Extreme Overkill: anti-gun editorial in my local paper...

[MikePGS]

Sure hope this putney guy doesn't buy a car soon. Everyone knows he'll want to drive it as fast as he can, do hairpin turns, and crash into walls just for the fun of it.

 

[macadore]

If we are going to restrict the Second Amendment, should we also restrict the First? Should people only be allowed to attend churches approved by the government? Should the government be able, at a whim, to approve or ban certain types of churches?

 

[akodo]

Mr Putney writes:

"When people buy or are given something new — a color printer, scanner, cell phone, food processor — they want to use it."

I recently bought Life Insurance, I sure don't want to use that right away!

Same thing with my car insurance and fire extinguisher. I bought my life insurance after my neighbor got into a serious car accident in his driveway involving a drunk driver. The car is being repaired, and the autobody shop will surely put in a new airbag. I wonder if my neighbor will be inclined to use it right away... Oh wait, I guess if he wants to use an airbag, he can just visit Mr Putney

 

[TEDDY]

collecting guns.

gov license guns of the mg class.thompsons go for $15000 and up. very good investment.
doubt dealer was sell in live mg.ask him how you fire a plastic gun with no moving parts.

 

[h0ss]

Thanks for responding, guys. I like the latest version of the response that bogie helped me with, but i also like the first collaboration that we did that was a little longer. The one mentioning the first amendment at the end of the article. Im not sure. I might change the first one up a little, and add/delete/change certain things. Im not sure. I have kind of a busy week starting tomorrow, so i hope i have time to do what i need to do.

 

[bogie]

Take 5-10 minutes at a shot at it - no more. Then fire it to me. I'll take a look at it if I'm not busy with my porno and Frito-Lay Cheetos and Paula Abduhl videos...

Damn, but this "apathy" thing is kinda fun.

Primary thing to remember is to keep it simple - us couch-bound proletarians have short attention spans.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Secondly, Mr. Putney focuses on the use of hollow-point ammunition as a sign that the only uses of firearms are criminal. Hollow-points do an excellent job of stopping a threat or an animal in their legal uses. According to the 1995 ATF report, there were 223,000,000 guns in private hands. Not many of the "toys" that are begging to get used are getting used in crimes. More importantly, there are more DGUs per year than violent crimes.

Good point.

I wonder if Mr. Putney is aware that his local police undoubtedly carry the dreaded hollow-point bullets.

 

[bogie]

Those are magic hollow-point bullets. They're made of silver and they're used to stop the vampires and werewolves which roam suburbia, occasionally making off with a poodle, a cat, or a skinny-dipping neighbor.

 

[ZeSpectre]

"Primary thing to remember is to keep it simple - us couch-bound proletarians have short attention s....."

Uh, whut? I lost track of whut you was sayin <grin>.

 

[bogie]

Send it to me in PM. I don't feel like doing it in public. That might educate a few of the folks who maintain that "concealed is concealed" and we wouldn't want to chance that happening.

Remember, when you do nothing, it feels like... nothing.

Yawn. Whereza remote... Almost 8:00... Maybe... Hmm... Probably happy hour somewhere... Gotta go to the store, buy some Doritos...

 

[h0ss]

Well, my morning is starting to look up

I was about to jump on THR and check this thread, but first decided to check the my local papers online site to see if anything else interesting popped up in the letters to the editor section. Lo and behold, i find this little beauty written by a man who also did not like what Mr. Putney had to say about the Tommy gun. It makes me feel a whole lot better inside to know i am not the only one who decided to take action about that. Maybe i am not the only pro-gunner surrounded by anti's.

I read it and i must say, i do not think i could have said it better myself. Bravo, Mr. Decker.



http://www.benningtonbanner.com/letters/ci_9166267

Letters
Article Launched: 05/06/2008 03:23:54 AM EDT



Tuesday, May 6
Fight crime, not
ownership of guns

I read with interest the column by Charles Putney in Friday's Banner. Mr. Putney expounds upon his feelings about the usefulness of a gun called the Tommy Gun. While the gun he refers to is a famous weapon dating from the 1920s, the fully automatic, legally owned, registered, versions of such are very expensive, very hard to find, and about never used in crime.

