# Would you \*prefer\* that there be no private gun ownership? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 30, 2018, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309 "2018-11-30T02:34:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/61 "2018-12-01T00:47:54Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > A few years ago a deer was hit by a car and dragged itself into and across my parking lot at work. The animal’s hind end was paralyzed and it appeared to be in horrible discomfort. > > I called the Pennsylvania Game Commision. They said they could kill the deer and haul away the carcass, but the soonest they could do that was in three days. Great. > > Next, I called the PA State Police. My business is in an area without a local police force, so that’s who I had to call. A car arrived about 45 minutes later. The officer felt bad, but regulations did not permit him to discharge his weapon for this purpose. > > So, I drove home (12 minutes away), got the .357 from my nightstand, and returned. I killed the deer, technically breaking the state’s game laws.☹ Had a similar situation around here once when there was a collision between a car and an Amish buggy. The buggy driver was begging the responding officer to put his mangled horse out of it’s misery but the officer couldn’t do it because it was against the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/62 "2018-12-01T01:07:21Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Had a similar situation around here once when there was a collision between a car and an Amish buggy. The buggy driver was begging the responding officer to put his mangled horse out of it’s misery but the officer couldn’t do it because it was against the rules. My first split-second reaction to reading the first half of your paragraph here was that you were going to put the buggy \*driver \*out of his pain :eek: ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/63 "2018-12-01T12:56:59Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > So let me get this straight. You refuse to give the government funding to take care of issues that are best handled by the government. Then you demand access to dangerous tools that, frankly, I don’t trust you with, to do the job you refuse to pay for. > > Makes sense to me! The State Game Commision manages wildlife in the commonwealth, keeping the number of deer, for example, artificially high to provide sport for hunters. Why should my tax dollars be used to fund sport? I do not “demand dangerous tools”. Indeed, when I had a rabid fox on our property I would have rather called the cops instead of shooting, bagging, and delivering the animal for testing. I thenn had to clean my shotgun, which I only use when absolutely needed. The last (only?) time I called on our local police, he was testifying in court. I left a message and got a return call from the town administrator hours later. The town cop stopped out 48 hours later. “When seconds count” indeed. All that aside, I have said repeatedly that the system is broken. If we can make our schools safe by repealing the 2nd amendment and taking away _everyone’s_ guns, I’m onboard with that. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/64 "2018-12-01T14:41:54Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Sounds like your state’s game commission could use more funding. Next time their budget is on the ballot, you should remember this story. > [@kayaker](#): > > I’m not a hunter. Our land is posted “NO HUNTING”. I’d rather the state’s game commission be fully funded through hunting license fees. So, no. A little drift but being a PaGC volunteer employee (don’t ask - its complicated) we are fully funded through license fees, fines, and some Federal Pittman-Robertson monies – no PA taxes are involved. So no additions to the budget because the state legislature controls the laws but not the funds to a large extent. They have talked about taking all our money, putting it to the general state fund, and doling some back but our hopes are that that never happens. The PaGC has very few full-time employees; most are part-timers with day jobs or “dollar a year” people and volunteers like me. The drop in license sales is what has hurt our budget along with the increased costs of everything we all face. PS – on another front – I am inner city and we (my neighborhood) have a deer problem; overpopulation. It ebbs and floes depending on the willingness of some of us violating the same laws you did. The difference is we haven’t used firearms. As I indicated in another post, silent but deadly people and devices can come in handy sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/65 "2018-12-01T15:18:56Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > A little drift but being a PaGC volunteer employee (don’t ask - its complicated) we are fully funded through license fees, fines, and some Federal Pittman-Robertson monies – no PA taxes are involved. I bet you know some of my friends who work(ed) for the PaGC! