Fewer Guns in Public Means More Freedom

Post all jokes/ quizzes/ teasers/ 'identify this' type of posts here
Post Reply
m24
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 1089
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:57 pm
Location: New Delhi

Fewer Guns in Public Means More Freedom

Post by m24 » Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:00 pm

:lol: I couldn't help but laugh at this article. In US, since the anti's lost out on the 2nd amendment, they are now targeting open carry. I was wondering whether I should move this to the humour section. :)

Source: From Everydaynodaysoff to Huffingtonpost

Let's be honest: Guns are made for a purpose. Handguns, assault weapons -- most of the guns found in urban areas are made so that one person can kill another person. They may -- as the NRA likes to point out -- require a human being to actually pull the trigger, but no one buys a gun in order to help them bake cookies, organize their music collection or paint the house. People buy guns to have the option of killing someone should the desire or need arise.

A bill is currently working its way through the California Assembly that would forbid people from keeping that option readily available by banning the open carrying of guns. The bill has passed the Public Safety Committee, and is currently in the State Senate Appropriations Committee. As we await this final step, it is critical to continue to inform people, including the governor, just why openly carrying guns is a bad idea.

First and foremost, prohibiting "open carry" is not about whether you can carry a gun, but how you carry your gun. Let me repeat that, because opponents want to make this a Second Amendment issue, when the Second Amendment has nothing to do with it. Forbidding open carry does not limit your right to own or carry a gun. It merely regulates the way in which you carry your gun when in a public place -- the library, the coffeeshop on the corner, or yes, Huntington Beach, where recently a group of "open carry" advocates walked the sands among children playing, parents seeking recreation, teenagers reading -- openly carrying their weapons.

Who should or should not carry a weapon, or what kind of weapons should be readily available are separate issues. Permits for concealed weapons provide an established, regulated method to determine just who is carrying guns around in public. Banning unconcealed weapons, however, is a specific, responsible measure, one that puts public safety first and foremost and respects the constitutional rights of all our citizens. When someone not in uniform carries a gun in public, they are in effect saying "I could kill you, if I chose." Which in turn poses an immediate threat to my own freedom of speech, freedom of action, freedom to congregate and freedom to be in public spaces. Even free speech advocates recognize that a serious, declared threat to kill someone goes beyond the limits of First Amendment protections. Similarly, the inherent, present threat in an openly displayed weapon goes beyond the scope of protected Second Amendment rights.

Open carry advocates claim they are protecting the public by being a secondary, informal police force. Personally, I prefer the trained, publicly accountable and regulated police force. I know the rules that law enforcement are obligated to protect. I do not know what laws, regulations, whims or prejudices govern the behavior of someone I have never seen before who is carrying a weapon.

Guns are not inherently safe. That is not their purpose. The same day the LA Times ran the story on the front page about the open carry meet-up in Huntington Beach, the inside page detailed a tragic incident of a seven year old accidentally shooting and killing his two year old brother with a gun kept in the house. One has to wonder how safe people would feel if those demonstrating their right to carry weapons openly were not the middle-aged, polo-shirt-wearing, men photographed in the article, but rather a tattooed, twenty-two year old with baggy jeans falling below his waist.

It is no surprise that California law enforcement agencies from the Los Angeles Police Department to the Sheriff's Department oppose open carry. Police are trained to see someone with a weapon as a threat. Civilians toting weapons on their hips makes it hard for the police to do their job and to determine who is the actual danger.

At its heart, open carry promotes a culture of fear -- a sense that we need to be afraid of each other, that we are all vigilantes. Banning open carry is a reminder that we live in community -- that when it comes to violence, there is no "us" vs. "them." That part of living together in democracy is subscribing to the same governing laws, and the freedom to know that we are all able to express ourselves without fear of deadly repercussions from either big government or self-appointed individuals. When someone can walk into a playground, a church, a school or a beach openly carrying a weapon, it strikes a blow not only against our constitutional rights, but also against the very core of our humanity.

Regards
Jeff Cooper advocated four basic rules of gun safety:
1) All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
2) Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3) Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target.
4) Identify your target, and what is behind it.

For Advertising mail webmaster
User avatar
nagarifle
Old Timer
Old Timer
Posts: 3404
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 1:43 pm
Location: The Land of the Nagas

Re: Fewer Guns in Public Means More Freedom

Post by nagarifle » Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:10 pm

humburg, once again they got there knikers in twist.

