At least 27 People Dead, 18 of them children.

[Rayne]

*cough*Bill of Rights*cough*

You might want to get that cough checked out. Huffing paint can do that to you.

The Bill of Rights are amendments, just like the rest. They aren't immutable or unchangeable, just like the rest of the Constitution. It's frequently referred to as a "living document", because we regularly make changes to it- called 'amendments', root word "amend"- based on the changing conditions of the society it governs.

 

[Moon Knight]

This thread has out lived it's usefulness, clearly. Of course if people think fucking with the bill of rights is such an easy thing to do would give that idea. Would give a couple of other ideas that would be best dealt with by a doctor....and a therapist.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Yeah, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution aren't perfect infallible documents. It was written by guys who owned slaves and shit in buckets. Plus the 3rd amendment is the right to kick soldiers out of your home after a war is over. That isn't relevant anymore. I'm fine with people who defend their gun ownership by using the 2nd amendment. That same amendment also says the point of owning firearms is to keep a standing militia in times of war. Outside of Red Dawn when was the last time America was invaded en mass to the point a militia was needed?

Don't wrap yourselves in the Constitution like a security blanket.

 

[Rayne]

This thread has out lived it's usefulness, clearly. Of course if people think fucking with the bill of rights is such an easy thing to do would give that idea. Would give a couple of other ideas that would be best dealt with by a doctor....and a therapist.

Cool story, bro. You could have saved a few seconds and contributed the same intellectual content by saying "nuh-uh, lolz".

 

[Beastmode 24]

The Constitution can be changed any time for any legitimate reason. The only question is who would introduce the legislation to change the amendment? Also, do you think that it will honestly happen? Just because something should change, doesn't mean it's going to.

 

[Moon Knight]

Yeah, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution aren't perfect infallible documents. It was written by guys who owned slaves and shit in buckets. Plus the 3rd amendment is the right to kick soldiers out of your home after a war is over. That isn't relevant anymore. I'm fine with people who defend their gun ownership by using the 2nd amendment. That same amendment also says the point of owning firearms is to keep a standing militia in times of war. Outside of Red Dawn when was the last time America was invaded en mass to the point a militia was needed?

Don't wrap yourselves in the Constitution like a security blanket.

This has to be one of the worst takes on the 2nd amendment ever made. Go read about supreme court rulings on the amendment before saying stuff like this.

Lets start with DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA et al. v. HELLER, first determine if is still in legal standing and go from there.

 

[Moon Knight]

The Constitution can be changed any time for any legitimate reason. The only question is who would introduce the legislation to change the amendment? Also, do you think that it will honestly happen? Just because something should change, doesn't mean it's going to.

Don't bother asking and making such statements, may anger some people. And no, it will never happen.

 

[Rayne]

The Constitution can be changed any time for any legitimate reason. The only question is who would introduce the legislation to change the amendment? Also, do you think that it will honestly happen? Just because something should change, doesn't mean it's going to.

Today? Nope. But like I've said, at least half a dozen times now, I'm not looking at things from a 'today' standpoint.

The alternative is to say "aw, it's just too hard to fix", and accept the fact that you are drastically more likely to die by firearm in America than any other industrialized country. Either that, or we figure out just exactly how everyone else in the world is so much better at caring for mental health than we are.

And Moon, don't worry. No one's angry here. We're just a bit sad that a few people are valuing their personal rights more than the lives of 30,000 people per year in this country. It's a bit of a cultural problem we have to work on.

 

[Shotaro]

This has to be one of the worst takes on the 2nd amendment ever made. Go read about supreme court rulings on the amendment before saying stuff like this.

Lets start with DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA et al. v. HELLER, first determine if is still in legal standing and go from there.

Yazloz was right about the first part, when the bill of rights was written that IS what the second amendment was for, but that was 200 years ago and as a result the exact wording may need adjusting to fit with modern times. Maybe whilst you are at it getting laws that ensure that guns purchasable anywhere in the US are for hunting, ban handguns, ban automatic rifles, ban any magazine larger than 10. Make metal and permanently fixed gun cabinets a legal requirement.

The reality of the situation is this, there is a culture in America relating to guns, one that isn't present here in the UK. Horrible things happen, in many ways they can not be avoided - but having a robust mental health system and ensuring that any gun owner gets checked upon every couple of years with a proper nationwide gun license system would surely be a step in the right direction. If someone has a gun and no/the wrong license, then ensure the punishment is bordering on the excessive. Once the culture of idiots keeping guns under their pillows has gone I would wager that gun crime would fall, at least initially, and that the gun crime that does exist would involve criminal organisations.

