# Assholes with guns in my 'hood **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 10, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745 "2013-01-10T14:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/21 "2013-01-10T16:56:01Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Has that ever happened, even once, in the history of this country? Trayvon Martin is the dead poster child for the increase in homicides that have coincided with stand your ground laws. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/22 "2013-01-10T16:57:09Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > While I agree that they were being total dumbasses; > > No one is going to decide that they’re a danger and just open fire. :rolleyes: Right, because everybody with a gun is as safe and sane as you are, and there could never be something like this: Hey, why are you guys carrying guns? Oh, it’s okay, they’re not loaded. Here, take a look. ::starts to unshoulder his rifle:: :: poppop:: And fuck your rolleyes. It turns out that these guys do this all over and film their encounters with the cops to post on YouTube. Asshats. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/23 "2013-01-10T16:59:52Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Do you mean a rifle in shoulder arms position, as though on parade? Or do you mean a rifle slung over the should by means of a strap? Slung. It wasn’t a parade. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/24 "2013-01-10T17:04:23Z")
Really assholish behavior. If I still had young children, you bet your sweet ass the sight of armed morons near my child’s school would send chills up my spine. Too bad there wasn’t a second such group, have them spook each other and wind up with mutual annihilation. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/25 "2013-01-10T17:39:56Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Common exercise of the right to carry a firearm would dispel that ignorance. yeah, I too really enjoyed _The Probability Broach_… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/26 "2013-01-10T17:41:37Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Really assholish behavior. If I still had young children, you bet your sweet ass the sight of armed morons near my child’s school would send chills up my spine. Too bad there wasn’t a second such group, have them spook each other and wind up with mutual annihilation. A neighborhood child care center/preschool went into lockdown and called the parents. Real nice. I can imagine their terror at being notified. In response to other comments up thread: I don’t want to get used to people carrying guns. I think it’s a bullshit argument. The only way you can tell a psycho killer from a normal person in a mall is that the killer is, you know, _carrying a fucking gun_. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/27 "2013-01-10T17:47:30Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > The idea of a society in which ordinary citizens walk around openly carrying firearms all the time is sickening. I’d rather people not get used to it. Personally, I find the idea that we’ve turned into a society where ordinary citizens feel the need to arm themselves to be sickening. But we have and so they do. Curiosity compels me to wonder why it is you people are so het up to take guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens instead of taking the more logical step of cracking down on gun-related crime. How’s about a mandatory extra ten years with no parole for any crime in which a gun is used? Or ten years no parole whenever someone is found to be illegally carrying a gun? Or life with no parole for any crime in which a person is killed or injured by a gun. In other words, why not strive to make it not worth the risk to carry and use a gun illegally instead of seeking to disarm ordinary citizens who aren’t the problem in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/28 "2013-01-10T17:55:25Z")
What about stickups with a cardboard tube? We should ban cardboard tubes! ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/29 "2013-01-10T17:58:46Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The only way you can tell a psycho killer from a normal person in a mall is that the killer is, you know, _carrying a fucking gun_. Apart from the fact that mall killers are far too scarce to base a nationwide policy of private citizen disarmament upon, the fact is that a psycho mall killer would be far less likely to walk brazenly into a mall and start shooting when he knows he’'ll be mowed down after the first or second shot by a citizenry that no longer feels compelled to be fish-in-a-barrel. I suspect that the reason so many of these guys go for schools and malls is precisely because of the large number of helpless victims they’ll find there. Take away the helplessness and you take away the appeal of the target. This is all pretty much Logic 101. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > What about stickups with a cardboard tube? We should ban cardboard tubes! No. Cardboard tubes serve a valuable purpose when dealing with hysterical crackpots. I’d suggest more of them actually. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/30 "2013-01-10T18:03:44Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > This is all pretty much Logic 101. Because Logic 101 problems tend to use an overly-simplified model of the world? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/31 "2013-01-10T18:04:59Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Curiosity compels me to wonder why it is you people are so het up to take guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens instead of taking the more logical step of cracking down on gun-related crime. How’s about a mandatory extra ten years with no parole for any crime in which a gun is used? Or ten years no parole whenever someone is found to be illegally carrying a gun? Or life with no parole for any crime in which a person is killed or injured by a gun. In other words, why not strive to make it not worth the risk to carry and use a gun illegally instead of seeking to disarm ordinary citizens who aren’t the problem in the first place? I think we should shift the focus and resources that have gone into the drug war into gun and mental health issues. There is already a huge overlap with regards to drugs/firearm enforcement, it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch. Instead of drug-sniffing dogs, train them to detect gunpowder, that sort of thing. Not a perfect analogue, but it would help things. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > What about stickups with a cardboard tube? We should ban cardboard tubes! Fucking enough already. This is worse than the stupid quarry schtick. We get it. You don’t like SA. You don’t like his example. You find it titillating to insinuate he’s a paedophile. Great on you! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/32 "2013-01-10T18:12:04Z")
