Who's into guns?

[Electric Rider]

Can't say I'm really into guns as I only have one. (so far)

A High Standard Sport King Model 103. 22 long caliber semi auto with a 6 inch rifled barrel. Mag holds 12. It's very accurate and powerful for a 22 and can fire as fast as I can pull the trigger.

I openly carry it on my hip. I don't have any permit to carry, or registration for the gun, don't believe in em.

 Most people don't know but you only need a concealed carry permit to carry a weapon you intend to keep concealed ( in most states) You don't have to register or have a permit to openly carry a gun on your hip or in plain view - just like the old west, legally in most states.  Check with opencarry.org for more info and to check the laws in your state.

Thinking about getting a Kel-Tec PMR-30 22 Magnum Semi-Auto Pistol one day.. these look sweet.

[Baldstu]

Nasty things , " live by the sword die bythesword " making very bad causes by having such a thing unless it is for sport such as target shooting in a club .

[Mr Jules]

Nasty things , " live by the sword die bythesword " making very bad causes by having such a thing unless it is for sport such as target shooting in a club .

Agreed Balchav.

Also being in the UK here, it's just about illegal to discuss guns, let alone possess one. Even the British police don't carry guns - except under very specific circumstances. Remember Tottenham, August 2011 ? And Stockwell, July 2005 ? Stephen Waldorf in January 1983 ?

[Electric Rider]

Nasty things , " live by the sword die bythesword " making very bad causes by having such a thing unless it is for sport such as target shooting in a club .

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Agreed Balchav.

Also being in the UK here, it's just about illegal to discuss guns, let alone possess one. Even the British police don't carry guns - except under very specific circumstances. Remember Tottenham, August 2011 ? And Stockwell, July 2005 ? Stephen Waldorf in January 1983 ?

I do understand that point of view guys. I used to hate the idea of guns (accept when necessary for hunting in a society that didn't have a grocery store on every corner. ) Wouldn't have one in my house.

Then Katrina the Hurricane Hit.

We didn't get to leave in time.. this was after the storm hit and before the whole city of New Orleans flooded. I was out on the property helping people.. I live in a community of condo owners you see and was working at the time with the home owners association in a maintenance capacity and as a member on the board of directors. A rather large 6 foot something 300 lbs fellow named Jose came up to me and asked me for the keys to the pool areas so he could get water. I told him truthfully I did not have the keys, as I had turned them into the office before the storm hit. Next thing I remember I was waking up very bloody and sore. Many people witnessed this brute mercilessly pummeling my face and head into the concrete. I did not provoke this reaction. No one knew who this fellow was at the time. There were no phone service and no cars on the road due to major damage and phone poles being downed. The wife and I had to walk a couple of miles to get help. The cops still in the city took their time in arriving which is expected in this situation and indeed there were few left that had not run from the hurricane. It was discovered this man Jose was staying with a friend of his in the complex and that he had escaped from a local prison. The man was a twice convinced violent felon.

Long story short, this caused me to have 10.000 dollars in hospital bills to repair damage to my body, luckily paid for by The U.S. Government due to being a casualty of the hurricane. So we left and came back when it was safe.. or so we thought.. over 2 months had passed. We returned home to find the neighborhoods taken over by more thugs and criminal element as many people were still reluctant to return to the area. During this time I was further insulted by two occasions where people put a gun to me and my wife's head. I'm only 5.3 and 120 lbs at this time, so fighting a man with a gun to my head was not high on my list. We did what sensible people would do. We prayed for our lives. Fortunately, in both instances the thugs did not blow our heads off. After that a dear friend gave me the 22 pistol. I became trained in and proficient in it's use. I figure my luck cannot hold out forever and if this happens again, I don't want to take chances, I'll be ready to dissuade the unruly character.

That said, since those time I have learned a lot about guns and gun users. I have a legal and moral right to defend myself and my family from harm. In your society across the pond, your citizens cannot protect themselves if this situation arises. This is sad as it could save many lives.. think about it.. who does have guns in your society? The criminals do. Here in America many thousands of peoples lives are saved each year because someone out there legally carries a gun for protection and acts in that persons stead as a deterrent.  If guns were illegal here, those people could not defend the innocent and those people would be dead. Not to mention the thousands of people who save their own lives because they carry a gun and are law abiding citizens.  The truth is you cannot count on the cops to make it to you in time to save you. Sometimes, you must be able to defend yourself.

[Mr Jules]

Sometimes, you must be able to defend yourself.

Guess it's a cultural difference between the UK and the US.

And sounds like you went to hell and back during Hurricane Katrina.

[Electric Rider]

Sometimes, you must be able to defend yourself.

Guess it's a cultural difference between the UK and the US.

And sounds like you went to hell and back during Hurricane Katrina.

I really don't know how different the cultures are in this respect. I don't know much about crime in the UK but I would imagine polite society there is not so civilized that there are not gun toting criminal elements robbing and killing the innocent within the ranks.

Perhaps you can shed more light on this. What do people do.. just rely on the police to get there in time when some thug starts brandishing a gun? Do you hear daily reports of murders due to gun violence on the news or does it really not happen like it does in the States?

[Mr Jules]

Been to the States quite a few times. When watching news there, been struck by the amount of reports of crime especially involving guns. Either the UK has less crime, or it does not get reported on the news so much. Probably a bit of both.

In the UK, it's illegal to carry or possess guns. There are no guns shops and police generally do not carry guns. Sure, there's knife crime in some of more deprived urban areas.

