunch of terrorists sneaking into the country might be just the opportunity for you nutjobs to show how well you can stop terrorism through gun ownership, except deep down you know just as well as I do, that you aren't stopping shit with your guns. You just like to pretend to have some sense of power in a world that you are completely scared shirtless of, and this fear is rendering you incapable of being a good person and helping people who actually need it.

      If this were a movie, you'd be the assholes using oars to beat women and children trying to get to your half full life raft.

    52. Re:Different demographics by swillden · · Score: 1

      Who cares if a decent, law-abiding citizen buys something from that channel

      I would phrase the question, "What decent, law-abiding citizen is watching GunTV?"

      Um, I could see tens of millions of decent, law-abiding citizens watching GunTV. I would, if I watched TV.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    53. Re:Different demographics by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Um, I could see tens of millions of decent, law-abiding citizens watching GunTV. I would, if I watched TV.

      The salient question is, if you watched GunTV, would you do so with your pants on?

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    54. Re:Different demographics by swillden · · Score: 1

      Um, I could see tens of millions of decent, law-abiding citizens watching GunTV. I would, if I watched TV.

      The salient question is, if you watched GunTV, would you do so with your pants on?

      The whole "guns are a sexual fetish" meme is very old and tired. Do you actually believe it or do you just find it a convenient red herring/insult?

      To answer the question (though I really shouldn't), definitely *on*, because odds are good that my kids would want to come watch it, too, and not having pants on would be really awkward. Though, in general, I can't really imagine watching any TV program without pants, unless I were in bed or something. But i don't have a TV in my bedroom. Or near the bathtub.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    55. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As usual, ammosexuals, one who needs a penis extension due to their micro dick.

    56. Re:Different demographics by PopeRatzo · · Score: 0

      The whole "guns are a sexual fetish" meme is very old and tired. Do you actually believe it or do you just find it a convenient red herring/insult?

      I actually believe it and I also find it a convenient insult.

      Here is a tumblr of GOP candidates with dildos photoshopped in place of the guns they're holding:

      http://gopdildo.tumblr.com/

      I think it's pretty clear that there is a sexual component to the worship of guns. And I say this as someone who has owned (and shot) guns for more than 40 years. And I've qualified at various times as a marksman and a sharpshooter.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    57. Re:Different demographics by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      You need to listen to what the anti-gun people say a bit more closely. "Nobody needs ..." isn't directed at the real criminals who use one or two guns to kill people, it's directed at the collectors who are quite sensible in their ownership and don't kill anyone.

      Maybe it is you that needs to listen a bit more closely becasue I've never heard that argument.
      Everyone uses Australia as the example, and in Australia you can still buy and own guns. Regulation is about sorting out legimate, responsible owners from the nutjobs.

    58. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Statistical noise perhaps, but we seem to have made some pretty serious alterations to our country after about the same number of deaths 14 years ago, September.

    59. Re:Different demographics by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      I don't think it is a lack of mental capacity it is just so many people never learned what is the correct way to handle them and their knowledge of guns comes mostly from TV. Then again I grew up in a family with strong rural roots so learning how to properly handle, operate, and store firearms was something we just grew up with, as well as how to drive a tractor, split wood, use a chain saw, milk the goats, deal with an unruly rooster, all as a child. My middle school even had a lunchtime activity of firearm safety where you could go and get your firearm safety certificate. Even bringing up requiring the most basic level (and yes getting the firearm safety certificate is the most basic level) of training and people shit themselves. Personally I would prefer a more in depth training like that found in the BSA's Rifle or Shotgun shooting merit badges but even the simplistic firearms safety certificate would be welcomed. But people still bitch because it might prevent someone from owning a firearm, even though the above mentioned items are meant for children to have a good chance with some practice and a bit effort to pass.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    60. Re:Different demographics by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      But they're too lazy to get a HAM license, so... two way radios.

      Uhhh, perhaps you didn't realize that almost all of the radios that hams use are "two way radios."

    61. Re:Different demographics by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Maybe it is you that needs to listen a bit more closely becasue I've never heard that argument.

      I need to listen more closely because you haven't been paying attention? Sorry, it doesn't work that way. I see the "nobody needs" argument EVERY time gun control comes up, or at least the vast majority of times. "Nobody needs 'assault rifles'" (when referring to semi-automatic rifles that look like military weapons). "Nobody needs ten shotguns". Yada yada yada. "Nobody needs a magazine that holds more than 5 rounds." "Nobody needs ..."

    62. Re:Different demographics by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      it was wrong then as well

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      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    63. Re:Different demographics by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      seems you are the one obsessed with penii

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    64. Re:Different demographics by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Why the heck should I not watch GunTV? (Aside from the fact that I don't like most TV.) It sounds like it would have segments I'd find at least mildly amusing, and may be informative in small ways. I bought Cosmopolitan one time because I'm not the intended audience, and wanted to see what they were saying. Heck, when I was on a neo-Nazi mailing list (apparently not opt-in), I often read it to see what neo-Nazis were likely thinking. I like seeing what's going on with people I disagree with, or am different from.

      I'm about as peaceful a guy as you're likely to meet, but I'm still interested in guns. (Similarly, I'm pretty clumsy, but I do have the gene for enjoying looking at power tools.) I'm actually more interested in swords (and do own one functional one), but they're less popular.

      So, as a decent, law-abiding, citizen, I might well watch GunTV on occasion.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    65. Re:Different demographics by Cederic · · Score: 1

      My little AT-AT with laser sighted shotgun mounts and pink sequins? Yeah, they'd sell.

    66. Re:Different demographics by swillden · · Score: 1

      I actually believe it and I also find it a convenient insult.

      You believe it on what basis? The fact that photoshop can replace one object with another is hardly an argument for there being a relationship between those objects, other than perhaps rough shape... and there are plenty of other objects which are more phallic than guns.

      I think it's pretty clear that there is a sexual component to the worship of guns.

      Okay, I get that you think this. But why?

      And I say this as someone who has owned (and shot) guns for more than 40 years. And I've qualified at various times as a marksman and a sharpshooter.

      So, should I conclude that there is a sexual component to your interest in guns? There certainly isn't any in mine.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    67. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have seen many of these people trained but those accidents are always something that happens to other people. They drink and think it is funny to point an unloaded gun at someone to scare them or to have that gun loaded just in case they get a chance to shoot a roo out the window. These are people that supposedly know better.

    68. Re:Different demographics by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      I need to listen more closely because you haven't been paying attention? Sorry, it doesn't work that way. I see the "nobody needs" argument EVERY time gun control comes up,

      Ok I 'll clarify that, maybe you should stop listening to junk news and current affairs shows, and try and listen to some informed debate instead.
      There are nutters on both sides of every argument, you have to decide if you will be one of them, or something better.

    69. Re:Different demographics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly! And since we know that there MIGHT be murderers or homicidal maniacs, we MUST purchase guns to protect ourselves! After all, there are people out there trying to kill us!!!

  6. Expect lots of Viagra+Ciaris commercials on it by JoeyRox · · Score: 0, Troll

    Appealing to to the gun-loving middle-aged fanatic compensating for his other "piece" not working so well.

    1. Re:Expect lots of Viagra+Ciaris commercials on it by Lord+Apathy · · Score: 1

      This is going to go over well.

      --

      Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification

    2. Re:Expect lots of Viagra+Ciaris commercials on it by JudgeFurious · · Score: 1

      Get off my lawn you hippie!

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
    3. Re:Expect lots of Viagra+Ciaris commercials on it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really? In my experience, big, long, hard black guns tend to threaten the impotent. You do find guns threatening, don't you? Obviously, because the first thing you do when you see a gun is think "That's a Big Penis!" and you hate them so much you actually feel the need to project this fantastical association onto others in some impotent (ha!) effort to try and paint those that inadvertently threaten you as something weaker than you.

    4. Re:Expect lots of Viagra+Ciaris commercials on it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Typical infantile response from a so-called intellectual liberal.

    5. Re:Expect lots of Viagra+Ciaris commercials on it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Totally, all of the women carrying concealed handguns to dispatch would-be rapists are just closet men. It's all the patriarchy's fault!

    6. Re:Expect lots of Viagra+Ciaris commercials on it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      why do people still continue to put forth this ridiculous and obviously false comparison between X-unwanted-possession and the size of a man's penis?

      Here's a hint:
      This completely eliminates any validity you think your 'argument' might have, and makes you look like a silly, spoiled child having a tantrum.

    7. Re:Expect lots of Viagra+Ciaris commercials on it by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      Exactly. Not to mention racist - they merely don't like those guns because they are black.

  7. What was that saying about insanity? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Something like "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?"
    Yeah. In Soviet Russia, they'd shoot this TV.

    1. Re:What was that saying about insanity? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      TV shoots you.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  8. Slashdot is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First it became a Dice-infested shithole. Next, the partisan hacks moved in. I've been here since before it was called Slashdot. Today I deleted my account. So long, and fuck you.

    1. Re:Slashdot is dying by ColdWetDog · · Score: 3, Funny

      First it became a Dice-infested shithole. Next, the partisan hacks moved in. I've been here since before it was called Slashdot. Today I deleted my account. So long, and fuck you.

      You deleted the AC account?

      Oh, thank you! You're my hero!

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:Slashdot is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Today I deleted my account

      Gee how'd you do that, considering there is no mechanism on Slashdot to 'delete' an account?Regardless I'm glad you're fucking off now, one less idiot commenting on here.

    3. Re:Slashdot is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, he isn't LEAVING...he's just not using his account anymore.

      No reason to assume anything crazy is happening..sheesh...

  9. Fuck you, it's not anxiety by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's the realization that government is not here to protect us, and has no intent on solving the terrorism problem.

    Citizens must take up the job that government has abdicated and provide for their own safety.

    Let us not forget that the government has the constitutional duty to protect Americans that it is failing at miserably. It's failing at feeding the hungry, housing the poor, and providing jobs for the jobless.

    And before you fly off the handle, I'm a liberal. I'm proud of it. I believe it does take a village to properly raise and socialize a child. I believe that things that are common needs to all people should be handled by a centralized government provider. These things only make sense.

    Defending Americans and providing for our safety is another one of those duties. Americans should be safe anywhere they go inside our borders, not only from terrorists, but from criminals. Government has done nothing to solve either problem, so we must resort, in the meantime at least, to providing for our own safety and individual defense.

    So yes, I'm one of those people who has gone out recently and obtained a firearm and training to use it - because my President turned out to be such a pussy. You can't have a strong central government without a strong leader. Obama is anything but. I'll hold my breath and vote for Hillary, but I fear she will be just as spineless since she can't even utter the words "radical Islam."

    Yes, I may be a tree-huggin' hippie leftist, but I'm also realistic and I'm not afraid to call a spade a spade.

    1. Re:Fuck you, it's not anxiety by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hillary is anti gun, I'll never vote for that bitch...

    2. Re:Fuck you, it's not anxiety by crow_t_robot · · Score: 0

      Government has done nothing to solve either problem

      Yep, absolutely nothing at all, right? Enjoy walking around with that expensive 8lb paperweight that you will never use, pussy.

  10. wait, what??? by phishybongwaters · · Score: 1

    "Valerie Castle and Doug Bornstein, are set to premier GunTV, a new 24-Hour shopping channel for guns" " I don't really know that it's going to put more guns on the streets." I'm pretty sure those two things are mutually exclusive. I'm not sure how them selling a metric shit ton of more guns will not put more guns on the street, unless they are being very specific. Not many people store their guns on the street, so maybe that's their angle.

    1. Re:wait, what??? by OverlordQ · · Score: 1

      Because 'the street' is neither going to be watching GunTV, nor going to their local gun store and getting the background check.

      --
      Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
  11. Guns Are for Pussies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Guns Are for Pussies,"
    Timothy Kreider, February 8, 2013

    One of several reasons why the “debate” over guns, like a lot of other debates in this country, has been so intractable for so long is that neither side trusts in the other’s honesty or good faith. Each side believes its own stated arguments to be, quite simply and truthfully, their real arguments, and sees their opponents’ arguments as transparent smokescreens for their "real," more insidious agendas.

    In my more charitable moods I ascribe gun owners’ passionate attachment to these weapons to fear. Their fear is grotesquely distorted--cultivated by the media and exacerbated by their own chosen propaganda--and guns are a delusional means of placating that fear, a semiautomatic security blanket. But fear is at least a motive I can empathize with. But I also suspect that some gun owners are driven by something deeper and creepier—a kind of castration anxiety or overcompensation, for which guns serve as fetish objects.

    It’s clear enough to me that gun-owners’ need for their guns is just that—not a liking or a right but a need, something irrational and scary, the sort of thing that, when you try to take it away, makes them not just sorry or mad but frantic, insane, dangerous. They remind me of those types on the other end of the political spectrum for whom the legalization of hemp is the single most important issue in the United States today. It’s not that I disagree with those guys, exactly--our nation’s drug laws are ridiculous and unjust, a waste of resources and a crime against all the people in prison for a piddling offense, and by now pretty much everyone from the President of the United States on down has done bong hits, so it obviously should’ve been legalized decades ago--it’s just that I don’t think any of those perfectly valid reasons are the real reason the issue is so important to them. It’s because they’re addicts. In fact gun advocates' behavior is scarily similar to that of addicts when you try to gently divest them of their required substance: they offer up every good argument in the world why this thing is harmless, beneficial, even, it's vitally necessary, a God-given right, and it’s none of your goddamn business anyway, until finally they abandon all pretense of debate and bare their teeth and start foaming at the mouth threatening to kill someone.

    It’s sort of a pro forma convention of editorials about gun control to insert a disclaimer about how you, the author, grew up in some backward gun-happy Red state and owned your first rifle when you were twelve and enjoyed many happy hours sitting in a duck blind with your grandpap. Unfortunately my parents were Mennonites and pacifists and I grew up thinking of people who owned handguns as fearful and weak, and of people who killed animals for fun as sick. To be fair, I have met some gun owners in adult life who’ve given me cause to moderate these judgments, like my friend Randy, who worked with me going door-to-door for the environment back in the day, campaigns for local Democratic candidates, and makes his own excellent barbecue sauce, and once shot a 600-pound boar, an animal so large there was literally not one room in his house big enough to contain its mounted head. Or Erik, who is cooler than me for many, many reasons, including, obviously, having the same name as the Phantom of the fucking Opera, as well as being the front man of a punk band, a Baltimore City public school teacher, and a collector of Orwell first editions, but also because he has a sleek steel G-man briefcase that turns out to contain several handguns cushioned in custom-contoured foam rubber, including a .357 Magnum, the kind Dirty Harry uses.

    Erik once took me to an indoor shooting range in Baltimore, where I got to fire a rented Thompson gun (it’s Baltimore—you can do anything there). I was

    1. Re:Guns Are for Pussies by kheldan · · Score: 0, Troll

      An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.

      -- Thomas Jefferson, Robert A. Heinlein

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    2. Re:Guns Are for Pussies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      America, Land of the Polite?!? Are you serious?

      Spoiled, yes. Self-absorbed, absolutely. Scared of boogeymen, of course they are.

      But polite; you're nuts.

    3. Re:Guns Are for Pussies by Simulant · · Score: 1

      +1 Accurate.

    4. Re:Guns Are for Pussies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course no one's actually talking about taking away handguns

      No they only account for 97% of firearms deaths, makes MUCH more sense to go after cosmetically scary weapons that are only responsible for 1.5% of the problem.

    5. Re:Guns Are for Pussies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since the Supremes affirmed it is an Individual Right, your little screen is a waste of bandwidth.

      As for the rest of your, "I'm better and smarter than you so do what I say" rant, fuck you.

    6. Re:Guns Are for Pussies by MBGMorden · · Score: 1

      Depends on what part of America. New Jersey isn't so much known for being polite, but in the South people tend to be much more polite and courteous.

      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
    7. Re:Guns Are for Pussies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Scared of boogeymen, of course they are.

      So you're not from the US?

      But polite; you're nuts.

      And you're rude. Funny how that works.

    8. Re:Guns Are for Pussies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The people I know who are polite are not polite because of a belief (true or false) that people around them have guns. You certainly don't need to have everyone armed for society to be polite. (Which should be blatantly obvious to anyone who's ever lived in a country which was not gun-obsessed like the US is.)
      (I'm from the Southern US originally, by the way.)

