# Stupid Gun news of the day (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 29, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729 "2013-01-29T19:01:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 139
**Author:** ![Acewiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f475e1/32.png) [@Acewiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acewiza)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2761 "2013-08-18T18:41:39Z")
Lucy, just FYI, for future reference, I don’t answer rhetorical questions couched in assumptions and insinuation. It’s a waste of time. Should you feel the need, the ignore button is but a few clicks away… > [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > **acewiza** , you’re the person I’m talking about when I say that gun advocates are congenitally panty-pissng scared people. You feel threatened doing what other men, women and children don’t think twice about doing every day. I think you have pistol envy. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2762 "2013-08-18T19:25:17Z")
> [@Acewiza](#): > > I think you have pistol envy. I think you have penis envy. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2763 "2013-08-18T19:46:19Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > There were two ways you could have handled that. I used the one that was appropriate in response to the statement made, Junior. If you have a \*serious \*point to make, it’s about time you made it. At least it’s time you thought of one. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2764 "2013-08-18T19:50:50Z")
> [@Acewiza](#): > > Fear can be a strong motivator and it may be the only one available for use in some cases for certain types of people. Your approach, the one you advocate for everyone apparently, is to go \*into \*any situation _already_ fearful. That tends to bring pretty negative results, since you have a much lower threshold for acting on your fear, and you have the means to do so as well. If you somehow hold yourself short, you are quite willing, eager in fact, to congratulate yourself for a successful “defensive” gun use. So, again, what is it that makes \*you \*the “good guy”? What would the evidence say to a neutral observer asked to choose which is which? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2765 "2013-08-18T19:57:31Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I carried a firearm into the Capitol primarily to prove a point: that I, as a citizen, felt that carrying is a right; and that I along with all the other pro-gun people there were demonstrating that gun bans are not the overwhelmingly popular measure the gun control advocates claim it is. What, then, distinguishes you from the “swaggering bully” you claim not to be? On what basis can you claim not to have intended to intimidate the legislators who were right there in range? To repeat: You’re a fucking menace. > [@](#): > > As to the existence and rights of others: I prove that I comprehend them by not treating the rest of humanity as prey that I can feed on at will Until the day, which for you at least has not yet arrived that we know of, when you get pissed or scared or maybe even drunk, and suddenly stop being a, what is the term you love, oh yes, a “law abiding citizen”. > [@](#): > > unlike numerous inhabitants of my section of town, according to the weekly police reports. Yes, you’re completely different from all those others. They’re not “law abiding citizens”, even if they used to think they were. No, _you’re_ different, _you’re_ special, _you’re_ one of the “good guys”, right? Quit kidding yourself. > [@](#): > > And I prove it by NOT acting like a bully and a jerk even though I have a firearm and the majority of people around me probably do not. Yeah, you really showed them dam’ librul politishuns in the Capitol that, didn’t you? :rolleyes: Buncha gun-grabbin’ Commies. > [@](#): > > So how is anyone supposed to know that I am one of the “good guys”? Primarily by the fact that after carrying a gun for several years, I am not in prison or dead. By the time you show otherwise in a way that is obvious even too yourself, it will be too late for your victim(s), though. How about a little pro-active responsibility, if you can grasp the concept? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2766 "2013-08-19T02:13:13Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > What, then, distinguishes you from the “swaggering bully” you claim not to be? On what basis can you claim not to have intended to intimidate the legislators who were right there in range? Intimidate as in threaten to murder? Grow up. > [@](#): > > Until the day, which for you at least has not yet arrived that we know of, when you get pissed or scared or maybe even drunk, and suddenly stop being a, what is the term you love, oh yes, a “law abiding citizen”. So everyone is a ticking time bomb waiting to go postal? And you claim **I** have a poor opinion of humanity? > [@](#): > > Yes, you’re completely different from all those others. They’re not “law abiding citizens”, even if they used