Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	Prices of Freedom
Date:	12/9/2015 8:39:44 AM

I think the gun issue in America can be looked at as one of the prices of freedom.  And the means to protect ones self,  versus being a sitting duck for lunatics who misuse the freedom, is worth the price.  Our forefathers knew the strength and resolve and capabililty of human beings to forge a new path, build a new nation, survive.  They also knew the traits of human behavior that take thwart decency and endanger others for a myriad of reasons. 

Protection is the key.  Humanity is the scope.  Me having a gun means everyone can have a gun, good and bad.  That is a price of freedom.

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	Prices of Freedom
Date:	12/9/2015 11:30:22 AM

I am of the opionion that anyone who wants a gun can get one. The 2nd Amendment is working for everyone...good or bad. Just be careful when you try and take out the bad guy, the police don't mistake you for the bad guy. Now that the SCOTUS has refused to hear the appeal of lower courts upholding the ban on "guns of mass destruction"" ...AKs, I suspeect we will see more communties banning them. That, I support.

And yes, I am a gun owner.

Name:	copperline -	Reply
Subject:	Prices of Freedom
Date:	12/9/2015 1:33:18 PM

Living in a heavily armed society doesn't make me feel more free, it makes me want to isolate myself and fearful of crowds.

Here is a thought experiment:  After you finish reading this, you have 30 seconds to get your gun, point it at your computer screen and decide whether to pull the trigger.   If you can do this, you have saved yourself from being captured or killed.   If not, you lose.   A 30 second decision making time is probably generous.  In the real world, you might have half that since a shooter would already have the drop on you.

On the other hand, if you had used those 30 seconds to get up from your chair and leave the room, you would be safe.

For me, that's why being armed isn't the answer to this problem.

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	Prices of Freedom
Date:	12/9/2015 1:51:42 PM (updated 12/9/2015 1:53:17 PM)

The lunatics, zealots, crazies, devout extremist don;t walk into a firing range to kill the masses.  They choose their venues based on competition.  I am in favor of capable individuals, much more expert than myself, having the means the thwart that activity, at a school, at a church, at a eating place, at a theater.  Let's advertise "This place is armed" rather than "Gun Free Zone"

I could pass your 30 second test but I would only have four rounds.  But I had to go to another computer because my laptop does not look so good after those four rounds.

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	Prices of Freedom
Date:	12/9/2015 3:31:55 PM

My 22 bolt action rifle took 45 seconds to load and fire and I missed. So my computer will live to post another day.

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Prices of Freedom
Date:	12/9/2015 3:33:04 PM

Danm.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Prices of Freedom
Date:	12/9/2015 3:35:45 PM

Playing the Devil's advocate - what about when an armed intruder decides to kick your door in and the sheriff is about 40 minutes away?  Do you leave the room?  Do you ask him to please not hurt you? 

Or what about if you are a crowded movie theatre (the ampitheatre type) and someone comes in through the exiit firing?  How do you leave the room?  Do you lay down and wait for him to shoot you?  Most of these incidents are over in less than 4 minutes. 

Oh, and my mother watched one of her coworkers stabbed to death by her estranged husband in the middle of the afternoon in a crowed parking lot as she left work.  Not one person came forward to help her, they just watched in horror, because they were afraid they too would be killed. 

There are many things along the gun ownership I could agree with doing way with - extended magazines, modified handgrips, etc, that usually pertain to the "assault type rifles", i.e., AR-15.  Without those modifications, the AR is no more deadly than a hunting rifle, and not too many people are toting them as a conceal carry 

I don't especially care for the world where having a gun on me makes me feel a bit safer - but this is the world I have to live in now.  I don't think by not carrying a gun I am making the world a safer place; instead I just leave myself helpless in case something does happen.  When you pull your weapon in the face of a mass shooting, you have made a decision to try to be part of the solution and not a victim.  And I'd rather go down trying to survive than to go down wrapped in a fetal position hoping I survive. 

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Prices of Freedom
Date:	12/9/2015 3:51:55 PM

Indeed the element of surprise may limit an armed person in some instances.  But a wary individual can sense when something is amiss and be more alert and a quicker draw.  In a mass shooting scenario, unless you are the unlucky first or second target, the element of surprise works in favor of the good guy, especially if not in the direct line of fire.

Your "get out of my chair and leave the room" scenario doesn't work in most mass shooting scenarios.  The victims in the San Bernardino scenario, Colorado theater scenario, and Sandy Hook are prime examples.  And the gun free zone concept is a fallacy in that someone hell bent on creating mass mayhem is just going to be emboldened, knowing there won't be return fire.

I will say that I wish Alabama would require a gun safety course as a prerequisite to obtaining a concealed carry permit like South Carolina and Virginia, just to name two that I know about.  At least the person has to demonstrate that they paid attention during the lectures through a hands-on session where they must demonstrate thatcher an handle the forearm safely.  In Alabamaall you have to do is pay $20 and have a clean record with the police.

Name:	Tarpon -	Reply
Subject:	Prices of Freedom
Date:	12/9/2015 3:55:53 PM

Don't usually look at Off-Topic posts but did so today.  Took the 30 second test.....took me less than 10 seconds to have over 30 rounds available to protect me and mine.

Name:	copperline -	Reply
Subject:	Prices of Freedom
Date:	12/9/2015 11:12:48 PM

Good points.   

Now I am going to have to wonder why several of us are armed while we sit at our computers.........

;)