      This reminds me of Christians who think people won't be good unless they believe in everlasting Hell for God to punish evil sinners, and they can't imagine anyone being good simply because they think it's the right thing to do.

    9. Re:Guns Are for Pussies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But polite; you're nuts.

      And you're rude. Funny how that works.

      What, your gun didn't make me polite? I thought was the reason you had the gun. Pussy.

    10. Re:Guns Are for Pussies by fatwilbur · · Score: 1

      Who cares what the other person's motivations are? This guy cares far too much about things that are none of his fucking business.

      Remember the concept of a free country? Just the fact that someone says they want to do something is reason enough for you to shut the fuck up and let them do it. They don't need to explain their "motivations" to you, that's absolutely ridiculous. People like things for no reason at all, and we're SUPPOSED to be able to pursue that, regardless of what douchebags like that guys thinks.

      Freedom is messy. This is a good time for that quote about those who sacrifice freedom for safety deserve neither. I find the arguments over safety even more ridiculous - he trumpets on about people owning guns being fearful but I see it the completely opposite way. Most fervent gun control advocates are so scared shitless that they and everyone they love will be gunned down, but its some high-number-of-nines likely they've never known ANYONE who's been shot. Pure stupidity and another concealed attempt, just like churches were so good at, to control other's behaviour and only do what you see as fun and right.

    11. Re:Guns Are for Pussies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please, no one with a brain believes that twisted old pervert Henleins's bullshit.

    12. Re:Guns Are for Pussies by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 0

      Just like the Russians. Most impolite mother fuckers you'll ever meet.

  12. Confused gun owner here by Nidi62 · · Score: 2

    Now, I could be different from most gun owners, but I don't really see the draw for something like this. As the summary notes, if a firearm were purchased like this it would have to be shipped to an FFL that the buyer could pick it up from, but most FFLs charge a fee for handling transfers like this. And for me, before I purchase a firearm I want to hold it and inspect it. Even when I have purchased firearms off the internet the actual transaction was done in person so I was able to inspect the weapon before completing the transaction. Also, in the case of (most)gun shops, you know exactly what gun you are buying because the saleman takes it off the rack or shelf and hands it to you for you to look at, then will walk it over to the register or process the transaction there. I really would not want to purchase a firearm sight unseen.

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    1. Re:Confused gun owner here by kheldan · · Score: 1

      I don't really see the draw for something like this

      One look at this will explain it all for you:
      https://www.google.com/search?q=hot+chicks+with+guns&biw=1600&bih=731&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjiiPmm58zJAhUBRWMKHdOZAYsQ_AUIBigB

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    2. Re:Confused gun owner here by JudgeFurious · · Score: 1

      That's really been the only thing stopping me from buying at gunbroker.com so I know what you're saying. The fees aren't huge but everything adds up. You buy the gun and the price is most likely not anything special. I mean, maybe it's a little bit cheaper but mostly the prices there are in line with anywhere else you might look. Then you pay shipping for it and if the seller happens to be a business in your state you even pay tax. Finally they ship it to a gun dealer near you and you go pay that guy too. I imagine their channel will work a lot like that too. Not my idea of a good time buying a gun. At least I can use gunbroker for research before I buy locally. I'm not going to watch a cable channel to do that. Probably in no time they'll be selling other shooting related sporting goods and making all their money on that.

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
    3. Re:Confused gun owner here by dbc · · Score: 1

      That, and the fees charged are fixed by law. So doing the DROS paperwork without making the sale is a net money loser for the gun dealer. I like to support the local guys as much as I can, and most of them are happy to order anything special that you might want from their distributors anyway.

    4. Re:Confused gun owner here by i.r.id10t · · Score: 1

      Not everywhere. In California, perhaps (you mention DROS which is only Cali AFAIK). Here in Florida, most dealers charge $20-30 plus the phone call fee, the state charges tehm $5 per call but the dealer is allowed (by law) to charge $8.

      Of course, if you like older stuff, you can get a C&R FFL (aka Type 3 FFL) for under $50 for 3 years and have qualifying firearms shipped directly to you.

      https://www.atf.gov/firearms/c...

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
    5. Re:Confused gun owner here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably in no time they'll be selling other shooting related sporting goods and making all their money on that.

      I too believe that this would also be the case. The will sell guns to get attention, perhaps as a bit of a loss leader to absorb the cost of the FFL, but they will make their money on holsters, hunting jackets, and other such items.

    6. Re:Confused gun owner here by MBGMorden · · Score: 1

      A gun purchasing "channel" on TV holds no interest for me, but personally I buy most of my guns online these days (from sites like Buds or Grabagun).

      For the most part, guns are a commodity at this point. If I buy a new handgun it generally arrives and works fine. Once I've chosen a particular make/model I don't care which one out of the case I get. I do the same with a lot of surplus or police trade-in guns that I order. They aren't new, but for the most part they work just fine, so I don't care about the cosmetics THAT much as long as it's reasonable.

      Now, the shop down the road charges $20 for a transfer fee, but is typically $75-100 more in cost compared to online shops. To me it is just better to order online and then go on down to the shop and do the paperwork to pick it up when it comes in. With the money I save I usually can get a decent holster and a couple extra magazines.

      On the odd case that I get a gun that isn't satisfactory I can have the manufacturer remedy the situation.

      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
    7. Re:Confused gun owner here by jroysdon · · Score: 1

      In California, FFLs charge more for shipped firearms from other dealers vs. PTP, in addition to the DROS fees. Sometimes as high as $100 extra.

    8. Re:Confused gun owner here by JudgeFurious · · Score: 1

      I did not know that. Thank you for posting that information!

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
    9. Re:Confused gun owner here by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      There are plenty of gun owners who will happily buy a gun based on photos alone, as popularity of GunBroker etc shows. I have personally bought over a dozen guns from GB, and I've only had an issue once, which is, in fact, a better success rate than buying in-store. Only one of those GB transactions had an in-person money exchange and goods inspection; everything else was the usual - pay money first, get it at your FFL later.

  13. may just take away from places like Walmart by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If all it does is get people to buy from them instead of other stores then it won't put any more guns on the street than would have already been there.

    1. Re:may just take away from places like Walmart by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      shut the fuck up.

    2. Re:may just take away from places like Walmart by cayenne8 · · Score: 1
      Hey, and welcome to the Home Gun Channel.

      Shawn: "First off, we have Achmed on the line..Achmed, how's it going today and what can we do for you?"

      Achmed: "Well, Shawn, I just got 20 of those lovely AR-15's in the last segment, that we're gonna modify, and well...have some 'fun' with soon. Oh, and I wanted to give a shout out to your co-host Jill that is out today sick...We Miss you Hon!!"

      (Sounds of shouts....lalalalallalalala...*boom*...).

      Achmed: "Oops, sorry Shawn, we have a few federal friends at the door and I have to go for now...but really loved the AR's and I will come back later for that handsome carry case and bandolier"....

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  14. Getting real sick of the rhetoric. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Generally, people who buy guns legally aren't putting them on the street, They get too dirty there. When I buy guns, they come in the mail, get cleaned, and then get locked in my safe.

    Im getting pretty tired of people like me who want to own firearms being branded as a public menace because of some assholes who steal or smuggle weapons and cause mayhem with them.

    Society frowns upon the notion that Muslim=terrorist, I don't get how it's ok to keep spewing that Gun owner = public menace.

    Its easy to pick on us to gain political sway. every time something happens the media and politicians come after us because it makes them look good without having to actually do anything hard, like address the root cause of the problem.

  15. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 2

    Which piece(s) information was/were incorrect?

  16. You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by sjbe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The boom has lately been helped by a drumbeat of mass shootings, whose attendant anxiety has only driven more people into the gun store.

    Which is among the most bizarre reactions ever. I'm amazed how many people have the delusion that they are going to defend themselves with a gun despite the clear evidence that it almost never actually happens. Do you really want to live in a world where everyone is packing at all times? I sure don't. I have no problem against people owning firearms (I have some myself) but I think everybody arming themselves out of fear is anything less than insane.

    The proposed schedule of programming allots an eight-minute segment each hour to safety public service announcements in between proposed segments on topics like women's concealed weapon's apparel, big-game hunting and camping.

    Which is pretty much akin to Anheuser-Busch having anti-drunk driving messaging right after an ad showing how much fun you'll have with their product. More than a little hypocritical and arguably a mixed message. The NRA is nothing more than a (very effective) lobbying arm of the firearms industry. It's remarkable how many people have bought into their propaganda.

    "The vast majority of people who own and use guns in this country, whether it's home protection, recreation or hunting, are responsible . I don't really know that it's going to put more guns on the streets."

    The fact that most gun owners are responsible is true but irrelevant. The problem is that some people ARE killers and we can't tell who they are in most cases prior to them putting bullets into people. It just takes one unhinged person to commit a mass murder. You can do all the background checks you want but they aren't perfect and the simple fact is that would-be criminals continue to have easy access to firearms and continue to commit murders at an alarming rate. It is simply ludicrously easy for mentally ill people to get firearms and ammunition and groups like the NRA fight even the most reasonable efforts to contain the problem tooth and nail.

    1. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Indy1 · · Score: 4, Informative

      "I'm amazed how many people have the delusion that they are going to defend themselves with a gun despite the clear evidence that it almost never actually happens. "

      Clear evidence? Hate to say it, but even the Department of Justice under Clinton (no friend of lawful gun owners) says there are several million defensive uses of firearms per year.

      Also check the studies by Kleck out of FSU.

      https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles...

      --
      Lawyers, MBA's, RIAA? A jedi fears not these things!
    2. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      The boom has lately been helped by a drumbeat of mass shootings, whose attendant anxiety has only driven more people into the gun store.

      Which is among the most bizarre reactions ever. I'm amazed how many people have the delusion that they are going to defend themselves with a gun despite the clear evidence that it almost never actually happens. Do you really want to live in a world where everyone is packing at all times? I sure don't. I have no problem against people owning firearms (I have some myself) but I think everybody arming themselves out of fear is anything less than insane.

      I think it's a combination of 2 things, and both are actually kind of illogical ways of thinking. The first is, as you said, protection. They want to protect themselves and so want to get a gun. Now, as a gun owner myself, I don't expect to ever have to use on of my guns for protection (I do keep one by my bed though, just in case). However, most people who rush out and buy one for this reason might go to the range once or twice and therefore wouldn't have the skills or training necessary to protect themselves if they actually did end up needing a gun. The second is simply fear that we will ban or limit guns. This is what drove the spike in gun prices (especially semiautomatic assault rifles such as ARs and AKs) after Sandy Hook. Again, the likelihood of this is very small.

      I did have one thought though regarding this channel: if it is filmed in California, are the firearms considered to have been purchased there? If so, wouldn't that limit the channel to only selling California-compliant firearms? That would mean no pistol grip rifles, no rifles with magazines over 10 rounds, and no handguns over 10 rounds.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    3. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by klek · · Score: 1

      The boom has lately been helped by a drumbeat of mass shootings, whose attendant anxiety has only driven more people into the gun store.

      I'm amazed how many people have the delusion that they are going to defend themselves with a gun despite the clear evidence that it almost never actually happens..

      Fear doesn't respond to evidence.
      Fear is an emotion.
      Fear directs one to do what one has been (more/less) brainwashed to do, reflexively.

    4. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm amazed how many people have the delusion that they are going to defend themselves with a gun despite the clear evidence that it almost never actually happens.

      I'm amazed how many people have the delusion that they are going to get killed by a 'mass shooter' with a gun despite the clear evidence that it almost never actually happens.

    5. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm amazed how many people have the delusion that they are going to defend themselves with a gun despite the clear evidence that it almost never actually happens.

      The Centers for Disease Control says this happens 1,000,000 - 3,000,000 times per year, versus 7,000 intentional homicides (85% of which - according to the FBI - are drug and/or gang related).

      Relatively speaking, the thing that "almost never actually happens" is an innocent person getting killed. Certainly there are anecdotal incidents that happen every day, but the vast, vast majority of gun use every day is lawful and beneficial to society. That's from the CDC and the FBI.

    6. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by erapert · · Score: 1

      Interesting. Check out the above post by Indy1

      Now let's see if facts change your opinion.

    7. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is simply ludicrously easy for mentally ill people to get firearms and ammunition. . .

      Most killers are not "mentally ill" by an meaningful definition. They are angry, hopeless or otherwise upset. Often, they act out during a transitory phase of one of these emotional states. They are not "ill" and there is nothing about them outside of the norms of human emotional volatility until something pushes them too far. There is no way to identify future killers that would not single out many "normal" and "law abiding" people.

      I appreciate most of your comment, but singling out the ease of access to guns by "mentally ill people" unfairly demonizes and discriminates against people who have done nothing wrong and are less likely to do something wrong, if correct our perception for pop definitions of "crazy".

      The unfortunate fact is that focusing on the "mentally ill" will have a negligible impact on gun violence. The problem is an over-abundance of guns, and there is no practical solution that doesn't involve reducing their availability to everyone.

    8. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The fact that most gun owners are responsible is true but irrelevant. The problem is that some people ARE killers and we can't tell who they are in most cases prior to them putting bullets into people. It just takes one unhinged person to commit a mass murder. You can do all the background checks you want but they aren't perfect and the simple fact is that would-be criminals continue to have easy access to firearms and continue to commit murders at an alarming rate. It is simply ludicrously easy for mentally ill people to get firearms and ammunition and groups like the NRA fight even the most reasonable efforts to contain the problem tooth and nail.

      Just out of curiosity:

      The fact that most Muslims are responsible is true but irrelevant. The problem is that some Muslims ARE killers and we can't tell who they are in most cases prior to them blowing people up. It just takes one unhinged Muslim to commit a mass murder. You can do all the background checks you want but they aren't perfect and the simple fact is that would-be Terrorists continue to have easy access to the public and continue to commit terrorist acts at an alarming rate. It is simply ludicrously easy for mentally ill people to get firearms and ammunition and groups like the NRA fight even the most reasonable efforts to contain the problem tooth and nail.

      Huh...very few changes required.

    9. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Jfetjunky · · Score: 1

      I promise the large number of people that are snapping up guns aren't doing it because they are disillusioned about defending themselves. Most of these people already have all they need if the situation arose. They are doing it because they have a perception of a future scarcity, and they consider it a wise investment to stock up. This continues because history has proven them right. Any time there have been talks of anything resembling the old assault weapons ban, it caused prices to soar. And prices did soar continually during the old one. So you get two approaches: 1. Buy what you want/can before the price goes obscene. and if you are so inclined, 2. Sell when the price is high and make a nice profit.

    10. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

      It is simply ludicrously easy for mentally ill people to get firearms and ammunition. . .

      Most killers are not "mentally ill" by an meaningful definition. They are angry, hopeless or otherwise upset. Often, they act out during a transitory phase of one of these emotional states. They are not "ill" and there is nothing about them outside of the norms of human emotional volatility until something pushes them too far.

      More importantly: Psychologists trying to predict whether a particular individual will commit violence on others have results worse than chance.

      Further, most "mentally ill" (especially depressives and those with other affective disorders) are far less likely to kill or otherwise violently harm others than the average of the general population.

      Ban guns for anyone who has seen a shrink for depression and you disarm more than half the female population. Ban guns for anyone a healthcare worker suspects of PTSD and you disarm essentially all stalker victims and anyone who decided to finally get a gun because they were the victim of a crime.

      Ban guns for anyone who has voluntarily seen a shrink and large numbers of people who SHOULD see a shrink will chose not to do so. (Thus professional psychologists are some of the strongest opponents to laws letting the government use psychological records in gun background checks and RKBA infringement laws.)

      (The occasional person who goes on a spree when treated with antidepressants is more than adequately explained by this phenomenon: Psychopathy and depression are separate conditions, so some people happen to be both psychopaths and depressed. Treat the depression and you have a fully functional psychopath.)

      There is no way to identify future killers that would not single out many "normal" and "law abiding" people.

      There is only one good predictor of future violence: A past history of violence. But that's handled adequately by gun restrictions on people either convicted of crimes or involuntarily committed, as a danger to others, based on a history of being a danger to others, in a court proceeding .