Also statistics show that having a gun in the house makes almost everything a damn sight more dangerous. You pull a gun on a guy who's breaking into your house what does he have to lose? He has far more to gain by pulling the trigger.

Also as an aside, whoever the fuck came up with the idea of a stand your ground law was a fucking moron. It's basically giving people an excuse to murder someone, it's not "I'll kill you if I have to" it rapidly becomes "I'll kill you if I can find a reason"

EDIT: I should add at this point that I apologise for the ramble-like nature of this post. I literally woke up fifteen minutes ago.

Also, not that it needs saying, but I'll say it anyway since I haven't elsewhere in this thread. What happened is a fucking tragedy.

 

[Moon Knight]

And Moon, don't worry. No one's angry here. We're just a bit sad that a few people are valuing their personal rights more than the lives of 30,000 people per year in this country. It's a bit of a cultural problem we have to work on.

Mhm. I highly doubt even you believe that.



FYI, if you had bothered to read my other comments in better detail on the matter; you would have known the last part of your comment doesn't apply to me. Of course the last time I tried to talk about a deeper all encompassing solution to the problem...You know, dealing with all the causes of gun violence instead of just banning guns and calling it a day...Well, some didn't want to hear it.

So, lets just pretend guns are the only problem and forget the host of problems that lead to it. Because our inability to detect people with mental problems and help them is no big deal.

 

[Shotaro]

Mhm. I highly doubt even you believe that.



FYI, if you had bothered to read my other comments in better detail on the matter; you would have known the last part of your comment doesn't apply to me. Of course the last time I tried to talk about a deeper all encompassing solution to the problem...You know, dealing with all the causes of gun violence instead of just banning guns and calling it a day...Well, some didn't want to hear it.

So, lets just pretend guns are the only problem and forget the host of problems that lead to it. Because our inability to detect people with mental problems and help them is no big deal.

Geez, I'll bite. What are the underlying reasons for violence in your opinion then?

 

[Moon Knight]

Yazloz was right about the first part, when the bill of rights was written that IS what the second amendment was for, but that was 200 years ago and as a result the exact wording may need adjusting to fit with modern times.

Doesn't matter what it meant then, multiple court rulings have challenged and unless the court ruling in my post has been overturned it doesn't mean that anymore. The 2nd amendment has been looked at and the meaning defined. Our constitution isn't just what is written on paper, there are court rulings that define their meanings. Which is what I was trying to get yazloz to look into. These things are not black and white as some seem to think.


And I do hate that stand your ground law, but I also don't like in some areas the criminal has more rights than I do.

 

[Shotaro]

Doesn't matter what it meant then, multiple court rulings have challenged and unless the court ruling in my post has been overturned it doesn't mean that anymore. The 2nd amendment has been looked at and the meaning defined. Our constitution isn't just what is written on paper, there are court rulings that define their meanings. Which is what I was trying to get yazloz to look into. These things are not black and white as some seem to think.


And I do hate that stand your ground law, but I also don't like in some areas the criminal has more rights than I do.

In what sense? The reality of the situation is that a robbery, whilst traumatic emotionally should not have any baring upon your financial situation and standing up to a criminal is likely to be either

A) more traumatic if you shoot and kill a guy who you can look in the eyes when you do it

Or

B) end up with you dead and an assailant who is far more likely to get away with it.

This whole criminals have more rights than me bullshit is just as damaging a rhetoric as claiming that the US doesn't have a cultural and underlying problem with the way that they view guns.

 

[Moon Knight]

Geez, I'll bite. What are the underlying reasons for violence in your opinion then?

..........This is why I don't mention things like that. How in the world can anybody think poverty, poor health care and xenophobia would never lead to violence. For fucks sake dude, we had a guy commit a crime so he could go to jail and get health care. One of the largest Cambodian gangs got started because they were getting jumped in schools, look at the brutal US prison system where being in a gang is almost a requirement?

 

[Rayne]

Mhm. I highly doubt even you believe that.

