NOT safe!

On 8/30/2012 6:39 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"Mark Edwards" wrote in message
m...
ACK!!!

Little Boy discovered that it takes about an hour to do a proper gun
cleaning, as he sat waiting inside the new gun safe. When I opened the
safe door, he was sitting at the bottom, looking very concerned and
wondering what he had done to get locked away.

I need to start triple checking and nose counting from here on out.


What do you need a gun for, Mark? It always surprises me how easily you are
allowed one in US.
Mainly we aren't allowed here unless a shotgun for hunting and we have to
have a license for it and have two people like doctors and social workers
vouch for them as a good citizen that is not likely to go mad with it and
has never had depression.
I vouched for my neighbour Stan as he fits the criteria.
I would not like to blast pheasants out of the sky myself, but he does, and
he is perfectly sane to have a shotgun licence as far as I am concerned.
Tweed


That would probably be because, in the terms of the entire world, we are
still a fairly young country, and we, as a people, still recon back to
our forefathers that carried guns on a regular (or daily) basis for self
defense and the hunting of food - and also because in the very
beginning, our "national" defense was a well armed populace (now termed
militia) that could be called upon to protect the community (be it
village, or country) from attacking "armies"....and it was because of
these 'militia' that it was written into our constitution that we would
'always' be able to own firearms... granted (depending upon the state
where you reside) a permit-to-carry is required for owning a handgun &
being able to carry it, but NOT for just owning one and keeping it in
your home (for home defense against armed intruders), and getting a
permit means a background search by the authorities, and being a
convicted felon would automatically bar you from getting such a permit
(technically, if you have a felony conviction in your past, you are not
supposed to be able to own a long gun (rifle/shotgun) or a handgun).
Just as in your country, most felons will not obey laws, and will steal
(or buy illegally) a gun, making 'gun control' laws ineffectual. In some
states, it is required to pass a handgun safety course before a permit
can be obtained (not in mine - I have had a permit-to-carry before, but
I let it expires.... I suppose I should renew, but I keep forgetting)

As far as I know, there are no permits required for owning/carrying a
rifle or shotgun, but there are for the "assault" type of rifles
(semi-automatic, like an AK47 or AR15 (civilian version of the M16)),
but they DO register the sale (I know as we have an AR15) for the
gov'mint databases. Also, if you wish to have a handgun (legally), and
have no permit, there is a 10-day wait before you can actually get it
while the store does the background search.


--
^..^ This is Kitty. Copy and paste Kitty into your signature to help
her wipe out Bunny's world domination.
--
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy
former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)©
email me at nalee1964 (at) comcast (dot) net
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep

No cluons were harmed when "Christina Websell"
wrote:
What do you need a gun for, Mark? It always surprises me how
easily you are
allowed one in US.

Ideally, home defense, though I pray I never have to use it in that
capacity. As the saying goes, "When seconds count, the police are
minutes away."

I am exercising my constitutional RIGHT, plus shooting holes in paper
targets (mostly so I can shoot accurately and not shoot bystanders).


Hugs and Purrs, Mark

--
Proof of sanity forged upon request

On 8/31/2012 8:40 AM, Mark Edwards wrote:
No cluons were harmed when "Christina Websell"
wrote:
What do you need a gun for, Mark? It always surprises me how
easily you are
allowed one in US.

Ideally, home defense, though I pray I never have to use it in that
capacity. As the saying goes, "When seconds count, the police are
minutes away."

My hubby's favorite saying is "I carry a gun because policemen are too
heavy"

I am exercising my constitutional RIGHT, plus shooting holes in paper
targets (mostly so I can shoot accurately and not shoot bystanders).
A lot of UK (and European) people just do not understand our "mentality"
about owning guns. It's been illegal over there for so long, it's just
a way of life.... whereas over here, it's been legal for so long, that
if someone were to try to make it illegal, there'd be complications (to
put it nicely grin).