      --
      Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
    11. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      If you don't think that folks defend themselves with guns daily, it is you who live on a different planet. https://www.gunowners.org/sk08... But I doubt whether truth and reality matter to you. And, (hint, hint) the NRA is a tremendous supporter of cops, the military, and a secure society. Your logic about A-B is also incorrect.

    12. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Which is among the most bizarre reactions ever. I'm amazed how many people have the delusion...

      Translation, "I have poor empathy skills." Or perhaps you understand and are pretending not to.

      Try understanding people instead of ranting at them.

    13. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Nikkos · · Score: 1

      "Which is among the most bizarre reactions ever. I'm amazed how many people have the delusion that they are going to defend themselves with a gun despite the clear evidence that it almost never actually happens"

      Actually, it happens multiple times every day. The thing is, unless someone actually dies or gets arrested, it doesn't make the evening news. And if nobody is hurt and the bad guy runs away, most people don't go calling the cops after the event is over and done, there's no point.

      This is one from last night... http://www.wbaltv.com/news/pol...

    14. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually the clear evidence is in the US it happens more often than car deaths in most other western countries. People take a lot of precautions and there are a lot of laws to limit car deaths, yet you are more likely to be shot while in the US.

    15. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by DRJlaw · · Score: 1

      The fact that most gun owners are responsible is true but irrelevant. The problem is that some people ARE killers and we can't tell who they are in most cases prior to them putting bullets into people.... and groups like the NRA fight even the most reasonable efforts to contain the problem tooth and nail.

      The fact that you see no contradiction between the opening and the closing of your final paragraph is telling. You can't tell who they are in most cases, but it's "reasonable" to impose all sorts of hurdles on 'irrelevant' responsible gun owners in the vain hope that you can achieve a marked reduction of gun crime. Real world efficacy be damned.

      California has implemented essentially every reasonable control measure proposed to date, and advocates even admit that "[n]ot every law can prevent every gun death" (Allison Anderman, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence), but god forbid anyone question whether yet another supposedly reasonable regulation like tying background check results to a due-process-free terrorist watch list is as reasonable and worthwhile as some believe.

      This is why people outside the firearms industry buy in to the NRA's "propaganda." By which I actually mean "disagree with you" and "lobby to get their way just like everyone else."

    16. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by ScentCone · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Which is among the most bizarre reactions ever.

      Yes, it seems bizarre because it's the writer deliberately misrepresenting the situation. People don't run out to get a firearm because of rare mass shootings, they run out to get one out of concern that low-information voters and/or disingenuous politicians are going to make it harder to get one in the future.

      I'm amazed how many people have the delusion that they are going to defend themselves with a gun despite the clear evidence that it almost never actually happens.

      What? It happens at least tens of thousands of times a year, and depending on how you want to measure it, hundreds of thousands (brandishing a gun to prevent or end an assault, for example, is a common use of a firearm in self defense, even though shots aren't actually fired). What's your definition of "almost never?" An Uber driver in Chicago - who has a conceal carry permit - used is personal weapon to end a "mass shooting" event on Friday. The only injury was to the guy with the illegal gun who was starting to shoot at a bunch of people on the sidewalk. Didn't hear about that one? Yeah, I didn't think so. Near here in Baltimore yesterday, a couple of guys stomped into a retail store waving a shotgun around and announcing a robbery with threats to kill anyone who resisted. Someone in the store shot the one guy dead, and the other ran (and was eventually arrested). This stuff goes on all the time, and it's only your deliberate choice to ignore it that (or more likely, pretend that you don't know about it) that makes you comfortable saying "never actually happens." It happens all the time. Start googling for women home alone who fend off home invasion assaults with a family firearm: I'm sure the long list of those women you think don't exist are very glad to have had the means to defend themselves.

      The problem is that some people ARE killers and we can't tell who they are in most cases prior to them putting bullets into people

      Yup, just like people driving cars. Some are irresponsible or even malicious, and between them, kill far more people that murderers with guns. People with pipes, clubs, and bare hands kill more people every year than those with all shotguns and rifles of any kind combined (says the FBI).

      It is simply ludicrously easy for mentally ill people to get firearms and ammunition and groups like the NRA fight even the most reasonable efforts to contain the problem tooth and nail.

      Now you're just lying. The NRA fully supports purchase blocks do to mental illness. What you're complaining about is that families, friends, and coworkers who know that somebody is dangerously unstable won't bother to subject those people to legal/medical scrutiny. That's a political correctness problem that is WAY up stream of the retail gun purchase layer.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    17. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by ProzacPatient · · Score: 1

      The NRA is nothing more than a (very effective) lobbying arm of the firearms industry.

      Entirely false; the firearms industry has its own lobbyist group separate from the NRA, and the NRA represents the interests of its members who are obviously gun owners. It's really a civil rights organization.

    18. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm amazed how many people have the delusion that they are going to defend themselves with a gun despite the clear evidence that it almost never actually happens.

      Except it does, constantly.

      Do you really want to live in a world where everyone is packing at all times?

      I would have no problem with such a society. There are already enough people packing on a daily basis to not make me worried.

      The fact that most gun owners are responsible is true but irrelevant.

      This is why we should ban encryption, amirite?

    19. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Which is among the most bizarre reactions ever. I'm amazed how many people have the delusion that they are going to defend themselves with a gun despite the clear evidence that it almost never actually happens.

      What clear evidence? In most cases, the victims of shooting sprees aren't armed. When they are armed, they do sometimes fight back successfully. Not always, no, but sometimes, which is better than never.

      A gun is not a perfect tool to deal with most kinds of crime, but for spree killings, it's actually the only thing that would give you any chance if you're a victim and unable to run away. You can't just "give it up" and convince the perp to go away. You can either run, or lie down and wait to be shot, or fight back. Running is not always an option.

    20. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by LessThanObvious · · Score: 1

      I'd also say freedom isn't about being forced to do that statistics say is best. Every individual gets to decide for themselves what is best and safest for them.

    21. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by LessThanObvious · · Score: 2

      I agree with all of the above and I'd add when it comes to statistics it's very hard to put a number on the amount of times a person displays a weapon to discourage a violent confrontation and never reports the incident. I don't know anyone personally who has fired a weapon in defense, but I've heard many stories in my personal circle where a violent encounter was averted by the potential victim displaying a weapon. These incidents often go unreported.

    22. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by forand · · Score: 1

      If the NRA "sully supports purchase block do[sic] to mental illness" then why is there no national law to that effect?

    23. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It took me about 5 seconds of Googling to show that the one concrete statistic you mention is false.

      The FBI reports that at least two-thirds of all homicides in the US are committed with guns. Source.

      I won't tell you to check all your facts, because I know no-one ever does that (including me). But whoever told you that particular statistic? Perhaps you might like to treat that person or source with a little more scepticism in future.

    24. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      If the NRA "sully supports purchase block do[sic] to mental illness" then why is there no national law to that effect?

      Every state in the country already has that law. You're confusing the existing laws that prevent mentally ill people from buying guns with the actual problem, which is the dangerously unstable people who haven't been found to be mentally ill, and recorded as such in the already existing databases that are checked during the background checks performed by dealers and retailers. In other words, the existing laws are fine. The problem is that dangerously crazy people often have no interaction with law enforcement or even professional mental health care until they snap and do something awful.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    25. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      The fact that most gun owners are responsible is true but irrelevant.

      Seems to be a bit like the Muslims. Where are all the moderate gun owners decrying the acts of the extremist minority? Is there some other rifle association that speaks for moderate gun owners, or is the NRA all there is?

    26. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      Clear evidence? Hate to say it, but even the Department of Justice under Clinton (no friend of lawful gun owners) says there are several million defensive uses of firearms per year.

      The police have guns yet still get shot. How does that fit with the theory?

    27. Re:You can't tell who the responsible buyers are by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      are committed with guns

      Are you really lecturing me about checking facts while you yourself aren't making the distinction between handguns and long guns? I explicitly stated "shotguns and rifles" - the point being that when lefties get all low-information-panties-in-a-knot about "assault rifles," they are talking about something that's less relevant than good old fashioned being beaten to death.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  17. time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Yeah!
    O'bummer's been going to take er guns for years!

    You know, maybe "shooting enthusiasts" aren't as firmly grounded in reality as you keep telling yourselves.
    Maybe you shouldn't be trusted with deadly weapons.

    Ah, to live in a rational world...

    1. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by dywolf · · Score: 1

      ^delusional

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    2. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Talk is cheap. He ain't done shit. If he actually cared, he would have done it during his first two years, it wasn't on his top 10.

      Clinton might try to push through a gun control law, but you can't "ban guns", you know it, I know it, and she knows it. Examine the law they propose and then form an opinion as to whether it is tolerable or not, then act accordingly. It would not be horrifying, for example, if purchasing weapons required having a license that the government was obligated to grant, unless you met certain explicit criteria. Such as a background check for violent crimes, mental disorder, and maybe having had a basic gun safety class in the past 5 years. You could still have all the guns you wanted, we could reduce some trivial gun crimes, continue to bitch and moan about the remainder and call it a day.

    3. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Talk is cheap. He ain't done shit. If he actually cared, he would have done it during his first two years, it wasn't on his top 10.

      Careful- the bubble will envelope the faithful, and they'll start their panic. They'll be talking about how he's trying to take away their guns 20 years form now.

      And lest the faithful think I'm pro gun control, not really. I'm just anti-kook.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    4. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh stop giving basement dwelling trolls a bad name.

    5. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

      And lest the faithful think I'm pro gun control, not really. I'm just anti-kook.

      Says the guy making a fool of himself on the internet ?

    6. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by eumoria · · Score: 1

      haha wow you're fucking nuts

    7. Re: time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      AC, could I get a copy of your "democrat translation matrix?" It seems like a wonderfully precise bit of kit.

    8. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by jedidiah · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Before any national measures are passed, I am waiting for at least one Blue state to "get things right". The last shooting in California happened in what should be the blueprint for the nation in terms of gun laws. They even have "gun grabber" squads that will take your guns away if you suddenly become "ineligible" for some reason.

      Yet this great bastion of liberalness couldn't manage to put in place a relevant semi-automatic rifle and large magazine ban.

      The perps didn't even have to "go out of state" to get their guns.

      Until the liberal states can actually complain about that "problem", doubling down on their agenda just doesn't make any sense.

      At least try to manage a successful proof-of-concept first before you expect the rest of us to drink the Kool-aid.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    9. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by cayenne8 · · Score: 0

      Yet this great bastion of liberalness couldn't manage to put in place a relevant semi-automatic rifle and large magazine ban.

      Just curious..which semi-automatics would you allow folks to own vs those not allowed to own?

      Or, are you saying the common folks should only be able to own single fire/bolt action rifles?

      What about pistols...should we not allow semi-auto pistols too..those were also used in the most recent CA shooting spree.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    10. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 2

      You do realise that this sort of law making is typically done by congress. Sure he could use presidential powers, but that is a tool that is meant to be used only in extreme situations and with care. He may pull the rabbit out of the hat before the end of his term, but with a congress bent over finding reasons to block him or indict him, he needs to choose his timing. Heck, congress could should some responsibility as well, but at the moment this is not the case, from what I have seen.

      --
      Jumpstart the tartan drive.
    11. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 1

      I should probably mention as well, that the tax revenue from the firearms industry is another reason for congress not wanting to change the rules. See: http://www.nssf.org/impact/

      --
      Jumpstart the tartan drive.
    12. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      And lest the faithful think I'm pro gun control, not really. I'm just anti-kook.

      Says the guy making a fool of himself on the internet ?

      Says the guy who wins the internet for the biggest non sequitur of the week? As noted before, you and your kook ilk have th ecapacity to go apeshit nuts if somene doesnt agree 100 percent with the idea that the jack booted thugs are a-comin to take yer guns.

      Stoke that anger - feel that burn Booyea!

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    13. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      I don't believe an individual state can have successful gun control laws without creating policed border crossings with the other states.

    14. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > It would not be horrifying, for example, if purchasing weapons required having a license that the government was obligated to grant, unless you met certain explicit criteria. Such as a background check for violent crimes, mental disorder, and maybe having had a basic gun safety class in the past 5 years.

      Many places *already* require a permit to buy. On top of that how would these measures prevent any significant number of incidents? What percentage of past incidents would have been prevented by them?

      Not too mention it does sound a little strange. Imagine if you had to obtain a license that checked for violent crimes, mental disorders and maybe having a basic English class to post on the internet.....

    15. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "It would not be horrifying, for example, if purchasing weapons required having a license that the government was obligated to grant, unless you met certain explicit criteria. Such as a background check for violent crimes, mental disorder, and maybe having had a basic gun safety class in the past 5 years. You could still have all the guns you wanted, we could reduce some trivial gun crimes, continue to bitch and moan about the remainder and call it a day."

      The right to personal self defense is established as a civil right under the 2nd Amendment. The right to vote is established as a civil right, and expanded under the 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments. Would you propose a background check for violent crimes, mental disorder, and maybe a test for basic civics knowledge within the past 5 years to ensure that our democracy is influenced only by the educated?

    16. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by butchersong · · Score: 2, Informative
      Gun homicide is actually dramatically down -except in those areas with strict gun laws.

      Though perhaps not the very best source: http://www.breitbart.com/big-j...

    17. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the criminals are using more firearms registered out of state than in state, then you can reasonably assume that your laws for the most part work.

    18. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Here's one interesting data point:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      This is a European country with probably the most liberal gun laws in Europe (they even have shall-issue concealed carry). Yet it doesn't seem to have a gun violence problem - they only had one killing spree in 25 years since they enacted those laws after the fall of communism, and their overall murder rate is lower than UK, France and Canada, to name a few. So it seems that they're doing things right.

      Of note are the things that they don't have:
      - assault weapon ban
      - ban on handguns
      - ban on carrying firearms
      - magazine capacity limits
      - gun-free zones

      And they do have:
      - stand your ground (not as law, but as absence of duty to retreat)
      - somewhat limited form of castle doctrine

      So what else do they have? Universal licensing for gun ownership (and not just carry) with a "shall-issue" but thorough vetting process, complete with psych exam.

      Perhaps we should start there, and see how well that works, before piling more restrictions, many of which (like AWB) are evidently absurd to anyone who knows how guns work.

      While we're at it, universal background checks have massive popular support. 92% of all Americans support them. 90% of gun owners support them. 86% of Republicans support them. There's no excuse not to implement this.

      Full disclosure: I am a gun owner with over 30 firearms in possession, including several "assault weapons".

    19. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by cayenne8 · · Score: 2

      I don't believe an individual state can have successful gun control laws without creating policed border crossings with the other states.

      Well, then they just need to learn to live with it...just as the states around CO are having to live with legal pot in CO.....

      Each state SHOULD be able to regulate most laws on these things to fulfill the wishes of the citizens of those states.

      Remember, you are a citizen of your state first, and then a citizen of the United States seconds...at least, that's how it was set up.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    20. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by reboot246 · · Score: 1

      It's not just Obama. Governments from the time there were governments have wanted their citizens to be unarmed. The reason you hear from the pro-gun lobby periodically is that without vigilance the government (no matter who is in charge) will try to disarm the citizens. A right not defended is a right lost.

      Yes, we have a lot of guns in this country, but nobody can point to one new law that would have prevented the last terrorist attack or the shootings in Sandy Hook. What's needed is strict enforcement of the laws WE ALREADY HAVE. But nobody in government wants to do that. It doesn't fit in with their agenda of disarming us.

    21. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      Or they need to have a border. And border checks.

      Perhaps the US should consider breaking up into different countries, as it certainly feels, from the outside looking in, that people do consider themselves a citizen of their state first.

      Australia is also a federation of states. However I think you would find the vast vast majority of people consider themselves Australian before considering themselves a Victorian or a Queenslander. And Australia was setup with each state separate and there are many many many legislative powers that sit with the State and not Federal so it is not completely dissimilar (at least on that part)

    22. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "While we're at it, universal background checks have massive popular support. 92% of all Americans support them. 90% of gun owners support them. 86% of Republicans support them. There's no excuse not to implement this.

