# 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:** 315
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6281 "2015-10-23T13:35:28Z")
Do you wear a cowboy hat when you’re practicing quick draws in front of the mirror? ---
**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:** [October 23, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6282 "2015-10-23T15:20:52Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Do you wear a cowboy hat when you’re practicing quick draws in front of the mirror? No; do you wear a tin foil hat? ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6283 "2015-10-23T15:20:56Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Just take his gun away from him. I guess we need to carefully spell out for those on the short end who can’t figure out what is bleedingly obvious to the rest of us. Two reasons. 1. I don’t generally initiate conflict, so by necessity I would be using a gun in a reactive defensive situation rather than a proactive offensive situation. This means that guns used against me are going to be already prepared for use and likely pressed into my kidneys, while guns used by me are going to have to be drawn, have the safety turned off, aimed etc… So unless you go around drawing your gun on everyone you meet on the off chance they are a mugger (and who knows maybe you do, all part of exercising your rights) you are going to be at a distinct disadvantage. 2. I’d rather lose my wallet than take a chance at losing my life. Even if there is a 90% chance that I can pull out my gun in one swift motion, disengage the safety and land one right between the eyes while saying “looks like your lucks run out” in a flawless imitation of Clint Eastwood, in the time it takes him to react. The 10% chance that my aggressive actions engage the fight option of his fight of flight response, leaving me in a pool of my own blood, make it preferable to just hand over my wallet and wish him a pleasant evening. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6284 "2015-10-23T15:49:50Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > I presume this is a rhetorical question on your part. You’ve been here long enough and gone round n’ round with this exact group of people enough that you must, by this point, understand that they consistently press only one point: The gun owner is _always_ wrong, no matter what. \*\* Always.\*\* Apparently your habit of taking potshots at paper targets also applies to your rhetorical skills. I hope in the event of a real gunfight you do better than you do in your battles here, or you’ll miss the shooter entirely in favor of blowing away some store mannequins. > [@Lumpy](#): > > I know, but I don’t want to concede by silence. Fighting ignorants has become a habit. And yet you concurred with **Scumpup**. Clearly you need some more practice. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6285 "2015-10-25T23:33:41Z")
This guy took ‘gun grabbing’ to a new level. > [@](#): > > Between 7,000 and 10,000 stolen guns were seized over the weekend at a Pageland, S.C. house and warehouse. > > The Chesterfield County, S.C. Sheriff’s Office arrested the owner of the house, Brent Nicholson, in connection to the stolen goods, WBTV reported. The exact charges are unknown at this time. > > Police described Nicholson as a “gun hoarder” who hired others to steal guns for him. There’s no evidence he ever sold of any of the stolen firearms. > **[South Carolina man, 'gun hoarder,' had more than 7,000 stolen firearms,...](https://www.al.com/news/2015/10/south_carolina_man_gun_hoarder.html)** > > Between 7,000 and 10,000 stolen guns were seized over the weekend at a Pageland, S.C. house and warehouse. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6286 "2015-10-27T11:28:36Z")
[Stupid gun owner shot with her own gun.](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/26/1439679/-Hunting-dog-named-Trigger-accidentally-shoots-owner) The trigger was pulled by her hunting dog, aptly named Trigger. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6287 "2015-10-27T15:15:25Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Simple equation, the number of, and easy access to, guns in the USA means more gun deaths. It isn’t rocket science (though ballistics is common to both). But does it mean more deaths overall or just more deaths by gun and fewer deaths by jumping off of buildings? > [@](#): > > So were the USA to remove the vast majority of guns from private hands and severely restrict future access you would likely have far less deaths. You have a cite for that or just your gut instinct? > [@](#): > > But you never will because “constitution” or some shit like that. You mean the foundational document for modern democracy? Is that the shit you mean? > [@](#): > > Having lots of guns means you have the illusion of protection while actually being at greater risk…well…whatever. See LA Riots. There is no proof that owning a gun increases overall risk. Sure it increases the risk of having an accident with a gun you own, it also increases the likelihood that you will be armed during a riot or robbery. It is this sort of one sided analysis that makes it hard to take your side seriously. > [@](#): > > It is literally your (or your four-year-old’s) funeral. Or it could be the thing that saves your life or livelihood. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6288 "2015-10-27T15:21:59Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > You mean the foundational document for modern democracy? Is that the shit you mean? Yes, the same document that declared black slaves to be worth three fifths as much as free whites. It includes anachronisms and deserves respect but not reverence. > [@](#): > > See LA Riots. IOW, see something that scared you personally. That is not convincing. > [@](#): > > There is no proof that owning a gun increases overall risk. It’s been shown to you many times. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > Or it could be the thing that saves your life or livelihood. But probably not. As you know. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6289 "2015-10-27T15:24:35Z")
> [@kenetic](#): > > Or, assuming we’re talking about the real world rather than gun fetishist fantasy land, a mugger grabs someone from behind and relieves them of their wallet AND their gun. > > But you’re clearly in gun fetishist fantasy land, so presumably all muggers approach their targets from the front and clearly announce their intention to rob some one when they’re 50 yards out, giving the noble defender of rights plenty of time to draw, aim, and shoot. Or maybe if grabbed from behind, the noble defender whips out his fancy special ops kung fu moves to to gain the upper hand (making the gun useless in the first place, but maybe they could brandish it afterwards or something). > > Prediction: at least one reply to this will focus on the “50 yards” part to lambaste me as “low information” since I picked some random number rather than figuring out what distance makes most sense in my obviously satirical hypothetical. I don’t think muggers usually grapple their victims. If the mugger is armed with anything short of a gun, you can draw your gun on them if you have taken a defense class or two. If someone else is being mugged, you can help. If rioters are burning down stores, you can defend your store with a gun. You don’t have to be Tim Oliphant in Justified to benefit from gun ownership. