gun question - I would like to understand this
 

ok, this is a gunuine question, I would like to try to understand this, and I promise not to argue or point out if I disagree with your position.

some body on one of the gun threads wrote about wanting to "excersize" his second ammendment rights - sort of carrying a gun to protect the right to carry a gun, I guess. does that extend to other rights? should we all excersize our right to free speech by standing in public and saying a lot of stupid hateful things? is that equally patriotic? what about abortion? there seems to be a right to have abortion, I don't think that abortion is a good thing, but I am glad that there is a right to access of legal abortions. should I get an abortion every few years, to excersize the constitutional right?

on AAAC, there seems to be a feeling that the very act of having a huge number of citizens carrying guns in the US makes the US safe from everything. honestly, this seems to me to be magical thinking - I can't see any rational thought behind this at all. sort of like believing that if we pray that the rains will come, as far as I can see. can anybody explain this to me (and, not by explaining how 100,000 middle aged untrained men with pearl handled 45's are going to stop a column of tanks, that is not rational reasoning, I mean the concept that the very existance of firearms makes the world a better place)


thank you

I think that is just an in your face kind of reaction to feeling infringed upon by the govt. It is not all people, but a very human reaction to put up a flag when feeling challenged. In otherwords, it's human nature. Is that person really going to wear a gun just to make a statement. Who knows? If a law against public fornication was lifted, would more people go out and screw in the park at lunchtime? Probably not, but there would be those that would exercise that right, should there be threats of removing it. Basically, people do not like being told they can't do something and when that right is threatened, they tend to rise to the threat.
I simply think gun ownership can help keep a balance. Like most things, everyone doing it is not a good idea. Frankly, I think some people should not be allowed to drive. I think some people are too stupid to vote (that one should get a rise), I think some people should not reproduce.
Gun ownership is the same. Not all people are best suited for a gun. However, there are measures in place to try to regulate it to some degree. Typically, good, responsible people follow the rules and the bad guys don't. When the good responsible people begin feeling as thought he Govt. is going to limit their right even more, when doing little to effect the ownership of guns by the bad guys, then they get antsy and some begin talk of circling the wagons. People look at guns often as their last line of defense, against others, be they bad guys or an overbearing govt. When there is talk of taking this away (an amendment), people get very antsy because it has longer reaching implications that don't bode well for individual freedoms.
Anyway, as to guns making the world a better place. All I can do is offer a few hypotheticals and recent histories. If I am in a crowd of people, and getting bumped around, and I am aware that 50% of the people there have guns on them...., I am much more likely to be polite and forgiving. I bet you would too. Likewise, even up until the 1940's, many everyday citizens carried firearms on their person or kept them nearby. (we were not that far removed from settling the west, the civil war and world wars. As a result, there was a much more gentile nature to people's communications even amongst strangers. You were far less likely to speak poorly to someone, insult them, attempt to take advantage of people or behave in a confrontational way if you assumed that person was armed. (and people rightfully assumed this back then). It's common sense. Research a town in GA called Kennesaw. Everyone is to own a gun (legally) and their crime rate is almost non existent. Says something. I have a concealed weapons license because in the past my work required I be prepared to protect myself. I grew up with guns in my home for the same reason. Having that extra insurance has caused me to keep calm in some sticky situations much better than going into flight or fight mode. Most people that legally possess firearms are the last people to brandish them or use them.