      Full disclosure: I am a gun owner with over 30 firearms in possession, including several "assault weapons"."

      I call bullshit!

    23. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      You do realise that this sort of law making is typically done by congress. Sure he could use presidential powers, but that is a tool that is meant to be used only in extreme situations and with care.

      Just FYI...according to the Constitution....ALL LAWS are to come from congress, and congress only.

      The president has NO constitutional power to create or enact laws. He is there to execute the laws congress passes.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    24. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      On what, the 90% stats, or the fact that I'm a gun owner?

      The first is one google search away. For the second, just for lulz, I'll prove it by posting pics of a couple guns with the accompanying note if so requested.

    25. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by forand · · Score: 1

      A single party controls both the House and Senate of the United States, if there is a super majority of support for universal background checks why has no law been proposed?

    26. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Because most people who are in favor of it don't consider it the single most important issue - when voting, they will usually look at other things first. On the other hand, the pro-gun block has a significant number of people who are single-issue voters on this. So if you're a Republican congressman, you can stick to your guns and placate that block to get their votes, knowing that very few other people will actively vote against you over it, or you can support such a law and lose all those single-issue voters without any noticeable gains elsewhere.

      So the more accurate description of these results is that 10% of Americans believe really strongly that universal background checks are bad, while 90% believe that they're good, but don't have a very strong opinion on it. And due to the way political system is structured in US (severe partisanship, FPTP etc), voting blocks based on strong opinions wield disproportionate power.

    27. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      I don't think he was advocating the banning of them, just pointing out that California has already banned certain types of them and completely failed in its implementation (as the latest terrorist attack point out )

      I think it is more of a dig on the idea that passing another law is pointless because existing laws are being ignored or are so difficult to enforce it is unrealistic.

    28. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      This is a European country with probably the most liberal gun laws in Europe (they even have shall-issue concealed carry). Yet it doesn't seem to have a gun violence problem -.

      If you've ever been to the Czech Republic you'll know why. Hot blonde haired blue eyed babes as far as the eye can see, and most of them will have sex with you for $50. Bring that into the US and your problems will be solved.

    29. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Clinton might try to push through a gun control law, but you can't "ban guns", you know it, I know it, and she knows it.

      Of course, we all know it. But if I was a gun manufacturer with no conscience, I'd try to make as many people as possible believe that it wasn't true. Sales would skyrocket.

    30. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      [Not the same AC]

      Regarding the "90%" study (I'm still looking for an old link I had to an analysis of it), there were severe problems with it, enough so that even the president eventually stopped citing that number and moved to language like "overwhelming support". For the other figures, I'd need links (and access to more than a research study abstract) to know if I've already seen them or comment on their validity.

      Also, despite the NRA's stated support of second amendment rights, a large subset of its membership (perhaps even a majority) are wholly focused on gun hunting rights, with second amendment rights in their minds only to the extent necessary to preserve hunting rights. Those members tend not to concern themselves with some of the unintended consequences of private sale background checks because they don't think of them as having any impact on, for example, deer hunting.

      Also, our government isn't the Czech government, and our culture differs as well. There is a significant anti-gun political movement here, and there are now, and have been in the past, powerful elected and appointed officials who have explicitly stated that disarming the population is a long-term goal. In the last decade or so, they've gotten smart enough to no longer say such things explicitly or publicly, but it's still there. US Attorney General Janet Reno had this to say in a Good morning America interview on 10 Dec 1993: Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal. Nixon wanted to ban civilian handguns outright. Elected and appointed officials, except perhaps for Senator Feinstein, have largely stopped openly saying such things for the last decade or so, but I do believe the current Attorney General quietly holds exactly the same position, as do many of our elected legislators at the federal and state levels. As you surely know, misinformation around firearms abounds in the popular news media, so it becomes less likely that increasingly misguided voters will curb the impulses of such legislators and executives. Those are some of the reasons why it is perceived to be problematic to trust the US government (and some state governments) in such matters.

      I would only support licensing and universal background check systems which didn't allow federal and state governments to develop firearms ownership databases (well, short of living in a panopticon). No proposal I've seen has even come close to clearing that bar, and IMO that's because "common sense" and "gun safety" are not the actual goals, just the sales pitch.

      Finally, we're doing a piss-poor job of implementing many of the background checks we currently have in place, so I fail to see the benefit of additional restrictions which likely will be applied mostly to the law-abiding citizens.

      TL;DR: I'd love for the US to have what you've described for the Czech Republic, but I believe our federal and state governments are populated, in part, by individuals who are actively working against our interests in this area, supported by a disturbingly large subset of an electorate misinformed by the media. Sadly, I don't have any good solutions to this apparent impasse, and I don't see any good way forward. Culturally, we have such a history of perceived safety that we're becoming ever more obsessed with it, to the extent of absurdity.

      - T

    31. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by jwhitener · · Score: 1

      There are a whole bunch of things the US needs to change to address gun violence. Unfortunately, no politician is proposing serious solutions to the problem, left or right.

      I don't have time to look up the stats, but I'd assume that the Czech Republic has better mental health services, less income inequality, greater social mobility, ranks higher on happiness indexes, etc.. than the US.

      But it we aren't going to address some of the root causes of the absurdly high rates of gun violence in the US, then I don't see lowering clip capacity and banning a few more rifles as that big a deal. We already drawn the line at machine guns, grenades, rpgs (for the average person), moving the line down another notch or two isn't a big deal.

      'Assault' rifles and high capacity handguns are super fun to fire at a range (I just did last weekend), but they really have no purpose in a modern society.

      If you can't defend your family or yourself with a six shooter, your society has bigger problems. Like, you must be living in a war zone or something.

    32. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      I don't have time to look up the stats, but I'd assume that the Czech Republic has better mental health services, less income inequality, greater social mobility, ranks higher on happiness indexes, etc.. than the US.

      Yes, of course.

      (This is unfortunately rarely brought up, because to the right wing, public healthcare and other things necessary to reduce income inequality and improve social stability are anathema, and to the left wing, guns themselves are anathema.)

      But it we aren't going to address some of the root causes of the absurdly high rates of gun violence in the US, then I don't see lowering clip capacity and banning a few more rifles as that big a deal. We already drawn the line at machine guns, grenades, rpgs (for the average person), moving the line down another notch or two isn't a big deal.

      How big of a deal it is depends on whether you own any or not. To remind, there are several million of those types of guns in the country, and probably 10x if not more magazines. If you ban them, what are their owners supposed to do with them? Confiscation? It'd be unconstitutional. Or mandatory buyback like in Australia? If the latter, where does the money come from? It'll be quite expensive...

      But, more importantly, why would you want to do it if it doesn't actually make any difference? Assault weapon bans in particular make zero sense, because they ban guns based on largely decorative features that have little to no relevance to how deadly a gun is in a spree killing. A stock Ruger Mini-14 is just as deadly as its "tactical" cousin with a pistol grip and flash hider, yet the latter is an "assault weapon" while the former is not, even under the strictest AWB proposals to date.

      Unless, of course, by "assault weapons" you really just mean all semi-auto firearms. That would change things. But then why not call it what it is? And bear in mind that if the ban target is that broad, you'll have to amend the total count (and hence the number of people affected, and the amount of money you'd need for compensation purposes) to tens of millions, possibly even a hundred.

      With respect to magazine capacity limits. For one thing, they also make very little sense, as most popular semi-auto firearms are very easy and quick to reload, and even more so with just a little practice. Remember that Columbine was done with legal 10-round-limited mags. Besides, it's also fairly hard to define correctly, and consequently easy to circumvent. For example, here is a magazine that holds at most 10 rounds - of the caliber that it is designated for, that is. However, because the dimensions of the magazine are the same as the standard AR-15 mag, it can also hold 30 rounds of 5.56. Should it be illegal to own, or is it only illegal to load it with more than 10 rounds, or shoot it, or none of that? If you don't know about such things in advance when you write laws (and let's face it, most politicians who write gun control bills have no clue about what they're regulating), you wouldn't clarify that; and under any sane legal system, what's not prohibited is legal - as Canada has found out. Another good example of that type of thing is the California "bullet buttons", which stem from an unsuccessful attempt to define the difference between a fixed and a removable magazine (as all magazines are ultimately removable in some manner, for cleaning purposes).

      Also, magazines are actually extremely easy to manufacture - when you stop to think about it, it's basically just a box with a spring and a follower. A follower from any (even 2-round) legal capacity magazine will work without any changes, springs are obviously trivial to obtain, and the box itself can be made fr

    33. Re:time's almost run out, O'bummer! by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      One other thing.

      We already drawn the line at machine guns, grenades, rpgs (for the average person),

      I wonder if you're actually aware of the details of regulatory regime for these - most people aren't. There isn't actually a ban on full-auto firearms or grenades on the federal level (some states have their own bans, but many don't).

      Specifically for full-autos, there's a ban on importation or manufacture for civilian market, which means that supply is limited (only full-auto guns manufactured or imported before 1986 can be transferred to civilians), and so prices are very high - for example, here is an auction on a full-auto AR-15, starting at $18k; and on the cheaper side, here is WW2 Sten submachine gun, starting at $5k. However, if you have the cash, and if you don't live in a state that bans those, you could totally have it - all it takes is paying a $200 transfer tax to the feds (and waiting for a few months, because their processing queue for those transfer forms is very long).

      There's another alternative, that involves taking a new semi-auto, and replacing a few parts in it with registered full-auto parts. For example, for AR-15, all you need is what's called a "drop-in auto sear" that is manufactured before 1986, and registered as a full auto firearm. It just goes into pretty much any AR-15 on the market, and makes it a legal machine gun. (For bonus points, have a look at what the drop-in auto sear is, and think about how trivial it is to manufacture - this is illegal, of course, but if you wanted to use it, I doubt you'd care.)

      (There's another option, entirely illegal, but readily accessible. A regular mil-spec full auto trigger group and sear for an M16 is not considered a machinegun in and of itself, because it doesn't readily fit in a semi-auto AR-15 receiver. However, the only thing that is necessary to make it fit is drilling a single hole at the right spot, which is fairly trivial, given that receivers are aluminum - some are even polymer - and schematics and even jigs are readily available. Basically, it could be done with a cheap hand drill if desired. A complete kit with the trigger group, safety and sear costs around $100.)

      Consequently, in 1995, 9 years after the manufacture/import ban, there were 175,000 registered legal full-auto firearms in civilian possession. This number is certainly lower today, because things wear out - but probably not by that much, because you can replace most worn-out parts that don't differ between full-auto and semi-auto models, and because people naturally are careful about such expensive guns.

      Similarly, for grenade launchers and grenades, which are classified as "destructive devices" - you can own them, but you have to pay $200 for the transfer of both the launcher, and every grenade for it, so it gets expensive real quick. E.g. here is the standard military underbarrel 40mm grenade launcher - yours for $1500 + $200 transfer tax. Grenades are much harder to find, obviously, because they're a single-use thing by definition, but are also available given enough money. There are a few people in the country who own real tanks, complete with live guns and a stockpile of shells.

  18. Neanderthal much? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

    Have we really failed to progress so much that TV Shopping is still a viable thing? No browseability, no price comparisons, not enough resolution for detailed tables, options lists, specs, etc? Are there people just sitting on their couches, credit card in hand, waiting for some guy on the TV to wave a gun and tell them what number to call to Order Now, Supplies are Limited!

    Between Ye Olde in-person purchases, catalogs, and the internet; who is buying from what is basically a stream of infomercials? Especially modestly expensive gear like guns; surely you do a little looking around, rather than just impulse-buying whatever happens to be in front of you?

    1. Re:Neanderthal much? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Between Ye Olde in-person purchases, catalogs, and the internet; who is buying from what is basically a stream of infomercials? Especially modestly expensive gear like guns; surely you do a little looking around, rather than just impulse-buying whatever happens to be in front of you?

      Lonely people. Sad, lonely people.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    2. Re:Neanderthal much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have we really failed to progress so much that TV Shopping is still a viable thing? No browseability, no price comparisons, not enough resolution for detailed tables, options lists, specs, etc? Are there people just sitting on their couches, credit card in hand, waiting for some guy on the TV to wave a gun and tell them what number to call to Order Now, Supplies are Limited!

      Between Ye Olde in-person purchases, catalogs, and the internet; who is buying from what is basically a stream of infomercials? Especially modestly expensive gear like guns; surely you do a little looking around, rather than just impulse-buying whatever happens to be in front of you?

      Well, the generation that came up with it is still around and increasingly senile so it's not real surprise that it's still around and getting less well thought out.

    3. Re:Neanderthal much? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      It just seems like such a terrible fit for guns. Not because OMG, guns are scary; but because everyone I know with an interest in guns is either some sort of hunter type who would be interested in a gun, assorted accessories, possibly chatting with compatriots or knowledgeable salespeople about local conditions, etc. which seems much better served by either retail or online shopping; or a hardcore spec-nut who wouldn't dream of just buying the one gun that the guy on the TV is hyping; because comparison shopping, arguing about the virtues and vices of various manufacturers and dealers, customizing and accessorizing, and that sort of thing is half the fun. They seem better served by catalogs, if old school, or the internet, if not.

      TV shopping is like a store that slowly passes one product at a time in front of you; which seems like a terrible fit for anything except impulse purchases almost assured of producing buyer's remorse.

  19. Surprisingly, I'm sure there's an audience by ErichTheRed · · Score: 1

    What a lot of techies who are largely city folk don't realize is that there is a huge market for this in the rest of the country. The NRA is in a full-on marketing push scaring people into buying guns because they're worried about gun control even being talked about. I think something like a gun shopping channel might push some people who are on the fence into buying weapons "for protection" -- mild-mannered exurban moms or dads might be persuaded by a "think of your children" sales pitch, especially if you didn't actually have to go to a gun store.

    I'm a realist when it comes to gun control. I dislike guns and would never own one, but I also realize that once something is written in the Constitution, no matter how it's interpreted, it will never get removed. The NRA is a huge pro-gun lobby, and most gun owners are quite anti-government, so I think any attempt to roll this back would end up causing a civil war. I think the pro-gun crowd would be saying "guns don't kill people, people do" even if we had 5 or 10 workplace shootings a day. Do I like it? No, but changing it would be too much effort against a powerful adversary.

    1. Re:Surprisingly, I'm sure there's an audience by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      "Most gun owners are anti-government?" do you have facts to back up this ridiculous assertion? Most gun owners are no more anti-government than you are. They vote, serve jury duty, and respect the law and obtain their firearms by legal means.

    2. Re:Surprisingly, I'm sure there's an audience by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      Since a huge number of gun owners are military, former military, cops, former cops, and citizens with jobs I'd say that is completely absolutely wrong.

    3. Re:Surprisingly, I'm sure there's an audience by moeinvt · · Score: 1

      "especially if you didn't actually have to go to a gun store."

      It's illegal to ship a firearm to anyone other than an authorized dealer. All buyers would need to show up in person, fill out the required paperwork and pass a background check before getting their merchandise.

      "The NRA is in a full-on marketing push scaring people into buying guns"

      We have Hillary Clinton telling us that she would consider an Australia-style weapons confiscation scheme and ISIS sympathizers attacking civilians on U.S. soil and you think the NRA is responsible for scaring people into buying guns?

    4. Re:Surprisingly, I'm sure there's an audience by bigfinger76 · · Score: 1

      It's called "gaslighting".

    5. Re:Surprisingly, I'm sure there's an audience by Rockoon · · Score: 1

      do you have facts to back up this ridiculous assertion?

      People like the guy you replied to only care about the facts when the facts force them into moving their goalpost, and they immediately stop caring about them the instant that they have moved the goalpost.

      Anyone who has ever tried to debate these people on the merits of their argument see this very obvious thing. Their position came before any evidence, and no amount of evidence will change their position, only the rapidly moving goalpost they present as a series of justifications. As each justification is shot down, another emerges.

      The fact is that we've tried things like an assault weapons ban (we banned them nationally for 10 years), and the fact is that on an unlabeled graph of gun related violence you cannot identify where the period began or where it ended. When asked to explain the lack of skill that such already-tried laws have in effecting gun violence they will trot out some other justification for such laws, rather than do the rational thing and admit that their position is in error.