--
^..^ This is Kitty. Copy and paste Kitty into your signature to help
her wipe out Bunny's world domination.
--
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy
former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)©
email me at nalee1964 (at) comcast (dot) net
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep

A lot of UK (and European) people just do not understand our "mentality"
about owning guns. It's been illegal over there for so long, it's just
a way of life.... whereas over here, it's been legal for so long, that
if someone were to try to make it illegal, there'd be complications (to
put it nicely grin).

The law doesn't really come into it. It's about cultural values. There
are countries in Europe (Finland and Turkey, for two) where guns aren't
much more regulated than in the US, but where hardly anybody bothers
owning one. (I could have inherited a shotgun a few years ago - it
wouldn't have been a problem getting a permit but I just couldn't be
arsed, it probably went for scrap).

I think most of the US gun-fetishist culture is of quite recent origin,
post-WW2.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 http://www.campin.me.uk Twitter: JackCampin

Jack Campin wrote in rec.pets.cats.anecdotes:

The law doesn't really come into it. It's about cultural values.
There are countries in Europe (Finland and Turkey, for two) where
guns aren't much more regulated than in the US, but where hardly
anybody bothers owning one. (I could have inherited a shotgun a few
years ago - it wouldn't have been a problem getting a permit but I
just couldn't be arsed, it probably went for scrap).

I think most of the US gun-fetishist culture is of quite recent
origin, post-WW2.

It's cultural and not at all recent but what you miss is it's mostly a
rural thing. There's huge portions of the USA where your nearest
neighbor may be 50 miles away and small communities of 50 or so where
the nearest next one is 50 miles away. Guns in some of those are
normal things to go hunting with or kill bears (yes, we have wild
bears, lots of them in some parts). Plenty of spots where folks take a
shotgun with them if they are going outside (may be seasonal in some)
to deal with 4 legged critters at need.


--

"cshenk" wrote in message
...
Jack Campin wrote in rec.pets.cats.anecdotes:

The law doesn't really come into it. It's about cultural values.
There are countries in Europe (Finland and Turkey, for two) where
guns aren't much more regulated than in the US, but where hardly
anybody bothers owning one. (I could have inherited a shotgun a few
years ago - it wouldn't have been a problem getting a permit but I
just couldn't be arsed, it probably went for scrap).

I think most of the US gun-fetishist culture is of quite recent
origin, post-WW2.

It's cultural and not at all recent but what you miss is it's mostly a
rural thing. There's huge portions of the USA where your nearest
neighbor may be 50 miles away and small communities of 50 or so where
the nearest next one is 50 miles away. Guns in some of those are
normal things to go hunting with or kill bears (yes, we have wild
bears, lots of them in some parts). Plenty of spots where folks take a
shotgun with them if they are going outside (may be seasonal in some)
to deal with 4 legged critters at need.


I do realise that USA people living in the wilds where they might be
attacked by cougars or bears would need a gun to protect themselves. I
don't have a problem with that.
I do have a problem with "everyone can own a gun" even in cities. Because
if no-one was allowed a gun if they didn't need it to protect themselves
from big bad wildlife, well you wouldn't need one yourself, would you?
Yes, drug dealers and criminals here seem to be able to get them, but the
normal person here would not need one.
Gun laws were tightened here after the tragedy of Dunblane.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_school_massacre

Tweed

"Mark Edwards" wrote in message
. com...
No cluons were harmed when "Christina Websell"
wrote:
What do you need a gun for, Mark? It always surprises me how
easily you are
allowed one in US.

Ideally, home defense, though I pray I never have to use it in that
capacity. As the saying goes, "When seconds count, the police are minutes
away."

I am exercising my constitutional RIGHT, plus shooting holes in paper
targets (mostly so I can shoot accurately and not shoot bystanders).


Hugs and Purrs, Mark

I'm not trying to be nasty, but how many times in the last 20 years have you
*needed* it to defend your home?
If you all stopped having guns in an urban situation, you wouldn't need one.

