Supreme Court to back right to bear arms

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

and if you think handguns are so evil, why do you have one?

I don't. I have never and will never own a handgun.

That is your right just as it is my right to have one. As long as you don't break into my house you will never have anything to fear from me or my gun.

Unless, of course, someone else breaks into your home, steals the gun, and uses it to carjack me. So yes, I have everything to fear from your gun.

Guns don't kill people....bullets do.

[GaryC 7]

and if you think handguns are so evil, why do you have one?

I don't. I have never and will never own a handgun.

That is your right just as it is my right to have one. As long as you don't break into my house you will never have anything to fear from me or my gun.

Unless, of course, someone else breaks into your home, steals the gun, and uses it to carjack me. So yes, I have everything to fear from your gun.

Guns don't kill people....bullets do.

So how will depriving law abiding people of their right fix that? All that will do is arm the law breakers and disarm the law abiding people. Your solution just makes things worse.

[Sister Fracas 5]

Here is one reason handguns should be legal. It's in the form of a scenario - Some crazy person walks into a shopping mall and raises a gun planning to mow down every person in the place. One law abiding citizen who happens to be at that same mall sees crazy person. Law-abiding Citizen draws his firearm and tells Crazy to drop his weapon. One of two things happens in this scenario - Crazy drops his weapon or doesn't an Law-abiding Citizen shoots him. Either way, the fact that someone in that shopping mall is armed ends up being a huge factor in saving many lives.

ehm, I thought, as was explained in the last thread like this, that it is very difficult to get a permit to carry, so what the heck is joe-aver law-abiding citizen doing carry his gun in a shopping mall???

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

I'll provide two examples of it when you can provide two examples that match your descriptions. You're the one that started making up hypotheticals.

You sure make it seem like the Wild West.

Easy.

Woman, toddler survive home invasion

A North Side mother fought off an armed intruder inside her apartment early Tuesday morning.

Wheelchair-bound Man Shoots Attacker

A homeowner who is confined to a wheelchair shot and wounded a man who confronted him on his door step, Atlanta police told 11Alive News.

Dallas Store Clerk Turns Tables On Would-Be Robber

Dallas police say a store clerk came face to face with a would-be robber, but this time it's the suspect that ended up in the hospital.

Augusta homeowner shoots suspected burglary in leg

One man admits he shot another, but it's the man who was shot who went to jail.

MPD Arrest One, Seek Another in Last Week's Attempted Home Invasion

...three men kicked in the door, attempted to rob the resident and then shot him. The resident then used a 9mm handgun and shot [one of the intruders] in the neck and leg...

Orlando victim turns gun on 4 robbers

An armed citizen surprised four men who robbed him at gunpoint last week. ... After the robbers took his items, Olofson stood up, drew his Springfield XD sub-compact 9 mm handgun "and fired two rounds toward male #1 with the silver handgun, possibly striking him," the report states. "Males #2, #3, and #4 then ran southeast . . . and male #1 ran northeast . . ."

Well done!

If you're okay pulling together random, slightly-related stories, let me try:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,338119,00.html

9 year old girl

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/15612890/detail.html

11 year old boy

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2...llet_horro.html

2 cops nearly hit by stray bullets fired by OTHER COPS

http://www.kcbs.com/pages/1811119.php?

10 year old paralyzed for life

All you have to do is a google news search for "stray bullet"

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

and if you think handguns are so evil, why do you have one?

I don't. I have never and will never own a handgun.

That is your right just as it is my right to have one. As long as you don't break into my house you will never have anything to fear from me or my gun.

Unless, of course, someone else breaks into your home, steals the gun, and uses it to carjack me. So yes, I have everything to fear from your gun.

Guns don't kill people....bullets do.

So how will depriving law abiding people of their right fix that? All that will do is arm the law breakers and disarm the law abiding people. Your solution just makes things worse.

How do you know what it does? Are you omniscient? Omnipresent? Omniarmed, me thinks.

I truly believe that reducing the obnoxious number of guns in this country could be a start to reducing gun crime. It's a pretty simple concept, really.

[mawilson 2,133]

All you have to do is a google news search for "stray bullet"

Might as well do a google news search for "freak accident", because stray bullets fall into that category.

