Guns will protect you from tsunamis.

[yesman065]

Ibram - you sound exactly like me a lil while ago - ok a long while ago. I went back to college after having gotten married and 3 kids - trust me - its a lot easier to just do it - you'll be much better off as well. Just kick ass at every stupid task they put in front of you and then YOU get to decide what you do and where, when, why and for whom. Otherwise, it'll be some idiot without a clue telling you what to do and that sucks way more than the alternative. Either way - GL.

[Happy Monkey]

Thanks!

[xoxoxoBruce]

As rifles and side arms improved, the people that could afford them, kept pace. It wasn't until weapons were developed for killing buildings and tanks, that private citizens didn't have a legitimate application for, that the government said whoa, Nellie. The people don't need this shit and could do a hell of a lot of bad things, even accidentally, with it. They figured it probably wasn't a good idea for you to be able to run down to the hardware store and pick up a gun that would shoot the door off a bank vault.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

It wasn't until weapons were developed for killing buildings and tanks, that private citizens didn't have a legitimate application for, that the government said whoa, Nellie...

Like cannon? They've been around quite a while.

"Legitimate application" is a neat little bit of question begging...once it's established you must demonstrate a "legitimate application" for something, it's pretty easy for some clerk to take it away from you.

Hey, do you have a "legtimate application" for that computer there? Fill out this form and wait for your licence... How about that hacked TiVo? You can't possibly have a "legitimate application" for that, it's obviously "burgalar's tools".

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by MaggieL

Like cannon? They've been around quite a while.

"Legitimate application" is a neat little bit of question begging...once it's established you must demonstrate a "legitimate application" for something, it's pretty easy for some clerk to take it away from you.

Hey, do you have a "legtimate application" for that computer there? Fill out this form and wait for your licence... How about that hacked TiVo? You can't possibly have a "legitimate application" for that, it's obviously "burgalar's tools".

What are you playing, leapfrog? Try to keep it connected, from paragraph to paragraph, will you.

Chew on this. Sooner or later, DARPA is going to come up with a laser that's small enough for one person to carry and will have the power to be a serious weapon. You know, Star Wars, Star Trek, stuff.
Now, I'll bet a million bucks the government will say you can't have one. Strictly military and law enforcement personnel, because you don't have a legitimate application, just as they have done with hand grenades and such.

You know what? They're right. :p

[piercehawkeye45]

Chew on this. Sooner or later, DARPA is going to come up with a laser that's small enough for one person to carry and will have the power to be a serious weapon.

They actually already have something like that avaliable to the public. I don't know its exact strength, but it's powerful. I wish I could find that link.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

What are you playing, leapfrog? Try to keep it connected, from paragraph to paragraph, will you.

Those *are* connected. The idea that someone must prove a "legitimate purpose" to posess any particular device is what's way out there.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

For example, thinking that if you didn't understand something, nobody else could have either?

Ouch.

[JayMcGee]

ISTR a short story by Robert Heinlen which postulated just such a device. As the right-winger he was, I'm sure you wont be surprised that his viewpoint matched Maggies pretty much word for word.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by JayMcGee

ISTR a short story by Robert Heinlen which postulated just such a device. As the right-winger he was, I'm sure you wont be surprised that his viewpoint matched Maggies pretty much word for word.

Which device are you referring to?

In fact I'm a huge Heinlien fan. His personal political evolution is rather interesting; he didn't start out as what you dismiss as a "right-winger"--in fact he was quite liberal when young--but his life experience led him to the positions he espoused later.

[yesman065]

[Ibby]

I just have to say I will never understand why you people care so much about your weapons. You value your right to a gun above any other right you have, you would rather people take away your right to be treated equally, your right to fair treatment under the law, all your other rights given to you by the bill of rights, as long as amendment two doesnt get touched.

I will never, ever understand it.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Ibram

I just have to say I will never understand why you people care so much about your weapons. You value your right to a gun above any other right you have, you would rather people take away your right to be treated equally, your right to fair treatment under the law, all your other rights given to you by the bill of rights, as long as amendment two doesnt get touched.

That's quite a claim. What evidence do you have to support it?

It's also not clear to me why I should have to choose one right above another...if they are *all* my rights. "We'll support your other rights, but give up your right to defend yourself, since you can't proive you *need* it."

What is *that* about?

Originally Posted by Ibram

I just have to say I will never understand why you people care so much about your weapons. You value your right to a gun above any other right you have, you would rather people take away your right to be treated equally, your right to fair treatment under the law, all your other rights given to you by the bill of rights, as long as amendment two doesnt get touched.

I will never, ever understand it.

I don't want any of my rights taken away and fight it as hard as I can.
So, what is next, after you get guns outlawed by legal citizens, tazers?

[yesman065]

Another lesson mostly lost in my and your generation - I touched on this in another thread, but many believe that their right to bear arms keeps them safe and prepared to defend themselves from tyranny or oppression. Those who cannot understand this agree with you. Then again there is the Switzerland principle.