Traveling With Firearms

[Al Smith]

Most times incidents with fire arms in this red neck part of the country involve ethnic minoritys at war with one another .They get caught and spend the next 25-30 being some rump ranger fodder in the Ohio state pen .Gives them time to think about how stupid it was to try and play Billy the bad ass .Stupid is as stupid does .

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Ed, my issue, personally, is that we already have strong gun laws; especially here in Massachusetts. We've already surpassed the amount and severity of laws that will affect the people they're intended for- the criminals- to the point of doing nothing more than curtailing the rights of, and increasing the difficulty law-abiding citizens have to endure.

We could institute a five year waiting period to purchase a firearm, and it's not going to effect the intended target of the law one iota.

I think the problem Erik, is when I say 'I'm in favour of strong gun control laws' it gets read on here as 'I think you Americans should have stronger gun control laws'
My statement stands alone, and is not a reference for something you guys should be doing.

I think the gun laws in this country are fine for control, but the handgun ban has done nothing to keep handguns out of the criminals hands.

As to the harsh words in this thread -
Justin is right. A lot of the agro is just man shouting. Over here, we will often tell the other fellow in a debate to get frigged as he's a ****, and his argument is blatantly wrong because I banged his mother up the ass last night. This will be said with great mirth and merriment. On the computer typed out, it comes across wrong.

I apologise to you, Brett and Brian if it came across the wrong way.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Guns are like narcotics, the people who would obtain and do harmful things with them, should just say no. That includes the Crips and the Bloods.

 

[Old Monkey]

What a shocker. Darin feels that certain parts of the constitution are obsolete? Whatever. It IS our right as citizens of OUR country to possess firearms and carry them if we so choose. Anybody who does not like that, tough shit.

Wow, I'm shocked too. Mostly because I didn't use the word obsolete or any of it's synonyms. I think what I was shooting for was because the ideas and expressions were dated, it added a certain ambiguity to the passage. What the Constitution says is debated in the courts every day even though some folks think every phrase in it is as clear as crystal.

 

[TheTreeWiseMen]

I miss those sorts of 'debates'.

 

[Paul B]

Squisher, I think you are right on your facts. The carry or transport permit for handguns is a bit onerous, if I remember correct you need to be a member of a shooting range or gun club to own a handgun. As for the 'good reason' I think you also nailed it, if you walk down mainstreet with a rifle on your back fine, but if you are doing it for the sake of doing it rather than say, going to the gun store to get it bore sighted etc, you might spend some time explaining yourself to the local law enforcement.

 

[NeTree]

Ed, there are obviously some passionate opinions in this thread. No worries.

For the record, I've never met your mother.

 

[Widow Shooter]

Very American ... what is the deal with guns? I just don't get it.

I mean I understand the revolution, but if France had not run a naval blockade in the south; the British would have won that war, so guns did not win America's independence , so I just don't get the whole" we won our right to bear arms", please explain? http://xenophongroup.com/mcjoynt/marine.htm

 

[NeTree]

They sure didn't hurt, Cary.

 

[Old Monkey]

It's the Pilgrims, they were gun crazy and we inherited it.


I am largely indifferent about guns but I think that's because I was raisd in a very safe suburban setting by a mother who was a naturalist and a father who was an engineer. Guns just didn't factor into our lives. Others want them, that's OK by me. I do like things like waiting periods and other restrictions that are already in place. I liked the Brady Bill, others didn't and they won out. Also, no big deal to me.

 

[Widow Shooter]

the French? lol, I understand that, but it is weird that most USA folk hate the french...I mean, you guys would be saying "EH" if not for them right?

 

[NeTree]

What kind of engineer, Darin?

 

[Old Monkey]

What kind of engineer, Darin?

He was an old school programmer for Bechtel. We used to get boxes and boxes of old punch cards. We're talking Fortran here.

 

[stig]

It's the Pilgrims, they were gun crazy and we inherited it.

Not really.
But they were totally crucifix crazy and you most certainly inherited that!

 

[Al Smith]

Now where in the world did that come from ?

 

[Al Smith]

A little known fact the real reason the Pilgrims landed a Plymouth rock was simpley because they ran out of beer .Of course this was in the days before drive through carry outs much less beer in a can so they were kind of screwed .

Now had they had any brains they's have landed farther south where the winters weren't cold enough to freeze the nutz off a brass monkey but this was also in days before the GPS was ever thought of let alone road maps .

As it went though they had no choice but to stay in the frozen north land because the damned boat left without them .Back to England went the Mayflower to replentish the beer supply as the crew was getting a might thirsty as was the captain I suppose .

All went along and before too long long they were befriended by some native Americans and in time did get their beer once again .At which time there was much merriment and gaity ,shall we say a time of thanksgiving .The turkey came later .

 

[cory]

What do you mean by "naturalist," Darin?

 

[woodworkingboy]

Injuns might of had something to do with the luv of guns. Your scalp hanging on some wigwam can't be fun. Not putting blame here, with all those buffalo rotting in the sun. WTF?

 

[Old Monkey]

She was a volunteer for the Audubon Society and took kids on nature hikes. We learned about nature through a hand lens and binoculars. We scored points by getting a good picture of wild animal, not shooting it. I fought fire with a guy who grew up on on of the largest ranches in Arizona. He killed just about everything he saw, whether it had six legs, four or eight. We had about as diametrically opposed childhoods as possible. Being into guns has a lot to do with who you are raised by and where you were raised.

 

[NeTree]

If I saw something with six legs that required a gun to bring it down... I'd probably kill it, too.

 

[Old Monkey]

He could kill with any manner of weapon, gun, rock, stick, shovel, whatever was handy. I think he might have been a minor death god.

 

[cory]

A one man scourge.

 

[Al Smith]

Well for what it's worth I've done about as much "hunting " with a camera as I've done with a fire arm .

In '74 after I got the muley buck in Colorado I spent the next 5 days sneakng up on deer to snap a shot which is a hell of a lot harder to do than taking a snap shot with a 30:06 .

The most comical was a bunch of pics with a doe and two fawns .I was up above them on a rock the size of a barn .Every time I'd snap a picture she could hear me but couldn't find me .The fawns cavorted around playfully like little children which in effect they were .

After about a half hour of my pestering her mama deer snorted and moved herself and fawns where she could get some rest .How about that ,papparazzi to a bunch of deer .

 

[Al Smith]

Injuns might of had something to do with the luv of guns.

Those old match lock blunder busts weren't much of a weapon .Maybe a tad better than a spear or club perhaps .The only advantage they had was the fact they were noisey .Scared the chit out of the natives until they figgured out that once the thing bellowed like a giant farting it would be some time before it belched again .

You could actually say they made a better club than they did a gun .

 

[FJR]

I understand the terms registered and unregistered, but it's the act committed that constitutes a crime, not the owning of a particular weapon. It is just as illegal (as well as immoral, unethical, etc) to beat someone to death with a tire iron as it would be to drown them in a toilet or pour saw gas down their throat and chase them with a lighted match. THAT is the issue most Americans cannot grasp. They think if guns are outlawed (registered/restricted/magically disappeared), all mankind would sit around the campfire and have a merry time. Yep, crime was invented the day after gunpowder.......

The only thing I can think of that would be a rebuttal (just to play devils advocate because I agree with you) would be when legit registered gun owners kill innocent people. Such as hunters who shoot at movement and not a clear target and end up killing someone. Or when a gun is improperly locked up and a child gets killed. Yes, situations like those should be prevented, but they are always going to happen because there are people who are registered gun owners who flat out shouldn't be.