The UK has a population of 60 million. In the whole of 2008, 8 people died in gun shootings. The US has 5 times the population. So the equivalent would be 40 gun deaths in the US for one year.

We don't have guns (well, almost).

[Electric Rider]

Been to the States quite a few times. When watching news there, been struck by the amount of reports of crime especially involving guns. Either the UK has less crime, or it does not get reported on the news so much. Probably a bit of both.

In the UK, it's illegal to carry or possess guns. There are no guns shops and police generally do not carry guns. Sure, there's knife crime in some of more deprived urban areas.

The UK has a population of 60 million. In the whole of 2008, 8 people died in gun shootings. The US has 5 times the population. So the equivalent would be 40 gun deaths in the US for one year.

We don't have guns (well, almost).

I see.. that does make a difference. Thank you Mr Jules for clearing that up for me. It's good to know you guys don't have the problems with gun violence we do here.

[Mr Jules]

Good to chat about the differences and similarities between the UK and the US.

We have other problems ! The UK is the same size as the state of Oregon but with the population of Texas and California combined. Compared with the States, it's feels pretty crowded here on these islands. Houses are smaller and the roads are busier.

[IllinoisBaldy]

In the UK, it's illegal to carry or possess guns.

Hey Mr. Jules.  Is hunting with a firearm allowed in the UK or do you need a special permit?  I'm an avid hunter here in the states.  While I do use a bow and arrow, I also use a firearm, shotgun to be more specific...just curious.  Thanks

[SlyAggie]

I have a Remington 700 bdl in .270 , a browning gold hunter 12ga, and about to purchase a glock 17 .40. I have a concealed handgun license in TX, and I carry mainly when I am alone and at night, like fishing in the boat by myself in the middle of the night.

[Mr Jules]

In the UK, it's illegal to carry or possess guns.

Hey Mr. Jules.  Is hunting with a firearm allowed in the UK or do you need a special permit?  I'm an avid hunter here in the states.  While I do use a bow and arrow, I also use a firearm, shotgun to be more specific...just curious.  Thanks

Illinois Baldy,

Good question. Think you can have carry a air rifle, but not a firearm. The thing is that gun controls is so very strict in the UK. As I said, even the police generally don't carry guns - except in very special circumstances.
You can read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_the_United_Kingdom

And there's no desire from the public or politicians to change the laws. The general consensus in the UK is: we don't want guns here.

 

[Baldstu]

Also the carrying of guns in US may be to do with past history ofthe last 2 hundred years in areas of this vast continent which had no security forces or law enforcement officers 150 years ago . I think what Jules cites is very interesting , illegal guns do exist here and are used  . Certainly would not want to see a free for all gun culture though , who knows maybe if parts of some states were to legislate guns and the carrying of guns , the death penalt might disappear also?   There again I have only visited the US once and loved it .

[Electric Rider]

Also the carrying of guns in US may be to do with past history ofthe last 2 hundred years in areas of this vast continent which had no security forces or law enforcement officers 150 years ago . I think what Jules cites is very interesting , illegal guns do exist here and are used  . Certainly would not want to see a free for all gun culture though , who knows maybe if parts of some states were to legislate guns and the carrying of guns , the death penalt might disappear also?   There again I have only visited the US once and loved it .

The Second Amendment  to the United States Constitution that gave "We The People" the right to Keep and bear arms was adopted on December 15, 1791. This was very early in our history. The American revolutionary war in which we declared our independence from Great Britain took place between 1775 and 1783. There were only a 13 states all along the eastern seaboard then and no wild west. Most of what would later become the rest of the U.S was not even  colonized yet by the European/new American settlers.

The point being we had these rights way before the wild west period. When the individual states started drafting their own state constitutions almost all of them included these same rights using the U.S Constitution as a guide. For instance my state Louisiana adopted it's constitution in 1868 with the addition of " "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged.  This shall not prevent the passage of laws to punish those who carry weapons concealed."

The modern version adopted in 1979 says, " The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged, but this provision shall not prevent the passage of laws to prohibit the carrying of weapons concealed on the person. "

I'm not trying to give you a history lesson.. just showing you how far this goes back. 221 years doesn't seem like a very long time but these rights go back to the very roots and birth of our nation.

We don't really have a free for all gun culture except for the criminal element. Most law abiding citizens do not own guns. In today's climate I wish more law abiding citizens did carry guns because the cops are too few and far between. Many states do legislate guns and the carrying of guns that are concealed but as you see, they cannot deny a person the right to keep and bear arms as a definitive measure to stop gun violence. The U.S. Constitution as a whole as well as the individual states constitutions must be changed for that and the whole of the American people will never allow that. We The People have the say and the power here, we make the rules and can say when and how those rules change unlike a monarchy. I'm not talking down to you, I know you know these things.. just illustrating the point.

More regulation than this would almost be impossible. Too many people don't want to give up their rights in the face of fascist government and corporate powers that seem to want to take over America. We have big problems here with that sort of thing. Big Brother as in George Orwell's 1984 is becoming a real threat to the people here. These rights are not just for the individual to protect themselves, but a way to guarantee that the people can remain armed and use force if necessary against a tyrannical government should such a government arise. It's a clause written into the Constitution to get us out of trouble before too much government corruption sets in. I don't know if this can be pulled off in these times without the government labeling everyone traitors but it gives the people some hope and sense of security.

Sorry for the book.

[tomgallagher]

What part of a "well regulated militia" do you belong to.?