Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Gun control?

    All people of any compassion what-so-ever are suffering over the latest insane shooting of innocent people and especially innocent children, infants really, at Sandy Hook School. What possible motive could there be to kill an innocent child? As we anguish, we look for solutions and ways to prevent these kinds of tragedies in the future. It occurs to us that the massacres were committed with guns. The simple solution to the problem is to ban guns right? What a wonderful world it would be if there were no guns. Students of history know that there was no violence back before there were guns. Nobody had a gun, so there was no such thing as murder or mayhem. No killing, no murder, no rape, and especially no massacres. You would need an automatic weapon to commit a massacre, right? Of course I'm being facetious. I'm trying to be a bit ridiculous to get you to see my point with an open mind.

    To me, any attempt at gun control is a bit ridiculous. I have really done a lot of thinking about this so don't stop reading now, you might like my conclusion.

    I believe that we all know the the problem is insane people, people that act out their insane philosophies. They somehow think that what they are doing will make themselves important in history, or in someway teach someone an important lesson. There is no rational thought in their heads. They develop a plan and implement that plan with a fierce sense of purpose. Their weapon of choice has little to do with their fuzzy thinking.
 
    The Unibomber used bombs to deliver his message. Osama Bin Laden used large passenger jets. Timmy Mcvey used a truck load of fertilizer. Jim Jones used poisoned cool-aide to commit his massacre; that and a heavy dose of religion. Religion is a whole different category of weapon, untold rape and murder have been implemented by religion. I'm not saying ALL religion is bad, but I'm sure you get my point. If guns were banned the insane would find a way. Think of all the murders that happen in prisons. The murders that happen in prison are made from the simplest of hand made weapons. The insane really don't need guns.

    I was raised with guns, so I have no reasonable fear of them. I have always thought of a gun as a tool. I enjoy games of shooting skill like target shooting. We had many guns on the ranch that I was raised on as a child. I was raised on all of the gun safety rules and how to handle them. We were taught that "a gun is always loaded". We knew that was not literally the case, but a good practice. If you always thought of a gun as being loaded you would not be tempted to point it at anyone or pull the trigger. You could never be sure whether someone else had used the gun and left in loaded. "Gunpowder and alcohol don't mix", basically means that if you've been drinking, you should not use a gun. You never chamber a round of ammunition while heading to your hunting ground. After you are on the hunting ground, you chamber a round then leave your safety on, and your finger off the trigger. You only took the safety off when you had a target, you only placed your finger on the trigger when you wanted to shoot. You never handed anyone a loaded gun, you always cleared it first. When somebody handed you a gun you always made sure that it was clear of ammunition. I could go on about gun safety lore that all of us kids were raised with.

 A gun was simply another tool that you had to handle safely. There were safety rules for axes, buzz-saws, slopping the hogs, being around dangerous cattle. I could go on but I hope that you get my point.

Now for the reason that I made this post. Somehow there are people out there that think that this would be a safer world with gun laws. I can think of many circumstances that I would need a gun to protect myself, my property or my family. If our government should become corrupt, I think that owning a fully automatic weapon would be a good idea. If the Jews that were massacred in Germany had weapons they might have been harder to round up and haul off. Remember ,Hitler was an elected official. Elected in much the same fashion that we elect our leaders. I know, again that is far fetched reasoning, until you remember that Hitler's party killed five million plus innocent men women and children. Do you think that they could have succeeded against a well armed militia? We never know what tomorrow might bring us.

Or, what would happen if we have complete economic collapse. I won't outline any scenarios for you, I might scare myself along with you.

So, I want reasonable, sane, people to have guns and be well armed. I DON"T want insane people, nor criminals to have any kind of weapon. Not even a spit-wad. That has not been working out well for me. The government that we depend on to take care of us seems to be failing to take care of the insane and keep them safe and away from the rest of society's innocent people. We see far too many insane massacres. Most of them were by well know mental cases with documented mental problems and drug use, both prescription and illegal drugs.

The thing that I fear most, is that the domino theory will apply and they will ban assault weapons, then all semi-automatic weapons, then hand guns, then rifles and shotguns. Soon we will be a gun less society, where criminals will have guns, because, remember, they are criminals. We will be defenceless, they will walk into our houses with impunity. Don't say that won't happen, because just down the street from me a house was robbed at gunpoint. The man was shot in the head, but survived. So, home invasions are already happening. I know of at least two families where the thugs broke into the wrong house. I also know that most everyone in Humboldt County knows someone whose house has been invaded.