to think they were. No, _you’re_ different, _you’re_ special, _you’re_ one of the “good guys”, right? Well all I can say is that I’ve never robbed anyone at gunpoint or committed aggravated assault. I’m well ahead on points. > [@](#): > > Yeah, you really showed them dam’ librul politishuns in the Capitol that, didn’t you? :rolleyes: Buncha gun-grabbin’ Commies. We showed them that they may lose the next election if they push through unpopular laws. > [@](#): > > By the time you show otherwise in a way that is obvious even too yourself, it will be too late for your victim(s), though. How about a little pro-active responsibility, if you can grasp the concept? I don’t initiate violence against others. Isn’t that pro-active? > [@](#): > > To repeat: You’re a fucking menace .[What Would Jesus Do?](http://www.capitolhillblue.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/070212jesus.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2767 "2013-08-19T02:40:19Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I used the one that was appropriate in response to the statement made, Junior. > > If you have a \*serious \*point to make, it’s about time you made it. At least it’s time you thought of one. Well, so far your argument has been “You aren’t at all considering my thoughts as valid, your thoughts are insane, and despite you expressly accounting for a balance of risk in your statements the fact that you disagree with me obviously means you have never considered my side of it.” At some point you have to realize you’re making a fool of yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2768 "2013-08-19T02:41:45Z")
> [@Acewiza](#): > > Have you ever found yourself approached by a stranger or strangers at night on the street in an empty urban area? A situation to be avoided, for sure, but it happens. I certainly don’t advocate shooting people under this type circumstance, but a hand to the hip followed loudly by “that’s close enough motherfucker!” Goes a long way towards preventing that violence you so fear in today’s reality. You are fucked in the head. Please stop being on my side. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2769 "2013-08-19T02:43:09Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > We’ve been over this. More deaths are caused by the availability of guns than are prevented by it. About time you dealt with it. First, we’re not talking about how many deaths cause in society versus how many deaths are prevented by guns. We are talking about how many deaths would be prevented by passing a law that prohibits guns versus how many deaths are saved because people are armed. Second, we haven’t really been over this. Other than your assertions, you have provided no evidence that more deaths are caused by the availability of guns than are saved by it. you haven’t really address how many lives are saved by guns at all. > [@](#): > > And this is where you show you still don’t realize how ridiculous the militia/tyranny stuff is that you find yourself forced to fall back on. What?!?! I swear, every other post of yours is a non-sequitor. Its like there is some extra text that you thought you posted but actually only exists in your head. WTF are you talking about? > [@](#): > > This “law abiding citizen” stuff fascinates you, doesn’t it? You use it as a synonym for “gun owner” when it is nothing of the sort. You’re retarded. How do I use law abiding citizen as a synonym for gun owner. We use the phrase law abiding when referring to gun owners to distinguish them from gun owners that are not allowed to own gun. We use this language because there is a huge difference in the likelihood that of felon with a gun committing a crime and a law abiding citizen with a gun committing a crime. > [@](#): > > Those, like you, who would resist any sort of registration law would become criminals, \*violent \*criminals if they resist. \*Not \*“law abiding citizens” :rolleyes: That means _you_, fool. You are a fucking retard. I advocate licensing and registration. I’ve been doing so for a while. I’ve told you this and you keep forgetting because you don’t really care to distinguish between people who support gun rights. > [@](#): > > There is no power on earth that can make you see yourself as something other than one of the “good guys” in a John Wayne film, is there? Too bad, life is a little more complicated than that. But, as a psychopath, you’re incapable of comprehending that. I am one of the good guys. Most people are. I’m just an armed good guy. Its a bit rich to hear you talking about life being more complicated than it seems. