The "gun culture" is to blame for Virginia Tech

Exactly...you're really limited with a knife.
Now a FUCKING BOX CUTTER on the other hand....

"Opportunity makes thieves" seems to imply that the mere possession of a gun is enough to turn an otherwise mild mannered and well intentioned individual into a mindless killer.

I simply reject that line of thought.

Who knew inanimate objects were manifested with such talismanic power?

The gun owner has to make a successful saving throw against their wisdom score.

You are both dodging the point.

Well put down the kitchen knife and we won't have to.

Why did school shootings not happen in the past, when guns were far more available than they are now?

But I can throw it into your heart from about 12 meters. You know, just in case we can't negotiate who has the right to the parking space

I don't blame the guns. I blame the availability together with a boatload of social problems.

Again, nobody runs amok with sawed off cutlery.

No, I've seen your car. My Tundra will simply scoot yer ass out of the way.

On the other hand, I'll be done shopping, having lunch and half way home until you're in a position to do so

But I'll be at home while your making that return trip for more groceries.

So do I, but I don't see it as a reason to ban them.

Where were all the school shooting prior to 1934, 1968, 1986 when all kinds of buying restrictiongs and background checks were institutied? Prior to 1934 I could buy a machine gun fro the hardware store without any checks. Where were the school shootings then?

The question is, how would those problems be worked out without guns around? Less bloody I guess?

So you're saying background checks are responsible for the increase in school shootings?

The level of bloodiness is relative whether you're the guy who gets stabbed or not. The end result is still the same.

The author holds guns as a personal addiction for some, and as such should be enforced and regulated more than they already are. I wonder, do his prohibitionist tendencies extend to alcohol, marijuana, food?

Guns = food?

No, I'm saying the restrictions and checks and laws haven't stopped anyone intent on breaking the law and killing folk. It just gets int he way of the law abiding. And guns were far more available in the past than they are now. Logically there should be fewer school shootings now than before the bans, taxes, NFA checks, and the like.

If knives have the same killing potential as guns, why bother building them at all? Certainly, knife-wielding soldiers and cops would be just as effective.

A gun makes going without discrimination easy. No gun makes people look for other ways, in the best case just offing themselves somehow.

Well, guns are an addiction for some. There are people right on this board who'll vote only according to a candidate's stance on gun control.

Nobody votes solely on the stance on marijuana.

Perhaps.

Banning guns is just the easy "fix" (not that it would be much of one) that ignores the "social problems" that cause school shootings in the first place.

But those who would ban guns are usually A-OK with superficial, "feel good" fixes that really aren't.

How many people die from the effects of obesity every year? More than or less than the number of people who die from gun-related crime and accidents every year?

You've completely ignored my point on 'social issues'. Back then, the tensions weren't that high - and violence wasn't presented as entertainment all day long.

As I said. The guns themselves are hardly the problem. Letting disturbed people get a hold of them is. And that's easier the more people have them.

Well they would, if they could only remember to vote on election day.














I actually read an interview with Willie Nelson recently where he said the same thing.

Nobody on this board you mean. There most certainly are people who vote solely on the stance of marijuana.

I'm not entirely certain that the right to spark a bowl is a basic human right, at least not at the same level as the right to be armed to protect one's self and community from any number of threats, including tyrrany.

How many fatties explode and take everything that moves with them?

Hmmm, maybe some sort of explosive vest could accomplish both goals at the same time!

Nah, that would never work.

You're right Uncle Albert doesn't vote at all.

So, addictive objects/substances should be more restricted? How puritanical!

Well, Mr. Creosote comes to mind... :flow2:

I am fairly certain that food, drinks and pot can't be used against other people when somebody gets mad.