So, my final thought is about gun laws. If the people think that passing laws against guns will solve a problem they are sorely mistaken. No cop wants to be in charge of taking weapons away from people. There are far too many weapons out there, and far too few jails to fill with gun law violators. It won't work. But... go ahead, put your foolish laws on the books, and see what good it does. I won't even say I told you so.... I promise. I might even vote for it, just to hide and watch what happens.




32 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the way you write Ernie.
I can even understand the topic but spit wads and buzz saws? You always make me smile too.

Oregon

Anonymous said...

The proof is in countries (I'm talking free republics, not dictatorships) where there are strict gun laws and few gun deaths and the police don't even routinely carry guns. Those countries have insane citizens too; the insane people just don't normally kill people with guns and thus don't commit mass murder.

You're living in a gun-crazy culture and can't see outside of it.

Anonymous said...

to 5:45, Mexico is a free republic. Thousands die there every year from guns. Guns and ammo are highly restricted. You can only buy a gun from one store. That store is run by the military. If someone from the US drives there with a gun or ammo, they are sent to prison for a long time. It hasn't stopped the Cartel one bit.

Ernie Branscomb said...

"... Those countries have insane citizens too; the insane people just don't normally kill people with guns and thus don't commit mass murder."

Except for subway bombings like Spain and England.

I'm against total gun control. I can accept some gun control, but it will become a slippery slope. The control fans will take up a notch and start working on the next. Somehow they think that gun control laws will solve a problem. I predict that it will fill the prisons with people that don't want to hand over their guns.

While we are passing feel-good laws why not pass a gun control law that also adresses the insanity problen? Also, we should make it legal for pigs to fly, won't that be nice.

I fully expect some gun laws to be passed because they are so popular right now. I will have the disappointment once more having been proven right.

Anonymous said...

"More guns, less crime"

John Lott

Oregon

Anonymous said...

Obama finally made a stimulus that works, every gun store is almost sold out.

Oregon

Ross Sherburn said...

If the Gov rounds up all the assault rifles,who do you think is going to keep&hide theirs???

Anonymous said...

Eight thousand people join NRA per day since Sandy Hook.

Oregon

Ernie Branscomb said...

I have a great deal of sympathy for the people that think more gun laws will help solve problems. I think that they are sincere in their beliefs. I would be all for some gun laws if they were enforced. I can say unequivocally that they won't be enforced.

On the other side of the cries for more gun laws, memberships in the NRA have increased more that ever before. Predictable.

Anonymous said...

Ernie, granted I am many many ... many years younger than you, I would bet the answer to this question if asked to both of us would be the same.

Where you taught that there were consequences to your actions?

My answer is YES.

There is the problem in today's society, and the answer. Simple enough. No need for excessive gun control, mandated mental health programs provided by the government, or any other unconstitutional quick fix to this problem.

Do you want to stop needless violence? Then people need to start parenting!! And if you have a child that is not mentally sound ... don't have a gosh darn gun available!!

Too bad parenting will not happen, and the rest of us will have to suffer through more regulation.

I enjoy reading on your blog the accounts of the old days and very much wish I could have born during them.

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:18 PM

You are right on all accounts including Ernie being much, much, much older than you. Hell, he is older than me.

Oregon

Ernie Branscomb said...

Anon 9:18
I think that parenting has gotten worse. Back when families were larger, and making a living was a full time job, parents didn't have the time to coddle their children. The children had to mind or suffer the consequences. Now, with smaller families, kids don't have to mind.

On the good side of things I see very good parents all the time. (And very bad) Good parenting is pretty obvious when you run a retail store. Some parents allow their kids to rip the store apart while others have no problem controlling their children.

It is fun to speculate about how much fun it would be to live back in history. About all that I can say is that it would be different. It was pretty tough life back in the 1950's on the north coast.

We all imagine ourselves as heroes in history. Somehow we don't see ourselves as starving to death, wondering if we could get in a good crop and save the kids. They didn't have welfare back then either.



Anonymous said...

I din't ever think about getting shot or held up but if I do I will deal with at the time. What makes me concerned about the public at large is folks texting while driving. I see it all the time. missed green lights, going over the center line, swerving etc..

Oregon

Ernie Branscomb said...

I just heard that The NRA thinks that we should put armed guards on school grounds. I don't think that will ever happen. That's just the NRA pandering to it's base. Just like Feinstein's frothing at the mouth about gun laws. The answer is in the middle.

Do you know anybody in the middle that might have a good idea?

It seems like all we have running our country anymore are people that want to grandstand at extremes.

Ernie Branscomb said...