And a school shooting in California High School today, for the win. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/33 "2013-01-10T18:16:07Z")
Some douche did the same thing in Portland, ME a week after Sandy Hook … walked around a public park with his AR-15 over his shoulder, just because he could. And of course, 911 calls all over the place, cops show up, they question him, he explains his dick-waving and the cops ended up hanging around the park for three hours watching the guy. What a fantastic use of resources for one tiny-dicked asshole to make a point. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/34 "2013-01-10T18:16:56Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Personally, I find the idea that we’ve turned into a society where ordinary citizens feel the need to arm themselves to be sickening. > > But we have and so they do. > > Curiosity compels me to wonder why it is you people are so het up to take guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens instead of taking the more logical step of cracking down on gun-related crime. How’s about a mandatory extra ten years with no parole for any crime in which a gun is used? Or ten years no parole whenever someone is found to be illegally carrying a gun? Or life with no parole for any crime in which a person is killed or injured by a gun. In other words, why not strive to make it not worth the risk to carry and use a gun illegally instead of seeking to disarm ordinary citizens who aren’t the problem in the first place? Pretty sure I read a study that showed stiffer penalties, particularly the death penalty, had no affect on the incidence of murders. Longer sentences mean more prisons, of course, and nobody can afford it. Some counties in Oregon and elsewhere have done early release for a lot of felons. At any rate, this wasn’t meant to be a thread about gun control, only about the provocative and foolish acts of a couple of fucktards. I am and always have been a gun owner, but I’m not a moron about it, don’t feel the need to advertise the fact by toting it openly or to terrorize part of a neighborhood like these two ass clowns did. ---
**Author:** ![Condescending\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/35 "2013-01-10T18:21:40Z")
I live in an open-carry state. I see non-police carrying handguns on their hips fairly regularly. Crime is at a historic low here (making no claim as to any connection, but it is the case). It’s not a big deal to see a gun. Maybe your paranoia would be eased if people behaved like this in your area too. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/36 "2013-01-10T18:23:06Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > And a school shooting in California High School today, for the win. We could prevent 100% of those if we just had the will to get rid of high schools. > [@Condescending\_Robot](#): > > I live in an open-carry state. I see non-police carrying handguns on their hips fairly regularly. Crime is at a historic low here (making no claim as to any connection, but it is the case). It’s not a big deal to see a gun. Maybe your paranoia would be eased if people behaved like this in your area too. I was amazed when, visiting a friend in Oregon, we needed to stop by Wal-Mart to pick up some ammo on the way to go shoot. He walked right in with a pistol strapped on his hip. Bought ammo etc., walked out. Nobody looked twice. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/37 "2013-01-10T18:31:38Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I think we should shift the focus and resources that have gone into the drug war into gun and mental health issues. There is already a huge overlap with regards to drugs/firearm enforcement, it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch. Instead of drug-sniffing dogs, train them to detect gunpowder, that sort of thing. Not a perfect analogue, but it would help things. Not a bad idea at all. I definitely think we should be taking steps to get guns out of the hands of the bad guys rather than seeking to disarm everyone else. > [@Condescending Robot](#): > > I live in an open-carry state. I see non-police carrying handguns on their hips fairly regularly. Crime is at a historic low here (making no claim as to any connection, but it is the case). Last I heard, something like 38 states have concealed carry now. Perhaps this is a reason why our crime rate has been falling since its all-time high in the 1990’s. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/38 "2013-01-10T18:44:12Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I’m not sure that I could sit on a jury and NOT excuse an armed parent for dropping these two shitheads on the pavement. Then there is something seriously wrong with you as a Human being and I hope you never get ahold of anything more dangerous than a pair of tweezers. The appropriate response to such a thing is to call the police and report it, and let them investigate. If you are feeling alarmed or threatened, leave the area. Shooting someone because they make you feel threatened? Sociopathic and straight out Murder. I would easily vote to convict anyone who did this of first degree murder and, if my state had it, for the death penalty. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/39 "2013-01-10T18:51:49Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I feel the same way about my balls. If every other guy dangled their sack out of their unzipped fly, maybe people would stop screaming at me everywhere I go. I still can’t get over the fact that people object when I carry my chainsaw around everywhere I go. Can’t be too prepared I say. The tree of Liberty needs to be periodically refreshed by pruning from patriots. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745/40 "2013-01-10T18:53:56Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I feel the same way about my balls. If every other guy dangled their sack out of their unzipped fly, maybe people would stop screaming at me everywhere I go. In time, no doubt, they would. But here’s the key difference, known to all except liberals: we live in in a representative democracy, where the will of the people is expressed by laws crafted by our elected representatives. In my state, and in every state I know, your ballsack plan is illegal. This is because the people have expressed their disdain for visible ballsacks, not just causal disdain as a matter of style, but outright criminal sanctions. In contrast, open carry of firearms is perfectly legal in my state, and only seven states strictly forbid it. Fourteen more states require licenses to open carry. Over half the states generally permit open, unlicensed carry. Compare that to the zero states that permit your ballsack to gently swing in the public breeze, and you’ll see that the comparison leaves your ballsack woefully unappreciated. Which I imagine is no real shock. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assholes-with-guns-in-my-hood/646745.md?page=3)