just wondering, as i'm here in "no gun" canada. do you have one, do you want one, do you think people should have them? i'm always surprised to find out that rawbies and other healthyish people use make up and hairspray and pinesol so i'm prepared to be shocked by your answers.

I don't have a gun, but I understand why people want the option of owning a gun.

I have mixed feelings over it.

Here's an interesting story:
[www.worldnetdaily.com]

I'm not telling if I have a gun or not, because when there is 'gun-control' and regular people are not allowed to have guns, and the 'bad guys' (Or government) know it, people are sitting ducks just waiting to be victimized. All the bad guys will be able to get a gun or use some other means of violence when they know their victim is unarmed.

It's been proven that gun control does not work -- like in D.C. Where there's gun control, there's more crime.

I definitely believe that 'gun control' is un-Constitutional, and we all should have the right to own guns if we so choose.

Un light of the current crackdowns I dont think you will hear from those who do.

elnatural

Gun Owners Hardly Bitter

[armsandthelaw.com]

(Alan, I thought you said you weren't going to 'talk Politics' on the board anymore???)

Thanks, coco, for bringing up this exciting issue

guns aren't allowed here and our crime rate is a small fraction of that in the US. gun control is working pretty darn great in this country. i do think that the whole attitude difference around guns and crime here is part of that though. no guns = no gun consciousness. it's good.

I don't have one and I don't want one. I have big dogs and a baseball bat .

ohhhhhh loooiiiiiiiiiiiis.............

There is nothing politcal at all by someone asking another if they own any item that is not against the law!

I have done exactly as i said I would!

By aksking this dumb blond, silly, time wasting, non apllicalbe, question are you still claiming to be my boss? ahhahaha LOL LOL LOL lOL

elnatural : )

this is an extraordinarily complicated issue

and deserves to be dissected on many fronts

the obvious has been pointed out and perhaps that is enough

but perhaps it isn't

You'll shoot your eye out kid.

I've never even touched a gun!

If you believe in conspiracy theories, you may feel you should fear for your life when "all hell breaks loose," but as for now, I think things are okay.

Protection is good, but scary in my own opinion.

I think you should definately own a gun, if you intend to kill things or at least inflict critical harm. I am aware of the forcefull measures being used and put into place by the people with the power but in my own view, one cannot win a war by fighting it.

This is easy to say, but I believe the answer to violence is compassion, not more voilence.

whatever happened to those things you see in the movies

they are those zapperoo things that momentarily immobilize a person for a few seconds

some electric bolt just emanates from the little device

that way, a life is spared and the person can run away from their assailant

this seems to be a lot less karmic debt to deal with than the gun thing

okay, i think they are called Taser or something like that

not sure if they are legal or what?

Maybe it's time for me to invent something. A non lethal deterent.

elnatural

I wouldn't mind having a taser, or even pepper spray. I saw a man shoot a man in the eyes with pepper spray and he went down, to the ground, quickly. I want it mostly for protection against pit bulls.

A new extreemly bright led flashlight came out that blinds people. Public is not supposed to get them but should be easy to make one.

I believe I have also seen plans for making a sonic device. The light combined with the sonic and maybe even peper spray in the same device would be very effective.

elnatural

any weapon you can hold in your hand can be taken away from you and used against you. usually a person who is willing to attack someone is willing to be viscious too, i wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of my own pepper spray or a blinding laser. the potential for misuse is too great as well. personally, i would opt for martial arts training if i was so inclined.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2008 10:26PM by coco.

coco
why would you be shocked that people want to defend themsevles. Are you saying to all men "come and get me"?

elnatural

coco said that martial arts is her first choice for self defense

this means that she is in favor of defending one's life and holds it in high value

Sorry but I think there are few womeon who can defend themselves by physical means only against a guy that is bigger, heavier, and stronger. If you arent strong enough to hold onto a and keep your weapon then you wont be able to do anything else either.

elnatural

plans for making a sonic device

[www.futurehorizons.net]

elnatual

martial arts works on the principles of balance and coordination, even a small person can easily overwhelm a larger, stronger person using a few techniques. you don't have to be arnold, you just have to be trained well. and even arnold has been known to lose control of his pistol on occasion.