A friend just emailed me that he heard that Russia is producing 19 million new Kalashnikov AK-47s. That should firm up the market a bit.

Ross Sherburn said...

Like Oregon says,I worry more about people texting&on their cell phones!!! I have to work on I-5 freeway fog line at times, Scares the shit out of me!

Anonymous said...

Ernie 7:45
My idea is have some qualified teachers armed. All schools.

Oregon

Jack Stegeman said...

I disagree with you, Ernie. There's no good sense to allow anyone to get a gun without passing a personal history & to get a gun with magazines that allow 30 shots to get off in short order. Such regulations will not impede one from protecting his family or enjoying hunting.

I realize this will not solve the whole problem.......but it might help keeping guns out of some dangerous hands. We are the most gun saturated country in the world....and we have the highest rate of deaths by gun. We can't go on like this, and feel comfortable about our situation.

Anonymous said...

This morning I heard for the third time about Sandy Hook and the idea the mentally challaged shooter may have been a patsy, something about an agenda. Who comes up with this anyway. Food for thought?

Oregon

Anonymous said...

Make that 4 times now. Maybe it isn't a made up story.

Oregon

Anonymous said...

GO HAWKS!!!11

Anonymous said...

Okay, who got guns for Christmas?

Oregon

Johnathan Wilson said...

I got a new ruger .357 revolver for Christmas, and I went down and bought another AR-15 build kit before they get banned. The only problem is I cant find any ammo! Its all sold out. Oh well, I guess Obama is finally doing something good for the economy.

Anonymous said...

Ammo is sold out in this area too.

Oregon

Anonymous said...

Get off my lawn. Punks.

Ross Sherburn said...

I got enough ammo & guns,I just need more beer..............

Ernie Branscomb said...

Even the simplist dummy can make gun powder. Getting primers is the real stopper. If I had to, I could make a flintlock rifle. But.... I don't think that i will have to.

Ernie Branscomb said...

I have been trying to blog from my android phone, but the letters on the screen are so small that I keep keying the wrong letters. I hear that Radio Shack has styluses, Maybe i will get one...

Jack Stegeman
There is nobody that I respect more than you, but if you read what I said, I hardly think that you could disagree. My point was human nature will not change with another feel-good law.

I know that you have done counseling. I think that you may have even been a probation officer. I have seen way too many insane, out of control people through my volunteer work as a first responder. We should both know that no law is going to change this people. Our best hope is to be able to defend ourselves from their insanity.

Once we let the gun Genie out of the bottle it is hard to put back. Guns are here to stay. To quote a friend, "the only thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun"

Anonymous said...

Couldn't have said it better myself Ernie.

Oregon

Anonymous said...

Let me sharpen my thinking, Ernie. I well know that laws do not change people. But they can and do inhibit their behavior. If one wants guns for protection or hunting, that's fine. But guns that rapid fire 20 to 100 rounds are not needed. Backup checks for all buyers should be mandatory and our mental health resources should be enhanced.

Dave Kirby said...

Here's an interesting article that came out just after the election.......
http://news.investors.com/business/110712-632541-sturm-ruger-smith-wesson-jump-after-obama-reelection.htm

felix said...

Ernie -
"Do you know anybody in the middle that might have a good idea?"

Background checks (hey, for all I know,I might not pass one) and a limit on ext./high capacity magazines IS the middle ground! But you are too worried about the "slippery slope"! Geez, there are enough guns already here - we won't be a gun free society! This can only address things going forward. Or has today's Humboldt made you paranoid too?

As to stockpiling assault weapons to defend ourselves from the American gov. CAN YOU POSSIBLY BE SO NAIVE? C'MON! We talking about fighting people that can aim a ray at you from a lot farther than you can get a shot, which will make you feel as if your skin is burning off! They DO have biological weapons....How many RPGs you think we've got here in the county? (not that they would suffice!). A few maybe - cause this thought has crossed more than your mind - but it is completely absurd.

As to taking care of the mentals - yes, if our society wasn't turning into what they called 'Red China' when I was a kid, we wouldn't be here. Bring 'back' equality, schools, healthcare, our jobs, our political system (no citizens united, no lobbyists and start to vote - those who don't) and maybe create some new jobs (on a Manhattan Project scale) to find the future of energy. Empty the prisons of non-violent offenders (except for banksters and fraudsters - those aren't victimless crimes - by a million miles). Lot's of jobs restoring what we're still destroying instead.....

Things are just a mess - but a gun isn't going to protect anyone from what's coming. Be it the government or the results of raping the world..........