I read where some wanted some new topics to debate, so here ya go. Tell us your thoughts. Does the government have the right to restrict gun possession? I personally feel there should be stiffer restrictions but we as americans should have the right to bear arms.

I'm a supporter of our rights to bear arms and do not support laws banning certain weapons, for one the only people it stops are the law abiding citizens anyways. That said, I would be all for a requirement for a person to be required to take a gun safety class in order to recieve some sort of government issued photo card which would be required to buy the weapon. These cards could be made to expire on a reaccuring basis and be used to also prove that a person does not have a felony that would prevent them from purchasing a weapon. Similar to how we need to show a Drivers License to buy alcohol or tobacco.

What I'm suggesting is just an ID card that shows we are eligible to purchase not a tracking method for government to keep tabs on what we have purchased. Again just like the example of the alcohol & tobacco, if you walk in and pay cash the store keepers check your ID but DON'T log it for government record.

I will agree that again that the criminals could still find ways around these laws but the point would be to educate as many people as possible in the safe use of guns as opposed to stopping their purchase.

I'm aware of the certified training required for the conceal & carry. We are a C&C state and I have a permit. Would love to see it expand to all weapons. On the other hand I'm against the Federal form 4473 & fingerprints allowing the government to keep tabs on the law abiding citizens who choose to purchase firearms legally. The only exception I might concede on that view would be for the fully auto weapons. (Several of which a relative also owns, legally.)

I guess basically I'm for as little control over it as possible but I do like the idea of education/safety classes. After all we wouldn't just allow any tom, dick or harry to buy a car and drive off the lot without proving he knows how to drive it. It's just smarter to have the government prove you know how to handle it before you use it rather than waiting until you screw up and kill someone first. (Whether that is with a car or a gun.)

The other night at about 2am we heard helicopters over our house, sirens, looked out the window and saw search lights, and heard the police on a speaker telling someone to get down on his hands and knees. With 2 sleeping children in the house and a lot of sliding glass windows opening to our backyard, I was thankful to have guns in the house -- just in case the guy broke free and decided to use our house as a refuge. As many people as there are that don't feel safe being around guns, I told my dh that I wouldn't feel safe in a house without guns.

When the riots broke out in Los Angeles back in the early '90's, all of my unarmed friends showed up at my house because they knew they'd be safe® or at least have a fighting chance.

I abhor violence but I would never want to be without the ability to protect myself and my family. I also believe strongly in firearm education. But in my book, gun control is being able to hit your target.

This topic reminds me of a bumper sticker I have seen which expresses my sentiments:"They can have my gun when they pry it from my cold, dead hand." It is our constitutional right to bear arms and if people give up that right then only the bad guys will have guns.

I work for my states Outdoor Education Center. I am also a hunter education instructor. By saying that you should know where I stand on gun control.

Stop preaching gun control, start teaching self control.

i always thought gun control was hitting what you aim at.

"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." ("General Introduction to Psychoanalysis," S. Freud)

I'm aware of the certified training required for the conceal & carry. We are a C&C state and I have a permit. Would love to see it expand to all weapons. On the other hand I'm against the Federal form 4473 & fingerprints allowing the government to keep tabs on the law abiding citizens who choose to purchase firearms legally. The only exception I might concede on that view would be for the fully auto weapons. (Several of which a relative also owns, legally.)

I guess basically I'm for as little control over it as possible but I do like the idea of education/safety classes. After all we wouldn't just allow any tom, dick or harry to buy a car and drive off the lot without proving he knows how to drive it. It's just smarter to have the government prove you know how to handle it before you use it rather than waiting until you screw up and kill someone first. (Whether that is with a car or a gun.)

"I guess basically I'm for as little control over it as possible but I do like the idea of education/safety classes."

Same here. I would add a mandatory issue of a nationwide CCW permit at the conclusion of the course, with no expiration date on the permit.

Of course, I would ALSO add a mandatory 20-year sentence to ANYONE caught using a firearm in the commission of a crime.

Wow! Have we actually reached a consensus on LBT?

Wow! Have we actually reached a consensus on LBT?