i am not against defending oneself if that is what someone feels they want to do, i am just shocked at the mind set, the consciousness that creates that reality where it does not even neccessarily exist. violence is rampant in your gun-happy country. ever wonder why there is so little of that in your peace-keeping neighbourhood to the north? everyone is not armed to the gills up here just waiting in anticipation of an invasion. you must be so highstrung, all sitting about with your guns at the ready, just a-waitin' for the inevitable attack.
and, hello, not having a gun is not the same as saying to all men "come and get me". it's saying, or thinking, i don't have anything to fear, i don't have any reason to think someone is going to target me, i am safe. i think having a gun is the opposite of that, THAT to me is like saying to all men "come and get me".
i see this "everyone must have a gun" mentality as a ploy by the government to keep people in a fear based mindset that distracts them from what else is going on around them. "gotta invade that country, weapons of mass distruction, terrorism (shh, don't mention the oil, ha ha ha!)". it's sick. "you gotta have a gun, there's so much crime (pay no attention to that man behind the curtain)".

ever read any jane roberts/seth books, the nature of personal reality? if you think you need a gun, you will probably need a gun. if you think you are safe without one, you probably are.

Good discussion. It takes a lot to make me de-lurk these days! Both sides of the gun argument have virtuous merit and hopeless flaws.

Beloved Coco wrote: no guns = no gun consciousness.

Is human consciousness that much influenced by an inanimate object?

inspirit - aka coolkarma

Ghandi took India back from Britain without a single bullet...

WWI started with a single bullet, which lead to WWII...

Guns have only one purpose and many intents, none of which I want to be on either end of.

I do not own a gun. My personal opinion is that it is FAR more likely that such a weapon would be more of a danger to me.....and that FAR outweighs any likelihood that I would ever use it.

-I am firmly in the camp that folks should be legally able to own them in their home.

-For my own part, I find the danger of owning one to outweigh the rather remote possibility that some one is coming to come into my home while I'm there. If I'm NOT there....and they go through the effort to bypass my minimal security....they are welcome to that crap.

-The bottom line for me is that 99.999% of ANY conflict that would require violence can be readily avoided in either preparation or at the point of conflict (if necessary). So: the goal of ANY martial artist/general should be to not even be there when the blow lands.....and to move quickly away from any battle-site that some other enemy has chosen for you.

-Just my take.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

David,
You are so sensible. I agree with your take.
sunshine

DMZ,

<<So: the goal of ANY martial artist/general should be to not even be there when the blow lands.....and to move quickly away from any battle-site that some other enemy has chosen for you.>>

however if such an unsavory situation could not be avoided and one finds oneself in close quarters with no escape, it would behoove oneself to know how to fight in close contact. Knowing how to defend oneself in all situations is not mutually exclusive from owning a gun. It just means that you have a wider spectrum of choices to defend yourself with.

I hear you LaV. It's like saying: "What is you were FORCED onto a desert island....with nothing to eat but pizza....." It's such a highly unlikely situation. I agree with people certainly having the right to own a weapon....but in my personal life I only use them on the range - and not in my own home.....as I find that danger to be more real and likely (the likelihood of the gun being used on ME....heh....heh.) I mean really. I mean even when I lived in Miami, I would wager the number of gun accidents....or cases where people are shot with their own gun....FAR outweigh the number of times a homeowner successfully 'defended' their home with a gun. You know? Just my take/opinion.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

i am living near the can/us border now so we get the american news here. sometimes i keep the tv on for noise, i don't really watch it but every now and then i notice the news is on and have to shut it off. i can't handle the stories of gun violence in schools especially but the ones that kill me are the stories of children killing themselves of their siblings with daddy's gun. there was one just last month, it's too horrible to even imagine.

I know what you mean, coco.

I think guns are bad news. Only bad things can come from them. I have shot them at targets and I was good at it and it was fun, but there are more things that are much more fun for me.

Is protecting yourself a "God" given natural instinct? Should we all be like Ghandi and let people beat us? Would we be more enlightened from that way of thinking? It is my deep, innate response to protect myself Physically. Does that mean I should pull out a gun and kill them? I know if someone broke in my house right now and I thought shooting them would stop them from doing bad things to us I wouldn't hesitate and I don't think I would feel "wrong" about it after. It is a conflict because all life is precious to me.