      Same facts that you can throw at them that wont make a bit of difference to their position:

      (U.S.A. stats)
      The majority of gun-related deaths are suicides (64%)
      The majority of homicides are by handguns (69.00%), not rifles (2.32%), shotguns (2.51%), or other types (16.97%)
      In the majority of homicides, the victim is black (55.00%) rather than white (25%) or hispanic (17%) even though only 13% of the population is black, 65% of the population is white, and 16% of the population is hispanic. (***)

      On average, you are 5.2 times more likely to be murdered by a knife than by any form of rifle.

      (***) When your treat a minority differently, its no surprise that the minority has different outcomes. You progressives are horrible people.

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
  20. No worries... by MMC+Monster · · Score: 0

    I am a fairly liberal sort of guy and have never touched a firearm, let alone owned one. I also think that guns should be limited to those who not only pass a *yearly* criminal background check but also should not be allowed for anyone who undergoes psychiatric admission to a hospital, even if it is voluntary.

    That being said, I have no problem with this sort of show and might actually watch some of it.

    Could be fun seeing the different types of guns and associated paraphernalia, and differing laws on what is legal to buy in different counties.

    --
    Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
    1. Re:No worries... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      But wouldn't your policy just discourage voluntary psychiatric evaluation? A gun owner/collector might be more reluctant to seek help/advice if doing so meant legal risks.

    2. Re:No worries... by rubycodez · · Score: 2

      The target demographic is not the ones shooting up inner cities. High per capita gun ownership rate where i live, but essentially zero violent crime.

    3. Re:No worries... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      also should not be allowed for anyone who undergoes psychiatric admission to a hospital, even if it is voluntary.

      The actual effect of this policy is to discourage those who own or would like to own firearms from seeking mental health care when it's needed. Please consider the implications of that for just a moment.

    4. Re:No worries... by ErichTheRed · · Score: 1

      " I also think that guns should be limited to those who not only pass a *yearly* criminal background check but also should not be allowed for anyone who undergoes psychiatric admission to a hospital, even if it is voluntary."

      Have you seen how hard it is to get an actual inpatient psychiatric admission these days? I think that's part of the problem -- people who have legitimate psychiatric problems don't get properly cared for. Usually, the severely mentally ill end up on the streets and cycle through jail. Sometimes they're stabilized, and sometimes they aren't when they come out. States decided quite some time ago that they don't want to pay for institutional care -- you have to be completely incapable of taking care of yourself or so dangerous to others that there's no other choice but to lock you up in order to get custodial treatment now. 50 or 60 years ago, that was different -- asylums had tens of thousands of people that just had to be put away because no effective treatments were available, and it was much easier to get committed even for garden-variety stuff like depression.

      The problem is that mental illness goes untreated in the vast majority of cases. Some people are OK, and others lose their minds and shoot up a school. I'm not saying the asylum system was the best way to treat mental illness, but not stigmatizing it is the only way to get it treated.

    5. Re:No worries... by moeinvt · · Score: 1

      Think carefully about what you're suggesting. You want to discourage people who would voluntarily seek out inpatient mental health treatment? You want service providers to be required to submit a patient's personal information to the federal government so that they become a "prohibited person"?
      Very few mentally ill people are actually violent. Those who might be inclined toward violence, such as the sociopaths and schizophrenics, will almost never seek out treatment voluntarily. Fear of being put on a list would result in many non-violent people with real mental health problems unwilling to get the treatment they need. That would have major negative implications for the quality of life of these people and their families.
      Terrible idea.

    6. Re:No worries... by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      If you are arrested and convicted of a crime that means you can no longer own guns (a felony, a domestic violence incident, some others) you won't have them anymore. If you are convicted of a crime and hold a concealed carry license it will be revoked and your firearms confiscated. A *yearly* background check is unnecessary. Though I suppose everyone who owns a gun could promise to buy a new one yearly, thus having such a check.

    7. Re:No worries... by jroysdon · · Score: 1

      While a criminal background check may prevent and remove some firearms, it won't stop things like San Bernardino. In order to stop that latest shooting, we'd need a Minority Report-style pre-crime analysis of people, which not only isn't technically possible, it's unconstitutional.

      Back to your original point: California already has a system that automatically flags gun owners who commit prohibiting crimes and disarms them, the California DoJ Armed and Prohibited Persons System, aka APPS. They go after 5150s as well. However, they often overstep their bounds disarming spouses as well, until lawyers reign them back in (the firearms just need to be secured from the Prohibited Person, which can mean they just don't know the combo to the safe).

      Additionally, CCW holders in California are constantly being watched by their Issuing Agencies. No doubt their IA will know very soon after an arrest and revoke their permit and secure their firearms. At a minimum, California CCW holders go through a background check every 2 years during the renewal process.

    8. Re:No worries... by jroysdon · · Score: 1
    9. Re:No worries... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem is that mental illness goes untreated in the vast majority of cases.

      That is certainly a problem. But it barely overlaps with gun violence. There should be more and better treatment for mental illness, but unfairly scapegoating them for gun violence is no way to start.

      Most people who could be diagnosed with a mental illness are not violent, and most violent people are not mentally ill. Most killers are just are angry and/or hopeless. They are "crazy" only by popular definitions, which are post-hoc reactions to their crimes. They are "stable" until something pushes them out of that stability.

      The real problem is that it is considered "normal" to amass deadly weapons and carry them around for "safety" or "enjoyment". That puts guns in the hands of the "normal" person who is only one sufficiently upsetting experience away from doing something "crazy".

       

    10. Re:No worries... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      wanting to own a gun should pretty much class you as a nutter!!

    11. Re:No worries... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And - someone that may want to seek treatment for a mental health issue, even a very minor one, may avoid seeking help if they know they will lose their weapons.

  21. cut the cord by cellocgw · · Score: 1

    If this shows up on my cable box, it'll be the first channel I ever bothered to block (aka Parental or whatever). First, tho' I'll call Xfrackity and threaten to terminate all services if they don't kill the channel entirely.

    Won't help, but it'll make me feel better.

    --
    https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
    1. Re:cut the cord by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe if you hold on, there will be a 24-hour channel for fedoras and dragon dildos too, edgelord.

    2. Re:cut the cord by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      Are you that afraid you cannot control yourself? Are you going to see a gun and suddenly have it leap into your hands through the TV set and go off on a killing rampage? I hope you do not drive a car, handle dangerous chemicals such as Chlorox, or own a matchbook.

  22. I'm starting a charity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's called Guns for Youth. I'm going to take unused guns from gun owners and dispute them to underprivileged inner city youth.

    I think this would really go a long way in helping sooth the open wounds from years of increasing harsh gun control laws.

    I'm going to contact these guys and see if they want to donate any unsold stock.

  23. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by pla · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Although few would accuse Slashdot of anything even remotely resembling "good journalism", blatantly editorializing right in the FP comes off as just a smidge gauche.

    The factual correctness of the writeup has no connection with its blatantly biased tone.

  24. Two-Way Radios? by Millennium · · Score: 1

    I can see how bullets are gun-related. Same with holsters and other accessories. But why two-way radios?

    1. Re:Two-Way Radios? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      I can see how bullets are gun-related. Same with holsters and other accessories. But why two-way radios?

      So you can better live out your "I'm a cop" fantasy. You need all the gear ...

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    2. Re:Two-Way Radios? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My guess would be for use when hunting with a partner so you can spread out and still be able to communicate.

    3. Re:Two-Way Radios? by crow_t_robot · · Score: 1

      So you can talk to your jerk-off neighbor when both of you are holed up in your respective panic rooms waiting from Obummer to come and GRAB YER GUN!

    4. Re:Two-Way Radios? by istartedi · · Score: 1
      --
      For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
  25. A polite society doesn't come from guns by sjbe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.

    I don't care who said it. That quote is demonstrably false and the notion behind it is asinine. If you really need a gun to get people to speak "politely" to you then you are doing something REALLY wrong.

    1. Re:A polite society doesn't come from guns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've read some of your recent comments and it's clear you're part of the anti-gun agenda, and probably a raging liberal, so as such your opinions on the matter are not only suspect, they're to be ignored along with the trolls and the rest of the useless noise. We live in a country where, sadly, you can't trust the government anymore. Making it more difficult or impossible for everyone to obtain firearms will only make it easier for the government to oppress the general population, it won't do a gods-be-damned thing to curb crime or violence, but people like you who go around with blinders on just can't see that can you? Rather than looking several moves ahead, all you see is what's immediately in front of you, and you think that guns kill people, which is demonstrably wrong: PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE, and it doesn't matter if it's a gun, a knife, a sword, a bomb, a toxin, or a biological weapon, they will find ways to kill people if that's what they want to do. All taking away firearms will do is make them be more creative.

      ..oh, and you want to know how an armed society becomes a polite society? The idiots will reveal themselves to be such, and since everyone's armed, they get weeded out quickly. Who's left are the truly polite, civilized people. When you're at the top of the food chain, you have to cull your own herd, there are no predators to do it for you. Think about that while you're chewing on your Vegan lunch.

    2. Re:A polite society doesn't come from guns by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 1

      . If you really need a gun to get people to speak "politely" to you then you are doing something REALLY wrong.

      People are more polite in line at the grocery store than, on the internet. You can punch someone in the grocery store, or haunt them well into the parking lot, maybe even on the ride home.

      Yes, we're doing it really wrong, but that doesn't entirely void the logic. Granted, there should be some limitations on politeness: maybe death is too extreme of a response to white shoes after labor day.

    3. Re:A polite society doesn't come from guns by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 1

      In fairness, the alternate is that when "society" isn't inherently polite then you need non-polite means to communicate with the spectrum. I am beginning to wonder when we cross the line.

    4. Re:A polite society doesn't come from guns by mjwx · · Score: 1

      An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.

      I don't care who said it. That quote is demonstrably false and the notion behind it is asinine. If you really need a gun to get people to speak "politely" to you then you are doing something REALLY wrong.

      This,

      An armed society is a scared society.

      Politeness is a trait of how much redness a society accepts. It is never attached to how many guns are available as there are many societies where guns are readily available but are also incredibly rude (Russia for one).

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    5. Re:A polite society doesn't come from guns by Falconhell · · Score: 1

      Ah, the gun nut shill steps in eh?
      Guns don't kill people, Americans with guns kill people.
      FTFY.

    6. Re:A polite society doesn't come from guns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Politeness is a trait of how much redness a society accepts. It is never attached to how many guns are available as there are many societies where guns are readily available but are also incredibly rude (Russia for one).

      Then they're doing it wrong.
      Also, you're a gigantic liberal pussy-licker who doesn't deserve the freedom the United States gives you for free, because you're one of the faggots that gives it up all the time in exchange for 'safety'.

    7. Re:A polite society doesn't come from guns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.

      Spoken like a true hater.

  26. Billy Mays here for... by ewhenn · · Score: 2

    Billy Mays here for Glock. Act now and get your Glock 19 with a FREE carrying case! But wait there's more....

    1. Re:Billy Mays here for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But wait there's more....

      A duffel bag full of cocaine?

    2. Re:Billy Mays here for... by crow_t_robot · · Score: 1

      I'm quickly coming around to the idea of this GunTV channel...

  27. Can't Wait... by tekrat · · Score: 1

    Can't wait for the first accidental shooting right on the air.
    It's *going* to happen. More people are accidentally wounded by their own guns than *any* other form of gun violence. It's sad to say, but the vast majority of gun owners don't know squat about how to handle a gun.

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
    1. Re:Can't Wait... by mwehle · · Score: 1

      More people are accidentally wounded by their own guns than *any* other form of gun violence. It's sad to say, but the vast majority of gun owners don't know squat about how to handle a gun.

      Citations, please?

      --
      Wir sind geboren, um frei zu sein - Rio Reiser
    2. Re:Can't Wait... by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 1

      The statistics don't seem to draw real conclusions, aside from conflicting grossly with each other. Fatalities at home with kids appear to be on the order of 3-10,000 per year, total accidental fatalities are unlikely to be more than twice that number. 10-200,000 Defensive gun uses a year are claimed depending on what sources you believe.

      Really the debate has gotten to the point of stupidity, this from someone who prefers more gun control. The extremes fight it out without ever having a rational debate. The simple solution is to eliminate the shield laws for gun manufacturers and instead set a statutory limit per death that is high enough that they want to be good citizens. Not perfect, but maybe achievable.

  28. It is actually well timed... by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1

    ... The channel's forthcoming debut might seem remarkably ill-timed, given recent shootings at ...

    It is very well known that every mass shooting actually creates a spike in gun sales, run on the ammunition stores. My friends, yes I do have a few gun enthusiast/nutcase friends, were complaining that they could not get any ammo, especially 0.22 after Newtown.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:It is actually well timed... by Thing+1 · · Score: 1

      Yeah 22LR was in short supply then.

      --
      I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
  29. ohmygodohmygodohmygod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can we please have it hosted by those crazy hillbillies from the sword show pleasepleaseplease?

  30. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

    What bias do you claim to see?

    I suspect people with different political opinions may see a bias in the opposite direction from the one you perceive.

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  31. More guns available = more guns on the street by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Doesn't matter at all if the majority of gun owners are responsible or not. It's simple, the more guns available the more easily they are available the more there will be on the streets. If there were heavy restrictions on how to get a gun and who could have one, first thing that would happen is gun production would drastically drop. Once production drops, then start destroying any and all guns seized from illegal activities. Yes, bad guys will still get them, but it will be harder.

    I've watched a lot of crime documentaries. One common theme, in America and a lot of other countries, criminals have easy access to guns because of the absolute total number available. However, a large portion of Europe, getting your hands on guns is not so easy. Yes, bad people still get them, but I was surprised to see criminal organizations in England using knives and other blunt instruments as their weapon of choice over guns, well because getting your hand on a gun is rather difficult there.

    I'm sorry, but our gun manufacturers and the NRA and the conservatives and the gun enthusiasts are just plain 100% wrong on all accounts. Restrict access to guns and you will reduce the number on the streets. It's really that simple. I'm someone who was raised with guns, enjoy shooting them and will continue to enjoy shooting them for the rest of my life, but we need major change and heavy regulation on the types of guns and who can own them.

    1. Re:More guns available = more guns on the street by Thing+1 · · Score: 1

      If you choose to use statistics to remove rights, you'll eventually remove all the rights.

      I'd agree with you, ONLY IF the gun-grabbing politicians give up their security teams with guns. (Why are you supporting them, anyway? Haven't you heard of Mao?)

      --
      I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
  32. Well then, be happy with it by vikingpower · · Score: 1

    (Your fucking) God fucking bless fucking America.

    --
    Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
  33. Bad phone surveys and ridiculous statistics by sjbe · · Score: 4, Informative

    Clear evidence? Hate to say it, but even the Department of Justice under Clinton (no friend of lawful gun owners) says there are several million defensive uses of firearms per year.

    "Several million"? Did you actually read what you linked to? It directly contradicts what you are claiming. The estimates from a variety of sources vary wildly and many are no where near the millions. Furthermore the numbers were from a PHONE SURVEY which is detailed in the document. If you think that is a reliably way to estimate this problem you don't understand the problems with phone surveys. If you need to see a badly designed survey look no further. The numbers from these surveys are easily demonstrated to be nonsense. It says point blank that the estimates you indicate are clearly nonsense.

    1. Re:Bad phone surveys and ridiculous statistics by Indy1 · · Score: 3, Informative

      I may of linked to the wrong study, apologies in advance. I do know (and in the past, have read) that the DOJ did do a survey that showed that defensive firearm usage is much higher then previously thought. Wikipedia has a good summary of this.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      Lawyers, MBA's, RIAA? A jedi fears not these things!
    2. Re:Bad phone surveys and ridiculous statistics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As if some one flashing a gun to criminal to deter crime will actually report it...

      Hell if I shoot a criminal, don't plan to report it unless forced to. Why should I be investigated or open to civil judgement because of some low life.

    3. Re:Bad phone surveys and ridiculous statistics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wikipedia link only shows that the statistics and related conclusions are highly contentious.