The semi-automatic versions are actually legal to own and are absolutely no different in operating principles from the semi-automatic shotgun or rifles so many take afield in search of game, every day, in this state. The semi-automatic shotguns and rifles used by hunters are one shot per trigger pull, as are all of the so-called, but wrongly named, semi-automatic assault weapons.

An assault weapon is, by definition, a full automatic gun, capable of multiple shots per single pull of the trigger. A full automatic Tommy Gun typically costs well upwards of $15,000 and requires much governmental paperwork and background checks to acquire and own and are very difficult to obtain. A criminal has no qualms about what he owns or uses and certainly does not check the laws before


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he plans his next foray into crime.
The civilian versions of the military weapons that are currently in use are used for hunting with a 5-round magazine, target shooting, etc., and are no more evil than the Humvees so popular on the road today that are just the same type of replica of military machinery. Simply because something looks like a military item does not make it bad. Certainly, much of what we take for granted in everyday life has it's roots in military use and development.

As far as semi automatic versions of the Tommy Gun are concerned, they are not typically used for hunting, but are collected, used for recreational target shooting, and are totally legal to own. The capacity of the magazine really has no relation to the dangerousness factor of a particular weapon, as it has been proven time and again that it is the wrongmindedness of the person using any gun that is the wild card.

The whole point of this issue is not to villlainize a particular weapon type, but to better understand why people snap and commit crimes. To simply decide that a category of weapon is evil will most certainly not reduce crime, as it is the very nature of criminals to do what they want, regardless of what laws are placed in their path.

Laws regarding firearms only regulate the law abiding gun owner and have nothing to do with crime. Indeed, the very fact that there are so many lawful gun owners in this state certainly does have to do with our low crime rate. However, it is typically the "feel good" factor that so influences what our legislators try to pass, added to the fact that they can pat themselves on the back so much more easily than if they spent their time on the really thorny issues they so willfully bypass.

No, hunters don't "need" Tommy Guns, but neither does the lawful populace of this country need to have a legislator decide for us what we should and shouldn't legally own. What we do need is to have the legislators make crime painful and punish it when encountered, not turn their backs on it because the poor misfortunate wretch that committed the crime got the judge to feel sorry for them.

Mr. Putney needs to better determine what he is actually writing about before he disparages something. Yes, guns can be purchased on the Internet, but they still must be shipped to a federally licensed dealer in the buyer's state for final transfer to the intended buyer.

Every sale has to pass an FBI background check before any transfer of ownership is made. You can buy lots of things on the Internet, but guns have many laws governing their sale. I feel that all of those who find the energy to jump on the antigun bandwagon should better put their efforts to work taking our legislators to task to fight crime, and not fight legal ownership of an inanimate object by lawful citizens.

TOM DECKER

Readsboro

 

[h0ss]

Now i am not sure whether to continue this one that i started to let them know the opposition to gun control is strong, or maybe send in a letter to compliment Mr. Decker's letter thanking him and backing him up? Or should i let it be?

 

[archigos]

He talks about the "needs of hunters" then jumps to attack the Second Amendment based on that fact that submachine guns aren't practical for killing deer. Perhaps somebody needs a little reminder of what the purpose of the Second Amendment is and what war our nation just fought when it was ratified.

 

[archigos]

Sure hope this putney guy doesn't buy a car soon. Everyone knows he'll want to drive it as fast as he can, do hairpin turns, and crash into walls just for the fun of it.

I test drive every vehicle on a sidewalk before buying it.

 

[h0ss]

It's funny, i found an old paper from March (5th i believe) 2008 around the house this morning, and just for fun i turned to the editorial section and there just happened to be another editorial advocating more gun control. Blasting the federal government for not clamping down tighter. I couldn't believe it. I guess there is enough transplants down here in southern Vermont now that they see there are a bunch just like them and are starting to get all rowdy with their anti-gun garbage.

 

[akodo]

More importantly, there are more DGUs per year than violent crimes

what is a DGU?

 

[MakAttak]

what is a DGU?

I had to think about it.

Defensive Gun Use.

 

[trinydex]

what's wrong with using a tommy gun? just use it in the right place with responsibility, just like alcohol, masturbation, internet games etc.