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This is to all of you Non-Gun owners out there. I just read with much interest an email from our pal USAHOG that got me to thinking: How do you feel about the NRA? I do not own a gun, yet I support the right to own one. I do not agree with everything that the NRA pushes for from a political perspective, but I do agree with much of it. I feel strongly that assualt weapons should be banned with mandatory jail-time, but owning a pistol or rifle is OK. Also, if you own a gun it should be registered and you should have a license that you receive at a certain age and only after passing a test of some sort. Why is this "middle of the road" approach ignored? There has to be some sort of common ground between banning all weapons and fighting for the right to arm your own militia. OK, I'm going to open this post up to all of you Gun Owners as well, just to be fair.

i keep one s&w in the office and one at home. both are registered and i had to take some kind of written test to buy them. the test is stupid, because the store walks you through the answers, so it serves no useful purpose. the only thing i learned was that even if it is the trunk of your car and is loaded, legally it has to be kept in a locked box. kind of dumb i believe. the problem with the philosophy of the nra, no intrusion by the government on the right to bear arms, because the purpose of the weapon is to protect you against, not only intruders, but also, against an oppressive government. the later is a silly viewpoint. personal protection, yes, but the government always has a bigger gun. in addition, government, including ours, has better ways to oppress than to use armed force. next time you go to a store staffed by the current generation of kids, and ask for help, see what happens. this generation of teenagers, is either the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning.

Tailgater, I actually sold my 357 S&W and 12 gauge shotgun 2 years ago. Not that I'm against guns. Far-be-it! I grew up with guns in the house all of my life (U.S.M.C. father and brother) and thoroughly enjoy firing off more than several rounds when I have the chance. The reason my husband and I no longer bare arms? My son and his friends. I know some of you will go off that it's all in the education of handling firearms (which my kids are aware of) and so on, but I'm here to tell you that with of all of my 12 year old son's friends (not to mention my 15 year old daughter and her friends) that are in our home on a daily basis, I can't take the chance of that one stupid moment where one of them gets the bright idea to get their hands on my locked guns. Locks fail. Kids make poor choices. I'm not always home. That's my reality. When my kids leave home, I'll be back at the gun store you bet. But for now, that eases my conscience. Sorry this post is so long... I feel that any U.S. citizen with a clean record SHOULD be allowed to own ANY type of firearm, including automatic and semi-automatice assault weapons. Why can we not be allowed to enjoy the sport and the feel of holding and discharging such weapons? The MAJORITY of us are not nuts. It's like taking away someone's Corvette because, well, you know, it can hit 200 MPH and God only knows how many of us will be killed by such a horrible machine! Come on. Rookie, your opinion? I realize that it can be a peace officers nightmare, but if someone has a screw loose, they're gonna get their hands on a weapon no matter what. A 22 will kill you just as dead as an M-16, right? Only you may live long enough after being shot by the 22 to realize you're gonna die yet comforted by the thought that the gun was legal. California has just about taken ALL of our rights away. As for registering and licensing weapons, that's another fight here in the Golden State. People with antique firearms that will NEVER fire again are by law require to register them. If they don't fit the criteria, they're confiscated. What a scam. I'm so ashamed of our government.

Can't add much to gdurfor's and E-Chicks post's,except.Rick I don't know when you bought your smithies but it wasn't in the last ten or so years in Ca was it?Currently you can not buy a handgun in the state of Ca. without proof of taking a hunters safety or a firearms training course,or have in your possesion a valid hunting liscence,for wich you would of had to take one of said courses at one time or another.Most courses are an all day event with a rather lengthly written test at the end of the course.The questionare you filled out at the store,dealt with your mental capacity and wether or not you used drugs or have a felony record or are under a restraining order,been convicted of spousle abuse.(I'm not going to touch that last sentence.LOL).Also under No circumstances what so ever,are you allowed to transport a loaded weapon in your vehichle.The handgun must be in a locked case with ALL ammunition in a SEPERATE location.I wouldn't want you to get into trouble.LOL.and you call yourself an "expert.":0).The right to bare arms 2nd Amendment is a RIGHT that cannot be infrindge upon,to protect your family,property,country,from our own government and any Gov. that would invade us.(PERIOD).In closing as you all know wether it be the Tobacco nazi's,Environut's or gun control fanatic's there is NO compromise.These peoples sole existance is to strip us of our liberties one,step at a time.Thats my opionion and I'm sticking to it.

first s&w i bought about 35 years ago. it was almost new and cost $25.00 it is a 6 shot short barrel, called a police special. at that time you could buy a 22 ruger at any store like target (sorry about the pun), or wall-mart. (even thought they weren't around than, there were stores like that. i bought the ruger for about $20. and since i had an out of state license, i did not have to wait. how cool for serial killers. the last 38 i bought about 3 years ago for $225. less my trade in of some 9mm stainless automatic called, i don't know. it was made in ca and had three initial like rhk or pmk or something like that. rookie would know. the local police told me it was a good backup. i have better results with the 4" s&w than i had with the automatic because of the slight alteration of the front site after it fires. target shooting i mean. i only had to take this test in the store. i also bought some spent cartridges marged R . P and 45 . 70 govt, and sharpened them to use as a punch. they were a couple of dollars in a red plastic case marked J&J 45-70 TO 600 N.E. you guys will know more about what that means. i guess the store ripped me for the lock box, telling me i could carry a loaded gun. and you all thought liberals didn't own guns, assuming i am a liberal. incidentally if no one starts a new politicl thread, i may have to provoke some trouble instead of responding to it

Some good discussion here. I understand the second amendment. I also understans some of the other arguements which have been well stated above. But automatic and semi-automatic weapons should not be offered up to the general public. Yes, e-chick, a corvette can go 200 mph and kill someone, but an automatic weapon can eliminate an entire schoolyard in 5 seconds. A 22 can only take one at a time. If you allow automatic weapons, then why not missles and bombs? Afterall, you can make them from scratch so why not go to walmart and purchase one. We do need to set limits, but we can NOT use these limits as a stepping stone to further infringe upon gun owners rights. I feel strongly about that. Stiffer gun laws only hurt those who break the law. If we give them an inch, they may want the mile, but we can not give it.

Remember when the Memphis area car deal(used cars of course) was offering a free gun with the purchase of a car about 6 months ago? This reminded me of the late Junior Samples doing his Television skit as a used car salesman, but it was a "misguided" sales campaign offered by a car dealer looking for publicity. He got plenty publicity from the National Media and this kind of sales gimmick should not be allowed in the future! I am a conservative Republican who believes that people should be allowed to own guns, but I do not agree with the NRA and some of their bogus campaigns, beliefs and propaganda! Assualt weapons, bazookas and flame throwers should be banned and all other guns should be registered by the gun owners. It is really sad when we see the kind of events that have happened in some of our High Schools across the country. You can apoligize to someone that you hit in the face with a right hook, but that same person cannot hear an apology when they are shot in the face with a 9mm automatic. Charlie

One more thing...Smith and Wesson bowed to the politicians by ceasing all manufacture and sales to the public so they would not be sued by the various governments (such as Chicago and the "great" Mayor Daley..What a jag)...The other big gun manufacturers (such as Beretta, Glock, Colt, etc) told them to go screw themselves and go ahead and try to sue us...I have one S&W pistol that I am in the process of purchasing from a friend: a Sigma 9mm SW9F with two 17 round mags (Pre-ban) but will not purchase from their P.O.S. company again...Boycott Smith and Wesson!