[rhymeswithcandi 0]

and if you think handguns are so evil, why do you have one?

I don't. I have never and will never own a handgun.

Another reason is to deter burglars.

US burglars avoid breaking into occupied homes because they fear being shot: only

13 per cent of US burglaries took place while the victims were home, compared with

59 per cent in the UK.

I would rather be robbed than killed. The numbers of murders in the two countries are quite different per capita.

I'd rather kill the robber than be robbed.

I can only hope that you're not home when you're robbed.

Why? I'm a good shot.

Because killing is terrible.

I'll provide two examples of it when you can provide two examples that match your descriptions. You're the one that started making up hypotheticals.

You sure make it seem like the Wild West.

Easy.

Woman, toddler survive home invasion

A North Side mother fought off an armed intruder inside her apartment early Tuesday morning.

Wheelchair-bound Man Shoots Attacker

A homeowner who is confined to a wheelchair shot and wounded a man who confronted him on his door step, Atlanta police told 11Alive News.

Dallas Store Clerk Turns Tables On Would-Be Robber

Dallas police say a store clerk came face to face with a would-be robber, but this time it's the suspect that ended up in the hospital.

Augusta homeowner shoots suspected burglary in leg

One man admits he shot another, but it's the man who was shot who went to jail.

MPD Arrest One, Seek Another in Last Week's Attempted Home Invasion

...three men kicked in the door, attempted to rob the resident and then shot him. The resident then used a 9mm handgun and shot [one of the intruders] in the neck and leg...

Orlando victim turns gun on 4 robbers

An armed citizen surprised four men who robbed him at gunpoint last week. ... After the robbers took his items, Olofson stood up, drew his Springfield XD sub-compact 9 mm handgun "and fired two rounds toward male #1 with the silver handgun, possibly striking him," the report states. "Males #2, #3, and #4 then ran southeast . . . and male #1 ran northeast . . ."

I see nothing about a shopping mall.

Are you seriously splitting hairs because there isn't a scenario in a shopping mall? They're examples of citizens defending themselves and others and preventing victims losing their lives.

As for this wild west notion you keep referring to, I've not experienced or seen anything like this first hand... so I'm not sure why you keep bringing it up.

Killing IS terrible but something I think is even more terrible is not fulfilling what I believe is an obligation to protect yourself and your family (at least in your own home) Would you rather BE killed than kill?

AnewKINDofFEELIN, if you really think that banning guns makes a place safer, why is the murder rate in DC the 5th highest in the United States despite the handgun ban?

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

All you have to do is a google news search for "stray bullet"

Might as well do a google news search for "freak accident", because stray bullets fall into that category.

How do stray bullets fall into that category? Gravity is no accident. Neither is the conservation of energy. A bullet will keep flying until something stops it. Quite frankly, a "lucky" bullet is one that doesn't end up in a 10 year old's spine.

[mawilson 2,133]

AnewKINDofFEELIN, if you really think that banning guns makes a place safer, why is the murder rate in DC the 5th highest in the United States despite the handgun ban?

[rhymeswithcandi 0]

Here is one reason handguns should be legal. It's in the form of a scenario - Some crazy person walks into a shopping mall and raises a gun planning to mow down every person in the place. One law abiding citizen who happens to be at that same mall sees crazy person. Law-abiding Citizen draws his firearm and tells Crazy to drop his weapon. One of two things happens in this scenario - Crazy drops his weapon or doesn't an Law-abiding Citizen shoots him. Either way, the fact that someone in that shopping mall is armed ends up being a huge factor in saving many lives.

ehm, I thought, as was explained in the last thread like this, that it is very difficult to get a permit to carry, so what the heck is joe-aver law-abiding citizen doing carry his gun in a shopping mall???

Joe-aver law-abiding citizen is carrying a gun in a shopping mall because he has passed criminal background check, taken a gun safety course and obtained a CCW permit. He is exercising his 2nd amendment right. That's assuming he's concealing. Open carry is legal in some states without a permit.

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

AnewKINDofFEELIN, if you really think that banning guns makes a place safer, why is the murder rate in DC the 5th highest in the United States despite the handgun ban?

