Mrs. dpnewell wrote:You continue to insist that the fought lays with the tool and not the actor, so let's run with that. You also asked "what right could be more important than Life?". Let's see how strongly you believe what you preach.
Already trying to format my response
Every year, over 10,000 Americans are killed on our highways by alcohol (remember, you blame the tool). The right of drivers to be able to travel our highways without the fear of an alcohol impaired driver plowing into them, trumps your right to enjoy alcohol. I mean, what right could be more important than life, correct?
If we could lower that number by making mandatory breathalyzers in all cars wouldn't that be a fair price to pay? I'd be in. You?
Every SINGLE DAY, 9 Americans are killed and 1,000 are injured by cell phones (again, to be consistent, we must blame the tool). A driver's right to travel our highways, without being killed or maimed by a cell phone distracted driver, trumps your right to use a cell phone. Again, what right could be more important than life?
Make the punishment for using your cell while driving severe enough to discourage/stop it. People reluctantly used seat belts at first until it hit their wallets a few times. How bout jail time for repeat offenders. Just to please Vic.
According to the National Safety Council, 7,000 people each year are killed by swimming pools. In addition, over 5,000 children each year are hospitalized for near drowning events. 20% of these children suffer permanent disabilities. A child's right to not be killed or permanently disabled by a swimming pool trumps your right to swim. Life is more important than recreation.
I could go on, and on, and on, but hopefully, you understand my point.
I know. You could.
Oh, and before you go off on some tangent about how guns where "designed to kill", let me stop you right there. Guns where designed to do one thing. Fire a projectile. That projectile can be used for sport or competition, it can be used to put food on the table, it can be used to protect innocent life, and sadly, in the hands of a murderer, it can be used to take innocent life. The actor decides what that tool does. The tool has no mind of it's own. There are studies that show that guns are used hundreds of thousands of times each year to protect innocent life, or to prevent a crime, usually without firing a single shot. Taking this tool out of the hands of good folk, could result in several hundred thousand additional murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, etc. each year. Is this tradeoff worth your illusion (and yes, it is only an illusion) that school children would then be safe?
David (dpnewell)
Guns are fun. And in society, necessary. Yup, they're tools. But they ain't hammers.
And all your relating alchohol or swimming to guns is beyond silly imo.
It's a straw man argument.
Pro gun folks like to make the argument that cars are deadly also. My answer: when 100s of students are killed by homicidal students on school property we should seriously look in to it. Until then, well, how bout them guns...
And now my short rant. I realize most at cbid have the home court advantage when it comes to anything guns. I do a lot of answering questions and talking to myself in these threads.
And as you are among 'friends', you don't really need conversation. You want confirmation. And I get that. Maybe I'm at the wrong site for me. *crickets*
Here's what's bugging me lately in this gun debate: I know it has nothing to do with "rights"
When I hear someone say 2nd amendment, or God given rights I'm sort of grateful that you can't see me.
It's not about rights per se. Does anybody here really care about rights? How about gay rights? Don't you think, like most guys, that back when woman insisted they deserved the right to vote you wouldn't have joined the parade and advocated loudly for them?
Or black rights during the Civil Rights movement? Or more recently the invasion of our right privacy by Cambridge Analytica. Where's the uproar for that? *again....crickets*
Or how about the rights of the admittedly thoughtless comedian Kathy Griffin who posted that stupid photo of her holding Trump's bloody head. When she lost all as a result of exercising her right of free speech did we, anyone come to her defense? Nope. Free speech. The 1st amendment.
It's not about your rights. It's about guns. You like them and you're responsible citizens that want to keep them. I get and respect that. No bs.
But if there's zero wiggle room for new approaches IF it means tighter gun restrictions than it's just selfishness imo.