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/66 "2018-12-01T16:03:24Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I’m another non-voter. I don’t and won’t ever own a gun, but I’d never vote to ban all guns for private ownership. And that’s another way that different people could honestly interpret this poll in different ways: The thread title emphasizes the word “prefer”: “Would you _prefer_ that there be no private gun ownership.” So it’s not much of a stretch to think of the question in terms of personal preference, not public policy. Personally, I’d prefer that there be no rap music. I know people who would prefer that there be no cilantro. But that’s not the same as thinking that such things ought to be banned, or as thinking that _everyone_ would be better off if they didn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/67 "2018-12-02T00:10:11Z")
If we’re excluding the middle, and we’re defining “gun” to mean gunpowder firearms, _not_ water pistols, not blow guns, not nail guns, nor anything else sort of kind of like a gun: Yeah, no private gun ownership. I’m not going to defend the self-defense rights of folks who want to see another mass murder of six-year-olds, shrug, and say, “Whaddayagonadoo?” Take 'em all. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/68 "2018-12-02T04:05:23Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I bet you know some of my friends who work(ed) for the PaGC! Like we have said for more than 6 years now ----- between that and Harleys and history and cigars and everything else -------- we have got to go drinking together. Not this month – I’m booked solid. But come January … ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/69 "2018-12-02T05:12:38Z")
Look at that… the majority is now in favor of sanity, 74 to 73. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/70 "2018-12-07T15:44:01Z")
> [@EscAlaMike](#): > > I don’t think it’s true that they [“do fine”](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-mass-shooters-russia-public-shootings-thousand-oaks-mercy-hospital-chicago-1121-story.html). [del]Possibly[/del] [del]Probably[/del] Definitely a bit of a hijack, but > [@John R. Lott Jr.](#): > > Just last month, a school shooting in Crimea, Russia, claimed 20 lives and wounded 65 others. NITPICK: Crimea isn’t in Russia; it’s in Ukraine. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/71 "2018-12-07T15:49:08Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > [del]Possibly[/del] [del]Probably[/del] Definitely a bit of a hijack, but > NITPICK: > Crimea isn’t in Russia; it’s in Ukraine. You need to take that up with Putin. He definitely disagrees with your nitpick. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/72 "2018-12-07T15:53:43Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/73 "2018-12-07T16:01:05Z")
> [@XT](#): > > You need to take that up with Putin. He definitely disagrees with your nitpick. FUCK Putin, and FUCK (_checks forum ID_) anyone who’s not a Doper who agrees with him on the issue. Anyone who IS a Doper and agrees with him on the issue is hereby put on notice that they are WRONG to do so. Note: this post may not belong in IMHO, on account of it’s an objective FACT, and not a matter of opinion. As are most of the things I post. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/74 "2018-12-07T16:08:40Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > FUCK Putin, and FUCK (_checks forum ID_) anyone who’s not a Doper who agrees with him on the issue. > > Dopers who agree with him on the issue are hereby put on notice that they are WRONG to do so. > > Note: this post may not belong in IMHO, on account of it’s an objective FACT, and not a matter of opinion. As are most of the things I post. Well, objectively I’d say that Russia has annexed the region, making it, in fact, Russian territory. THAT is the real world objective fact. I didn’t say I agreed that this should be (I certainly don’t and didn’t agree with the Russian annexation of the Crimea and their farse of a referendum), but it’s rather like trying to say that Tibet is really an independent nation when, in fact, it is part of China with no real possibility that this will change short of the CCP going down. This isn’t opinion, it’s cold hard fact, and one you seem to not want to acknowledge. You also seem to have some serious anger issues over this, so perhaps you should take that into consideration when posting about this. You are right, it IS a hijack of the thread, and I was basically just pointing out that your assertion that the Crimea is in the Ukraine, while technically true, is incorrect in the real world of real politic. And that Putin et al, who actually control the area, would disagree. I agree ‘fuck Putin!’ is a valid response, but then I’d say ‘Fuck Xi and the CCP’ as well…and it will equally have zero impact on reality. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/75 "2018-12-07T16:17:47Z")