On 8/31/2012 7:41 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"Mark Edwards" wrote in message
. com...
No cluons were harmed when "Christina Websell"
wrote:
What do you need a gun for, Mark? It always surprises me how
easily you are
allowed one in US.

Ideally, home defense, though I pray I never have to use it in that
capacity. As the saying goes, "When seconds count, the police are
minutes away."

I am exercising my constitutional RIGHT, plus shooting holes in
paper targets (mostly so I can shoot accurately and not shoot
bystanders).


Hugs and Purrs, Mark

I'm not trying to be nasty, but how many times in the last 20 years
have you *needed* it to defend your home? If you all stopped having
guns in an urban situation, you wouldn't need one.



But therein lies the problem, our populous is so diverse, there is no
feasible way for us to "all stop having guns" - there will *always* be
those that have guns, whether they have good intentions or not is the
question.

And if we let only the gov'mint have the guns, have you never heard the
saying "absolute power corrupts absolutely"??? That's the thing with us
having guns - we don't trust the others that might have guns when we do
not. Better "safe" than sorry.

I think this is something that some people (and I do not mean that in a
derogatory way at all, I just don't know how else to describe it) just
can't wrap their heads around. In much the same way, 35 years ago, I
couldn't wrap my head around algebra (they started adding letters to
mathematics and my brain stopped (screeching halt!) working)... I also
cannot drive a car with a clutch (manual transmission) due to my
left-handedness and lack of coordination :/ (remember, we drive on the
'other' side of the car & roads!)

I guess the best way to explain it is that there are some people over
here that cannot wrap our heads around the fact that you (UK/English,
Brits, etc.) are *not* allowed to have guns. That's just as unfathomable
to some of us, as the fact that we *are* allowed to have guns is to you....


Oh, and guns are handy to have around in case of the Zombie Apocalypse

--
^..^ This is Kitty. Copy and paste Kitty into your signature to help
her wipe out Bunny's world domination.
--
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy
former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)©
email me at nalee1964 (at) comcast (dot) net
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep

Magic Mood Jeep wrote:

A lot of UK (and European) people just do not understand our "mentality"
about owning guns. It's been illegal over there for so long, it's just
a way of life.... whereas over here, it's been legal for so long, that
if someone were to try to make it illegal, there'd be complications (to
put it nicely grin).

Actually, we're not a monolithic nation when it comes to guns (or anything,
tbh). There's quite a bit of disagreement on the issue.

I'm not completely against civilians owning guns - I've even considered
getting one myself at times. If I did, I'd be spending a lot of time at a
shooting range so I'd know how to handle the damn thing. And to learn how
to hit a target. My aim is terrible, but that usually doesn't have deadly
consequences.

It does upset me how easy it is for people to obtain illegal weapons -
just the sheer *number* of available guns is staggering. No wonder people
are killing each other left and right.

It makes sense to me to defend myself against an intruder in my home. But
that whole argument about people defending themselves against the government,
if it came to that, is just stupid. If there's one thing this government
spends an uncontrolled amount of money on, it's the military and their
weaponry. Civilians wouldn't stand a chance.

--
Joyce

A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going
somewhere. -- Groucho Marx

cshenk wrote:

Jack Campin wrote in rec.pets.cats.anecdotes:

I think most of the US gun-fetishist culture is of quite recent
origin, post-WW2.

It's cultural and not at all recent but what you miss is it's mostly a
rural thing.

There are guns aplenty in poor urban neighborhoods, too. A significant
percentage of homicides in a lot of US cities comes from gang warfare.

There's huge portions of the USA where your nearest
neighbor may be 50 miles away and small communities of 50 or so where
the nearest next one is 50 miles away. Guns in some of those are
normal things to go hunting with or kill bears (yes, we have wild
bears, lots of them in some parts). Plenty of spots where folks take a
shotgun with them if they are going outside (may be seasonal in some)
to deal with 4 legged critters at need.

If I lived near a large number of big predators, I'd sure want to have a
shotgun around, as would most non-suicidal people.

--
Joyce

A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going
somewhere. -- Groucho Marx