New Zealander here with no idea why firearms seems to cultivate such a degree of respect. There's nothing to be respected about a tool that's sole purpose of ending the life of another human.
EDIT: Apologies. I realise how much of an over generalisation this statement is. Seems rather silly in hind sight.
[i]"I've not ever heard a positive story or circumstance involving a fire arm."[/i]
English
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Trapshooting is my passion
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So I genuinely wasn't expecting such an interesting and passionate response. In some cases it seem more like a common example of forum based 'hating' in others I can see very valid arguments...... however none really touch on what I intended to get across with the original post. I can accept a gun as a tool primarily with sporting events and hunting in mind. So in the interest of making it more clear I'd like to reiterate the comment and ideally generate some more discussion. "What is is about fire arms that cultivates this seemingly innate respect that the OP was giving fire arm owners? Is cultural value? Some intrinsic value I am unaware of? Make it clear to me. Is obtaining a fire arm really that difficult legally in the US?"
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Edited by Jeep Driver: 10/13/2015 9:42:58 PMThe respect referred to in OP opening statement, in my opinion, requires clarification. It does seem odd to respect someone, as OP implies, simply because they own a firearm. That said, I have personally witnessed rude and childish behavior being exhibited by firearm owners both with and without a weapon in their immediate possession. Therefore, and as a firearm owner, I will offer that simply owning a firearm does not inherently heap respect upon the owner (or the holder of such). Rather, respect is something that is earned, hopefully not at the point of a gun. Finally, no, it is not that difficult to own a firearm legally in the US. Obtaining a fully automatic weapon is still possible but can be very expensive.
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Thank you for clarifying. Well said.
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It doesn't nessacarily need to be used to end someone elses life Its really meant to end anything of you choosing
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The death of Osama bin Ladin was from a gun. Osama bin Ladin was a terrorist leader who was responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks and over 3,000 deaths using only two airplanes.
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Yah but that was the military it's kinda different
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Edited by ViralEnsign: 10/13/2015 7:47:13 PMYou kind of put me in a logical and moral bind there.
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How's that for positive
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Hunting
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[quote]Hunting[/quote]
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A firearm is used to PROTECT lives.
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It doesn't surprise me you don't understand considering a New Zealander's sole purpose is to -blam!- sheep.
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An oldie but a goodie that one despite having heard it before. XD
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I must politely disagree. There are many cases in the US where a firearm is used for self defense. There are even some cases where a firearm is used for defense and the weapon is never fired (the threat of potential use of the weapon was sufficient to stop the crime). In the city of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, just last evening, three armed robbers forced their way into a private home. The home owner responded correctly by killing one of the three attackers. Sadly, the would be thieves are the ones who created this situation. The other two remain at large.
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Should check out the American Rifleman and in one of the first sections is a listing of some cases where firearms were used to saved law abiding citizens. Can't remember the name of that particular section but it is there. There are stories of 90 year old grandmas who managed to not get robbed and/or beaten because they were armed.
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Armed Citizen
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Positive story- My dad wakes up and hears people coming in the house, grabs the shotgun puts 3 shells in and simply pumps the shotgun to put one in the chamber. The dude jumps THROUGH the storm door to get out.
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What a stupid comment, the sole purpose of guns is not to kill people. Hell, op even said one of his .22 pistols is a target pistol so try and guess what it's sole purpose is?............No, it's shootin pieces of paper and metal silhouettes. Try thinking before posting dude.
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Psh you're probably a back line player A true packie would know that owning a gun is awesome
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Sole purpose is to end another person's life? Have you never heard of hunting, clay pigeons, reactive targets, paper targets, and blanks?
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Only fools respect someone for owning a firearm. In the United States (provided you aren't a felon) it takes nothing more than time and money in order to own a firearm. Only fools think a firearm's sole purpose is to end the life of another human being. In fact a firearm's sole purpose isn't even to take a life. Some firearms are never even meant to be fired, They are showpieces collected for their historical value, beauty, or personal significance. Some firearms are used for sport, some are used for recreation, some people use guns to hunt. The sheer ignorance of the statement "a gun's sole purpose it to kill another human being" is mind boggling. I would consider myself aware of and exposed to guns by the age of 6. For 15 years now I have been around guns and seen them used a lot of different ways, and used them a lot of different ways, but never have a seen someone shoot another person. I've never even seen someone accidentally hurt by a gun. As for never hearing of a situation where a fun was a good thing, did you try googling it? It would take you 10 seconds to find a story about someone who successfully used a firearm in defense of their own life or the life of a loved one. I'm not arguing that firearms have never been the source of pain and grief and suffering, but saying a gun's sole purpose is to kill people is about the same as saying fire's sole purpose is to burn houses.
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Edited by V TheDeciever: 10/13/2015 3:02:01 PMThank you
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I would argue that you need a global perspective. Please google a political scientist named Rummel. In the last century, 262 million people were killed by their own governments. This number does not count war, rebellion, or other armed conflict, but instead what are commonly understood to be crimes against humanity. The vast majority of these atrocities were done in countries with strict arms control. In comparison, using the likely inflated Brady campaign gun death numbers, (and extrapolating for a lack of data pre-1935), if the entire world had the US's gun problems, the death toll would be less than 20% of that. Obviously the issue is very complex. But the US's founding fathers saw something important in creating a culture and common expectation that Americans would not be at the mercy of their government; rather the Federalist papers make clear the opposite. I do not pretend, as an American, that my country does not have problems, but I do think our problems are lesser than most because we chose to do things different.