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Politics : The 2nd Amendment-- The Facts........ -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: go4it who wrote (91)	6/29/1998 1:58:00 AM
From: Dayuhan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10167

You're right about the problem of handling responsibility. I just worry about this perception that gun owners are either "good" - those who use guns for self defense or recreation only, or "bad" - those who acquire guns intending to use them for criminal purposes. I think an awful lot of guns bought for positive reasons end up being used for negative ones. Only wish I knew, short of reforming society, what to do about it. One solution, which I know is impractical, is based on the observation that people skilled in the use of firearms virtually never abuse them (as opposed to the yoyo who buys a pistol and 50 rounds, sticks it in the drawer, and forgets about it until he's in a tantrum). Maybe people who buy guns shouldn't be allowed to take them home without completing a basic test of knowledge and skills. Yes, I know, it wouldn't be possible, but I almost wish it was. There are just so many damned horror stories... I read of a guy who was "cleaning" his gun, fired a round through the ceiling and killed his own daughter. You and I both know that you CAN'T clean a loaded gun - the rod & patch won't go through the chamber. So what was the idiot doing? Playing with it? Practicing Rambo-poses in front of his mirror? Granted, collective discipline is the problem. But is there any way to at least make it more difficult for the totally undisciplined to acquire deadly weapons? I don't know the answer. Wish I did. On the subject of school shootings, I have to wonder about the parents, and not just in terms of allowing access to guns and ammunition. I have a hard time believing, as a parent, that a teenager could reach the point of blowing away classmates without a parent noticing that something was amiss. Maybe I'm wrong. But it's hard to believe. I know this is chaotic. But I really feel that this problem is a lot more complex than people at either end of the spectrum seem to acknowledge, and that both extremes - total restriction and total freedom - are mistakes. Steve