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Originally Posted by dksuddeth
The reason for a gun is to stop an offensive threat by injuring or killing another human being,
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No, it isn't. Guns are manufactured with one aim in mind. Killing. Motive is not considered at the factory. The designers don't sit around and say "I'm making a self defense tool that a good-hearted soul can use to stop the bad man from getting him." They think only about how to make the gun a better and more efficient killer. Period.
Nothing wrong with that - considering a gun is SUPPOSED to kill things, you'd expect the guy designing it to be thinking along those lines. But let's not fool ourselves into thinking guns are designed for self defense. They're not, any more than they're designed for murder. They're designed to kill. What, or who, the user decides to kill is immaterial as far as the "reason" for the gun.
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and that's a good enough reason, in my mind, for them to exist.
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I don't think anyone here has said guns should not or legally cannot exist (although wouldn't it be nice if there were NO guns ANYWHERE?) I certainly don't think anyone is foolish enough to think we can get rid of all the guns in the world. In fact, although I despise hunting, I have no problem with people having rifles and whatever else you're supposed to have when you kill Bambi. I don't even want to take your gun away.
But just because I don't want to take away your gun doesn't mean I think you have a *constitutionally guaranteed* right to it.
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I don't expect my 57 year old, 4', 11", 98 lb mother to use martial arts and fight off one attacker, let alone more.
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Why not? If she's like the average person she has just as much training in hand to hand combat as she does in armed combat. Namely, damn near none.
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The same goes for myself.
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Lemme just ask you this question, from a self defense standpoint, all arguments about whether you have the right to a gun or not aside. Do you really think it's wise to rely so heavily on one weapon? Guns are not perfect. They do jam, misfire, etc. Is it really a good defense strategy to base your survival on the functioning of a gun?
I tend to tell my students to diversify. Carry the knife (if you know how to use it *and* keep the other guy from getting it, otherwise if you carry it you're a moron), but also be very well versed in empty hand.
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While I'm an average size man, there are particular reasons why I choose to carry a gun, or have one in my home, that make a gun better suited to defending myself or my family, than it would to 'put up my dukes and fight like a man'.
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couple of problems here. First off, eliminate those problems. Go learn how to fight. Second, if you're getting the crap kicked out of you by a guy who has no weapon, and you shoot him, you WILL go to jail, and it probably will be for a very long time. Are you willing to take that risk?
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Your pacifism is admirable, but misguided, in my opinion, because you're misunderstanding the lesson of peace that Jesus tried to spread.
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I don't think Jesus would advocate that everyone carry a gun.
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If I were a more critical person, I'd tell you that you're disrespecting the gift that god gave you by refusing to use the force necessary to keep it.
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And if we were more tactless we'd challenge your assumption that god even exists, and when you couldn't prove that we'd ask you to come up with a better argument.
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Because gun violence didn't cause those deaths, violent criminals did. Just because they used a gun is irrelevant when you consider that there are as many, or more, crimes used with other weapons AND guns that don't result in deaths. The defensive uses of guns far exceeds the number of deaths that happen by criminal use of guns.
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I'd like to see some stats for that last sentence please. Also I'd like you to compare apples to apples here. The DEATHS from defensive use of guns as compared to the deaths that happen by criminal use of guns. No trying to exclude crooks who can't shoot. I feel I must point out that we WILL catch you when you try to jimmy with the statistical language.
And yes, the gun is quite relevant. You don't hear about a whole lot of drive by stabbings. The gun is relevant because it allows you to kill from a distance. The crook can be 10 feet away and still kill me. I'm not comfortable letting a potential enemy (or ally who's a crappy shot) get hold of a weapon that can kill from far enough away that I don't have a chance of stopping it.