# POLL: Which Americans believe that citizens should not be allowed to own handguns? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 23, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861 "2005-03-23T07:06:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/1 "2005-03-23T07:06:22Z")
Just a poll, not a debate. Those who think that American citizens should be permitted to own handguns need not vote. I’m just interested in how many there are on this board who wish to see it made illegal for private citizens to own handguns. In the fullness of time - not tomorrow, necessarily. But that would be your aspiration, whether that meant changing some amendments to the constitution or not. ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/2 "2005-03-23T07:16:32Z")
Count me in, I 'm against handguns for private citizens. ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/3 "2005-03-23T07:20:10Z")
Count me, I am also against hand guns. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/4 "2005-03-23T07:23:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Those who think that American citizens should be permitted to own handguns need not vote. What’s this vote about, again? ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/5 "2005-03-23T07:41:53Z")
BTW, I _am_ all in favor of Americans securing as much as they can in the way of gun rights; that _is_, ultimately, the only way we keep the federal government honest. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/6 "2005-03-23T07:46:52Z")
No, it’s not a very democratic vote, but I just wanted to see how many people were similar to the majority of Brits, who don’t want guns in our purse, our glove compartment, our cabinet, or under our pillow. I know that many good folks wish to keep the Federal Government honest, want to protect their family, and thus wish to secure as much as they can in the way of gun rights. Just, I’m not interested in rehearsing the arguments here. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/7 "2005-03-23T07:48:01Z")
I hope you’re not looking for a vote tally representative of all Americans on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/8 "2005-03-23T07:49:39Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > I hope you’re not looking for a vote tally representative of **all Americans on the SDMB**. Er, based on all Americans from what is posted on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/9 "2005-03-23T08:14:34Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > I hope you’re not looking for a vote tally representative of all Americans on the SDMB. No, I just want to know a) that I’m not alone and b) who I can approach to join my underground dissident army… ---
**Author:** ![SiouxChief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@SiouxChief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiouxChief)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/10 "2005-03-23T08:34:01Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > No, I just want to know a) that I’m not alone and b) who I can approach to join my underground dissident army… An army without guns? Who would you fight? The Poughkeepsie Chess Club? Actually, better watch it…they are armed. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/11 "2005-03-23T08:57:57Z")
> [@SiouxChief](#): > > An army without guns? Who would you fight? The Poughkeepsie Chess Club? > > Actually, better watch it…they are armed. Only one response to that. (Dons headgear and raises arm) HOW! you doin’? ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/12 "2005-03-23T11:21:01Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > Only one response to that. > > (Dons headgear and raises arm) > > HOW! you doin’? To riff on your racist joke, not too well based on the fact Americans are, and always have been, allowed to own guns. My state is home to a great number of [tribes](http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/dakotas/nd.html#tribes). I know a few Dakota, some Chippewa, as well as more than a few Lakota and the majority of them own firearms. Most have, if they live on the better Reservations (which is the majority) acclimated to US culture. Yeah, we forced it on them a few hundred years ago, but they _have_ had time to acclimate. And most have. Don the headgear? Would you be so flippant as telling a member of the Zulu Nation you were a brother-in-arms because you owned a large spear? :downcast pity headshake: You have a better chance getting blacks to revolt for slavery than going for the cheap, uninformed one-off of getting a dig in on Native Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/13 "2005-03-23T12:07:50Z")
Look, guys. There was a thread a while back in which the pro-gun people (me included) were pissed off because this one jerk had to put his opinion in a thread that was clearly not meant for him. Can we do **roger thornhill** the same courtesy that we want in our threads? ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/14 "2005-03-23T14:41:12Z")
I appreciate that last time you took it to email, **roger** , instead of hijacking an otherwise interesting thread, but this time my opinion is relevant. Do I want to own a handgun? No. Would I object to anyone else owning a handgun? No. Do I consider any inanimate object to be intrinsically “evil” or “uncivilized” simply because it exists? No. Do I think that people who assign moral values to inanimate objects are a bit touched in the head? Yes. You’ll probably find this to be a fairly mainstream opinion in the United States. I think you’ll find more than a few Americans on this board who agree with your positition, but in the real world they’re thinner on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/15 "2005-03-23T15:12:17Z")
We should be allowed to. (Even though it’s a inalienable right and not a government allowance.) ---
**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/16 "2005-03-23T15:46:38Z")
I will never have a **handgun** in my house. I think they should be registered and if you want one you should have to have a permit that costs $100 a year to renew, just like my rocket motors. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/17 "2005-03-23T16:06:34Z")
I think any poll that asks for only one side to respond is inherently biased. But I do qualify, as per the OP: So I think that Americans have a legal right to own handguns as established by the Constitution. And I think that was a mistake that, like slavery, prohibition, and the second place election of the Vice Presidency, should be amended out of the Constitution. I think there should definitely be restrictions on the ownership of firearms. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/18 "2005-03-23T16:06:44Z")
Legal yes. Registered/licensed/and INSURED - yes (Guns to me are a lot like cars. American’s have a huge facination with them. They are not evil, but both can be quite dangerous. Like a car, you should carry insurance on any gun so that if it is used - even if it is stolen from your home and used - you carry resposibility for it). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/19 "2005-03-23T16:20:50Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Guns to me are a lot like cars. Yeah, but just try riding one down to the corner market for a carton of milk! ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861/20 "2005-03-23T17:52:38Z")
C’mon, Hi, Ginger and Greg! C’mon, **Roger** , what kind of “poll” allows for only one response? “Only respond if you agree with me.” Pretty dull. Of course, a lot of dopers could use this thread to up their post count. Let’s see how many ways one can agree that citizens shouldn’t be allowed to own handguns. Me. Yup! Count me in. Eliminate knives and ball point pens, too. Handguns bad. Down with handguns. Amputate hands! All power to the gumment. …and on and on. Personally, I don’t want a handgun. I believe that there should be limitations on the kind of handguns available to individuals. I think there should be some oversight as to which people are qualified to own guns (mentally unsound or criminal types should be barred). But would I have them all taken away? No. Sorry not to agree with you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-americans-believe-that-citizens-should-not-be-allowed-to-own-handguns/295861.md?page=2)