FYI, if you had bothered to read my other comments in better detail on the matter; you would have known the last part of your comment doesn't apply to me. Of course the last time I tried to talk about a deeper all encompassing solution to the problem...You know, dealing with all the causes of gun violence instead of just banning guns and calling it a day...Well, some didn't want to hear it.

So, lets just pretend guns are the only problem and forget the host of problems that lead to it. Because our inability to detect people with mental problems and help them is no big deal.

Again, cool story, bro. When your opener- and, thus far, the most intellectual comment you've offered- is "cough Bill of Rights", long after that's been addressed, you're not going to find many people interested in reading your posts in any kind of detail.

How about you actually detail your "all encompassing solution", instead of going on a Stormtrooper-esque martyr trip about how people won't respect it? I'm VERY interested in hearing about how every other industrialized country in the world is doing so much better at detecting mental problems than we are.

 

[Rayne]

..........This is why I don't mention things like that. How in the world can anybody think poverty, poor health care and xenophobia would never lead to violence. For fucks sake dude, we had a guy commit a crime so he could go to jail and get health care. One of the largest Cambodian gangs got started because they were getting jumped in schools, look at the brutal US prison system where being in a gang is almost a requirement?

Mmmhmmm. No one in Europe suffers from poverty or ill health. And xenophobia? Unheard of in Europe!

I should detail that the last part of that was dripping with sarcasm, as otherwise, it'd probably go over the head of my intended audience.

And yet again, no one here has been claiming that they are going to stop violence. The idea is to reduce the level of violence that an average person is capable of. More people recover from beatings than they do shootings, even though both are capable of killing you.

 

[Shotaro]

..........This is why I don't mention things like that. How in the world can anybody think poverty, poor health care and xenophobia would never lead to violence. For fucks sake dude, we had a guy commit a crime so he could go to jail and get health care. One of the largest Cambodian gangs got started because they were getting jumped in schools, look at the brutal US prison system where being in a gang is almost a requirement?

I agree with all of your comments. They are sensible underlying issues that have and will continue to contribute to a culture of owning a weapon being a necessary evil, too many Americans feel that the system is against them because, quite frankly, it is. The problem is that in the parts of the country where that is most prominent the Senators and Congressmen seem to prefer to deflect the issues away from the bigots they have to represent because they are a safe vote.

Sadly it is a flaw with Democracy, however it is by far the best option. Mental health should be the primary concern relating to who can and should own a fire arm if an outright ban is either untenable or unenforcable. I signed off on a guys gun license in the UK and the Police came round to interview me to make sure I understood what I had signed and what it meant.

Is OUR system flawless? Fuck no! But it works better than allowing everyone to have guns would. Then again our cultural problems result from a generation of kids raised in a state that tells them they're all special and they're all too good to muddy their hands working in a factory. It leads to them refusing to do those jobs and forcing companies to hire a larger proportion of migrant workers who in turn get accused of stealing the jobs no-one else wants or is willing to do. Youth unemployment is at an all time high here in the UK and instead of allowing people to retire earlier to get them out of the workforce and bringing in the next generation we're forcing them to work until they're 66, 67, 68 by the time I retire I will likely have been working for fifty years after graduating university, a full ten more than the generation before me. Sigh, the UK is just as fucked as the US, difference is we'll be killed by Sloth rather than Avarice.

 

[Shotaro]

Mmmhmmm. No one in Europe suffers from poverty or ill health. And xenophobia? Unheard of in Europe!

I should detail that the last part of that was dripping with sarcasm, as otherwise, it'd probably go over the head of my intended audience.

And yet again, no one here has been claiming that they are going to stop violence. The idea is to reduce the level of violence that an average person is capable of. More people recover from beatings than they do shootings, even though both are capable of killing you.

Actually the xenophobic parts of British Culture are openly mocked in the media, also a large proportion of Europe has either free or state-subsidised health care and has for a significant amount of time, sadly it is one benefit of Obamacare that will not be seen until at least the time the next president is up for re-election. In Western Europe poverty is still there but is mitigated by the fact that no-one is refused help unduly, in fact there are some (extreme admittedly) cases where someone who has never worked is better off than someone on the average wage, at least in the UK. Also because every country in the European Economic Community can travel to and work in any part of the EEC it means that we are drawing on a huge pool of workers for any job and that if people are willing to re-locate (and those in actual poverty almost always are) they can move to where their skills are needed the most and work their way out of it.

