Originally Posted By DyGDisney >>>I find it amazing that people who are way into guns often run into situations where they need to pull their firearm.<<< I agree. My mom owns a gun and heard an intruder in her garage once. That poor kitten almost got her head shot off!
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb I think there's more to the profile than just ownership. I know several gun enthusiasts who have never drawn guns on people, or kitten intruders. In fact I can not think of a single gun owner I've known personally who has used a gun in self defense or even attempted to.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I think in Zimmerman's case, the gun emboldened him to follow Trayvon. This is one danger about guns, getting yourself into situations over your head. Obviously, not every gun owner does this, but IMHO the gun gave Zimmerman courage/stupidity to insert himself into a situation destined to end badly. He was in over his head once he ignored what the dispatcher told him.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>I find it amazing that people who are way into guns often run into situations where they need to pull their firearm. Don't get me wrong, I am all for sane people owning guns so long as they abide by the laws. But it is an interesting thing that so many people I talk with who are big time gun owners have instances where they needed to pull a gun. What's that old saying? When all you've got is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.<< This. Plus infinity. What an amazing coincidence that concealed weapons owners have to pull their gun or else all will be lost, while the rest of us just go through life without such threats made to our persons.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 <<In case of Zombie Apocalypse just jump into the nearest body of water --- everyone knows Zombies can't swim!>> May also work with robots and apes. Vampires I'm not sure and since Abe Lincoln isn't around anymore we either have to hope that Obama or Romney know how to fight them. Though Boutros Boutros Gali has the Banshee's under control.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney I saw the preview for that Abe Lincoln movie when I went to see Hunger Games. Being a History enthusiast, I was watching the trailer with interest...until the Vampire hunter part came on. Funny thing is, at that point the whole theater burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it. I was so disappointed though. I was hoping for a true action flick about Abe -- kind of a cross between his real life and National Treasure!
Originally Posted By JeffG >> "Being a History enthusiast, I was watching the trailer with interest...until the Vampire hunter part came on." << I'm sure it will be more of a drama than an action film, but there is a serious biographical film about Abraham Lincoln coming out late this year. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln and is directed by Steven Spielberg. -Jeff
Originally Posted By ecdc The novel, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter is supposed to be a good time. The Spielberg biopic is based, IIRC, on David Herbert Donald's biography, still probably the best single-volume treatment of Lincoln. It's very accessible and also available on Kindle and iBooks. Give it a read.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney >>I'm sure it will be more of a drama than an action film, but there is a serious biographical film about Abraham Lincoln coming out late this year. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln and is directed by Steven Spielberg.<< That definitely is more of interest to me. Thanks!
Originally Posted By dshyates It's weird, I go into the worst neighborhoods at 3am almost every morning. Get out of my truck and walk around carrying a $25,000 camera. After 7 years, I have yet to feel the need to carry a gun. Also, I am a single father of 2 daughters (11, 16). With the girls being home alone simetimes, I wanted something to protect them, but a gun wouldn't work, so I got a male Siberian Husky.
Originally Posted By 182 I don't drink beer and my observation is that I have never seen beer solve any problems but I have seen in real life and on the news every night the bad things alcohol does so it would be easy for me to feel alochol but I know that the majority of people are responsible so I would be against it,could most of you who does not pwn a gun understand that the vast majority of gun owners are responsible ?
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>the vast majority of gun owners are responsible<< Yes, I said that already. Twice at least. But Zimmerman was an irresponsible gun owner. He way overstepped the bounds of what a neighborhood watch person should do. And now Trayvon Martin is dead because of it. If Zimmerman was a responsible gun owner, we wouldn't be having this conversation at all, and Trayvon would perhaps have been questioned by police and that would have been the end of it. He was irresponsible, careless, and a risk to law abiding citizens. He killed one of them.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan This is the problem with much of the NRA's positions. Rather than take a stand against irresponsible people like Zimmerman, they see any action to bring him to justice as a threat to responsible gun owners. It's that knee-jerk reaction that makes the NRA look hysterical. Well, that, and Ted Nugent types.
Originally Posted By dshyates The story I linked below is by far the most common type of gun crime story that I cover. And he used a legal gun. Shot and killed his wife and daughters boyfriend. Also shot his pregnant daughter who had to have a C-Section. Both she and the baby are in stable condition. This is where I was sitting yesterday while reading this thread. It really makes the gun nuts hard to take seriously. <a href="http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2012/5/2/osceola_double_murde.html" target="_blank">http://www.cfnews13.com/conten...rde.html</a>
Originally Posted By DyGDisney There may be a lot of responsible gun owners, but that doesn't explain the reason why gun owners seem to be in more situations where they feel they need a gun. Had I heard someone in my garage I would have called the police, not pulled a gun. Honestly, I don't see the need for ANYONE to carry a handgun or semi-automatic unless they are law enforcement. From my experience, the people I know who get handguns are paranoid and fearful --- paranoia and a gun is a dangerous combination. Obviously there is a problem with the laws for someone like Zimmerman, with his history of resisting arrest and assaulting an officer, to be able to obtain a gun in the first place. Rifles are all one needs for collecting or hunting, but if I ran the country the gun laws would be MUCH more strict.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney And before you ask, I RARELY drink alcohol --- maybe 2 times a year at my husbands work parties, and when I do, I drink very little. I've NEVER been drunk in my life, and I would never drink and drive.
Originally Posted By 182 DyGDisney let me put it this way. I see alot more destruction with Alchol then I have ever seen with Guns. Would you be for banning Alcohol and Guns for the good of the country ?
Originally Posted By DyGDisney Sure. No skin off my back. I would definitely be for a complete ban of handguns and semi-automatic weapons in the hands of private citizens. As far as alcohol goes, I have alcoholics in my family as well. I know the destruction too. I also know there are many people killed by drunk drivers every year. Honestly, I do think the world would be better off without alcohol. However, the difference between guns and alcohol is that guns are bought for the soul purpose of doing harm to another person (excluding those purchased for hunting or collecting). Alcohol, while it can be harmful to others, is not bought for that purpose.
