| From: | Lloyd Vance ljvance@*******.edu |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Value and so on.... |
| Date: | Thu, 15 Jul 1999 15:05:51 |
>On Wed, 14 Jul. 1999 14:23:03 -0400 (EDT) Marc Renouf wrote:
>Get it straight. Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
>Anyone who says differently is fooling themselves. You will never
>eliminate the part of our society that turns kids into killers by simply
>banning guns.
>
>While this is true, it has been quoted ad nauseam and is by now mainly a
>way to be witty without saying anything of importance.
>Of course people kill people, not the weapons themselves. Up to now that
>is the logical result of weapons being crafted by people as tools to aid
>in the killing of other people. However that saying completely ignores
>the fact that people often get enraged or otherwise unhinged for trivial
>reasons. It´s part of human nature. Since it seems to be part of the
>"coding" to react to fear, anger and similar feelings with violence,
>readily available weapons increase the potential danger of these
>feelings. What is more, heavy projectile weapons create risks for
>bystanders. While there is always the danger of getting killed by an
>angry opponent even if he is armed with nothing but a stone, the risk
>for those not involved is far smaller then it would be if he were armed
>with a gun.
>Of course the underlying problem will not be eliminated by banning or
>restricting guns, but would it be sooo bad to reduce the bodycount a bit
>while working on the reasons (it could take some time ya´know...).
>Just my 0.2,
> Watcher spirit
>
I've seen someone on this list using this quote as a sig, but it seems
quite appropriate here.
"Those who would give up Freedom for Security deserve neither."
--Benjamin Franklin
I cannot justify banning guns. I belong to the frame of mind that whenever
someone has the opportunity to abuse power, they will. I don't think that
(in the US) we were given the right to bear arms for hunting. I don't care
if Bambi lives or dies, but I do want to be armed for personal defense.
The most important of these is defending yourself against your own
government. I am not a member of one of these militia groups. I do not
think the government is going to come after me any time soon. But I would
like to have some kind of chance if they ever do. That is why we have the
right. Besides. Who would invade a country where the general populace
could kill you? Makes things more secure for us that way, too.
I realize that this country has a major problem with violence involving
guns. But when you have a country that will put more money into the
development of weapons and the building of prisons than into education . .
. well, you reap what you sow.
I'm gonna get off this soap box before I get pushed off.
The Hamm
aka Lloyd Vance