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Here’s the same question for you that so often goes unanswered by others: What makes \*you \*one of the “good guys”? How can anyone else tell? I think you have an overly romantic view of gun ownership. That and you’re retarded. > [@elucidator](#): > > Has it occurred to you that your gun makes you a more inviting prospect, rather than less? Because, if you are like most of us hapless victims, you are not carrying a large wad of freely accessible cash. But the gun, now, there is a very saleable item, can be turned into cash rather quickly. I don’t if I buy into the hypothetical you are responding to but its a bit silly to say that having a gun would make you a target. Cops would be getting jacked left and right in these neighborhoods and yet they don’t seem to victimized at higher rates than the average schmo. > [@](#): > > Still, it is comforting to know that there is another Tough Guy. What we need more of, more Tough Guys. Humanity and reason have failed us, welcome to Deadwood. Why bother having cops then. I don’t think we need self appointed cops running around but I didn’t think you were arguing against guns for self defense. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > What, then, distinguishes you from the “swaggering bully” you claim not to be? On what basis can you claim not to have intended to intimidate the legislators who were right there in range? He was threatening him with his vote, not his guns. Of course its understandable why someone like you would be cowed by the mere presence of guns no matter who was holding them. > [@](#): > > Until the day, which for you at least has not yet arrived that we know of, when you get pissed or scared or maybe even drunk, and suddenly stop being a, what is the term you love, oh yes, a “law abiding citizen”. And we know the chances of using your gun in self defense are much higher than your chances of murdering someone with that gun. > [@](#): > > By the time you show otherwise in a way that is obvious even too yourself, it will be too late for your victim(s), though. How about a little pro-active responsibility, if you can grasp the concept? I know you don’t give a shit about facts but the fact is that a lot of good is done with guns and you have yet to provide any evidence that the harm that would be avoided by confiscating all the guns from law abiding citizens (because you’re not going to get them from the criminals or you would have them already). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2770 "2013-08-19T10:51:59Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Intimidate as in threaten to murder? Grow up. Intimidate as in intimidate, which you’ve already acknowledged was your intent. You have to stop lying to yourself if you’re ever going to stop lying to others. > [@](#): > > So everyone is a ticking time bomb waiting to go postal? Potentially. It usually doesn’t happen, but sometimes it does, and there’s no good way for anyone else to be sure who or when. But it could be you, and you have no way to be sure yourself much less assure others. > [@](#): > > Well all I can say is that I’ve never robbed anyone at gunpoint or committed aggravated assault. I’m well ahead on points. But you’ve taken a major step in that direction already by preparing yourself to do so, haven’t you? > [@](#): > > I don’t initiate violence against others. Isn’t that pro-active? You threaten it. No, it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2771 "2013-08-19T10:54:37Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > Well, so far your argument has been… Something you cannot and will not make any attempt to understand, as evidenced by your inability to summarize it correctly or even coherently. But you can come back with preadolescent nyah-nyahing. So, that’s the level on which you can expect to be engaged, being incapable of no other. > [@](#): > > At some point you have to realize you’re making a fool of yourself. Still with the rubber-glue stuff, huh, kiddo? 😃 When come back, bring argument. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2772 "2013-08-19T11:09:12Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > First, we’re not talking about how many deaths cause in society versus how many deaths are prevented by guns. We are talking about how many deaths would be prevented by passing a law that prohibits guns versus how many deaths are saved because people are armed. You have to start with the first point before you can get on with the second. So, uncomfortable as it might be for you, yes, we are. > [@](#): > > Second, we haven’t really been over this. Sure we have, it just hasn’t made it through your shields. No, I’m not going to try it again. > [@](#): > > How do I use law abiding citizen as a synonym for gun owner. Every single fucking time you use it, except when claiming that there are, yes, some small minority of “bad guys” who own their guns legally. You even use it to refer to people whose ownership would be outlawed as “law abiding citizens”. You are unaware of how your use of a favorite buzzword signifies the depth to which you have considered an issue. True, your volume of invective shows it even more, though. > [@](#): > > We use this language because there is a huge difference in the likelihood that of felon with a gun committing a crime and a law abiding citizen with a gun committing a crime. Except you also use it for \*legal \*owners who commit crimes. > [@](#): > > You are a fucking retard. I advocate licensing and registration. You