Re: Morgan v. Jones
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 5:47 am
My evidence of questionable storage and possession is anecdotal but since I don't run in gun circles, I can relate first hand to 4 different instances of where I have seen guns that were either restricted (illegal) or stored improperly (not locked). That scares me a little. Maybe I am just unlucky in that but it gets me thinking that if I as someone who has little to do with guns have come across such situations, what goes on that we don't know about? Or how closely are the rules being followed in more rural areas? I really don't know but where there is one, there is several. I'm not trying to find a moral high ground, I simply believe that people don't always attach the same level of significance to things, just like some people speed excessively and feel that there is nothing wrong with that. How many people run amber lights, drive after drinking? These things still happen regularly despite the best intentions. Unfortunately, with a firearm, the stakes can be higher. The fewer that are out there, the lesser the chance that someone is going to "drop the ball", react in a fit of peak and so on.
As for the want vs need. I was expecting that at some point. There is a place for the hobbyist/target shooter/collector somewhere in all of this. As a collector, I would be inclined to make such weapons not functional. Much the same way I don't sharpen my swords. As for the target shooter, I guess one has to draw the line somewhere. At what point does greater good vs the rights of the individual line get drawn? I for example would love to drive a Ferrari (just once) the way it was meant to be driven (after all that is what they are intended for), but on the other hand, to do so in most situations would be unsafe and irresponsible. I lean towards the greater good. side of the equation. There is nothing wrong with a weapon being handled safely and responsibly but if certain styles of weapons have a tendency to attract the wrong element, then I would argue that for the greater good, they shouldn't be available. It sucks for the responsible owners but then again so do speed bumps in parking lots. If people would just drive the appropriate speed, they would be unnecessary. It's a poor answer in some ways for your point about reasonable exceptions which I happen to agree with but it still comes down to a few bad apples spoiling it for the rest.
Although I didn't go into in my earlier post, I actually do think that the bigger problem over all in the US is the handgun. They are easily concealed, just as lethal and a tool just begging to be misused. They are the kind of thing that can be found in a drawer or a glove box, or that pile of junk that came from Grandpa's attic before his house was torn down. If I could choose just one to restrict, it would be the hand gun. The world doesn't need any more cases of 6 year old's bringing a handgun to school from the family home.
You may not have meant to imply it but you did suggest that talk of gun control spurs panic buying and that the consequence of that is more guns than ever. What would be the alternative? You either have gun controls or you don't. The fear of panic buying shouldn't be a consideration. With 300 million weapons in circulation already in the US, the panic buying of a few is hardly going to make the situation much worse. It is indeed their country and I don't know if they will ever have the collective consciousness to do things differently, nor is it my place to tell them how to live. I react more to the incessant, moaning and hand wringing that accompanies something like Sandy Hook followed up by a complete lack of political will to take steps that might help prevent it in future. I feel a sadness for them, but the challenge of changing their mindset is theirs to meet. Nothing I could say would ever change that. The saddest fact of all is my belief that no tragedy like Sandy Hook is ever going to be enough for them to reduce the number of and accessibility to guns in their country. It seems like a mass shooting or two every year is an acceptable price to pay for the right to have one or twenty.
No pardon required by the way. I enjoy a good discussion with someone who has a different point of view on an issue. It is the best way to learn I find.
As for the swords, it is a rather paltry collection by some standards. 2 or 3 genuine antiques of British origins circa the 1860's. A 1907 pattern Lee-Enfield bayonet. A few more modern era commemorative swords from the likes of Wilkinson before they got out of the sword making business, and some replicas of things like Gurkha Knives, Roman Short Sword etc. I also have a few hunting and jack knife blades. I enjoy the craftsmanship in the better examples It is pretty easy to tell the good metallurgy from bad. I still watch for them on Ebay and the like but the prices have gotten a little too steep for my tastes.
As for the want vs need. I was expecting that at some point. There is a place for the hobbyist/target shooter/collector somewhere in all of this. As a collector, I would be inclined to make such weapons not functional. Much the same way I don't sharpen my swords. As for the target shooter, I guess one has to draw the line somewhere. At what point does greater good vs the rights of the individual line get drawn? I for example would love to drive a Ferrari (just once) the way it was meant to be driven (after all that is what they are intended for), but on the other hand, to do so in most situations would be unsafe and irresponsible. I lean towards the greater good. side of the equation. There is nothing wrong with a weapon being handled safely and responsibly but if certain styles of weapons have a tendency to attract the wrong element, then I would argue that for the greater good, they shouldn't be available. It sucks for the responsible owners but then again so do speed bumps in parking lots. If people would just drive the appropriate speed, they would be unnecessary. It's a poor answer in some ways for your point about reasonable exceptions which I happen to agree with but it still comes down to a few bad apples spoiling it for the rest.
Although I didn't go into in my earlier post, I actually do think that the bigger problem over all in the US is the handgun. They are easily concealed, just as lethal and a tool just begging to be misused. They are the kind of thing that can be found in a drawer or a glove box, or that pile of junk that came from Grandpa's attic before his house was torn down. If I could choose just one to restrict, it would be the hand gun. The world doesn't need any more cases of 6 year old's bringing a handgun to school from the family home.
You may not have meant to imply it but you did suggest that talk of gun control spurs panic buying and that the consequence of that is more guns than ever. What would be the alternative? You either have gun controls or you don't. The fear of panic buying shouldn't be a consideration. With 300 million weapons in circulation already in the US, the panic buying of a few is hardly going to make the situation much worse. It is indeed their country and I don't know if they will ever have the collective consciousness to do things differently, nor is it my place to tell them how to live. I react more to the incessant, moaning and hand wringing that accompanies something like Sandy Hook followed up by a complete lack of political will to take steps that might help prevent it in future. I feel a sadness for them, but the challenge of changing their mindset is theirs to meet. Nothing I could say would ever change that. The saddest fact of all is my belief that no tragedy like Sandy Hook is ever going to be enough for them to reduce the number of and accessibility to guns in their country. It seems like a mass shooting or two every year is an acceptable price to pay for the right to have one or twenty.
No pardon required by the way. I enjoy a good discussion with someone who has a different point of view on an issue. It is the best way to learn I find.
As for the swords, it is a rather paltry collection by some standards. 2 or 3 genuine antiques of British origins circa the 1860's. A 1907 pattern Lee-Enfield bayonet. A few more modern era commemorative swords from the likes of Wilkinson before they got out of the sword making business, and some replicas of things like Gurkha Knives, Roman Short Sword etc. I also have a few hunting and jack knife blades. I enjoy the craftsmanship in the better examples It is pretty easy to tell the good metallurgy from bad. I still watch for them on Ebay and the like but the prices have gotten a little too steep for my tastes.