 

[Moon Knight]

I agree with all of your comments. They are sensible underlying issues that have and will continue to contribute to a culture of owning a weapon being a necessary evil, too many Americans feel that the system is against them because, quite frankly, it is. The problem is that in the parts of the country where that is most prominent the Senators and Congressmen seem to prefer to deflect the issues away from the bigots they have to represent because they are a safe vote.

The problem is more common with Republicans, they have gotten themselves in position where they need certain votes and have alienated themselves for everybody else. When you get yourself to connected with one group, you become too relied on them and can't get away.

Sadly it is a flaw with Democracy, however it is by far the best option. Mental health should be the primary concern relating to who can and should own a fire arm if an outright ban is either untenable or unenforcable. I signed off on a guys gun license in the UK and the Police came round to interview me to make sure I understood what I had signed and what it meant.

I do agree, it shouldn't have been easy for a guy with history of mental problems to get a gun. From what I heard he killed his mother because she was going to commit him. The issue here is an outright ban is unenforceable, there is almost as many guns here as people and an illegal weapons trade. I am ok with what you said, the main concern for me is with how many guns there are in the USA and the weapons trade, how do you stop the same guy from getting a gun another way?

Is OUR system flawless? Fuck no! But it works better than allowing everyone to have guns would.

This is true, but I live in California and there have been multiple firearm bans here. So I can't really get any gun I want. The USA is huge, so not every state is the same and it maybe easier in Texas than here.

Then again our cultural problems result from a generation of kids raised in a state that tells them they're all special and they're all too good to muddy their hands working in a factory.

Trust me, the USA has the same issue. But it is mostly towards the upper and middle upper class. The lower and middle class still tend to be hard working.

It leads to them refusing to do those jobs and forcing companies to hire a larger proportion of migrant workers who in turn get accused of stealing the jobs no-one else wants or is willing to do.

If you didn't say UK I would have thought you were an American.

Youth unemployment is at an all time high here in the UK and instead of allowing people to retire earlier to get them out of the workforce and bringing in the next generation we're forcing them to work until they're 66, 67, 68 by the time I retire I will likely have been working for fifty years after graduating university, a full ten more than the generation before me. Sigh, the UK is just as fucked as the US, difference is we'll be killed by Sloth rather than Avarice.

The USA is talking seriously about raising the retirement age close to 70. With how high the cost of living and poor job chances, (Hard to maintain work not speaking Spanish) I will be working till the day I die. This comes from the fact I have almost 100k in student loans that with current pay will take me a lifetime to pay off. Sigh. What else can I do but flee to another country? From the sounds of it the UK is in the same boat. I don't mind working, It is just the idea of never being able to retire that bothers me.

 

[Beastmode 24]

Shotaro is a closet American

 

[Shotaro]

The problem is more common with Republicans, they have gotten themselves in position where they need certain votes and have alienated themselves for everybody else. When you get yourself to connected with one group, you become too relied on them and can't get away.

I do agree, it shouldn't have been easy for a guy with history of mental problems to get a gun. From what I heard he killed his mother because she was going to commit him. The issue here is an outright ban is unenforceable, there is almost as many guns here as people and an illegal weapons trade. I am ok with what you said, the main concern for me is with how many guns there are in the USA and the weapons trade, how do you stop the same guy from getting a gun another way?

This is true, but I live in California and there have been multiple firearm bans here. So I can't really get any gun I want. The USA is huge, so not every state is the same and it maybe easier in Texas than here.

Trust me, the USA has the same issue. But it is mostly towards the upper and middle upper class. The lower and middle class still tend to be hard working.

If you didn't say UK I would have thought you were an American.

The USA is talking seriously about raising the retirement age close to 70. With how high the cost of living and poor job chances, (Hard to maintain work not speaking Spanish) I will be working till the day I die. This comes from the fact I have almost 100k in student loans that with current pay will take me a lifetime to pay off. Sigh. What else can I do but flee to another country? From the sounds of it the UK is in the same boat. I don't mind working, It is just the idea of never being able to retire that bothers me.

I was implying the Republicans without outright stating so, but yeah. Sadly the Republican Party (and right wing politics in general) have taken a vast swing towards the extreme in America in recent years, to the point where were the Republicans to move into the UK as is they would be as derided as the British National Party.