    4. Re:Bad phone surveys and ridiculous statistics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I may of linked to the wrong study, apologies in advance. I do know (and in the past, have read) that the DOJ did do a survey that showed that defensive firearm usage is much higher then previously thought. Wikipedia has a good summary of this.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Of course there is defensive firearm usage. But carrying a firearm actually increases your chances of getting harmed, not defending yourself (DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.143099)

      Objectives. We investigated the possible relationship between being shot in an assault and possession of a gun at the time.

      Methods. We enrolled 677 case participants that had been shot in an assault and 684 population-based control participants within Philadelphia, PA, from 2003 to 2006. We adjusted odds ratios for confounding variables.

      Results. After adjustment, individuals in possession of a gun were 4.46 (P < .05) times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not in possession. Among gun assaults where the victim had at least some chance to resist, this adjusted odds ratio increased to 5.45 (P < .05).

      Conclusions. On average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. Although successful defensive gun uses occur each year, the probability of success may be low for civilian gun users in urban areas. Such users should reconsider their possession of guns or, at least, understand that regular possession necessitates careful safety countermeasures.

      * http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2759797/

      Also, where there are more guns there tend to be more homocides and suicides:

      * http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/guns-and-death/
      * http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/gun-ownership-and-use/

      There is only one argument for allowing guns in the US: it's a person's Constitutional right. Everything else is hand-waving.

    5. Re:Bad phone surveys and ridiculous statistics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you are fucking hilariously deluded!

      That Wikipedia page looks like its written by the NRA.

      If those sort of numbers were any where near true you wouldn't be able to walk down the street with out hearing groups of gun owners doing DGU.

      Just fucking admit, you like the power of owning a gun gives you, as you are really just a fucking pussy!

      I understand how that works we all like to think of our selves as strong and mighty, and a gun amplifies that.

      Just stop the fucking bullshit, it is killing people, literally and in real life!!!

  34. Policies shouldn't be based on fear by sjbe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Fear doesn't respond to evidence.

    Which is why we need policies that aren't based on fear. People are going to be afraid sometimes and our laws should help them engage in evidence based good practices. Sadly our leaders are too often willing to pander to fear to obtain power rather than work to eliminate the need for the fear.

    1. Re:Policies shouldn't be based on fear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So how do you eliminate terrorism? How do you eliminate ISIS? How do you eliminate pedophiles?

    2. Re:Policies shouldn't be based on fear by Mr.+Shotgun · · Score: 1

      Sadly our leaders are too often willing to pander to fear to obtain power rather than work to eliminate the need for the fear.

      Like the president urging congress to strip the rights of citizens based on a secret government watch list created with no judicial review and no avenue of appeal? That kind of pandering?

      --
      Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the (supposed) good of its victims may be the most oppressive
  35. Ill timed? Are you mental? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    The ONLY SOLUTION to the growing problem of mass killings (not a growing problem in America, but the world) is more armed civilians that are protectors, not attackers.

    The attackers will always be able to get weapons. The police will ALWAYS be either few in number or not present at the time of an incident...

    At this point, every citizen of every country has a moral obligation to arm themselves and carry when possible - even if in direct violation of any law or directive from the place you are visiting.

    Any other response will leave more innocents dead.

    Before some idiot gets the idea this response is out of fear, it is not - it is out of simple rational analysis of what can help. Just as I put on a seatbelt because of what may happen, I think it's a good idea to go armed because of what may happen. Not that it is likely, but it will help if there is a problem.

    Remember that every second an attacker spends attacking you is a second they do not have to carefully aim at someone hiding on the floor or under a table, a second more time for police to reach your area in numbers enough to help.

    I don't understand how so many people on a site like Slashdot are against simple common sense of arming more citizens, when they would not bat an eye when proclaiming that defense in depth was a sound strategy for computer security...

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  36. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by MBGMorden · · Score: 1

    Bias has nothing to do with "factual inaccuracies".

    If I don't like person A I can generate a nice long article containing every (legitimate and true) bad thing about them never listing any virtue and paint them as a bad person, when that might not be the case at all. The article wouldn't be untrue - just biased.

    --
    "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
  37. No Fly List Gun Bans? WTF??????? by fred911 · · Score: 2

    How can any sensible person agree that it is prudent to deny any constitutional right based on a list that:

    #1 Is not public domain.
    #2 Has no real process of removal.
    #3 Has no real specification for entry.

    I can't believe we have a president that believes the public is so stupid as to place trust into an organization that repetitively breaks the laws it was designed to uphold.

    --
    09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B - D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    1. Re:No Fly List Gun Bans? WTF??????? by craigminah · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately, in a world Twitter and Facebook rule the news in, the masses are stupid...r really, they are informed only by a liberal media so that skews everything to the ridiculous left agenda/point-of-view.

    2. Re:No Fly List Gun Bans? WTF??????? by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      Because we have an insane President? That's one explanation. But wait! 72 members of the Department of Homeland Security are on that list. Why do they still have their jobs?

    3. Re:No Fly List Gun Bans? WTF??????? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And where were you, Mr Good Guy With Your Gun, to forcibly eject that corrupt government who was denying your Constitutional rights? You guys will bitch all day about the 2nd while the rest get shit on. You even state the reason you need your guns is for precisely that purpose but I have yet to see on the news where you and your redneck buddies have stormed the white house to "protect" America. Go back to watching Fat Naked Moonshiners and drinking your Natty Ice,while you "polish yer gun". That's about all your kind is good for.

  38. The invisible hand strikes again. by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 3, Insightful

    CTD has done horrible price-gouging in past "black gun" and "ammo shortage" scares, so I wouldn't give them the time of day, let alone my business.

    It's called "supply and demand".

    When there is a sudden spike in demand, and those bidding don't want to order for later delivery, after more are made, because they are hedging the possibility that no more WILL be made, sellers would be stupid to keep the price below market-clearance and run out of stock, when they could both make more money for themselves and route the available stock to those for whom having product NOW is important enough to pay the premium.

    If "Cheaper Than Dirt" tracks the market on the downslope, too, giving good service and better-than-the-competition prices (going for the fast nickels rather than the slow dimes), I have no problem whatsoever if they track it up on the occasional peak - and maybe still have some stock available when there's a crunch. The money from the perceived "gouging" can help support their low prices at other times. (Or it can support their lifestyle or other projects: It's their choice.)

    If you don't like their prices today, don't buy today. If you don't like their policies, of course, you're always welcome to shop elsewhere. That's the "free" part of a free market.

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  39. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by pla · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Intel debuted its new Core i9 CPU today. This seems remarkably ill-timed, given recent attacks on Tokyo and LA by giant killer robots sporting intel inside stickers."

    Yep, perfectly neutral tone. Just reporting the facts, ma'am!

  40. Hard-left liberals by spywhere · · Score: 1

    My wife and I have a Bernie Sanders yard sign out front... and we also own guns, and we have concealed carry permits. If Fios offers the channel, we'll check it out.

    1. Re:Hard-left liberals by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not sure about Sanders, but I agree with you.

      It's delusional to think laws will make you safer, if you don't like guns don't buy one, feel free to be a helpless victim.

    2. Re:Hard-left liberals by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      Bernie's not that anti-gun, not like Hillary. That's why he's not going to win the Democratic nomination; the left-wingers want to elect a woman and someone strongly anti-gun. So it's going to be a repeat of what happened in 2000: the anti-gun Democratic nominee will lose to the GOP one. Remember how that went?

      This isn't to say that Bernie is super pro-gun or anything like that, but he's more moderate on the issue, which would be good for winning the general election because swing voters like moderates, and swing voters are the ones who really decide our elections.

    3. Re:Hard-left liberals by hey! · · Score: 1

      It's delusional to think laws will make you safer, if you don't like guns don't buy one, feel free to be a helpless victim.

      Rank the following recommendations in terms of their value in prolonging the average American's life:
      (a) Get more exercise.
      (b) Eat fewer calories and less junk food.
      (c) Stop smoking.
      (d) Practice defensive driving.
      (e) Get a gun to defend yourself from bad guys.

      If you ranked (e) as anything other than dead last, you're living in a (possibly dystopic) fantasy world.

      Now I don't own a gun, but I have nothing against them. The vast, vast majority of gun owners enjoy their guns without creating any kind of problem for anyone else, and that's good enough for me. They don't have to some how need them to keep themselves safe in order to justify having them.

      I do think background checks are a good thing. I also think that people who cause negligent discharges should be made to keep their guns at a firing range for a period of time, after which they should complete a firearms safety course.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    4. Re:Hard-left liberals by k6mfw · · Score: 1

      This isn't to say that Bernie is super pro-gun or anything like that, but he's more moderate on the issue,

      I think Bernie understands the whole issue of gun control is a non-starter. There will never be agreement on that issue (people will argue about it longer than Clinton's emails!). In meantime he wants to concentrate on issues like reducing wealth inequality i.e. restore Glass–Steagall Act.

      --
      mfwright@batnet.com
    5. Re:Hard-left liberals by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So I should not be able to defend myself/family because a bunch of liberals feel insecure? or because they know nothing about guns and safety they assume everyone that owns a gun is just as ignorant?

      Everyone (maybe 15 or older) should be able to buy a gun, owning a gun is not a crime, it does not hurt anyone.

      If a person is dangerous, they should be locked up.

      As far as restrictions, there should be none. The amount of security should weak enough to allow a government revolution. Today's terrorist may be tomorrows freedom fighters. How do you expect the justice of freedom fighters in a police state?

      As a veteran I swore to defend the Constitution, most of these liberals just want to tear it down...

    6. Re:Hard-left liberals by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      That's exactly what I think too.

      The problem is all the stupid liberals who are jumping on the Hillary bandwagon because she's a woman, and apparently care more about banning guns than reducing wealth inequality and restoring Glass-Steagall (which of course Hillary is completely opposed to).

      Mark my words, we're going to have a repeat of 2000: the super anti-gun candidate gets nominated, and then loses the general election to a Republican who starts yet another war.

    7. Re:Hard-left liberals by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Left-wingers also want to elect people compatible with their values and opinions, and Bernie's the closest I've seen in a long time. Clinton, while acceptable, is a lot farther to the right than I am.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  41. Why is it ill-timed? by Quila · · Score: 1

    Were car shows ill-timed after the car murder at SXSW?

    1. Re:Why is it ill-timed? by coinreturn · · Score: 1

      Were car shows ill-timed after the car murder at SXSW?

      A better question is, "When wouldn't it be ill-timed?" There have been 355 mass-shootings so far this year. What day could you possible not be shortly after one?

    2. Re:Why is it ill-timed? by KatchooNJ · · Score: 1

      There have been 355 mass-shootings so far this year.

      This statistic has been widely quoted, but it is a bit misleading. If you count every guy who shot at more than one person while robbing a liquor store a "mass-shooting", then yes, you will have stats like that. The truth is that we have had something like 74 true spree-shooting in the past 21 years. I might be mildly off, but I know I am correct or fairly close. Don't mix up all of the dopes robbing a convenience store with the loons who go into a movie theater and shoot people with the pure intent to kill.

      Also, gun ownership has gone up more than 50% in the past 20 years and gun violence has actually dropped by about the same amount. It is just the big, flashy, spree-killings that are happening more often in recent years/month that make people nervous.

      --
      "Never give up, for that is just the time and place when the tide will change." -Harriet Beecher Stowe ^_^
    3. Re:Why is it ill-timed? by coinreturn · · Score: 1

      There have been 355 mass-shootings so far this year.

      This statistic has been widely quoted, but it is a bit misleading. If you count every guy who shot at more than one person while robbing a liquor store a "mass-shooting", then yes, you will have stats like that. The truth is that we have had something like 74 true spree-shooting in the past 21 years. I might be mildly off, but I know I am correct or fairly close. Don't mix up all of the dopes robbing a convenience store with the loons who go into a movie theater and shoot people with the pure intent to kill.

      Also, gun ownership has gone up more than 50% in the past 20 years and gun violence has actually dropped by about the same amount. It is just the big, flashy, spree-killings that are happening more often in recent years/month that make people nervous.

      Let's assume you are correct with 74 in the past 21 years. That averages to about three a year. The question stands - when wouldn't it be ill-timed? Generally less than 4 months from last shooting.

  42. Not about GnuTV by whh3 · · Score: 1

    Well, I'm spending too much time at the computer: I thought that this headline was about GnuTV. I got really excited.

    And then I got really mad.

    --
    remove nospam. to email!
  43. Accidents aren't that common by Quila · · Score: 1

    Admissions to ER are even filed under "other" because there aren't enough for their own category. Injury during organized shooting is rather rare. Injury on a TV show with insurance people setting the rules will be quite rare too.

    1. Re:Accidents aren't that common by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not rare enough. I am unfortunate to have known someone killed in such an accident and another person who killed himself. Had there been no guns present, those people would still be alive.

      You gun nuts really need to grow some real nuts, get a real dick, and learn how to use it. The rest of us don't want your manly-man bullshit anymore. We're sick of it. Fuck off, moron.

  44. Die another day by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have been here for nearly 20 years. I am such a right wing partisan that Slashdot only lets me post once a day, so I have to post anonymously. If I have helped you make this decision I am glad.

  45. BombTV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Next up, BombTV. Followed by WmdTV. I can't wait.

    1. Re:BombTV by craigminah · · Score: 1

      Really? Are bombs and WMDs in the Bill of Rights? Didn't think so...

    2. Re:BombTV by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      Really? Are bombs and WMDs in the Bill of Rights? Didn't think so...

      Neither are guns.

      Maybe you meant the Constitution?

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    3. Re:BombTV by bws111 · · Score: 1

      Uh, the Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to the Constituttion. That is where guns (well, 'arms') are mentioned.

    4. Re:BombTV by x0ra · · Score: 1

      I guess the previous poster though that the 2nd amendment only concerns 1 shot black powder muzzle-loader.

    5. Re:BombTV by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      Ah, indeed it is. Thanks for the clarification.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    6. Re:BombTV by crow_t_robot · · Score: 0

      Kill yourself.

  46. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I didn't say it wasn't biased, nor did I say that the bias and factual correctness are connected. wolfgang_spangler claimed the summary was ill-informed in addition to being bias-filled, and I was asking which bits of information were bad.

  47. Predictable liberal backlash... by erp_consultant · · Score: 0

    Every time there is a shooting we get the same response. The news media reports it, endlessly, for days and days. While appearing to be objective they are actually promoting the liberal gun control agenda. All the while, inciting fear among the unwashed masses. Then Obama steps up and essentially blames the American people for these Islamic nut jobs that are running around killing people. First of all, gun ownership is a right of citizenship. It's in the constitution. This makes us unique from other countries. If the American people don't like it we can amend the constitution. But that is the only way it can change. Secondly, suppose for a moment that the constitution did get amended and restrictions are put on gun ownership. Which ones get banned and which ones are not? How many can you own? Are the rules different for people that have children in the house? Should people that drink alcohol be allowed to own a gun? Who decides all of this? The same collection of Washington clowns that have fucked up everything else, that's who. I just find it hilarious, and more than a little hypocritical, that the same set of liberal politicians that are calling for gun control are protected by Secret Service people carrying what...slingshots? No, they carry guns. And the same set of idiots lecturing us about SUV's are driving around in armored vehicles that probably get less than 10 MPG. And the same set of people railing about how we need to give money to the poor strangely never seem to give much of their own money to the cause. No, that's left up to people like Chaney and Trump and Romney. That's right - those people give millions of dollars of their own money to charitable causes every year. Their own money. Quite a bit different than the standard rich liberal prick who stands up there asking for YOUR money, while giving little or none of their own.

    1. Re:Predictable liberal backlash... by coinreturn · · Score: 1

      Here's the solution: you can own any gun that existed when the 2nd amendment was written.

    2. Re:Predictable liberal backlash... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly. And freedom of speech should only apply to methods of speaking that were available then (namely standing on a stump yelling). And freedom of the press should only apply if using movable type. And computers should be able to be searched without a warrant because they are not papers. Etc, etc

      Fucking moron

    3. Re:Predictable liberal backlash... by Thing+1 · · Score: 1

      It's not a "right of citizenship": it's a right that the government cannot remove.

      That means non-citizens on US soil (or, anywhere) are protected from the actions of the US government (or should be).

      --
      I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
    4. Re:Predictable liberal backlash... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL, well said...

