Why do you own a gun?

dr wu23 wrote: I never have owned a gun.....except for a pair of mint in case Colt Derringers I inherited when my father passed away...and I have never fired them. I don't really have a problem with gun ownership but I don't understand all the paranoia from many on the right who think any new or stricter regulations on background checks and making it more difficult for some  to own guns are somehow infringing upon their Constitutional rights. You'd think the NRA and other orgs like them would be in favor of keeping guns out of the hands of bad people and the mentally ill yet they seem hell bent on resisting any reforms.  Are they really that paranoid?

I suspect that leaders in the NRA and other orgs like them have their own personal motivations which are less than altruistic.

Edited by Logan - June 21 2016 at 16:44

I never have owned a gun.....except for a pair of mint in case Colt Derringers I inherited when my father passed away...and I have never fired them.

^  There were several, even one would be too many.

Polymorphia wrote: Logan wrote: If he has made it clear that that is all that should be done about gun control, then I would be upset. I haven't listened to whole speech he made. If he is, as a spiritual leader, trying to appeal to people to do more soul-searching and develop more compassion so as to better control violence, then great. Others who have a say in legislation can talk about the legislative and more immediately practical side of things. It's good to get a diverse range of people talking about these matters and bringing in their own perspectives. I'ma big one for free speech though, and would rather not have him "shut it" unless he is advocating violence, which he isn't, or his words will do harm. He has minimal influence in the US, of course. His aim is not to control people with a good philosophy, but he is urging people to control themselves with good philosophy. By the way, I've spoken with the Dalai Lama, and I found him a wonderful man. Some of his comments can seem very naive. I'm for some level of gun control, but imo it's just damage control. It's hardly fixes the problem that we in America, and everywhere, are so angry and violent in the first place. You see it in public discourse too, particularly amongst my generation. Whenever there is a mass shooting, the discussion often revolves around gun control like that's all there is to the equation. So, I can maybe get where he's coming from.

He's coming from a Buddhist perspective (and not just Buddhist philosophy of course) that it starts with changing yourself. A crucial difference in how I looked at it from David's POV (or the way he expressed it), is that it's not about controlling others, it starts with managing yourself. But thee Dalai Lama is preaching to the converted. Those who will find his message appealing are those that already share those views.

His role is more as a spiritual entity than a political entity (someone will mention or think Free Tibet now). He has no political or legislative power in the US, nor citizenship, but he does have some influence. I don't know that it's his place to call for legislation (he's not even American), but I digress from your point.

I do believe that there needs to be stricter gun controls. It won't do away with violence by any means, but it would make it tougher for people to commit mass atrocities. At the same time, I would like "good" values to be reinforced by religious leaders, politicians etc. We all have but a veneer of civilization, but with some it's deeper than with others, but I think most of us have self-control and care about others and the affect we have on others.

In some places, violence is much more common than others, and part of that is ideological including the way we inculcate out children. It's often said, if you want to change the world, change yourself first.

I ramble....

Speaking of religious people (I'm a rather irrational rationalist), it's been quite appalling to me to hear several right-wing Christian preachers in the US praising the Orlando massacre and then complaining about how it's going to be another pretext for pushing gun control and limiting free speech under the auspice of hate speech.

Is this anything like a washing machine?

Guldbamsen wrote: Maybe the US has got it right though? We are far too many people in the world and most of our biggest issues stem from that. The lack of gun control may very well function as people control.

I think we have less of a population problem and more of a distribution problem.

Also I saw an article that said AR-15 sales are booming.

Exactly my point (if you read my post again)

The T wrote: Guldbamsen wrote: Maybe the US has got it right though? We are far too many people in the world and most of our biggest issues stem from that. The lack of gun control may very well function as people control. This is a pretty good idea, however, when they start shooting closer to home (and Orlando is just 3 hours away) I start to disagree with the population control thing.

I know what you mean T.
I've often gotten into trouble talking like this, mostly because it is so easy of a statement to make, when one is on the outside of the equation. I remember arguing with a doctor, who was (probably is) working on a cure for some cancer that I can't remember right now. I mentioned that I thought it to be an insane endeavour - in that it would lead to more people...and we can't even feed the world as we speak. He got extremely upset with me and I really can't blame him. I have quite a few family member and friends alike who have experienced the terrors of cancer. I was just being sarcastically realistic (if that's a thing). Doesn't change the fact that the road to hell often is paved with good intentions.


Edited by Guldbamsen - June 21 2016 at 08:28

Blacksword wrote: Additionally if a government seriously wanted to crush its citizenry, a few rifles is not going to stop that. Citizens would need tactical nuclear weapons in their backyards!

Exactly. The stereotypical lunatic that owns 95721 guns and is scared that guv'ment is going to take away his guns is real. However, even if all the NRA-jerking idiots got together and tried to oppose the US government, one press of a button would take all the idiots away... 

Guldbamsen wrote: Maybe the US has got it right though? We are far too many people in the world and most of our biggest issues stem from that. The lack of gun control may very well function as people control.

Yeah, but they breed like rabbits. 

Edited by Dean - June 21 2016 at 05:25