I’ve wondered why many gun-control advocates feel this need to downplay their stance: “We don’t want to take anyone’s guns away, we just want to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_”. You don’t see this stance from most pro-lifers on abortion, by analogy, even if they sometimes dress up their approach as forcing clinics to adopt tougher standards that would in reality put many clinics out of business, etc. Many pro-lifers are very blunt and willing to say that “Yes we \*\*\*do \*\*\*want to ban abortions and prevent pregnant women from being able to get them.” But somehow the gun-control lobby feels this urge to say “No we aren’t trying to take your guns away.” Why not just be blunt about it? ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/76 "2018-12-07T16:35:42Z")
Yeah, take the guns away. My family is big on hunting. My family has had the varmint problem. My father is an ammosexual and he’s one of those folks who collects far more guns than he can use. I have a gun that I keep meaning to offload for the money. Take them away and never give them back. We don’t deserve them. I don’t care about anyone’s jobs or rural problems. EDIT: If you care so much about putting an animal out of its misery, learn how to cut their throat, then. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/77 "2018-12-07T16:37:41Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Look at that… the majority is now in favor of sanity, 74 to 73. :dubious: To me, the poll was ridiculous anyway, but it’s the equivalent of a poll asking if we should stick with the status quo for alcohol or a complete and total bans even more rigid that Prohibition since we have many 10’s of thousands of deaths per year. And then calling it sanity when over half respond that, yeah, let’s go the full on Prohibition route, that this would somehow be preferable to the status quo. Even countries that have a hell of a lot of gun control and restrictions don’t go as far as the OP’s either or proposal. Hell, you can get a freaking gun in the UK, France, Australia and even Japan…hell, if you are in the CCP you can get one in China for gods sake…yet you think it’s sanity that over half of the people choose a ban that NO country on earth has. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/78 "2018-12-07T17:12:09Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > NITPICK: > Crimea isn’t in Russia; it’s in Ukraine. Change that to “used to be” or “ought to still be” and you’d be right. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/79 "2018-12-07T19:02:15Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I’ve wondered why many gun-control advocates feel this need to downplay their stance: “We don’t want to take anyone’s guns away, we just want to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_”. You don’t see this stance from most pro-lifers on abortion, by analogy, even if they sometimes dress up their approach as forcing clinics to adopt tougher standards that would in reality put many clinics out of business, etc. Many pro-lifers are very blunt and willing to say that “Yes we \*\*\*do \*\*\*want to ban abortions and prevent pregnant women from being able to get them.” But somehow the gun-control lobby feels this urge to say “No we aren’t trying to take your guns away.” Why not just be blunt about it? Because (speaking for myself), I don’t want to take your guns away. I don’t secretly hope that all guns turn into pixie dust\*. I not so secretly hope that the average level of responsibility around gun ownership (storage, risk assessment, use) gets higher than it is right now. The difference between (most?) pro-life advocates and (most?) gun safety advocates is that the pro-life advocates really want the extreme end and the gun safety advocates really want a middle ground somewhere. \*That’s how I read the poll. The options are - 1. Everything like it is now (no additional gun laws. No increased enforcement of the ones that are already on the books, what we have now is it.) 2. Some magic force field goes up over the US so that all guns instantly and immediately crumble into dust (except the ones being wielded by law enforcement or military while on the job). There are none in the hands of “bad guys”; there are none in the hands of “good guys” either. Smugglers who try to cross the border open their crates to find gun-dust. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309/80 "2018-12-07T19:57:51Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > But we’re coming to a tipping point, and the more the gun owners reject any sort of moderate gun reform, the worse the pushback from the rest of the public will be when we finally do hit that point. They’re afraid of a slippery slope, but instead all they’ve done is build a dam. When that dam collapses – because more and more reasons to ban guns are piling up every day, and it won’t hold forever – the gun reform that passes will be much stricter than it would have been if gun owners were willing to address the problem _now_. I’ve seen this argument before and never understood it. Isn’t violent crime going _down_ in America? Why is the “dam” going to collapse? The idea that “more and more reasons to ban guns are piling up every day” isn’t universally held by Americans…at what point is the political capital going to exist to pass reform that is “much stricter than it would have been if gun owners were willing to address the problem”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-that-there-be-no-private-gun-ownership/825309.md?page=5)