13 thoughts on “It’s important to have unrestricted access to guns so you can do:”

1. It’s so refreshing to read arguments against the ‘all guns all the time’ mentality. You can start to feel like you’re the crazy one for thinking there should be some regulations in place. So, thanks for posting!

   Reply

2. You know, I probably do need guns to do those things. Hmmm. OK, not necessarily so much in the first case, but for the other two, definitely.

   I suppose I’d also need a reason to want such things to happen, because trying to ignore the fact that they do happen wouldn’t cut it.

   Reply

3. These are all cases where a sloppy gun-handler shot someone else. I prefer the kind where he shoots himself. Could we have more of those, please?

   Reply

4. Police were called to Amy’s home on Thursday were they found she had been shot. According to reports, “D.C.I. determined that Hettinger had been shot by a 10-year-old inside the house who had been handling a loaded handgun. The gun belonged to another family member.”

   Oh, come on, he could have just as easily been accidentally strangled by a piece of string his kid was playing with.

   Reply

5. So your argument is “Some people use guns stupidly, therefore we should ban them all”? Would you like me to post a few dozen instances of children drowning in swimming pools?

   We could, I suppose, attempt to do a cost/ benefit analysis of gun ownership, while also taking into account various philosophical theories of personal autonomy and individual rights. But it’s way more fun to post anecdotes and pretend our work is done, right? C’mon, this is the type of sloppy thinking and argument-via-anecdote that intelligent skeptics should know better than to use.

   Reply

6. Nathan as far as I can see you’re the first person to say anything about banning guns. Why is that?

   Reply

7. They’re always after his lucky charms!

   Reply

8. It’s not just “some” gun nuts that use guns stupidly. In my experience, it’s a solid majority. How do you think we get so many gun deaths and injuries?

   I’ve nearly been shot twice while hiking, including once when a bullet literally whistled right past my ear — and that at the edge of town where no one should have been shooting at all. I’ve been too close to being one more body in the vast annual toll of gunshot deaths here in the USA to have a very high opinion of the virtues of gun ownership or the responsibility of gun owners.

   If guns were to be banned, or if only those weapons visualized by the founders when they thought of arms (single shot, muzzle-loaded) were allowed, I’d not mind. But, I’d prefer to see a system of registration and required training, with any irresponsible or criminal use being punished by permanent revocation of the right to own or possess. I’d include things like poaching, road sign shooting, and hauling old TV sets out into the woods blasting them to bits as grounds for revocation of permit.

   Reply

9. @8 “… I’d prefer to see a system of registration and required training, with any irresponsible or criminal use being punished by permanent revocation of the right to own or possess. I’d include things like poaching, road sign shooting, and hauling old TV sets out into the woods blasting them to bits as grounds for revocation of permit.” This all sounds very reasonable to me.
   I support the right of responsible people to own firearms but I do not believe in unregulated, uncontrolled, and untrained access to every type of firearm for everyone. When I was in the Army we had thousands of people firing thousands of rounds in all types of weapons every day. There was not one single accidental shooting in the 5 years I was at that station, nor have I heard of any accidental shootings during training exercises in the 30 years since (not saying it hasn’t happened). Proper training and regulation of firearms is essential, it could save hundreds of lives and thousands of injuries every year.

   Reply

10. There’s nothing here but anecdote and appeal to emotion. What’s your point?

    Reply

11. or this:

    “Give me your money or I’ll kill you!” When Dale Swallows heard those words uttered by the armed intruder accosting his son and his son’s girlfriend, he knew he had to take immediate action. The intruder was thusly unaware of Swallows, who had gone to bed. Swallows retrieved a handgun and approached the unfolding robbery. When he emerged, the intruder charged him. There was a struggle. Swallows pushed the intruder away and shot him. The intruder will be charged after his release from the hospital. (The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, IN 10/06/11)

    or this:

    With her 1- and 2-year-old daughters nearby, Elizabeth Easterly was working behind the counter of her grandfather’s 24-hour food store when a man entered. He quickly began acting erratically. Easterly kept an eye on the man and checked on her daughters, but the man interruupted, demanding money and grabbing the stroller that held the baby girl. He began to push the stroller out the door, but was halted by a shot from Easterly’s gun. The suspect was killed; the baby was not injured. (Naples Daily News, Naples, FL, 10/19/11)

    or this:

    A woman fed her 1-year-old son in a bedroom one evening while her other boys, ages 15 and 8, relaxed elsewhere in the home. Two masked men toting illegal guns kicked in the door and aimed their guns at the 15-year-old child, then at his mother when she intervened. The men demanded cash. Fortunately, the woman’s boyfriend arrived soon thereafter, heard the commotion and retrieved his firearm. The boyfriend darted ino the room and shot both intruders before they had a chance to react. The two men fled, leaving a blood trail. They were arrested when they showed up at the hospital suffering from gunshot wounds and glass cuts from where they broke a window during their escape. (The News Gazette, Champaign, IL, 10/08/11)

    or this:

    A Nashville man and his wife left a restaurant one summer evening and strolled to their car parked a couple of blocks away. Suddenly, two men armed with knives jumped from behind a parked van, grabbed the woman, put a knife to her throat, and demanded cash. The husband, although he was armed, complied with their demands. However, after taking the couple’s money, wallets, and jewelry, the men announced that they were “Taking the little bitch with them anyway.” At that point, the man drew his revolver and shot both of them through the head. The couple went on their way; the robbers had already arrived at their final destination.

    or this:

    Thursday, January 12th, 2012

    This week’s revelation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that homicide is no longer among the leading causes of death in the United States – at a time when gun ownership is at an all-time high – shows that the gun ban lobby has been wrong.

    The CDC’s report for 2010 that removes homicide from the top 15 leading causes of death in this country coincides with a period of record high gun ownership. At the same time, increasing numbers of citizens have obtained concealed carry permits and licenses. This is pretty strong evidence that rising gun ownership does not translate to more violence and murder.

    This new information correlates with national crime trends over the past few years, showing declining violent crime while gun ownership has increased. It is no longer realistic to demonize gun ownership or the Second Amendment as a leading cause of crime.

    or this:

    On October 11, 2006, only three days after being released from prison after serving a 27-year sentence followed by a short one-year jail term, 57-year-old James Slaughter, a career criminal with a record dating back to 1967, broke into the home of Rose Ann Kozlowski of Corpus Christi, TX. He bound both Mrs. Kozlowski and her 14-year-old son with her husband’s ties and proceded to ransack the house. Rose Ann managed to slip her bonds, free her son, and retrieve a loaded revolver from its hiding place under the bed. Taking refuge behind a locked bedroom door, she gave the revolver to her son while she called 911. Slaughter, hearing the movement, attempted to break down the door. The son fired a single shot through the door, striking Slaughter in the face and killing him instantly.
    The Corpus Christi Caller-Times quoted Police Captain John Houston, “There’s a point in the [911] tape where you can actually hear that they don’t want to even leave the room, knowing he’s outside, because there’s still that fear that something could happen.”
    As they say in Texas, “He needed killin’.”

    Reply

12. So… accidental shooting means guns are bad?

    How about, people who accidentally cut someone or themselves with a knife? Automobile accidents? Accidental electrocution? People who fall off ladders? Sports accidents? etc… etc…

    Reply
13. Pingback: What I’m Reading Saturday, February 18, 2012 | Rationally Thinking Out Loud