# what kind of gun nut RU? (2nd try) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 16, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-nut-ru-2nd-try/644155 "2012-12-16T03:36:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-nut-ru-2nd-try/644155/41 "2012-12-18T16:47:37Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > My little brain is not working this one out. I’m pretty far to the left socially speaking, but I’m all for gun-ownership. Am I a freak in this regard? You’re hardly a freak. There are a lot more lefty-liberal gun owners out there than most people realize. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-nut-ru-2nd-try/644155/42 "2012-12-18T17:47:50Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Just out of curiosity, assuming I could create a cute little nuclear bomb in a very shiny, portable case, that would only blow up, say, about 3 square miles or so, would having these nuclear arms also fall into the category of the “right to bear arms”? I mean, come on now -there is absolutely no limit to this verbiage, right? The right to bear arms is a cover all for every weapon, right? No exceptions whatsoever. Written in stone. Correct? I wouldn’t start your mini-nuke near all that straw. It’s liable to catch fire. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-nut-ru-2nd-try/644155/43 "2012-12-18T19:22:07Z")
I’ve been diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic and bipolar disorder (although called “manic-depressive” at the time). There’s no reason I should be any less able to acquire a firearm than you. Psychiatric diagnoses should have no legal status whatsoever. Psychiatry has a spectacularly dismal track record as far as being able to predict dangerousness. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-nut-ru-2nd-try/644155/44 "2012-12-18T19:29:58Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Ah yes - that was exactly what the Founding Fathers meant and wanted - for every American to have a personal arsenal. > > Just out of curiosity, assuming I could create a cute little nuclear bomb in a very shiny, portable case, that would only blow up, say, about 3 square miles or so, would having these nuclear arms also fall into the category of the “right to bear arms”? I mean, come on now -there is absolutely no limit to this verbiage, right? The right to bear arms is a cover all for every weapon, right? No exceptions whatsoever. Written in stone. Correct? Build one so that we can establish a legal precedent one way or the other. No, really. Build one. Until somebody does that, the introduction of nuclear weapons into discussion of the 2nd Ammendment remains nothing but an absurdity intended to derail discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-nut-ru-2nd-try/644155/45 "2012-12-18T19:35:59Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Eh…3. I’m not really all that passionate about it, although I think banning guns is a bandaid that ignores the underlying causes of gun violence. \ Yup. I think you need to address the underlying fears that are at the heart of all gun discussions - fear of home invasion, fear of violence being perpetrated on you, fear of your fellow citizens, fear of being helpless and unarmed, etc. When I see US Americans talking about guns and how no one can take them away from them, all I see is very scared people trying to make themselves feel safer. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-nut-ru-2nd-try/644155/46 "2012-12-19T01:39:45Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Yup. I think you need to address the underlying fears that are at the heart of all gun discussions - fear of home invasion, fear of violence being perpetrated on you, fear of your fellow citizens, fear of being helpless and unarmed, etc. When I see US Americans talking about guns and how no one can take them away from them, all I see is very scared people trying to make themselves feel safer. Umm… there _ **are** _ home invasions, violence perpetrated, etc. I can only see two ways of dealing with the situation: hope that someday we can build the perfect society where no one would ever want to hurt or steal from anyone else; or else deal with violence as it arises. As I said in one of the other threads “there’s a difference between ‘fear’ and ‘cognizance of danger’”. I have never in my 51 years been in a situation where I needed a gun; but then my house has never burned down either. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-nut-ru-2nd-try/644155/47 "2012-12-19T01:52:03Z")
I’m not saying that these things don’t happen; I’m saying that the level of fear that citizens of the US have of it happening to them seems out of proportion for the likelihood, and the response to this fear is getting a gun and keeping it handy. I live in a city of over a million people, where it is possible that I will be a victim of a home invasion or a violent crime; I don’t live my life in fear of that happening, though, and I don’t feel the need for a gun to protect myself from that. What makes me and everyone else I know different from people in the US living in a similarly-sized city? ---
**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:** [December 19, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-nut-ru-2nd-try/644155/48 "2012-12-19T02:34:16Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m not saying that these things don’t happen; I’m saying that the level of fear that citizens of the US have of it happening to them seems out of proportion for the likelihood, and the response to this fear is getting a gun and keeping it handy. I live in a city of over a million people, where it is possible that I will be a victim of a home invasion or a violent crime; I don’t live my life in fear of that happening, though, and I don’t feel the need for a gun to protect myself from that. What makes me and everyone else I know different from people in the US living in a similarly-sized city? Funny, I could say exactly the same thing about gun massacres: “I’m not saying that these things don’t happen; I’m saying that the level of fear that citizens of the US have of it happening to them seems out of proportion for the likelihood, and the response to this fear is banning the lawful possession and use of firearms. I live in a city of over a million people, where it is possible that I will be a victim of a gun massacre; I don’t live my life in fear of that happening, though, and I don’t feel the need for a total gun ban to protect myself from that. What makes me and everyone else I know different from people in the US living in a similarly-sized city?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-nut-ru-2nd-try/644155.md?page=2)