Reply #133: It would seem that a LOT of Americans don't

[tkmorris]

have any appreciation for what happens when you pull that trigger. I think the point being made is that the physical act of pulling a trigger is no more complicated or violent, in itself, than stapling a stack of papers. It is the OUTCOME of the act which is violent, and often quite surprising to people.

We all know that the fault lies with the shooter of the weapon in almost all cases of firearm assaults and deaths. That misses the point. The point is rather that it is impossible (and irrational) to attempt to correct the situation by addressing the people side of it. You can't fix "the people". People are, by nature, emotional, impulsive, impetuous, and prone to acts of stupidity. That is just who we are. What's that you say? You are not any of those things? But we aren't talking about individuals here; we are speaking of the entire mass of humanity that calls itself American, and at any given moment around 10% of them are pretty unstable. In fact the odds are excellent that at some time that 10% has included you or I.

I don't have a dog in this hunt. I am not committed to either side of the debate, and do not currently own a firearm though I have been considering purchasing one. My desire is to see the issue debated and addressed using reason and logic rather than emotive self-serving rhetorical devices.

The fact is that we have rather loose controls on gun ownership in the United States, and that thousands of people are killed by them every year. This is a direct tradeoff and even the most ardent gun right activists know it, though they never seem to want to admit it. Guns are used to kill people, and allowing almost anyone to have them results in a lot of people being killed by them. No, I do NOT want to hear about how if the idiot didn't have a gun he would simply go grab a rock and beat the victim's brains out. That's nonsense and we all know it. A few would do so, yes, and a few more would grab a bat, crowbar, rat poison, bowling ball, or what have you and commit the deed. The fact remains however that if we removed the gun from every attackers hand who used them, deaths would decrease dramatically. You know and I know it so let's not waste each others time.

The question becomes, do we accept the level of gun related deaths we have as the price to pay for the level of freedom we enjoy to possess them? Let's not try to avoid responsibility for this; leaving things as they are and calling it our civil right means thousands will die, every year. If you accept that price for your freedom to own that gun, than have the guts to say so. Own that decision. Don't be a coward and attempt to muddy the water up. If you want to outlaw guns of all kinds, then accept that you will not be as free as you were before. Know that somewhere, sometime, someone will be assaulted and will be unable to defend themselves because they no longer have a gun.

What's it going to be America?