Can guns be an addiction?

[petronius]

24. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, because I do agree with President Clinton, and

with your point about the need for dialogue. In a general sense, I think really trying to understand why people might choose to own firearms, and in what ways they might feel threatened by tightened laws, is an admirable goal.

Unfortunately, so much of the discourse has been poisoned already by stereotypes and insults: small penis, child-killer, paranoid, et al are obvious conversation-enders, and I think "addict" risks being part of that list. On the flip side, epithets like authoritarian, gun-grabbing, control freak, etc. are generally not heard as an invitation to a friendly chat.

So the bottom line is you're right that an honest conversation can only help - and everybody could benefit by examining what they say, and listening at least as much as they talk...