(11-10-2017, 02:04 PM)Adam2012 Wrote:

(11-10-2017, 10:45 AM)Kane Wrote: People always cite the Constitution, on for good reason, but I wonder if they know it was written to protect you from government... Not really your fellow man.
Freedom isn't about your right to call your neighbor a cuss word... It's about the people having a right to speak out against their government without fear of prosecution or retaliation....
Right to bear arms? Was in fact brought up in the idea of fighting against a government that become to powerful for it's own good....much in the way our founding fathers did against the british....
And so on and so forth..... we amend the Constitution when an era or time calls for it... like civil rights issues...
Can we amend the right to bear arms? Sure... (that still won't protect you from the bad guys)
But I warn anyone who is anti-gun... The right to bear arms protects us from them. This isn't tinfoil hat nonsense... if you fully trust the US gov't you're a fool. One day, hell maybe soon, we'll need to forcefully push back against our government. And if they have all the guns... or it is illegal for us to have anything more than a .22, well we'd all be in deep poo.
And if you think there'll never be a day when we need a revolution... well... I wish I lived in the Matrix with you...

We don't need gun reform... we need mental health reform.

Man - you have watched way too many movies. There are pro and con arguments re gun ownership, but one of the silliest is the "but we'll need them to fight the government" one. If enough generals get together and decide to have a coup, your little collection, and those of all the other gun nuts in this country, won't amount to anything. But you can die playing John Wayne.

I agree that we need mental health reform. But while politicians are really afraid of the NRA, they also hate spending money on mental heath issues. All the "small growth conservatives" will moan and groan about government spending, tax increases, etc. The mentally ill don't have an incredibly rich and powerful lobbying organization like the NRA speaking in their behalf.

So we just sit around waiting for the next massacre so we can send our thoughts and prayers.

Yes, I believe we need guns in case there is a military coup, (any type of gun is fair game.) Personally, I have guns, in case of an invasion by foreign forces. Maybe you think it will never happen, but I'm not so sure. As for me and others "playing John Wayne," in case of such an event fine, that can be your attitude, but I'd rather go down fighting than roll over and surrender like the liberals who want to take away our firearms. 

Do I think the NRA has too much influence on politicians? Absolutely. They want no limits on anything. I for one, am all for longer waiting periods and more extensive vetting and background checks, but I am against limiting what kind of weapons a person can own. 

I also agree that we need more mental health reform. We need to pour more money into this issue and get people the treatment they need before they become a danger to themselves and others. People who do have mental issues or have displayed violent tendencies in the past, have no business owning weapons, but these are just a fraction of a percent of people who have guns in this country. Unfortunately it is this fraction of a percent, that causes all the problems.

I'd love it if we could limit the influence of the NRA, but as long as there is greed and a hard line two party system in this country, they will continue to influence the guns laws. In the meantime, we can pressure politicians to work on mental health reform.

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