oppose it whenever it comes up. You opposed Manchin-Toomey. You laughed at its proponents. You blame them instead of yourself for its failure. You oppose those things. Your claim to support them is a lie. You are lying. You do not advocate those things, you oppose them. You are fooling no one but yourself. When it’s time to support any measure at all, reasonable or otherwise, you oppose it. You Oppose It. Clear now? Psychopath. > [@](#): > > I am one of the good guys. Most people are. I’m just an armed good guy. To repeat the question you’re ducking: What is your definition, and how would anyone else know? > [@](#): > > Its a bit rich to hear you talking about life being more complicated than it seems. Says the guy who uses the terms “good guy” and “bad guy” unironically. As if they have clear meanings at all. > [@](#): > > I think you have an overly romantic view of gun ownership. Says the guy who thinks he’s waving a Magic Wand of Protection and Goodness. > [@](#): > > I don’t if I buy into the hypothetical you are responding to but its a bit silly to say that having a gun would make you a target. Cops would be getting jacked left and right in these neighborhoods and yet they don’t seem to victimized at higher rates than the average schmo. So, you think banning guns would make more of them appear in “these neighborhoods” (watch it now)? And you don’t get that the owners of guns who refuse to comply with the law would then be the violent criminals, not the “law-abiding citizens” you continue to refer to them as? No, gun ownership is the primordial right to you, isn’t it? > [@](#): > > He was threatening him with his vote, not his guns. You really \*believe \*that shit, don’t you? He brought his vote with him. So what was the gun for? > [@](#): > > And we know the chances of using your gun in self defense are much higher than your chances of murdering someone with that gun. See the “we’ve been over that” discussion. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![sylmar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@sylmar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sylmar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2773 "2013-08-19T12:47:50Z")
Is the “You’re going to [make](http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/08/16/abortion_debate_in_wichita_kansas_is_the_south_wind_women_s_center_just.html) me shoot you by disagreeing with me…” a common rhetorical flourish for “Good Guys” ? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2774 "2013-08-19T13:23:34Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > But you’ve taken a major step in that direction already by preparing yourself to do so, haven’t you? By that standard no one should ever learn martial arts, since that makes them “prepared” to beat people up. > [@](#): > > You threaten it. It is only in your cowering sheep’s mind that carrying a gun is _ipso facto_ a threat. In fact, now that I reflect on it that seems to be the entire basis of your arguments (such as they are). By that standard, Britain, France, India and Israel are constantly “threatening” to launch a nuclear attack against the United States. The US government has never seriously considered them a threat against the US (as opposed to the Soviet Union/Russia or China) because they’re- dare I say it?- the good guys. ---
**Author:** ![Acewiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f475e1/32.png) [@Acewiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acewiza)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2775 "2013-08-19T15:23:00Z")
This thread should be titled “The Stupid People with Opinions on Guns Thread.” (If of course, you insist on using the term “stupid” more appropriately) ---
**Author:** ![sylmar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@sylmar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sylmar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2776 "2013-08-19T15:44:37Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > By that standard no one should ever learn martial arts, since that makes them “prepared” to beat people up. > > It is only in your cowering sheep’s mind that carrying a gun is _ipso facto_ a threat. In fact, now that I reflect on it that seems to be the entire basis of your arguments (such as they are). By that standard, Britain, France, India and Israel are constantly “threatening” to launch a nuclear attack against the United States. The US government has never seriously considered them a threat against the US (as opposed to the Soviet Union/Russia or China) because they’re- dare I say it?