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Bringing you atheist articles and building active godless communities takes hundreds of hours and resources each month. If you find any joy or stimulation at Atheist Republic, please consider becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner.
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when i was a teen, my brother had started on his path to becoming a gunsmith. i wasn't very interested in guns, nor was i scared of them. i went target-shooting with him and our dad exactly once and was not impressed. the thing i really enjoyed was watching Eric take his guns apart, carefully clean and oil them, and put them back together. it was ritualistic, meditative. several years later, i took a summer's worth of karate classes, the lone female in a class of Marine vets. i learned one kata, Wansu; it reminded me of Eric cleaning his guns. that cop had not a clue.
the cop in the video was trying so hard to be macho, it was embarrassing. he required medical attention, but he ignored his wound. he must've been bleeding copiously, yet he "soldiered on" like Wile E. Coyote strapped to an ACME safe with a short-fused stick of TNT about to blow him to smithereens. that was a dismal demonstration of police incompetence, both before and after the shot. it did, however, prove his point, that it CAN happen.
NRA used to have more sense. I went through their BB gun how to shoot a gun and gun safety class when I was about 10. All 3 of us children went.
I think you are on something there Cali-Girl.
I think every mayor, every governor could actually ban guns within their respective cities and or states. Not unlike the old west days in the cow towns of Kansas that banned firearms in the city limits. It doesn't infringe on anyone's rights because it doesn't deny ownership.
mykcob4,
That's not true in Missouri =
"Right to keep and bear arms, ammunition, and certain accessories--exception--rights to be unalienable.
Section 23. That the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms, ammunition, and accessories typical to the normal function of such arms, in defense of his home, person, family and property, or when lawfully summoned in aid of the civil power, shall not be questioned. The rights guaranteed by this section shall be unalienable. Any restriction on these rights shall be subject to strict scrutiny and the state of Missouri shall be obligated to uphold these rights and shall under no circumstances decline to protect against their infringement. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the general assembly from enacting general laws which limit the rights of convicted violent felons or those adjudicated by a court to be a danger to self or others as result of a mental disorder or mental infirmity.
Source: Const. of 1875, Art. II, § 17.
(Amended August 5, 2014)
(2016) Section does not prohibit the state legislature from regulating the possession of firearms by nonviolent felons. State v. Clay, 481 S.W.3d 531 (Mo.). "
or in Idaho =
Idaho = SECTION 11. RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS. The people have the right to keep and bear arms, which right shall not be abridged; but this provision shall not prevent the passage of laws to govern the carrying of weapons concealed on the person nor prevent passage of legislation providing minimum sentences for crimes committed while in possession of a firearm, nor prevent the passage of legislation providing penalties for the possession of firearms by a convicted felon, nor prevent the passage of any legislation punishing the use of a firearm. No law shall impose licensure, registration or special taxation on the ownership or possession of firearms or ammunition. Nor shall any law permit the confiscation of firearms, except those actually used in the commission of a felony."
or in Alaska =
"19. Right to Keep and Bear Arms
A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The individual right to keep and bear arms shall not be denied or infringed by the State or a political subdivision of the State. [Amended 1994] "
or New Mexico =
"Text of Section 6:
Right to Bear Arms
No law shall abridge the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use and for other lawful purposes, but nothing herein shall be held to permit the carrying of concealed weapons. No municipality or county shall regulate, in any way, an incident of the right to keep and bear arms."
Most states have a right to keep and bear arms in their constitution's, and even then, the U.S. Constitution is supreme
The Grizzly Atheist,
States can put the right to walk around naked in their State Constitutions unless the Federal Constitution says that no one can walk around naked in the U.S. Even if the Second Amendment is deleted from the Federal Constitution States can grant the right to bear arms unless there's a Federal Amendment which says that individual gun ownership is forbidden.
It's funny actually ironic that someone would complain about exercising their 1st Amendment right (freedom of speech) while demanding everyone "shut the fuck up". Notably, freedom of speech is only the right to prevent the government from restricting one's speech.
Are you referring to how I said that you're never going to repeal the Second Amendment so you should just shut up about it?
I would just like to remind people, some of you are old enough to remember and many of you will understand. At one point in American history, this nation was a slave to large corporations. Individual freedom didn't really exist. So "hippies" began a movement that swept the world. The "hippie" movement included aided and/or started almost every civil rights movement that began in the 60s. But all of those movements suffered greatly until a turning point (an event) happened to bring to light that change needs to happen. Of course, Martin Luther King's assassination, John, and Bobby Kennedy's assassinations but even move significantly the murders at Kent State University. An event that proved that the government would murder rather than allow persons to have individual freedom.