No, he shouldn't. The thing that amazes me frankly is the short-sightedness of the NRA in terms of their lack of ability to see the bigger picture, if they come out in favour of stricter gun REGULATION without banning anything then when a crisis like this happens they can be on the right side of the fence in terms of the debate. Imagine the press release:

"The NRA would like to express our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in such tragic circumstances. The NRA has supported the restriction of sale of firearms to those who may present a danger to themselves or others and will await full details of the circumstances surrounding this tragedy before commenting further."

The likelihood would be that the shooter was mentally ill and then boom, they're the good guys. It strikes me that there few Americans in high positions who are politically savvy on a level that extends beyond their own ambitions.

I'm torn between sadness and joy to know that the USA is close to Japan and the UK in terms of having a 'lost generation' of young adults who are unwilling or unable to find work, especially since as this generation ages and bears the next their burden upon the state will be far greater than that of the people who have planned well for their retirement and with (comparatively) minimal assistance from the state can enjoy their twilight years.

Our student loans get written off if we don't pay them by the time we hit retirement age, then again, ours are state-subsidized and I don't know if that is true in the US.

@meeks I can assure you I am not, I may be fat, loud and opinionated but I am most certainly British!

 

[Beastmode 24]

And i still love you anyway.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

And i still love you anyway.

How does it feel to be in the military and not have to fear expressing that love for another man?

 

[Slyfox696]

To provide some clarity,

Japan has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world. According to people like BigDaddyAwesome, there must be a lot of innocent civilians being killed by criminals with guns. Let's see what the facts say:

In 2008, the U.S. had over 12 thousand firearm-related homicides. All of Japan experienced only 11, fewer than were killed at the Aurora shooting alone. And that was a big year: 2006 saw an astounding two, and when that number jumped to 22 in 2007, it became a national scandal. By comparison, also in 2008, 587 Americans were killed just by guns that had discharged accidentally.

Holy shit...

Contrary to the scare tactics by gun owners, having fewer guns doesn't increase the likelihood of criminals killing you with guns.



Just to clarify, the entire country of Japan had less than half the number of deaths by firearms in the entire year of 2008 than Newton, Connecticut had in 30 minutes.

Are you seriously so naive that you think gun owners are uninformed about the product they have?

Considering the number of accidental gun deaths in this country...yes.

I actually knew of a guy who was killed by accidental gunshot. He was pulling the rifle out of the back of his SUV, the trigger caught on something, and the gun blew a hole in his chest. They had thought they had emptied the gun, but apparently they hadn't. He bled out in the arms of what would soon have been his brother-in-law.

And how about the well publicized incident with Dick Cheney? Luckily, the guy didn't die, but are you going to tell me gun accidents don't happen?

You seriously think we don't train and learn?

Do you even know who Dick Cheney is?

Let me guess you think someone just buys a gun and starts carrying it in their pocket with one in the chamber? 9/10 accidental gun deaths are the result of people being stupid, careless, and not respecting their weapon.

So let me see if I have this right.

We have crazy, stupid and careless people with guns in this country, and you're okay with that?

Seriously dude fuck you for even implying

As someone who has seen what an accidental gun death does to people, kindly go fuck yourself. Hell, I still have his initials and basketball number on my basketball shoes from my junior year, in tribute to him and for respect for the assistant basketball coach at the time, who was a very good friend to him, as well as the senior in high school who was the one who held him as he bled out.

let alone directly referring to a weapon as a toy. They are not toys and no one that has ever actually handle one would ever refer to it that way.

It is a toy for you. Don't kid yourself, you use it as a toy.

How many times have you shot it in self-defense? Are you telling me you take no pleasure in going to the shooting range? Are you telling me you don't have that happy feeling when you shoot a deer or a dove, that you simply do it so you can put food on the table?

It's a toy. Just call it what it is. Of course, the difference between this toy and many others is that your toy is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths a year.

I sincerely hope you experience the true fear of hiding under your fucking bed hoping the cops get there soon, because there is an armed criminal rummaging through your shit and you have no way to defend yourself. Oh, shit now he's in your room and he starts to look under the bed... What now?

So in order to convince me we should have guns in this country, you want me to be terrorized by a gun toting assailant.

Quit saying such stupid fucking things.

I guess I'm just crazy

We finally agree on something.

Nine out of ten (would like a source on this, as I suspect it's made up) accidental shootings are a result of someone being stupid? I'm pretty sure I don't want that many stupid people possessing firearms.