- the good guys. No cowering sheep here, but I have had two instances of a handgun being pointed at me with no justification beyond the pointer being irritated. So you can ID Good Guys/Bad Guys just by looking at them Lumpy? Because lacking the centuries of interaction we’ve had with the countries you’ve cited with someone you’re just meeting, that seems to be the inference… ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2777 "2013-08-19T16:15:30Z")
> [@sylmar](#): > > No cowering sheep here, but I have had two instances of a handgun being pointed at me with no justification beyond the pointer being irritated. > So you can ID Good Guys/Bad Guys just by looking at them Lumpy? Because lacking the centuries of interaction we’ve had with the countries you’ve cited with someone you’re just meeting, that seems to be the inference… My condolences to you. Sadly, some jerkasses think that pulling a gun is a way to win arguments, and they ought to be swiftly and brusquely disabused of that notion. Gun ownership is a heavy responsibility, and that responsibility needs to include painful sanctions against misusing guns. Pointing a gun at someone is assault, and whoever did this should have been arrested and charged with a felony. _Carrying_ a gun in a secured holster shouldn’t be a threat however. ---
**Author:** ![Acewiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f475e1/32.png) [@Acewiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acewiza)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2778 "2013-08-19T16:41:39Z")
> [@sylmar](#): > > I have had two instances of a handgun being pointed at me with no justification beyond the pointer being irritated. Twice? Wow. Either you hang out with some real swaggering bullies or you’re just a total asshole who deserves to have a gun pointed in your face. How do we know you are one of the good guys? ---
**Author:** ![sylmar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@sylmar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sylmar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2779 "2013-08-19T16:52:57Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > My condolences to you. Sadly, some jerkasses think that pulling a gun is a way to win arguments, and they ought to be swiftly and brusquely disabused of that notion. Gun ownership is a heavy responsibility, and that responsibility needs to include painful sanctions against misusing guns. Pointing a gun at someone is assault, and whoever did this should have been arrested and charged with a felony. _Carrying_ a gun in a secured holster **shouldn’t be a threat however**. Yeah, I just can’t get my head around the NRA’s Good Guy/ Bad Guy , everyone needs a handgun argument. People don’t come in just two flavors. What’s not a threat in one situation could be a whole different ballgame in another when forgetfullness, jealousy, road rage or biggus dickus syndrome kick in. There was a thread recently discussing a Mountie shooting his wife. I mean, I know I’m playing to stereotype here, but Dudley Do Right for Christ sake? How do you get any more “Good Guy” than that? The NRA’s push for a handgun in every pocket does nothing to make me feel safer. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/2780 "2013-08-19T17:06:11Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > By that standard no one should ever learn martial arts, since that makes them “prepared” to beat people up. If they have the guts to close and do it hand to hand, then maybe you have a point. A gun lets somebody be a coward, do it at a distance, and see the victim as less human, or a “bad guy” who had it coming. > [@](#): > > It is only in your cowering sheep’s mind that carrying a gun is _ipso facto_ a threat. Congratulations on your feelings of masculinity. Some of us don’t need strap-ons for that, though. > [@](#): > > The US government has never seriously considered them a threat against the US (as opposed to the Soviet Union/Russia or China) because they’re- dare I say it?- the good guys. Wrong again. A nation with a military controlling nuclear weapons has all kinds of positive safeguards, with many persons involved who all have to participate. It is not possible for a single person who gets angry, or drunk, or scared to launch them. A nation is not a person, and neither is a military. Try again. Maybe you’ll think of a cleverer retort, although I doubt it. > [@sylmar](#): > > I just can’t get my head around the NRA’s Good Guy/ Bad Guy , everyone needs a handgun argument. See, ask almost any person in the world if they’re a good or bad person, and virtually every one will claim to be good. Most will even believe it. But for the name to mean anything, there have to be bad guys, people who are out to get you and your precious bodily fluids, people you need to defend against. They exist in the minds of people who are convinced of that, convinced they are the good guys, convinced they need arms to get the bad guys with. All that’s left is to define the bad guys in such a way that you can tell yourself they’re real, such as \*\*DA \*\*does with his “those neighborhoods” :rolleyes: comment. But somebody who does not share that childishly-simplistic psychosis has quite a bit of trouble seeing those increasing the danger level as “good”, don’t we? > [@Acewiza](#): > > This thread should be titled “The Stupid People with Opinions on Guns Thread.” And thanks for your participation. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729.md?page=138) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729.md?page=140)