TROUBL

1. "a mom"

   NRA or GBC(Good boys club) Those are the ones who don’t want the laws. As long as all these killings don’t effect them. Let one of their kids get killed by the hand of gunmen. I’m sure they would look at thing different. Who was that man who was shot some time ago(can’t remember his name) He soon after he recovered starting for gun laws to be past.

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2. troublsome

   I feel what you are saying about putting limtations to who is prohibited to buy a gun. But understand that it is simple for someone to get their hands on a girl simply on the streets. Just like you said the generalization of blacks and mexicans get guns just to be cool. Now we know for a fact that these guns are not registered at the local gun shops or Big 5. Buying guns on the streets is almost as easy as buying some weed or extasy pills. There is a big market out there for illegal firearms, and I don’t think there is no way to regulate it.

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3. Terry

   As far as the stereotypes about why people buy guns, I don’t think we can draw conclusions based on race alone. Yeah, there’s the mass media marketplace where cool is packaged and sold in the form of guns, drugs and thugs (turn off your TV), but there are a lot of reasons that people own guns. Hunting, military history, protection and such are only a few reasons. Frankly, the people who have a passion for guns don’t really concern me. They know the history, arguements and most importantly, proper way to use one. It’s everyone else who have no respect for what’s in their hands that scares me. If you have it for the cool factor alone, don’t say fuck the NRA; fuck you. You count as one of the gun nuts walking the streets that they defend.

   I definitely agree about the media taking responsibility for the images they replay repeatedly. Tougher guns laws are absolutely necessary. But metal detectors and random searches for everyone seems to be pushing it a little far. Theres a lot of room for shit to go wrong in those cases. Once again, especially when it comes to kids, this is a role for the parents to step up.

   One more thing: black markets normally exist because they can supply what a primary market cannot. But they cannot exist without the primary market in the first place. The mainstream creates the desire and can often create the supply. Just something to roll around in the back of your head…

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4. Cypher

   I think Troublsome understands exactly what I’m saying. In regards to the people that are passionate about guns not concerning you terry, I think that you should be concerned because just as with knowledge, the people who know how to use it are the people who are the most dangerous.

   I didn’t say anything about random searches, but the metal detectors are not intrusive in my opinion and they could be constructed such that they are not even noticeable. Tell me what could go so wrong with students walking through a big metal detector before they enter their campus? Besides they have already started doing this in some inner cities anyway. (Even though the kids in the inner city schools don’t go on a shooting rampage culminating in them committing suicide. At least not that I’m aware of).

   I do agree that parents have a huge roll in all of this but sometimes parents do all they can do and kids still fuck up. The level of the fuck ups might vary but we all fuck up as kids. People with mental illness should be screened thoroughly before they ever get their hands on a gun. Shit, some could argue that people with certain illnesses should never get them.

   Also I never said anything about the gun market Terry. All Black Markets are cheaper and faster. We all now that. I don’t really understand your point. What I will tell you is that only the primary market can be regulated, so that’s what I’m talking about. These kids that are doing the shootings are getting their guns from the primary market and kids in the hood are getting their guns from the “streets” or “BLACK Market”. It doesn’t matter; they’re all shooting each other with the shit. That’s why I didn’t mention it. It’s all fucked up.

   One last thing, Guns are necessary sometimes. if someone out their has a gun for no other reason other than it’s cool, then like Terry’s says, fuck you.

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5. Terry

   Cypher, while I think that we mostly agree on the gun problem, there are a few points which I think we have to address, especially concerning solutions.
   I disagree that people who are most knowledgeable are the most dangerous. People who act on impulse (whether individually or in groups), are far more dangerous because they have not taken into account the repercussions of their actions. Riots are a perfect example of this. While there are certainly dangerous, calculating individuals who exist, compared to the masses they are few and far between.
   We can thank the media for the glorification and constant stream of the few sociopaths thrown in our faces daily. They are the worst of the hypocrites because they focus on white, upper class societies, when violent crime occurs while they all but ignore white collar crime. They also almost completely ignore problems in inner cities.
   Over 25% of adults in the US own guns. Concerning gun control, an immediate legislative solution would be to require all states to provide a full course on gun safety (as some states already do) to accompany the mandatory background checks. Since the Second Amendment argument doesn’t seem like it will be resolved anytime soon, educate the people who feel that they need a gun for whatever reason. I would rather that you own a gun that you know how to use than don’t.
   Also, not considering metal detectors as intrusive is stunning, especially when you haven’t specified if this would pertain to both the public and private sectors. You also haven’t mentioned whether or not this would act as a violation of an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights. Also, the national government doesn’t have the authority to pull this off. This is a states’ rights issue. In other words, full cooperation would have to be sought separately from state to state amongst the people. We already know how hotly this topic has been debated.
   Furthermore, trading one’s rights for safety has been shown to have problems all its own. Discrimination is a certainty. On a practical note, my high school had over 3,000 kids. Most kids these days have keys, cell phones, lap tops and a series of other objects which would have to be checked. When you walk through a metal detector at the airport, if you have ever been stopped (which I have), they search through everything, it can be a very violating experience. College campuses are completely different story. Private institutions will not allow it because it will affect their businesses.
   Finally, you didn’t mention the gun market. I did. I brought it up because this is a conversation and thought you or anyone else may have an interesting take on the situation. I do not have all the answers, mostly questions. But, its relevance to our conversation is one of supply and demand, not to mention funding. The guns clearly have to be coming from somewhere. We agree that regulation of the primary market is essential, but is that all one can do? The responsibility lies with the people to press their political representatives about the intricacies of the gun market because the two directly correlate to one another. Follow the money. We want answers. We want solutions. I have repeatedly mentioned the issue of federal vs states rights, but where and how do you think our government should step in?

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6. Cypher

   You defend your points well but I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.

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