I haven't touched on gun control or the second amendment on this website, so I thought I'd post my views on the issue. I believe that people should own guns to defend themselves or to enjoy the past time of hunting. If anything has shown us throughout history it is the weak being preyed upon by the strong or the armed that has led to the greatest tragedies in history.
A legal gun owner is highly unlikely to commit a crime and I'd wager that the amount of legal firearms used to commit crimes are very low on the whole of crimes committed with a firearm.
Most of those against guns in my opinion are simply scared of them. Maybe they grew up never having been exposed to them. Weapons should be handled with the utmost respect. Most of the tragedies you hear that involve guns, like children getting a hold of them and shooting their friends, are few and far between and in almost all cases were because of those who didn't properly respect their firearms and left them lying around.
There's no greater a deterrent to a criminal than an armed society. If criminals knew that 75% of those in a community had a firearm at home they'd think more than once about breaking into a home since they would have a 3 out of 4 chance that they'll be facing potential lethal force in their attempt to steal your valuables or harm your family.
Therefore it was no surprise to me in seeing this article regarding Florida's crime rate decreasing and Governor Jeb Bush mentioning legal gun owners in the same sentence.
Miami Herald
Florida's crime rate dropped for the 14th straight year in 2005 to its lowest mark since 1971 because of tougher laws, increased financial support from the Legislature and law-abiding citizens with guns, Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday.
''This report shows that staying tough on crime works,'' Bush said. ``Law abiding citizens that have guns for protection actually probably are part of the reason we have a lower crime rate.''
...
Last year Bush signed a bill that allows people who feel threatened on the street, in a bar, at a ball game -- or just about anywhere -- to ''meet force with force'' to defend themselves without fear of being prosecuted.
''You send a real powerful signal when you know the citizen has a good potential of being armed and doesn't have to back off anymore,'' said John Birch, president of Concealed Carry Inc. in Illinois.
Opponents, however, have said the idea would legalize shootouts in the streets.
And as you can see the opponents were dead wrong. There were no cases mentioned of shootouts in the street or the incidents of O.K. Corral style justice having taken place. So much for their fear mongering. Their obvious fear of guns has turned them into a bunch of fucking wimps who would rather bend over and take it from a criminal than defend their families.
People are against guns until they are actually victims of violent crime, then they're not so much against legal firearms for defence. It's a shame that these spineless people would allow themselves to be put in harms way and potential death or maiming before they take action.
Tipped by: Say Anything where it's pointed out that in Washington D.C, where it's near impossible to get a license, the crime rate has soared. Over the past 30 days robberies have gone up 14 percent and armed assaults have jumped 18 percent and a state of crime emergency has been declared by the police chief.