Because guns are readily available in the states surrounding DC and they can be taken across the border without check.

[SteveLaura 0]

I don't have much faith in the Supreme Court coming up with a solution to this 2nd amendment conundrum. However, I have high hopes that the good people of this thread will be able to sort it out.

Carry on! We're rooting for you!

[Caladan 19]

This case is a bit ironic. Conservatives dont like activists on the supreme court. But in order to find the Washington DC law unconstitutional based on the second amendment, they have to be activists.

No, they would have to be activists to decide that they could pass a law outlawing guns. You have it backwards. The constitution clearly states that we have the right to bear arms.

It says Congress can't pass those laws, nothing about whether a city could ban it. (Personally, I think the DC ban is toast and should be, but I'm curious to see how they're going to argue it.)

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

This case is a bit ironic. Conservatives dont like activists on the supreme court. But in order to find the Washington DC law unconstitutional based on the second amendment, they have to be activists.

No, they would have to be activists to decide that they could pass a law outlawing guns. You have it backwards. The constitution clearly states that we have the right to bear arms.

It says Congress can't pass those laws, nothing about whether a city could ban it. (Personally, I think the DC ban is toast and should be, but I'm curious to see how they're going to argue it.)

Most people that hold up the constituiton as the ultimate arm of the law actually have very little understanding of its jurisdiction.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

and if you think handguns are so evil, why do you have one?

I don't. I have never and will never own a handgun.

That is your right just as it is my right to have one. As long as you don't break into my house you will never have anything to fear from me or my gun.

Unless, of course, someone else breaks into your home, steals the gun, and uses it to carjack me. So yes, I have everything to fear from your gun.

Guns don't kill people....bullets do.

So how will depriving law abiding people of their right fix that? All that will do is arm the law breakers and disarm the law abiding people. Your solution just makes things worse.

How do you know what it does? Are you omniscient? Omnipresent? Omniarmed, me thinks.

I truly believe that reducing the obnoxious number of guns in this country could be a start to reducing gun crime. It's a pretty simple concept, really.

I don't know that that is strictly true - there is evidence (in the UK) for example that even with a total ban of firearms the gun crime rate actually went up - not by a huge nationwide margin (though not what you might think from some of the reports in the media).

The rise in UK gun crime is a long term trend that is apparently unaffected by the state of UK firearms legislation. [23] Before the 1997 ban, handguns were only held by 0.1% of the population,[24] and while the number of crimes involving firearms in England and Wales increased from 13,874 in 1998/99 to 24,070 in 2002/03, they remained relatively static at 24,094 in 2003/04, and have since fallen to 21,521 in 2005/06. The latter includes 3,275 crimes involving imitation firearms and 10,437 involving air weapons, compared to 566 and 8,665 respectively in 1998/99.[25] Only those "firearms" positively identified as being imitations or air weapons (e.g. by being recovered by the police or by being fired) are classed as such, so the actual numbers are likely to be significantly higher. In 2005/06, 8,978 of the total of 21,521 firearms crimes (42%) were for criminal damage.[26]

Since 1998, the number of people injured by firearms in England and Wales increased by 110%,[27] from 2,378 in 1998/99 to 5,001 in 2005/06. "Injury" in this context means by the use of the gun as a blunt instrument or as a threat, or by being shot. In 2005/06, 87% of such injuries were defined as "slight," which includes the use of firearms as a threat only. The number of homicides committed with firearms has remained between a range of 46 and 97 for the past decade, standing at 50 in 2005/06 (a fall from 75 the previous year). Between 1998/99 and 2005/06, there have been only two fatal shootings of police officers in England and Wales. Over the same period there were 107 non-fatal shootings of police officers - an average of just 9.7 per year

Even though big numbers get touted about - the increases in gun crime stats only amount to a few hundred cases per year. All told it is still rather rare.

Of course in the UK we never had the sort of gun culture that's prevalent in the US - which is why banning guns here would be logistically unworkable, not to mention the constitutional issues involved. By the same token of course it would be silly to deny that the daily shooting incidents that take place in the US have nothing all to do with the widespread availability of firearms. Clearly there is a relationship.