"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Philip K. Dick
My blog: http://www.roscoewrites.blogspot.com/
I think an Assault Weapons Ban could hold up, but you have to have the political will to do it. Maybe something good can come from this.
We are never going to get all guns out of America - it would require a constitutional amendment repealing the 2nd Amendment, which today, is impossible (could you imagine the reaction if Obama tried to do so... it would be something close to a civil war on the wingnut side).
States and cities have adopted hand gun bans, and those have been thrown out by the Supreme Court. For the benefit of our British poster, the Federal Constitution preempts any inconsistent state law. To amend the Constitution requires a 2/3 vote in both houses of congress, and then 2/3 of the states must ask Congress to hold a Constitutional Convention. Then 3/4ths of the States must approve the Amendment. It is a VERY difficult process. Even if Congress wanted to do it, it would require agreement by 75% of the states.
Moreover this particular Supreme Court has been very deferential to the rights of gun owners. There are arguments that the rights granted by the Second Amendment are limited by the "well armed militia" clause, but this Supreme Court basically ignored those arguments, and applied a very vast and expansive interpretation of rights granted under the Second Amendment.
If you want to put reasonable regulations and controls on guns, that can happen. If you want to ban them completely, will not happen unless you amend the Constitution - which as others have said in this thread, is not possible in this political climate.
But here's the thing, S&D...I don't know enough about your system of government to feel comfortable really debating my aversion to hate speech laws. I could go on and on about it theoretically...but I'd still be talking without any real world knowledge.
That's what I'm trying to express to you. You are from a remove watching this unfold, without really knowing the cultures of the United States. Please note the plural. Where I'm from (the Northeast) is so profoundly different from the Southeast, which is different from the Southwest, etc. etc. Hell...I don't even get all the different cultures at play here in the US. So I'm simply suggesting that, thought your anger and passion are justified and shared, the way to a solution is nothing but muddied.
Now...when I'm in London at the beginning of March, I'll buy you a drink to show that we're not all gun-toting loonies.
Now I'm seeing that the news outlets that were reporting who the shooter was may have had it wrong. It was the brother of who they are reporting. This is getting weird.
"I don't want the pretty lights to come and get me."-Homecoming 2005
"You can't pray away the gay."-Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy.
Ignored Users: suestorm, N2N Nate., Owen22, master bates
Do you have any idea how many peoples lives are SAVED every year because they own a gun? Probably not. Don't get me wrong, this shooting is absolutely tragic, but if guns are completely made illegal, and someone wants to kill someone, they're gonna find a way to do it. Do you really think killers are all going to get their guns legally? I'm not sure if you have done any research (probably not knowing your track record) but gun crimes are a heck of a lot higher in cities and states with more gun control than with less gun control. Just a couple weeks ago a guy went into a college and shot and killed his professor father with a bow and arrow! More people are killed in car accidents than by guns. Are you going to outlaw those too?!
I'm not saying guns should be easy to get, if you have a criminal record or have a history of violent behavior you shouldn't be able to get one, but you shouldn't punish the millions of law abiding guns owners because of the small percentage of people who use their guns to kill or injure people.
This affair is absolutely heartwrenching and tragic. My thoughts go out to the families of all those at that school.
It takes a 'special' kind of person to point a gun at an innocent child and pull the trigger.
"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible
OK i was not gonna say anything else but because everybody else seems to be...
'Do you have any idea how many peoples lives are SAVED every year because they own a gun? Probably not
Congratulations on the most stupid comment i have read on here, before you start trying to insult me (past track record?) please dont come out with clunkers like that.
Namo i love u but we get it already....you don't like Madonna
Please explain how that's stupid. More people are saved than killed. I know that's hard to believe because then it would mean that people are against gun control might actually be right!
Just a couple months ago in a town near me a burglar was trying to break into a house in the middle of the day with about 5 people at home, including children, the home owner realized what he was trying to do and shot him dead right on his porch. He saved his entire family. Don't you think it's better that he owned a gun and was able to protect himself and his family than just waiting for the cops after they're all dead or injured?
According to the National Self Defense Survey conducted by Florida State University, the number of people using guns in self defense is around 2.5 million per year, a heck of a a lot lower than people killed by guns.
I'm giving you facts, I don't know what else you want from me. I know you people hate facts, because most of them prove you wrong. But if you continue to think that outlawing guns from law abiding citizens is going to stop all mass shootings, or even most shootings, you're a lot dumber than i thought
Seriously, we're now arguing about guns saving lives in a thread about 27 people, 18 of which were children, getting killed today? Make another thread and argue it out there.
"I don't want the pretty lights to come and get me."-Homecoming 2005
"You can't pray away the gay."-Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy.
Ignored Users: suestorm, N2N Nate., Owen22, master bates
According to the National Self Defense Survey conducted by Florida State University, the number of people using guns in self defense is around 2.5 million per year, a heck of a a lot lower than people killed by guns.
Are you really gonna bring up George Zimmerman? Did you not see the pictures of his face after the incident?! His head was smashed multiple times into the pavement, that's attempted murder on the part of trayvon martin. Shooting him was self defense. I know the picture of trayvon the media made him look like an innocent kid, but what they didn't tell you was that it was taken years before, and at the time of his death he was 6ft tall, a drug dealer, and was suspended for using drugs, and there is evidence he was dealing as well. He was not an innocent kid who was shot for no reason.
Umm, from what I heard the kid attacked him first, I know that's not what MSNBC tells you, but according to other news sources martin attacked zimmerman first.
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