What's funny is he actually thought this was a point being made in his favor.

I was generalizing, but isn't accidental gun death stupid in nature?

So is allowing an instrument which is manufactured for the sole purpose of shooting people.

How come no one ever blames the knife after a stabbing?

Because a knife has many other potential uses than for stabbing people. A handgun and assault rifle's sole purpose is to shoot people.

Are you really this dense?

It was the same day.

But it really is the root of the problem. When a gun falls into the wrong hands, people go apeshit over it.

But when people die of obesity no one is asking to regulate spoon control because they ate too much ice cream.

Because if you die of obesity, you do so because you chose to eat too much. When those children in Newton Connecticut died, they did so because someone else made the choice for them.

Completely different.

If stupid people with firearms were only killing themselves, I wouldn't have a problem with firearms. If that were the case, I'd be actively promoting them.

x10

Looked this up and seems these are on the rise in China and the one on Friday is the only one in which children didn't die. Seems to be the exception not the rule.

So, let me see if I have your position correct...

Because children were stabbed and only sometimes killed in China with a knife, we should let American children be shot to death?

Is that really what you're advocating?

The only thing is that we're not talking about adding a law. We're talking about changing an amendment.

False, we're talking about changing the INTERPRETATION of an amendment, which is far easier, and many times can be based upon public preference.

Do me a favor. Pull up a copy of the Constitution and tell me if you can find the words "gun" or "firearm" or "pistol" or any other reference to a specific gun in the Constitution. I could be wrong, but I don't believe you'll find it.

The 2nd Amendment only says "right to bear Arms". It never once specifies which Arms, nor does it say citizens have the right to bear any Arms they wish to possess.

*cough*Bill of Rights*cough*

*cough* Makes no specific mention of guns. Oh, and let's not forget that whole "well regulated militia" clause like the Supreme Court did. *cough*

This thread has out lived it's usefulness, clearly. Of course if people think fucking with the bill of rights is such an easy thing to do would give that idea. Would give a couple of other ideas that would be best dealt with by a doctor....and a therapist.

Except, we don't have to fuck with the Bill of Rights, only the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. It doesn't require a single change.

This has to be one of the worst takes on the 2nd amendment ever made. Go read about supreme court rulings on the amendment before saying stuff like this.

Lets start with DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA et al. v. HELLER, first determine if is still in legal standing and go from there.

You unintentionally proved my point.

DC vs. Heller was COMPLETELY about interpretation of the Amendment. They took the existing language and extended it beyond what is written. Don't tell me it cannot swing back the other way.

Mhm. I highly doubt even you believe that.

FYI, if you had bothered to read my other comments in better detail on the matter; you would have known the last part of your comment doesn't apply to me. Of course the last time I tried to talk about a deeper all encompassing solution to the problem...You know, dealing with all the causes of gun violence instead of just banning guns and calling it a day...Well, some didn't want to hear it.

So, lets just pretend guns are the only problem and forget the host of problems that lead to it. Because our inability to detect people with mental problems and help them is no big deal.

No one disagrees we should address the other issues as well. And that's the point, we all agree on that, so why bother to continue discussing it?

 

[Remy LaCroix]

The alternative is to say "aw, it's just too hard to fix", and accept the fact that you are drastically more likely to die by firearm in America than any other industrialized country.

I was at a party and a thug offered to share a joint of dro with me, I just had to roll it for his lazy ass. Whilst rolling, another thug came up and showed us his sweet-looking weed. This led to the thugs casually debating over who had the better weed, and two minutes later I was right next to an friendly debate-turned-awkward shouting match. Me and my people left to the other side of the house, walked maybe twenty feet from the scene, until we heard one of the thugs fire a gun. Nobody was hurt, so I believe it was only to scare the other thug... just so they can win a fucking shouting match. I did manage to unknowingly pocket the weed, so...winning? Yeah, winning!

What's the point of me sharing this experience? Well, I hear about gun-related violence on the local news every day. Having been literally in the eye of the storm, I'm not comfortable with this life-or-death equalizer being in the hands of the common folk, trained or not, even for a so-called "sense of security" that can still go awry wrong. I'm emigrating to Japan in the future, and before anyone says I'm overreacting, the firearms issue isn't the sole reason for me wanting to leave. But the hard-on our country has for firearms and hearing rounds go off while lying in bed at night sure as hell don't give me peace of mind.