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illiniwatcher

Listed below are comments made by illiniwatcher between Monday, 2nd June 2008 and Thursday, 26th June 2008.

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Gun crazy? 9:28pm on 26 Jun 2008 The Los Angeles Times currently has a front-page story about a body shop owner who confronted two youths who were spray-painting graffiti on the side of his business. One of them shot him.

Okay, so with the Supreme Court's ruling on citizens carrying firearms, gun rights owners allege this would not have happened, because the body shop owner would have, theoretically, produced his own weapon, pointed it at the youths who had their own already, and the youths would have simply gotten in their car and driven away, leaving the body shop owner unhurt. Is that correct, gun rights supporters?

Right.

Here's the problem. Suppose the youths - who apparently have no understanding of responsibility for their actions - decided to shoot the body shop owner ANYWAY? (this is not as far-fetched as it seems.) And suppose the body shop owner decided - in a moment of hesitation about whether to shoot a minor - didn't shoot back?

In one scenario you would, theoretically, have one person - the body shop owner - shot anyway, despite having a gun, and in the other there would up to three people shot - the body shop owner and the two youths. Who's to say that all three wouldn't have wound up dead?

Merely putting firearms in the hands of citizens - particularly those who are undereducated or emotionally unstable and with a prejudice - isn't going to protect them from criminals who already have their own. Without psychological testing and training appropriate to a citizen's mental toughness, all you have is more crazy folk with guns.

How, gun rights supporters, would you counter this? What's your solution for someone that hesitates to fire on provocation, for whatever reason? Does having a weapon automatically make you impervious to attack from individuals with a death wish?

I am hoping that I won't be the victim of an "accidental" shooting, whether it's because someone mistakes a gesture of mine for something else (I am a college-educated professional but for fearful folks with a prejudice that's irrelevant), or because I happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when a vigilante is carrying out some form of "justice".

I have to believe that the intense desire of some folks to carry weapons is a sort of backwards retribution. "There," they protest, "If a gang member can shoot someone and get away with it, I should have the same rights." They all want the right to stand up in a courtroom, claim they were firing in self-defense, and get off scot-free.

With any device that is capable of killing efficiently - be it a firearm, motor vehicle, or chemical - must come great responsibility. Individuals using firearms for "protection" - particularly those without training - must be prosecuted and imprisoned. Here in the States we require driver's training from age 16 for anyone getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Surely gun rights advocates would not suggest making the acquisition of a firearm as simple as walking into a department store?
Gun crazy? 6:23pm on 26 Jun 2008 I agree with SalemDesign - the two incidents he mentions mean that the penalties for bad gun usage must be escalated. Slaps on the wrist simply send a message that "undesirables" can be indiscriminately taken out with a wink from the state. That's not what the U.S. is supposed to be about, is it?
Gun crazy? 5:52pm on 26 Jun 2008 Justin, I think this was a precarious decision by the group we call "The Supremes" on these shores. While gun-rights supporters are popping champagne corks, many of the rest of us are hoping we won't be shot by what will surely be more (legal) gun owners.

I predict there will be an uptick in "accidental" shootings as well as more incidents of deaths from children accessing their parents' firearms.

I've long believed in the original language of the Constitution and the Second Amendment - that guns are intended to be for a "well-regulated Militia", that is, for military purposes. But as I've read other blog posts on this site and others, I've come to the conclusion that the Second Amendment needs to be revisited. The original framers of the Constitution could not have envisioned the large number of firearms in the U.S., nor the enormous industry it has become. I'm sure they also would pale at some of the more egregious acts of gun violence over here as well.

One of the more controversial aspects of gun use is "self-defense". With xenophobia running rampant over here, many ordinary folks want to be able to just blow away anyone that scares them. The self-defense plea, already overused in my opinion, is going to be overworked to the point of collapse now. I'm an African American and racist whites over here that fear guys like me (even though I'm college-educated, that's irrelevant in their minds) like the "security" offered by firearms. If someone scowls or reaches in a manner that causes them to panic, there WILL be a shooting, perhaps a fatal one. Watch for that "I was shooting in self-defense" alibi from the States over the next 10 years, it will be used often.

If gun bans are now illegal, then the only alternative will be to make the process for obtaining guns much more strenuous so as to discourage it. Or to more narrowly define when guns may be carried, such as for specific occupations.

Also, it's sad that a country that has so much potential in the fields of science, technology and medicine has so large a number of people that just have a visceral need to be able to blow someone else away. Such individuals gave "Bush 43" a second term and, by extension, the Supreme Court that we must, unfortunately live with. I have never been a fan of Scalia, an incredibly arrogant "jurist", and never will.
Not finding the votes 8:11pm on 02 Jun 2008 "There could be a lot more revelations about Obama's "friends."

Or Clinton's.

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