I am so inspired by the survivors of the massacre in Parker Florida. This may very well be the turning point that leads to change. When someone tells us to "shut the fuck up" because they are against any gun control, it is time to speak louder. It's time to publish any donation from the NRA or organizations like the NRA that candidates take and make them accountable by voting against those persons, no matter which party that they are affiliated. Conservatives scream and rail against special interest but the most powerful special interests group in history is the NRA!
That never happened actually- the hippies were just a bunch of college kids on psychedelics. They didn't end a nonexistent corporate tyranny that never happened.
Also- yes, the NRA is supporting politicians who share their goals, you know who else does that? The millions of people who donated money to the Sanders Campaign. Funny we do t hear about that.
If you cared to read history, the NRA was actually very pro gun control, helping to enact fully automatic weapon bans. The leaders back then did not even really talk about or consider the 2nd amendment. Then in the 1970's as unlimited campaign financing was allowed the NRA changed it slowly changed over to where it was a pawn of gun manufactures and used as a tool to lobby for looser gun laws and sales for the gun manufactures zoomed upwards.
I actually like the pre 1970's NRA back then they were all about responsible gun ownership.
Commies want us to give up our guns.
"Chinese paper says U.S. should learn from China, restrict guns, protect rights"
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-guns/chinese-paper-says-u-s...
Should we obey?
A paper suggests that the US could learn a thing or to about gun control from China that has a fraction of the gun related problems the US has. And you make it out to be a "should we obey" sort of thing?
Again, this isn't just because of gun ownership. Most countries have lower crime than the U.S., most of them have gun rights, and most of the countries with more crime have less gun rights
Yes most countries have gun rights hell almost all of them do, but all of them also have much more regulation on gun ownership then the US has.
Another grave problem with the US, despite having the largest incarcerated population in the world both by percent and total numbers, the US has some of the highest crime rates of 1st world countries.
Since US already has the most lax gun controls of any 1st world country and has a major crime problem, it only follows that every country regardless of gun control rights (all stricter than US) has varying success with crime.
There is no other modern 1st world country that even comes close to the lax gun control laws of the US.
They smuggle guns INTO mexico from the US because guns are so easy to get in the US. It is harder to get ahold of guns in mexico, corrupted, drug war torn mexico. How pathetic is that?
Well it's a good thing actually. Other countries suck- and if you want to go somewhere were it's harder to get a gun then go there.
Also, more inmates are in prison for drug offenses than any other crime, and that isn't even a crime in my opinion.
https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp
All other countries suck? All 6.5 billion other people on this planet sucks? I do readily admit I would like to live in a place where it is harder to get a gun. Especially assault rifles like the AR-15. I am just hoping we can get some common sense gun control here in the US. Frankly though you got nothing to worry about, stop being so worried TGA, there has been lots of mass shooting massacres and little to no gun control enacted. Besides every time their is a mass shooting all your gun manufacturers profit from the upswing in sales, literally profiting from mass shooting of kids in schools.
Don't forget your buddy GOP, the supposed gun rights folks, ban all guns in the white house, the capital, surrounding grounds, in the republican national convention, and all places tRump rallies at. But they want to add guns to all the kids schools...
I actually agree with you on the problem of many people in prison for nonviolent drug crimes. Something tRump and GOP Jeff Sessions is again trying to make worse with their "max sentencing" directives towards non violent drug crime.
An assault weapon is a fully automatic weapon. Semi-automatic weapons include most guns, to ban that technology would reduce us to revolvers and muddle loaders.
@ Grizzly
No problem with that here in Australia. Hunters still hunt, sports shooters still sport shoot. Just looneys and idiots cannot get hold of automatic rifles designed only for killing humans.
Background and medical checks beofre you get a gun. Annual permit inspections, random weapon and storage inspections. All seems to work.
Since 1996? ZERO school shootings.
Organised crime shootings sure, suicides by farmers a lot but no mass killings.
See Grizzly you use that straw man argument 'guns" nobody is talking banning guns they are talking banning the unrestricted private ownership of weapons solely designed for the mass killing of people. Like Australia.