    5. Re:Predictable liberal backlash... by DogDude · · Score: 1

      . Then Obama steps up and essentially blames the American people for these Islamic nut jobs that are running around killing people.

      And of course, the racist gun nuts (such as yourself) never mention all of the good ol' white Christians killing people.

      Lots of red herrings and unfounded, unintelligible anti-social gibberish. Get some help.

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
  48. Rednecks'R'Us by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Do they give an IQ and Psychological profile before hand?

    1. Re:Rednecks'R'Us by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you obviously wouldn't qualify...

  49. New York Times by Etherwalk · · Score: 2

    "Intel debuted its new Core i9 CPU today. This seems remarkably ill-timed, given recent attacks on Tokyo and LA by giant killer robots sporting intel inside stickers."

    Yep, perfectly neutral tone. Just reporting the facts, ma'am!

    1. This is the New York Times. However biased the summary may be, it's not as biased as... the New York Times. Most papers have a political slant of one kind or another. The Times is... extreme... in this regard. A lot of bias, a lot of clickbait. I assume it got desperate to buoy sagging circulation numbers and chose to gave up some principles.

    2. The analogy you make about them does not show bias. A gun is designed to kill. An Intel processor is a general-purpose tool. It's like the difference between selling pressure cookers and selling grenades.

    1. Re:New York Times by ganjadude · · Score: 3, Insightful

      a gun is a general purpose tool as well to anyone who understands them

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    2. Re:New York Times by Etherwalk · · Score: 2, Informative

      a gun is a general purpose tool as well to anyone who understands them

      If you are dedicated enough, you can make yourself believe anything.

      Of course a gun can be used for target practice, or for hunting animals, or to create a great deal of mechanical energy. But there are also a lot of guns designed to kill. That is their function.

    3. Re:New York Times by Rob+Y. · · Score: 0

      To say that anything about the New York Times is extreme is to be extreme yourself to the point of inanity. The New York Times is about as mainstream as it gets. Their primary bias is toward their own image as 'the paper of record' - i.e. covering everything, in a journalistically 'evenhanded' way. They are 'evenhanded' in a predictable enough way that they were easily manipulated into shilling for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But seriously, alarm over gun violence (and over the out and out gun fetishism of today's right) is also mainstream. Large majorities of Americans want guns trackable and non military-grade. But you're free to continue to enjoy life in your bubble...

      --
      Posted from my Android phone. Oh, I can change this? There, that's better...
    4. Re: New York Times by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And what exactly is a computer in the hands of the wrong person ?

      It is a tool appropriated for malicious purposes.

      Want us to take your computer away from you because of the few who use them inappropriately ?

      Sound stupid ? Yet, this makes perfect sense if you substitute guns for computers instead ? Really ?

      Personally, I'm tired of having to justify my rights everytime an idiot does something stupid or when a chorus of idiots sing out about how everyone needs to suffer because of the actions of the few.

      But watch those same idiots lose their shit if we proposed taking their tech toys away for the same reasons. :|

    5. Re:New York Times by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      AC said it best, no need for me to reply

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    6. Re:New York Times by ncc74656 · · Score: 2

      I assume it got desperate to buoy sagging circulation numbers and chose to gave up some principles.

      For the NYT to have given up any principles, it would have had to have them in the first place.

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
    7. Re:New York Times by suutar · · Score: 1

      Large numbers I'd grant, but I'd like to see the figures for large majorities.

    8. Re: New York Times by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Computers have a billion uses. Guns only have one.

      A gun that doesn't kill isn't a gun.

    9. Re:New York Times by cayenne8 · · Score: 2

      Of course a gun can be used for target practice, or for hunting animals, or to create a great deal of mechanical energy. But there are also a lot of guns designed to kill. That is their function.

      A gun is designed to send a projectile out at a high rate of speed with a great deal of mechanical energy, nothing more or less.

      What YOU as a person point it at...determines its lethality.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    10. Re: New York Times by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A gun is designed to launch a projectile, nothing more. It takes a person to point a gun at a person and kill them with it even if by accident.

    11. Re:New York Times by Etherwalk · · Score: 2

      Of course a gun can be used for target practice, or for hunting animals, or to create a great deal of mechanical energy. But there are also a lot of guns designed to kill. That is their function.

      A gun is designed to send a projectile out at a high rate of speed with a great deal of mechanical energy, nothing more or less.

      What YOU as a person point it at...determines its lethality.

      Yes. When I sell you a thousand M-16s, a thousand AK-47s, and a nuclear bomb, I don't KNOW what you will be using them for. They're just ways of releasing energy.

    12. Re:New York Times by ganjadude · · Score: 2

      you dont have any clue what ill be using them for

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    13. Re:New York Times by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

      To say that anything about the New York Times is extreme is to be extreme yourself to the point of inanity. The New York Times is about as mainstream as it gets.

      What alternate universe are YOU posting from?

      The New York Times has an editorial policy that the time for objective coverage of the gun control debate is over and the job of journalists is to advocate for gun bans.

      For an example see this editorial. It was published three days ago on page A1, the first time NYT has published an editorial on their front page since 1920.

      The population of the US has been roughly evenly divided on this issue, with the pro-gun side somewhat ahead. (It has also been making substantial gains for a number of years, thanks to:
        - First research, then the results of legislation, showing that increased concealed-carry results in lowered crime and victimization.
        - Supreme Court decisions recognizing the RKBA as a civil right and "incorporating" the Second Amendment against the states.
        - Incidents like this recent one, which have shown that the government can't protect the citizenry from immediate threats.)

      That puts the NYT squarely OUTSIDE the mainstream, and getting more so, as measured by US public opinion.

      As measured by the political positions of the elements of "The Mainstream Media" it may well be "as mainstream as it gets". But this just confirms the contention that the mainstream media is strongly left-biased.

      --
      Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
    14. Re:New York Times by Etherwalk · · Score: 1

      To say that anything about the New York Times is extreme is to be extreme yourself to the point of inanity. The New York Times is about as mainstream as it gets. Their primary bias is toward their own image as 'the paper of record' - i.e. covering everything, in a journalistically 'evenhanded' way.

      Not really. You won't notice it if you're too used to it or if you're not used to thinking in a way that's different from that of your community. But try subscribing to them on Facebook, for example, reading the articles they share critically, and you'll find they're not nearly up to the standard that their reputation would suggest. The journalists tend to be biased, presumably without realizing it, and many of the articles clearly aren't edited with a close eye for bias.

      The Washington Post or Christian Science Monitor, for example, are usually less dogmatic.

    15. Re:New York Times by Etherwalk · · Score: 1

      I suppose it also depends on your referent. It is not extreme compared to utter trash. It is extreme compared to responsible journalism. That doesn't mean there aren't some good people working there.

    16. Re:New York Times by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

      [...] or for hunting animals [...]

      I mentally put that in the category "killing". Indeed, anyone who is hunting animals and not killing and using every part of them is not a responsible hunter in my book.

      (Even when you catch an undersized fish and throw it back, surely the point of fishing is killing those delicious, delicious fish.)

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
    17. Re:New York Times by penguinoid · · Score: 1

      a gun is a general purpose tool as well to anyone who understands them

      Really? A gun is used mainly used for killing, for threatening to kill, and for practicing the skills necessary to use a gun to kill. Now, I'm not saying these are bad uses (eg hunting, self-defense, and target practice), but it really is a rather specialized tool that can do few other things.

      A nailgun would probably be considered more general-purpose (because there's lots of uses for nailing two things together).

      --
      Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
    18. Re:New York Times by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't to kill be covered by hunting animals? And even if you insist it is separate and humans, aren't there some people that just need killed? I mean the drugged out thug about to molest your kid or kill you because you came home before he could find enough cash for another score in the random house he broke into? What about Hitler and the Nazis or Stalin or whoever and their legions of supporters? If you saw someone killing others, would you want to just stand there defenseless, have a bolt gun, or a gun designed to kill something? Remember that guy who shot up the school in Oregon not to long ago? He lined people up and asked what their religion was before killing them. Imagine sitting there knowing this guy is going to kill you and there is nothing you can do to stop it.

    19. Re:New York Times by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately, it's always the tools who misuse them, mainly because they're upset over the size of their own tool.

    20. Re: New York Times by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 1

      So - I don't own a gun?

      Funny. I thought I had a perfectly good .327 magnum. It's never killed.

      Mind you, I've given it permission to go off and forage - never did take me up on it.

      Huh. What about Shotguns? I have an 870 - guess that's not a gun either?

      --
      _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
    21. Re: New York Times by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm glad we're in the same page - guns don't kill people, people kill people. That's why I want to restrict people from having guns. The gun will have nothing stopping it's free will. sounds like by your own logic you will agree with me.

    22. Re:New York Times by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This NYT editorial is just another one of Soros's Shadow Party purchased propaganda pieces. That ego-maniacal creep desires the destruction of the Western countries and gun-toting citizens gets in the way of that agenda.

    23. Re:New York Times by morgauxo · · Score: 1

      I have known people who owned AK-47s. They were modified to be semi-automatic, not automatic as this was necessary to make them legal. I am not aware of anyone that I know ever killing anyone. These rifles saw use as hunting weapons and target practice. What made them better than more civilian looking rifles? Well.. they look cooler... That and anything made or at least originally designed for military use is also more durable.

      Something you need to understand about hunting gun owners... these tools are considered to be family heirlooms. AND they get dragged out into the woods every fall! If you are going to take a prized posession which you associate with your long dead grandfather out into the brush you want it to be durable!

      The handles are more convenient too, easier to hold. Gun control proponents point at things like that as being proof that a weapon was made for killing people but why? Do you really think a guy stalking a deer doesn't appreciate a better tool the same as someone pointing one at a human target?

      I don't think I know anyone that owns and M-16. I assume pretty much the same stuff applies.

      Nuclear bomb? Now that's just silly isn't it.

    24. Re:New York Times by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      If I say a "gun", you know I'm talking about a device that uses chemical energy to propel a projectile at high speeds, with the intent of transferring kinetic energy to a target and disrupting it by penetrating its surface and perhaps its interior. How general-purpose is that? Can I light a campfire with one? Make toast? Write an essay? Repair a car? I'm not seeing uses other than target shooting and killing things.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    25. Re:New York Times by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      an AK is semi auto by default, it needs to be modified to be automatic.... other than that i dont disagree with you

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    26. Re:New York Times by Rob+Y. · · Score: 1

      The population of the US has been roughly evenly divided on this issue...

      So, let me see. If the NYTimes editorial board takes a stance different from yours on this 'evenly divided' issue, they're somehow extreme. Saying that is what's extreme. I'd also venture that interpreting the 2nd ammendment to cover untrackable sales of military-grade rifles to just about anybody who wants one is pretty extreme too. Nuance on this issue is the opposite of extreme, fella.

      --
      Posted from my Android phone. Oh, I can change this? There, that's better...
  50. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by Joce640k · · Score: 3, Funny

    I want to know if all the bad apostrophes in the summary were applied with a belt-fed apostrophe gun. Putting that many in by hand would have taken ages.

    --
    No sig today...
  51. stupid idea by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

    A TV channel for selling guns? What a ridiculous idea. Who the hell watches TV any more????

    Well, maybe it's not so stupid: conservatives do tend to be rather backwards in a lot of ways.

  52. Re:Ill timed? Are you mental? by coinreturn · · Score: 1

    Utter nonsense. Do you propose all the "good guys" wear some sort of jacket that shows they're one of the good guns? When everybody shoots each other because they all appear to be the active shooter, that's a hellscape I have no interest in being anywhere near.

  53. Splendid! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Great. Just what we need. Yet more guns to throw into this volatile mix. America! Fuck, yeaaah!!!

  54. A modest proposal by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 1

    Every time there is a shooting we get the same response. The news media reports it, endlessly, for days and days. While appearing to be objective they are actually promoting the liberal gun control agenda. All the while, inciting fear among the unwashed masses.

    Exactly. And, the next pathetic little sociopathic malcontent in the shallow end of the gene pool realizes "Doh... I can get all my grievances against [list of things they don't like] aired -- On NATIONAL NEWS!!! Endlessly! By going on a shooting spree! Everyone in the WHOLE WORLD will know how horribly put upon I have been!"

    If the people who instantly jump up demanding gun bans really wanted to break this chain of violence, the way to do it would be to quit giving the people who do this everything they want -- extravagant publicity. Enforce a blackout on the incidents. Make it a high-grade 20-to-life felony to publicize them. Make Examples, news anchors and newspaper editors doing hard time for refusing to obey the law.

    What's that? Constitution? But they've already established that they consider the Constitution meaningless compared to "doing something" to "feel safe."

    Note the title of this posting before flying too far off the handle. More seriously... Demonstrate, specifically, how the proposed law would have stopped this specific attack. Otherwise, I'm not listening.

    1. Re:A modest proposal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I Agree, the news should just say: "Muslim Coward killed 14 people today, make sure you're armed."

    2. Re:A modest proposal by erp_consultant · · Score: 1

      I really feel that the media plays a big part in all this. It's all about ratings. If it bleeds it leads. Ever notice how every evening news program is exactly the same formula? 25 minutes of death, horror, murder. Then the last story is about someone that saves a cat from a burning house. Or some similar feel good story. Every single time. It doesn't just occur randomly like that - it's scripted. So people are left with the impression that 90% of all news stories are bad news and the whole planet is in a death spiral.

  55. clickbait by erapert · · Score: 1

    Let's see what's on /. today...

    NetHack 3.6.0 Released After a 12-Year Wait -- 20 replies
    Mozilla Launches Focus By Firefox, a Content Blocker For iOS 9 -- 11 replies
    Twitter Testing Non-Chronological Timelines -- 55 replies
    GunTV Aims To Premier 24-Hour Shopping Channel For Firearms -- 286 replies
    First Ever EU Rules On Cybersecurity -- 18 replies
    In Kazakhstan, the Internet Backdoors You -- 69 replies
    Radeon Graphics Cards To Support HDR Displays and FreeSync Over HDMI In 2016 -- 28 replies

    Who's killing /. the editors who post bullshit clickbait or the users that give them every incentive to do so?

  56. Re:Ill timed? Are you mental? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Are you really so stupid? If someone starts killing innocent people it's pretty easy to figure out who is who, no special jacket required.

    The really amusing thing is that now in a number of cases, in fact the bad guys ARE putting on a special jacket showing who they are - tactical combat vest with bulletproof vest under... so in a way you were accidentally making a good point, just not in the way that you thought.

    If you have no interest in being in this "hellscape" move somewhere where you will be slaughtered indiscriminately if that makes you feel safer.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  57. Background checks? Where is that in Constitution? by Thing+1 · · Score: 1

    Why are we bowing down to illegal laws?

    --
    I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
  58. Don't understand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How stricter laws will help with mass shootings. If anything having more people, trained and allowed to carry a gun will help, by making sure that these assholes drop dead before they police even shows up in the area.

    These days whenever I go to a place with a lot of people, I find myself wishing there are people with concealed carry permit to fight back in case of a mass shooting incident.

  59. Re:Ill timed? Are you mental? by Thing+1 · · Score: 1

    A police chief (IIRC) in New York recently said "please carry, help us stop these mass murders". So I think your idea is catching on...

    "An armed society is a polite society." - Robert Heinlein

    --
    I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
  60. NRA and fear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fear doesn't respond to evidence.

    Which is why we need policies that aren't based on fear. [...]

    The NRA will never allow that.

  61. How to Attract Viewers On Gun TV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Do you really think Gun TV is going to spend all of their time selling hand guns?

    No. This is TV. They will sell assault weapons.

    Do we really need that?

  62. Re:Ill timed? Are you mental? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are you really so stupid? If someone starts killing innocent people it's pretty easy to figure out who is who, no special jacket required.

    The really amusing thing is that now in a number of cases, in fact the bad guys ARE putting on a special jacket showing who they are - tactical combat vest with bulletproof vest under... so in a way you were accidentally making a good point, just not in the way that you thought.

    If you have no interest in being in this "hellscape" move somewhere where you will be slaughtered indiscriminately if that makes you feel safer.

