War

[Turtlekid1]

Because a gun acts of its own accord to shoot people, not the person handling it.

For the first time in human history (2008), the polar ice caps will not have snow during the summer. You don't think that's a huge problem? Our world continues to heat up due to increased carbon emissions and it doesn't look like anyone wants to do anything about it.

Summer ain't over yet, kiddo.  By the way, show me scientific proof that CO² has anything at all to do with global warming.  Or that global warming is more than just a figment of someone's imagination, for that matter.

Actually, don't.  I don't want to argue about it, especially in a topic it doesn't belong in.

[Chupperson Weird]

Carbon Dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere and doesn't let it radiate back out into space! How hard is that to grasp?
PaperLuigi is wrong though. In about the 1400s, the ice caps were not nearly so large and it was pretty warm all over.

[CrossEyed7]

If we hadn't invented guns, we wouldn't need them. But now that they're out there, we need to let the good guys have guns, because the bad guys are going to have them anyway.

[Glorb]

So how about we prevent bad guys from having guns by outlawing guns for civilians all over? Second amendment by butt; I doubt British troops are going to come in and camp in our houses any time soon.

[CrossEyed7]

So how about we prevent bad guys from having guns by outlawing guns for civilians all over?

Black market. Bad guys don't follow the law, that's why they're bad guys.

Second amendment by butt; I doubt British troops are going to come in and camp in our houses any time soon.

Murderers, rapists, school kids on killing sprees, etc.

[Chupperson Weird]

Yeah. School kids which also have no business having guns.

[PaperLuigi]

Summer ain't over yet, kiddo.  By the way, show me scientific proof that CO² has anything at all to do with global warming.  Or that global warming is more than just a figment of someone's imagination, for that matter.

First of all, I'm older than you, so don't call me a kid please. Second of all, CO² going up equals a warmer world because (like Chup said) it traps in the sun's heat. It isn't that hard to figure out.

Guns should be destroyed.

I seriously doubt that this is going to happen. Try telling that to an angry drug dealer and see what kind of response you get. If we wanted to get rid of all the guns, we'd have to use guns to take them away from other people who have guns.

But sadly, it looks like someone got their panties in a tightwad and now it's turned into a full blown political argument.

NOTE: I realize the hypocrisy of this statement.

[Luigison]

I watched Charlie Wilson's War Friday.  I debated posting in the July 4th thread, but thought this would be a more productive place to mention it.  I liked the movie even though it went a little overboard promoting the Soviets as brutal murderers.  I should also warn you that it has some nudity and a lot of vulgar language and innuendo.  With a few minor historical inaccuracy it's pretty much a true story.  I really liked it for what it was.  Anyone else here seen it? 

[ShadowBrain]

Second amendment by butt

I know this isn't a thread anyone should be saying "LOL" in, but...

I can't remember the last thing I posted here--or what never-ending tangent people were bickering about at that point--so I'll just end it with this: Everything I do I try to do with rationality and everything I believe I try to believe with evidence. Besides, the only true way to figure out who is "right" is to wait until it's too late.

[Forest Guy]

Guns should be destroyed.

Oh man, I don't even know where to start.

So you're telling me this why, because theyre bad? because they kill people? Yeah, they kill people when someone uses one improperly.

So tell me something, what if I told you that there was a machine people use all the time that can kill you in the blink of an eye? They're made of jagged metal,  filled up with combustible fuel and are can travel at speeds of up to 150 mph. They're one of the leading causes of death in America and many other countries. Guess what it is yet? That's right, buddy, it's a car! And just like guns, they're DEADLY when used incorrectly.

Do you think cars should be destroyed too? What about knives?

[Glorb]

Well, that's the thing. Cars and knives (as well as hammers, chainsaws, and baseball bats) are all tools used for primarily constructive purposes. When used incorrectly, they can kill. However, what are guns designed for? To kill, or at the very least, maim. Don't give me some bull about self-defense. The point of a gun is to fire a metal object into a target, usually a living thing. What's target practice for? For training to shoot living things. I'm sorry, but when you kill someone with a gun you're using it the way it was meant to be used.

Tell me, what practical use does a gun have? Can you cook with it? Build stuff with it? Drive places with it? Really, can you use it for any constructive purpose?

[Forest Guy]

Dude, self defense is a practical use. Why do you think they were invented in the first place? Yes, the point of a gun is to fire a metal object into a target. But that's not its purpose. It's a weapon to protect yourself with. If you have a robber enter your home, what can you do to stop him? Tell him you're going to call the police? Oh yeah, that's gonna stop him. If you shoot him in the leg first, you win.

Oh and please, school kids with gun, yawwwwn. These so called 'safe zones' where guns are forbidden. I.e. schools, colleges, public places, etc... Where do all these school shootings and massacres take place? Oh thats right, on school grounds! So while the one basket case who breaks the rules is shooting the place up, the perfectly normal gun enthusiast COULD be taking him out before he kills anyone else, if only he were allowed to bring his gun with him. Please. Guns are no less practical than a fork.

[Glorb]

Mentally unbalanced student with gun in school = bad! They kill people!
Perfectly mentally balanced gun enthusiast with gun in school = good! They kill bad people with guns!

So, you're allowed to bring guns into school as long as you promise you won't kill anyone without being provoked. As opposed to no one having any guns to kill anyone with in the first place, period. Oh, well, at least playground arguments can be resolved a lot quicker.

Guns don't grow into people's hands; they buy them legally/illegally, or steal them from people who have bought them legally/illegally, or are given them by people who have bought them legally/illegally. The point is, if we stop guns at their source, no one gets any guns, so the self-defense issue becomes a moot point.

It's like little kids with slingshots. You, as an authority figure, can give it to the supposedly-more-responsible kid as opposed to the one who runs around shooting at windows and puppies. But then maybe that kid somehow gets ahold of it and breaks a window, or puts someone's eye out, or kills a pet. Then what? You can't simply say "I told him not to do it". This can be prevented by not giving the slingshot to either kid; they may cry and moan, but in the end, things are a lot safer.

[Forest Guy]

No dude, you're a dreamer. Making all guns illegal won't solve anything. Marijuana is illegal, but how many people freaking smoke it? Everybody, that's who. All those drugs are illegal. They still kill people. Go watch that episode of The Simpsons where they melt all of the guns in the town, only to be attacked by zombies who have their own guns, leaving them defenseless. (It was one of the Treehouse of Horror ones) Point and case, people would still get guns from a million places if they were illegal, thus it DOESN'T fix the problem of self defense.

And don't pull hyperbole garbage on me. I never advocated letting kids bring guns to school. There's a reason you need to be a certain age to get carrying permits for guns in the first place.

[Glorb]

True, outlawing all guns won't stop gun violence everywhere, but it will drastically reduce it. If you can't legally obtain a gun at all, then you'll be less inclined to own one, and less inclined to use one. With current gun laws, a cop can find a gun on you and you'll be let off the hook if you have a permit. That's fine; that's how the law works. But then you use the gun to kill someone; well, doesn't that suck? Sure, there's always the possibility that some nutjob will pop out of nowhere and shoot at you. But does that mean anything, really? Simply owning a gun won't mean you'll be strapped with two six-shooters and instantly pop a cap in the guy. You'll probably get gunned down regardless, because that guy had easy access to a gun.

My view is essentially this: It's possible to have a utopian society where everyone owns a gun and yet is responsible enough only to use them for, say, target practice. But we don't live in that society. The way humans are right now, we don't really deserve to have guns. When people outright stop shooting others because they insulted them, or their beliefs are different, or their actions were misinterpreted, or they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, then we can safely have guns in our society. But that's just not the case.