We had the same looney arguments trotted out ad nauseum by the gun lobby, the same justifications "i need a 100 round large calibre quick loading automatic rifle to kill the pig that's wandering my paddock". All those arguments still exist but Australia is a far far safer place without the weapons which the government bought back at retail value or fair second hand value. Every taxpayer contributed to making Australia a safer place to grow up.
If that makes me a commie? Then fuck you and all you totalitarian gun toting wannabe John Wayne cowboys with zero firearms combat experience and minus zero intelligence. I'd rather keep my kids alive.
Dude, if you are a gun rights advocate, at least know your shit about guns.
"Assault weapon is a term used in the United States to define some types of firearms. The definition varies among regulating jurisdictions, but usually includes semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magazine and a pistol grip, and sometimes other features such as a flash suppressor or barrel shroud. "
So gun control folks don't want to ban/highly regulate all guns but the few you mention, but instead guns like the ar-15.
By the way, I think the idea of making all semi automatic gun permitting very difficult to get, is a brilliant idea. Why do people need guns that automatically reload and can also swap out ammo quickly, for home defense hunting, or even target shooting? Do these people think 10 armed men are going to come to their home to kill them and a semi automatic weapon will make the difference?Those attributes only become useful when you want to kill a lot of people very fast, or warfare against a trained and armed military force.
What other countries have gun rights? The list I saw a while ago said the opposite.
The god less commies would love us to have more guns. We would be so busy killing ourselves off, it would save them the bother.
If Grizzlie is so worried about the commies, is he also worried about the Russians tampering with social media.
I haven't heard God less commies in a couple decades - How old are you Grizzlie?
The phrase is doubly ironic in that communism is only feasible in small RELIGIOUS communities of under 200. The Church 'fathers' (really mothers) were communist. A family is basically communist. All essentially share all the property more or less equally. You need very strong ties to the others in the group to share like that.
LogicForTW,
Should we obey the commies and give up our guns?
*Sigh*
That is not even what the article you linked is saying. There is nothing in there about everyone giving up all their guns because ooo commies!
I remember the "hippies" and how they were portrayed by Nixon. Nixon started the drug war. Nixon vilified Blacks Hispanics, teens, and young Americans because they didn't agree with his fascist political agenda. He attacked workers and workers rights. He attacked women and women's rights.
Those of us that lived back then know exactly what the Peace movement was all about how it was supported by the families who lost sons to an unjust war. To mischaracterize the people that stood up for justice and civil rights only illustrates a complete lack of education.
That's what they were. Also, you would have been born in 1958, so you were only 13 when Nixon left office. I can hardly remember what it was like when Bush left office!
@ Grizzly:
oops: Nixon resigned in '74. that would make someone born in '58 a sweet 16 at the crucial time. in evangelicalista Alabama, that's at least two years past the age of knowing consent for the Daughters of the South.
I was born in 1957 and I was 17 when Nixon left office.
Then the rest of you old fogey's should remember the "All in the Family" episode where Archie's solution to the skyjacking epidemic was for the stewardesses to pass out the pistols at the beginning of the flight.
Instead of the bored 3 year kicking the back of your seat, you could watch when he grabs the pistol and the stray bullet depressurizes the plane.
Trump and LaPierre are advocating arming teachers to protect schools. Let's just examine that.
1) Teachers should be teaching and not worrying about a gun threat and how to meet that threat.
2) Would they wear the sidearm everywhere they go? This would put that gun within easy reach of students as teachers move around are close to students off and on.
3) Let's say a gunman with an AR-15 enters the school and starts shooting. It would be a pretty lucky shot for a teacher with a handgun to take down a determined killer that is wielding an assault weapon.
4) When the police arrive how are they suppose to instantly determine where the threat is really coming from with teachers wielding guns everywhere?
5) There is a higher chance that the teacher will kill an innocent student instead of the gunman in the first place, and even the higher chance that the teacher would be killed especially if they directly confronted the gunman.
6) It has been proven that inexperienced people are not capable of properly defending themselves with guns that the 5 is very low that they will achieve anything positive and are far more likely to injure themselves and innocent people around them.
The answer isn't more guns. The answer is subtracting the one thing that poses the most dangers and this is guns!
Besides, arming teachers does not protect all the other public places that are under threat by guns, churches, parks, theaters, etc!
The problem is guns.
First off, there are these things called gun safes and gun locks. You keep the guns unloaded and locked, and if a shooter starts shooting up the school, the teacher can unlock the gun and load it. That way if the shooter comes into or near the classroom the teacher can kill him. When the police show up the teacher can put the gun away when they arrive. Easy.
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