Re: Nice Planet 6: Get Me Off This Planet.
I feel we need a public service announcement that cops don't just wear guns for show. They wear them for personal protection, they are deadly, and they WILL use them if they feel their life or well being is threatened. They also shoot to kill.
Why didn't the owner come out when the dogs were going nuts to see what was going on and maybe try to calm them down?
Contrary to the views of some, guns don't kill people. Contrary to the views of others, "people" don't kill people. And contrary to the views of only Flagdude, we don't have an army of crazed cops running around indiscriminately shooting people.
People die by gunfire in this country for one reason, and one reason only -- stupid decision-making.
I enjoy guns. I own many myself, all of them rifles or shotguns. I've used firearms since before I was a teenager. Part of being brought up in a family with a tradition of hunting.
I've never owned a handgun. Thought about it a few times. Friends who know my background inquire as to whether I own one, will every buy one, or will every acquire a "conceal and carry" permit. And even though I've thought about it, I can say with almost 100% certainty the answer is "no." And here's why. It just gives me an opportunity to make a very stupid decision.
I can get as angry, frustrated or frightened as the next person. Who's to say that if I was carrying a handgun on my person or in my car that I wouldn't be tempted to grab it the next time I'm in one of those situations. And that would be a stupid decision. It could lead to me getting shot by cops who entered my house by mistake. It could lead to me getting shot by another motorist with his own gun. It could even lead to me shooting someone. Candidly, I have no desire to either shoot someone or get shot myself.
Until people stop making stupid decisions like carrying a gun on their person in public, giving troubled youths access to your family's firearms, engaging in risky behavior while carrying a gun, people will continue to die by gunfire in this country.
Enacting limitations on the designs or types of guns won't solve it. Embarrassing the police won't solve it. Until we start punishing those who make the stupid decisions, the problem remains.
You want to own a machine gun. Fine. You want to own ten handguns. Fine. But when the crap hits the fan and you make a stupid decision with one of them, including enabling access to them by someone else who uses them for the crime, you're accountable. That's how we address this.