05-07-2014, 05:49 PM
Sorry for the rants, guys. I tend to ramble when I am having a rough day.
Haywood, for me, the issue is not so much an aversion to firearms, or windows, for that matter. Those were just examples of people doing stupid things on impulse with whatever was handy at the time. Neither of my friends posed a danger to others and not much could be done in those cases. It is likely that these guys would still be alive if they had taken a little time to cool off. The immediate reaction to the impulse was the point.
You guys made me think about my earlier posts. First of all, I am one of those people who immediately gets a mental image of whatever is written or said. My first post was a reaction to the image of everyone carrying an Uzi with its long magazine protruding from its handgrip. For many of us, Uzis are associate with bad guys blazing away. I know that the Uzi part was meant to be an extreme example, it just triggered an extreme image of a serious gunfight in a crowded stadium where a lot of collateral damage would be expected. If the image had been of someone with a pistol, my gut reaction would have been different.
My overall point is pretty much that pistols are more likely to be a danger in places where people's judgement is impaired and emotions are running high. The shooter would draw and fire before judgement could come into play. In these cases, something that would normally result in a serious barfight would turn into a shooting. Even in the case sited by Cory, the idiot with the gun had just enough time to cool down to pause instead of immediately shoot. My guess is that if the idiot were wearing a gun in the bar, he might have used it without thinking.
To summarize: Drunks and guns are a bad combination. Guns in the courtroom are another bad combination.
Guns in the schools is a more difficult issue. In some States, concealed carry age is 18 or below and some students would qualify. As for teachers and faculty, they would be in close contact with students when breaking up a scuffle. There is a chance that their weapons would be snatched away. I would be interested to know some other opinions and solutions for these issues.
Does that make more sense? -Jim
Haywood, for me, the issue is not so much an aversion to firearms, or windows, for that matter. Those were just examples of people doing stupid things on impulse with whatever was handy at the time. Neither of my friends posed a danger to others and not much could be done in those cases. It is likely that these guys would still be alive if they had taken a little time to cool off. The immediate reaction to the impulse was the point.
You guys made me think about my earlier posts. First of all, I am one of those people who immediately gets a mental image of whatever is written or said. My first post was a reaction to the image of everyone carrying an Uzi with its long magazine protruding from its handgrip. For many of us, Uzis are associate with bad guys blazing away. I know that the Uzi part was meant to be an extreme example, it just triggered an extreme image of a serious gunfight in a crowded stadium where a lot of collateral damage would be expected. If the image had been of someone with a pistol, my gut reaction would have been different.
My overall point is pretty much that pistols are more likely to be a danger in places where people's judgement is impaired and emotions are running high. The shooter would draw and fire before judgement could come into play. In these cases, something that would normally result in a serious barfight would turn into a shooting. Even in the case sited by Cory, the idiot with the gun had just enough time to cool down to pause instead of immediately shoot. My guess is that if the idiot were wearing a gun in the bar, he might have used it without thinking.
To summarize: Drunks and guns are a bad combination. Guns in the courtroom are another bad combination.
Guns in the schools is a more difficult issue. In some States, concealed carry age is 18 or below and some students would qualify. As for teachers and faculty, they would be in close contact with students when breaking up a scuffle. There is a chance that their weapons would be snatched away. I would be interested to know some other opinions and solutions for these issues.
Does that make more sense? -Jim