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6290 "2015-10-27T15:25:54Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > No, the good guy will be on the ground bleeding out when the bad guy relieves him of his gun. The bad guy knows when he is going to kill someone. The good guy doesn’t know even know who is going to kill him. Unless he’s a mind reader and can shoot the bad guy before he draws his gun; but the cops frown on that, because then he’s just shooting another good guy. > > Good guys with guns have this fantasy that they will go up against the bad guy and outdraw him, as if bad guys adhered to some code that prevents them from shooting people in the back. How are you going to defend yourself from a bad guy who is willing to shoot you in the kidney when you least expect it? LA riots. Guns put to good use by private citizens when they were abandoned by the police. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6291 "2015-10-27T15:27:11Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > If the mugger is armed with anything short of a gun, you can draw your gun on them if you have taken a defense class or two. But guns are so ridiculously easy to get (they’re even free if you grab them from another victim) that muggers, yes, are generally armed or must be assumed to be. > [@](#): > > If someone else is being mugged, you can help. And look like the aggressor to another self-styled “good guy”, and get yourself shot. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6292 "2015-10-27T15:29:14Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > There were good guys with guns at Umpqua Community College. They looked out the door of their classroom, thought for a moment, and decided they did not want to risk because nag mistaken for bad guys. So, yaay for their due restraint. And, as to the usefulness of their weapons, well … cite? I don’t see anything about armed students in the classrooms. everything I have read says that guns were banned in classrooms. Were people just carrying guns in classrooms anyway? ---
**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:** [October 27, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6293 "2015-10-27T15:35:46Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I guess we need to carefully spell out for those on the short end who can’t figure out what is bleedingly obvious to the rest of us. > > Two reasons. > > 1. I don’t generally initiate conflict, so by necessity I would be using a gun in a reactive defensive situation rather than a proactive offensive situation. This means that guns used against me are going to be already prepared for use and likely pressed into my kidneys, while guns used by me are going to have to be drawn, have the safety turned off, aimed etc… So unless you go around drawing your gun on everyone you meet on the off chance they are a mugger (and who knows maybe you do, all part of exercising your rights) you are going to be at a distinct disadvantage. > > 2. I’d rather lose my wallet than take a chance at losing my life. Even if there is a 90% chance that I can pull out my gun in one swift motion, disengage the safety and land one right between the eyes while saying “looks like your lucks run out” in a flawless imitation of Clint Eastwood, in the time it takes him to react. The 10% chance that my aggressive actions engage the fight option of his fight of flight response, leaving me in a pool of my own blood, make it preferable to just hand over my wallet and wish him a pleasant evening. Why do you guys pick the one scenario where a gun is least likely to be useful and pretend that is the only reason to own a gun? What if the guy wants to rape you? What if they break into your home? What if the are rioting and burning down stores? Are you better off without a gun then too? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6294 "2015-10-27T16:07:28Z")
What if the “burglar” breaking into your home turns out to be your teenager trying to sneak back in late from a party? What is the likelihood that drunk Junior is going to speak up when you call out “Who goes there?” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6295 "2015-10-27T16:19:47Z")
What if a Graboid breaks into your rec room and you don’t have a [Wall of Weapons](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WallOfWeapons)? WHAT THEN, GUN GRABBERS??? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6296 "2015-10-27T16:22:36Z")
What if someone rides in on an angry elephant, and you don’t have an elephant gun? ---
**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:** [October 27, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6297 "2015-10-27T16:43:38Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What if the “burglar” breaking into your home turns out to be your teenager trying to sneak back in late from a party? Then unless you’re an imbecile you identify the potential target first. Burglars, rapists, and rioters are a bit more plausible than mad elephants or fictional creatures. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6298 "2015-10-27T17:03:36Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > What if the guy wants to rape you? He’s probably going to overpower you, or at least get the jump on you, take your gun, and use it against you. And on somebody else later. > [@](#): > > What if they break into your home? They’ll likely be armed, prepared for you, and be able to get off a fatal shot while you’re still looking for your own gun. > [@](#): > > What if the are rioting and burning down stores? Call up the well-regulated militia (and don’t pretend you’re one of them, or well-regulated anyway). Or the police, who are far better armed and organized and trained than \*you \*are. > [@](#): > > Are you better off without a gun then too? Look, nobody ever said there are never any circumstances where it could help you. Only that there are far more where it hurts you. It would serve you well to quit imagining what you’re being told and pay attention to it instead. > [@Lumpy](#): > > Then unless you’re an imbecile you identify the potential target first. We keep getting news reports about imbeciles, you know. Oh, right, excuse me, “law abiding citizens” who were “defending their homes”. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6299 "2015-10-27T17:08:22Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Then unless you’re an imbecile you identify the potential target first. > > Burglars, rapists, and rioters are a bit more plausible than mad elephants or fictional creatures. Are burglars, rapists, and rioters really more plausible than kids coming back late from a party? Where the fuck do you live?? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/6300 "2015-10-27T17:15:23Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Are burglars, rapists, and rioters really more plausible than kids coming back late from a party? They’re _blacker_. That makes them scarier. At least in these people’s own imaginations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729.md?page=314) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729.md?page=316)