Saturday, October 27, 2007

Honestly, I got bored of the Yamlight on the Election series, and decided to take a break. I figured this would be a good time considering the recent discussion on the blog about topics I'm highly interested in. First up, the right to Bear Arms.







Crap, I mean Bare Arms.






Oh forget it, you know what I mean, the 2nd Amendment! As a previous post pointed out, the 2nd Amendment was designed to allow the population a way to defend themselves should the government take a turn for the nasty side. England also learned the hard way that it also has it's advantages if another country decides to invade. I agree with these reasons, and I agree with my right to own a weapon so long as I follow the law. What I don't agree with is giving me the right to carry said weapon anywhere I please.


My family hunts. I've hunted. I've also shot for sport at a Sport n' Clays range, worked at said range, and made my own ammunition in my basement. I know the dangers of owning and being around a firearm. No matter how good of a shot you are or how much you are concentrating on what you are doing, mistake happen. Ask Dick Cheney, he knows. In my opinion, firearms in cities are a bad idea. A civilian should not be allowed to carry a weapon in a highly populated area. This includes places like a college campus. Police have guns, they'll protect you in a city.


On the subject of guns on campus, that is just asking for trouble. If there is one thing I don't trust, it is an emotional person. People occasionally get very emotional and very upset, which leads them to do things that they'll regret. An environment where the most dangerous thing within reach is a pencil or Ti-86 calculator ensures that no one will get seriously hurt. Instances such as Virgina Tech could be stopped earlier if half the class had a gun on them, but I'm afraid that such things would happen more often. Ifsomeone is so upset and they decide to kill someone, but have to spend a few hours to get their hands on a gun, chances are they will have chilled out enough to realize they are making a huge mistake. If your boyfriend dumped you and you have a .45 strapped to your leg, you might just shoot him in a fit of rage instead of slapping him in the face. Because of this, I'd rather not have students walk around on my campus armed.


Overall, I support my right to own a weapon, a right that I observe and take advantage of. However, I don't thing people should be allowed to carry their weapons into highly populated areas. If you want to own a gun, move to the country and go hunting. Otherwise, buy a tazer or some mace. Perhaps we could allow non-lethal ammunition in low calibur weapons in cities? It could work, assuming we enforce it. Oh, and I think I finally got the picture problem taken care of. Oh ya.

1 comment:

NAME123 said...

I agree with you that having a gun close by is sometimes a useful thing. However not everyone can/will handel it the way you've suggested. Emotional people- especially bipolar victims cannot handel it as well as people who can control their sudden anger. In that case, if they shouldn't be allowed to handel guns, then the rest of us shouldn't either. No matter where people are- in the city or country, I believe guns should not be privately owned. Any form of weapon is just asking for trouble.