    Yeah right! someone that just shows up on a scene and sees an armed woman or man shooting at someone is NOT going to wonder if they are shooting innocents or a violent attacker. They are going to assume it is a nutcase and if armed will probably shoot them too as they will be afraid they are the next victim. Most humans are NOT rational in a crisis.

  63. Re:Background checks? Where is that in Constitutio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    because a constitution written in the 1700's by people that lacked the vision to perceive of the damage that nutjobs combined with modern technology could perpertrate. Is it really so much to ask that violent, mentally ill or otherwise dangerous individuals not be allowed to walk into a shop and walk out fully armed.

  64. Re:Background checks? Where is that in Constitutio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Americans have proven themselves time and time again to be too fucking stupid to follow simple rules. So why should the second amendment be followed?

  65. Re:Ill timed? Are you mental? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The police will not be there, they just show up after to put you in a body bag, just like the 14 people killed in CA.

  66. "Other acts of terror" by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

    I hear that multiple-shootings (and other acts of terror, insanity, or political action by violent means) in the US have also declined substantially. (Don't have a footnote handy or I wouldn't have hedged the statement, but it squares with my personal experience.)

    How many multiple-shootings did you experience in past years, and how many this year?

    You want a personal anaecdote? OK:

    The building where I worked (at a research institution the lefties thought was responsible for a lot of Vietnam era military technology, including remote sensing equipment used in the detection and assassination of Che Guevara) was bombed in 1968 (one of a series of bombings in the town at the time). The bomb was placed in the doorway I customarily entered through, and went off at about the time I would normally have been entering. Fortunately, I was down (very!) sick that day. Given the bus schedules and the timing of the explosion, if the bomber also used the bus I probably would have been getting off as he got on.

    The bomber has never been formally identified, apprehended, and prosecuted - though a particular figure in The Weathermen (NOT Bill Ayres) was believed to be responsible.

    I haven't had any bombings, politically inspired or otherwise, happen near me this year. B-)

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  67. Re:Background checks? Where is that in Constitutio by crow_t_robot · · Score: 1

    Threatening the president isn't mentioned in the first amendment but that is still illegal despite our "freedom of speech" so get over it, shit head.

  68. This only goes With Thomas Jefferson by gabrieltss · · Score: 1

    This TV Station goes right along with Thomas Jefferson's comments!
    Democrats should be all on board with what he believed. They are after all the "Party of Jefferson".

    "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
    - Thomas Jefferson

    "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one."
    - Thomas Jefferson (1764), quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria in "On Crimes and Punishment."

    "A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks."
    - Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, 1785. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, (Memorial Edition) Lipscomb and Bergh, editors.

    "One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them."
    - Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, 1796. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, (Memorial Edition) Lipscomb and Bergh, editors.

    "We established however some, although not all its [self-government] important principles . The constitutions of most of our States assert, that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves, in all cases to which they think themselves competent, (as in electing their functionaries executive and legislative, and deciding by a jury of themselves, in all judiciary cases in which any fact is involved,) or they may act by representatives, freely and equally chosen; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed;"
    - Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824. Memorial Edition 16:45, Lipscomb and Bergh, editors.

    "No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
    - Thomas Jefferson: Draft Virginia Constitution, 1776.

    "[E]very able-bodied freeman, between the ages of sixteen and fifty, is enrolled in the militia... The law requires every militia-man to provide himself with the arms usual in the regular service."
    -Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, Quivery IX

    Oh don't forget George Washington stood for a 2nd Amendment too.....

    "Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American peopleâ(TM)s liberty teeth and keystone under independence ⦠from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurrences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable ⦠the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference â" they deserve a place of honor with all thatâ(TM)s good."
    - George Washington, First President of the United States

    "The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference â" they deserve a place of honor with all thatâ(TM)s good."
    - George Washington

    And James Madison and John Adams....

    "[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."
    - James Madison,The Federalist Papers, No. 46.

    "To suppose arms in the hands of citizens, to be used at individual discretion, except in private self-defense, or by partial orders of towns, countries or districts of a state, is to demolish every constitution, and lay the laws prostrate, so that liberty can be enjoyed by no man; it is a dissolution of the government. The fundamental law of the militia is, that it be created, directed an

    --
    The Truth is a Virus!!!
  69. Fits with Thomas Jeffersons Beliefs! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    This TV Station goes right along with Thomas Jefferson's comments!
    Democrats should be all on board with what he believed. They are after all the "Party of Jefferson".

    "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
    - Thomas Jefferson

    "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one."
    - Thomas Jefferson (1764), quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria in "On Crimes and Punishment."

    "A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks."
    - Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, 1785. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, (Memorial Edition) Lipscomb and Bergh, editors.

    "One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them."
    - Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, 1796. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, (Memorial Edition) Lipscomb and Bergh, editors.

    "We established however some, although not all its [self-government] important principles . The constitutions of most of our States assert, that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves, in all cases to which they think themselves competent, (as in electing their functionaries executive and legislative, and deciding by a jury of themselves, in all judiciary cases in which any fact is involved,) or they may act by representatives, freely and equally chosen; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed;"
    - Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824. Memorial Edition 16:45, Lipscomb and Bergh, editors.

    "No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
    - Thomas Jefferson: Draft Virginia Constitution, 1776.

    "[E]very able-bodied freeman, between the ages of sixteen and fifty, is enrolled in the militia... The law requires every militia-man to provide himself with the arms usual in the regular service."
    -Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, Quivery IX

    Oh don't forget George Washington stood for a 2nd Amendment too.....

    "Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American peopleâ(TM)s liberty teeth and keystone under independence ⦠from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurrences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable ⦠the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference â" they deserve a place of honor with all thatâ(TM)s good."
    - George Washington, First President of the United States

    "The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference â" they deserve a place of honor with all thatâ(TM)s good."
    - George Washington

    And James Madison and John Adams....

    "[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."
    - James Madison,The Federalist Papers, No. 46.

    "To suppose arms in the hands of citizens, to be used at individual discretion, except in private self-defense, or by partial orders of towns, countries or districts of a state, is to demolish every constitution, and lay the laws prostrate, so that liberty can be enjoyed by no man; it is a dissolution of the government. The fundamental law of the militia is, that it be created, dire

  70. Re:Background checks? Where is that in Constitutio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually you can threaten the president - and as long as the Secret Service finds no credible threat - you walk away clean. I know a few people that have done this. It's only a minor inconvenience.....

  71. Honeypot? by drunk_punk · · Score: 1

    Sounds like a pretty good setup, and no hunter I know is going to sit in front of the tube to find a weapon. Jesus. There's a dozen other things my 'Il lady's got on a list the length of your arm. You think I'm going to wait around until that AR comes around again? Shit. Order the parts. Build it. Done.

  72. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by KGIII · · Score: 1

    I'm kind of working on something like that but it's not coming along as rapidly as I'd like. My goal is to write down the really bad things I've ever done on one side of a piece of paper. On the other side is what I've learned from each of those things and how they've changed my outlook in life and my political views. Then, if there's room, a bit about how I'd vote and why I'd listen to the constituents instead of just voting however I felt. I might need a third sheet of paper and I'm not sure what to do with the back of that paper.

    Why? Err... In 2016 I will be, it's a near certainty now, running for office. Chances are very good that you can't vote for me but I still am (hopefully) not using this as a speech medium to encourage folks to vote my way. Hell, I kind of hope they *don't* read this sort of stuff but I'm okay with my posts being opened up to scrutiny. Taken out of context, they'll be horrible. Oh well... Fortunately, it's a pretty rural and very relaxed area. I know scads of people and they'll probably chuckle. I don't really want the job but the current person is not doing a very good job and I've been asked to run by a number of folks which is how I got started on this path.

    Frankly, I've far more interesting things to do with my time and this is why I have to be home in the spring and going to actually have to wake up at regular hours.

    At any rate, you're spot on about people being able to write things with biases and be completely factual. You can factually state that I've done drugs, I've used drugs via IV, I've done loads illegal drugs, I've operated a motor vehicle while intoxicated, and that I'm generally an asshole. Oh, and I swear sometimes. I've also had sex outside of wedlock and am not a Christian. You could even say that I have drugs in my system right this very minute. All of which would be perfectly honest.

    Which is why I've concluded that if I just tell them all the bad things that I've done so far then the press won't have a whole lot to dig up about me and surprise the voters with. Honesty has its benefits, hopefully (sort of). See, I'm not actually sure I want to win. I really do not want the job but I'll do it to the best of my ability should I be elected. I really do have far more interesting things to occupy my life - even posting to Slashdot is fun for me.

    At any rate, negate bias with full disclosure perhaps?

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  73. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by KGIII · · Score: 1

    I own, what some might call, an obscene number of firearms. As in, I have multiple safes full of 'em - like a couple of walls in a room dedicated to them and that room also has its own special steel door with a frame embedded into the concrete kind of room. In fact, I've posted at least one or two pics online. I mean, seriously, I love my firearms. I have bulk-ordered crates of ammunition.

    I say that to say this... I read the summary and, while I commented on bias up-thread, I really don't see much bias in this at all. It's all pretty topical and gives some interesting things to discuss. It doesn't even seem particularly slanted against firearms. It seems reasonably fair and balanced. It doesn't portray this as a negative but does imply that it may be received negatively by some but that's a certainty in this environment.

    I dunno... If you look in the closet for monsters and see nothing but darkness, that doesn't mean there are monsters in there that you can't see.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  74. Freedom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Being able to own guns is the last remaining freedom that terrorists hate. All the other amendments of the constitution no longer gaurentee freedom anymore, so as the president said, don't let the terrorists win, go out and shop, for guns.

  75. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by ultranova · · Score: 1

    "Intel debuted its new Core i9 CPU today. This seems remarkably ill-timed, given recent attacks on Tokyo and LA by giant killer robots sporting intel inside stickers."

    "Intel debuted its new giant robot shopping channel today. This seems remarkably ill-timed, given recent attacks on Tokyo and LA by giant killer robots sporting Intel Inside stickers."

    --

    Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  76. Re:Ill timed? Are you mental? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bwahahaha hello from Australia where dickwads like you wouldn't be allowed to own a gun.
    Poor ammosexuals, how dare anyone threaten your penis extension?

  77. Re:Ill timed? Are you mental? by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

    At this point, every citizen of every country has a moral obligation to arm themselves and carry when possible

    Even babies? Who protects the babies? What about the disabled or mentally unstable? How about old people? Does your theory allow for armed escorts for all of those incapable of arming themselves?
    Of course we know that universal arming doesn't work (see a battelfield for examples), but we do know that disarming does have positive results. Less guns means less gun violence.

    I don't understand how so many people on a site like Slashdot are against simple common sense of arming more citizens, when they would not bat an eye when proclaiming that defense in depth was a sound strategy for computer security...

    If your endpoint protection was more likely to hose your system and those of your family than protect it, then most people wouldn't use it. Same concept.

  78. Polite society by sjbe · · Score: 1

    People are more polite in line at the grocery store than, on the internet.

    No they are not. They might appear to be more polite but I assure you that it is a facade. They are still thinking the same things and their rudeness might be more nuanced but they are the same rude assholes they are online.

    You can punch someone in the grocery store, or haunt them well into the parking lot, maybe even on the ride home.

    And go to jail for assault and battery or stalking or harrassment. At no point however was a firearm involved or necessary.

    Yes, we're doing it really wrong, but that doesn't entirely void the logic.

    Yes it does, at least with regard to everyone carrying a firearm. There is precisely zero requirement for people to carry firearms to ensure a polite society and there is plenty of evidence that wide availability of them results in a more violent society. There are plenty of examples of countries around the world with FAR more restrictive rules of firearms AND far lower rates of violent crime than the US. This isn't a coincidence. Politeness has nothing to do with everyone carrying firearms.

  79. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by flatulus · · Score: 1

    I can see it now. He gets elected by a landslide and the political wonks take notice. New strategy: "out-dirt" your competition.

    "Oh, so he ran a prostitution ring? That's nothing - I'm a professional hit-man!"

    Gives new meaning to the term "race to the bottom."

  80. Re:Ill timed? Are you mental? by coinreturn · · Score: 1

    Are you really so stupid?

    You really should be asking yourself that question. When bullets are flying from multiple people with guns you are NOT going to know the good guys from the bad guys. Only in your testosterone-fueled wet dreams does it go down the way you imagine.

  81. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by Cederic · · Score: 1

    If something seems remarkably ill-timed, what's biased about pointing this out?

    It's not challenging the website, the service it offers, the needs it claims to meet, the prices it charges, the quality of the guns on offer. It's highlighting that this seems an awkward time to be advertising a shiny new gun store, given recent media stories relating to gun use.

    You're far too fucking sensitive. Or stupid. Or both. Lets hope you're not a gun owner too.

  82. Re:Ill timed? Are you mental? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    Countries that regulate firearms strictly and prevent people from carrying without darn good reason have less gun murder and less mass shootings.

    Not to mention, there's some idiot gun-owners out there. I've met some. I wouldn't want them at the scene of a mass shooting. If you just issue guns to people, or require them to get them, you're going to be giving deadly weapons to a lot of people who won't learn anything about gun safety or when and when not to use them.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  83. Quote by cwsumner · · Score: 1

    This is not about guns, but about dangerous levels of control.

    To quote an old saying:
    "Government is like a fire in your fireplace. It can make you very warm and comfortable, but if you let it get out of control it can destroy everything you value."

    The new gun channel sounds interesting, though... 8-)

  84. Re:why not trying to let your ridiculous bias show by KGIII · · Score: 1

    I'm kind of hoping there's a limit. The things I'm guilty of are things that are fairly common among the people who'd be electing me. However, yes, I could actually envision a situation were people competed to be the worst. In my case, I figured being open and honest was the best solution. It also helps to prevent surprises. I don't really have any great big skeletons in my closet because the closet door has been opened.

    Some time back, probably 2008 or 2009, I was "doxxed." Someone posted my tax information online. It was pretty invasive feeling and I got some hate mail and things like that. I even got some snail mail. Most of that came from people who were pissed that I wasn't donating to their favorite cause or things like that. I donate a fair amount of money, the taxes show this, and I don't support groups like PETA or Greenpeace. I actually got hate mail for not doing so.

    I'm sure the information is cached somewhere. I didn't over-react. I was already in the process of moving to a new location. I changed my phone numbers and my credit was already locked down. I know technology enough to know that I can't stop it and the genie doesn't go back in the bottle. It seemed really invasive even though tax information is public information.

    I'm still unsure of how they compiled the information to get it but it was accurate and they did, at least, share it in unedited form so it was accurate. Yes, yes I donated a bunch of money and used it to reduce my tax burden. No, I did not support everyone's cause but spent it on causes that I approve of. I still do.

    At any rate, the two may seem unrelated but it made me realize that, yeah, you can't please everyone and some folks just want to be pissed off. If I just tell you the reasons to be pissed off then it's easier than dealing with you saying that you not only are pissed off but that I was hiding that. It's not like they were going to like me no matter what I did and, in this case, they weren't going to vote for me.

    Which, to make a short story long, is how I ended up deciding to go about creating this document for the purposes of informing people that I'll be on the ballot. I didn't, and still don't, have political aspirations but I've been asked to run by enough people and have decided that such is my duty. If they feel that I'm the right person for the job then I'll accept that position and do it to the best of my ability. If not then, well, I really have more interesting things to do with my time even if it means that I'm just sitting here and typing out long-winded replies on Slashdot.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  85. Re:Only in America! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why was this modded troll ?

    AC is perfectly correct.

    Civilised nations don't stand for the type of violent insanity the US condones without at least trying to do something about it.

    That's why all my American friends who have left never want to go back, except for brief trips to see family.

    They all commonly remark that they feel how Soviet defectors probably did, once they realise how they'd been lied to for so long living in the USA and how good it was outside of their "workers paradise".

  86. Re:Background checks? Where is that in Constitutio by Thing+1 · · Score: 1

    Excellent debating skills in display there.

    Yelling "fire" in a crowded theater will also result in legal consequences. Both these amendments don't say "talk and shoot however you want without consequence."

    Owning a weapon isn't threatening anyone. Thus, your comparison of the first and second amendments is a faulty one. I make no claims about what type of matter makes up the space above your neck though.

    --
    I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.