"When someone not in uniform carries a gun in public, they are in effect saying "I could kill you, if I chose." Which in turn poses an immediate threat to my own freedom of speech, freedom of action, freedom to congregate and freedom to be in public spaces."

see what i mean, freedom to speech or carry guns? am little confused.

it like saying that i have a car and am making a statement that i am going to run someone over. very silly they need a check up from the head up.
Nagarifle

if you say it can not be done, then you are right, for you, it can not be done.

goodboy_mentor
Old Timer
Old Timer
Posts: 2928
Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:35 pm

Re: Fewer Guns in Public Means More Freedom

Post by goodboy_mentor » Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:53 pm

ROTFL This is pure nonsense put up by antis because they are not left with any sensible reasoning. I would request m24 to please get it moved to humour section, that would be the appropriate place for this. It does not deserve any place of respect in Guns Misc section. Following is the message for such people :lol: :
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
"If my mother tongue is shaking the foundations of your State, it probably means that you built your State on my land" - Musa Anter, Kurdish writer, assassinated by the Turkish secret services in 1992

MoA
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 1644
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2008 8:08 pm

Re: Fewer Guns in Public Means More Freedom

Post by MoA » Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:54 pm

The writer needs to stop smoking crack.. :cheers:

hvj1
Eminent IFG'an
Eminent IFG'an
Posts: 1369
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 10:05 am
Location: Satara

Re: Fewer Guns in Public Means More Freedom

Post by hvj1 » Sun Aug 01, 2010 8:31 am

Strangely, if the duffer were to read american history, california on the west coast, was colonised by the spanish, (californios) who mantained law and order in and around their groves and haciendas through guns, which were openly carried. Till such time the law got organised, weapons were carried openly. Had this not been done, the pioneers would never have been able to resettle in the west. Even though weapons were carried openly, those who carried them, understood the responsibility. Those who did not want this responsibility simply did'nt carry them at all. But these fellows, relied on those carrying weapons to mantain law and order. A hundred years down the line, nothing much has changed. An equal number or more bad guys deserving to be put down are being put down, by those carring weapons, so whats the issue here?

SARGE7402
On the way to nirvana
On the way to nirvana
Posts: 83
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2009 4:11 am
Location: State Farm, Virginia

Re: Fewer Guns in Public Means More Freedom

Post by SARGE7402 » Mon Aug 02, 2010 3:59 am

One can not poo poo these folks and their rhetoric and just brush it off. It's definitely not humorous to those of us her in the USofA. A restriction here, a sensible law here , meaningful training there it all adds up to a concerted effort to limit the ownership, and use of firearms.

And yes, even under CA laws, I'd be exempt as a peace officer. Am I afraid of a person that's openly armed? Not at all
‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’

goodboy_mentor
Old Timer
Old Timer
Posts: 2928
Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:35 pm

Re: Fewer Guns in Public Means More Freedom

Post by goodboy_mentor » Mon Aug 02, 2010 3:56 pm

‘‘The right of self-defense is the first law of nature; in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest possible limits. ... and when the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction.’’— Saint George Tucker, Judge of the Virginia Supreme Court 1803
"If my mother tongue is shaking the foundations of your State, it probably means that you built your State on my land" - Musa Anter, Kurdish writer, assassinated by the Turkish secret services in 1992

User avatar
xl_target
Old Timer
Old Timer
Posts: 3488
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:47 am
Location: USA

Re: Fewer Guns in Public Means More Freedom

Post by xl_target » Thu Aug 05, 2010 8:10 pm

FYI, According to the laws in California, if you are open carrying, the handgun must be unloaded and the magazine must be unloaded too. If the magazine is loaded, it should not be attached to the firearm.
http://www.californiaopencarry.org/Cali ... nCarry.pdf
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941

m24
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 1089
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:57 pm
Location: New Delhi

Re: Fewer Guns in Public Means More Freedom

Post by m24 » Fri Aug 06, 2010 5:52 pm

xl_target wrote:FYI, According to the laws in California, if you are open carrying, the handgun must be unloaded and the magazine must be unloaded too. If the magazine is loaded, it should not be attached to the firearm.
http://www.californiaopencarry.org/Cali ... nCarry.pdf
:shock: Does it also say anywhere in that law that when at the time you are under attack, you can ask the aggressor for some more time so that you can put all the pieces into its right place, and then have a level playfield??

Regards
Jeff Cooper advocated four basic rules of gun safety:
1) All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
2) Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3) Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target.
4) Identify your target, and what is behind it.

Post Reply