Of course, you realize that this is the first sign of THE END TIME!!! :faint:

Of course, you realize that this is the first sign of THE END TIME!!! :faint:

Well then it's a good thing we all have guns :-)

WHERE"S GREEN?????

Your a Canadian living in Toronto(gun problems of late) Green. I would be interested to see a comment here from you on gun control. I moved from Toronto to Texas and I am all for gun control. I read about more people shot in Texas in a week than Canada has in a year.

WHERE"S GREEN?????

Your a Canadian living in Toronto(gun problems of late) Green. I would be interested to see a comment here from you on gun control. I moved from Toronto to Texas and I am all for gun control. I read about more people shot in Texas in a week than Canada has in a year.

Thanx, grrl, for the invite. I have weighed in on this issue before on R&R and had become tired of discussing it with folks who hold the point of view that guns are a necessary household appliance. The U.S. is the only post-industrialized nation in the world which has such loose regulations concerning gun ownership. It is also the world's leader in gunshot deaths.

I live in a large Canadian city which has a population of approximately 3 million. At this time of writing our local death rate for 2007 by shooting is somewhere around 60 people. Most of these have been young black males who belong to gangs and have been shot by rivals. Occasionally an innocent gets caught in the crossfire. This is always a tragedy. These clowns obtain their firepower illegally from your country.

Your average honest Canadian citizen does not own a gun and does not, moreover, feel the need to own a gun. We believe that owning a gun does little to protect us but that it may in fact escalate a mugging, rape, or robbery from an admittedly terrifying experience into something which will result in deaths, sometimes of the victim. Most criminals are not killers. They usually want money or items which they can turn into cash and then they leave. When honest citizens own guns disasters can occur. There will be accidental deaths. And there will be an escalation in violence whenever criminal activity does take place.

I have only ever met one private citizen who owns guns and he is a gun collector. Up here cops and gang members have guns. Farmers and hunters have rifles. The rest of us live safely without them.

I just read in todays paper there has been 54 cops killed by guns alone in 2007 in the US!! I just can't understand the mentality of thinking everyone should own a gun to protect themselves. If you own a handgun in Canada you have to be a collector or target shooter & if you are transporting your gun ANYWHERE you have to have the equivalent of a police escort to get it there. You have to notify the police you are transporting the gun. Shotguns in Canada can only hold 3shells & fully automatic shotguns are illegal. That's enough for hunting. In the States you can have a handgun by showing your drivers license to the store clerk & they run a check on you...I think the stats speak for themselves with all the gun deaths in the US.

The comparison of buying a car, and buying a gun---requiring licensing to do these things, is all fine and good, except, the person who buys the car is not the one who always drives the car, anymore than the person who buys the weapon is not the only one to use it often times.

We have guns....we have antique guns, owned by my DH's great grandfathers, as well as my DH's hunting rifle--that yes he does hunt with, and we eat what he shoots.

I also have a hand gun. I took gun safety classes with my gun--offered to me when we purchased it, free of charge. I went on to pay personally for a Concealed Carry Permit. I go with a cop friend every few months to the shooting range, and I keep my permits current. At this point in time, my ex husband is in prison, for several charges, ranging from armed robbery and shooting with the intent to kill, to attempted murder...mine. The day he is released (which I hope and pray daily never happens) I will utilize my legal right to carry my weapon with me at all times, and will avoid the places where I am legally not allowed to do so. When that happens it will be a me vs. him situation, and I realize that, and have taken steps to hopefully come out of the next meeting alive as well!!!

Do I want the government telling me I have to sit back and wait for the steps of getting to a phone, calling 911, them arriving, and dealing with him---nope not a chance! I would be dead.

I want the right to protect myself if need be. I have attempted to obtain it in a legal, and rightful manner. I know not everyone does, and there in lies the problem.

But do I think anyone has any need to personally own automatic weapons---AK47's and the ilk---nope! No one has ever shown me a need for having one...I would not fight the outlaw of them.

I wish I could live in the comfort green describes---maybe the day they bury him, I'll bury my gun.

Kat