This why the U.S needs to get rid of guns.

[Lootifer]

Cool it down fellas. No need for the personal insults.

[hotfire]

i cant think of any socially responsible reason for a Michigan man to own a rifle...that is a puzzler
http://www.michigan.gov/msp/0,4643,7-123-64773_22760-95455--,00.html
http://www.iiminfo.org/CONSUMERS/DeerCrashes/tabid/1722/Default.aspx
but yes he should be responsible and own a gun safe especially with children around who like to hide under beds etc

[Symmetry]

i cant think of any socially responsible reason for a Michigan man to own a rifle...that is a puzzler
http://www.michigan.gov/msp/0,4643,7-123-64773_22760-95455--,00.html
http://www.iiminfo.org/CONSUMERS/DeerCrashes/tabid/1722/Default.aspx
but yes he should be responsible and own a gun safe especially with children around who like to hide under beds etc

I just assumed Detroit was kind of a hole when it came to awful Americans with guns. Turns out Bambi's mum was the villain all along.

[Gweeedo]

Quote: Legalize all drugs and make them taxable, this would fix so many problems to do with guns. End quote.

Besides Drugs (war on drugs) already being a big (huge) money maker.
Trading a gun problem (minor in comparison) for a even bigger drug problem?

No matter how realistic you might think this is; it is highly improbable.

What particular attributes are we suppose to be referring too the gun problem; example: why did Grandpa need a gun. Is that even relevant?
A gun misfire; this is not a problem!

I do not remember guns even being an issue, up until the Columbine Massacre‎.
Might I add...if it hadn't been blasted all over the news for months on end, maybe others would not have the desire (knowledge) to try and top it.

Fact is, if the (for the most part; School) Massacres could be dealt with...there would no longer be a ''Gun problem''.
Of course the (any) Government does not want its Citizens to be armed.

Outlawing guns would be a major feat in itself.
You have (50)state Law, federal Law, and the courts to contend with.
Same thing with legalizing drugs.
State might say OK drugs are legal...Feds walk in the next day and seize all your drugs and arrest you.
Good luck with that.

Happy days

[Symmetry]

Fact is, if the (for the most part; School) Massacres could be dealt with...there would no longer be a ''Gun problem''.

Erm... you sure about that statement?

[patrickaa317]

Quote: Legalize all drugs and make them taxable, this would fix so many problems to do with guns. End quote.

Does this include all prescription drugs as well?

[thegreekdog]

Quote: Legalize all drugs and make them taxable, this would fix so many problems to do with guns. End quote.

Besides Drugs (war on drugs) already being a big (huge) money maker.
Trading a gun problem (minor in comparison) for a even bigger drug problem?

What's the "even bigger drug problem?"

I suspect, although I haven't done the research, that less people are killed by drugs they aren't themselves using than people killed by guns they aren't themselves using.

Also, if you're going to respond to me, use the quote function.

Fact is, if the (for the most part; School) Massacres could be dealt with...there would no longer be a ''Gun problem''.

Erm... you sure about that statement?

I think he's probably correct. Not many politicians care about people getting killed in inner city Detroit on a daily basis. But kill some rich white kids in Connecticut? WE NEED GUN CONTROL NOW (but not handguns, which kill more people than assault weapons)!

[Gweeedo]

You might as well look in another direction.
I really think guns are untouchable (as far as ridding them from America as a whole).

When calamity hits (New Orleans), there is looting, raping and all kinds of crime.
If you take guns out of the picture, Mayhem might just intensify...victims less capable of self-defense, and criminals (even the ordinary Joe) will become even more Brazen (bold).
The Police are not going to help (there is no police).
I'll keep my Gun; thank you very much.

New Delhi; Women are Purchasing guns by the thousands (paying big bucks).

Taking guns away is not going to fix the problem...it might create more problems.
So now they have Metal detectors and armed Police in Schools.
They are working on stiffer penalties; to insure that gun owners keep their guns locked up (safe)..away from kids.

We are on the right track...you must be disillusioned from your delusional beliefs on guns.
It must seem like the old west, to some of you. It is in our blood.

It is fitting; The greatest notion on Earth having the right to bare arms.
We will take care of our problems. Thanks for your concern.
You need not concern yourself. It is not your choice. We choose to have guns...that's how the Duke would of done it!

We are not bothered by others lambasting America.
We know that you all refer to Americans as being stupid. Fact is we are no more stupid than the rest of the world.
Only reason we are stigmatized with stupidity is because we are the world leader. We set the course.
We have a picture of what we want the world to be and we go for it.
You, as our little brother; have little say about it, we listen...but America has ultimate say.

We do make plenty of mistakes and we are far from perfect. Someday the tide will turn and others will rule the roost.
For now it is America.

There is nothing new under the sun.
What was will be again. what is has been done before...nothing new.

[BigBallinStalin]

Quote: Legalize all drugs and make them taxable, this would fix so many problems to do with guns. End quote.

Besides Drugs (war on drugs) already being a big (huge) money maker.
Trading a gun problem (minor in comparison) for a even bigger drug problem?

No matter how realistic you might think this is; it is highly improbable.

What particular attributes are we suppose to be referring too the gun problem; example: why did Grandpa need a gun. Is that even relevant?
A gun misfire; this is not a problem!

I do not remember guns even being an issue, up until the Columbine Massacre‎.
Might I add...if it hadn't been blasted all over the news for months on end, maybe others would not have the desire (knowledge) to try and top it.

Fact is, if the (for the most part; School) Massacres could be dealt with...there would no longer be a ''Gun problem''.
Of course the (any) Government does not want its Citizens to be armed.

Outlawing guns would be a major feat in itself.
You have (50)state Law, federal Law, and the courts to contend with.
Same thing with legalizing drugs.
State might say OK drugs are legal...Feds walk in the next day and seize all your drugs and arrest you.
Good luck with that.

Happy days

Lemme ask ya something:

Suppose you have lent $100,000 worth of some product to Bob with the agreement that he pays you back. Bob however squanders that product and refuses to pay you back.

If you are by law prohibited from settling this with the courts or with any judges/lawyers, then how would you settle this contractual dispute?

[BigBallinStalin]

Quote: Legalize all drugs and make them taxable, this would fix so many problems to do with guns. End quote.

Besides Drugs (war on drugs) already being a big (huge) money maker.
Trading a gun problem (minor in comparison) for a even bigger drug problem?

What's the "even bigger drug problem?"

I suspect, although I haven't done the research, that less people are killed by drugs they aren't themselves using than people killed by guns they aren't themselves using.

Also, if you're going to respond to me, use the quote function.

Fun fact: More people overdose from legal drugs than illegal drugs!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-0 ... caine.html

[BigBallinStalin]

You might as well look in another direction.
I really think guns are untouchable (as far as ridding them from America as a whole).

When calamity hits (New Orleans), there is looting, raping and all kinds of crime.
If you take guns out of the picture, Mayhem might just intensify...victims less capable of self-defense, and criminals (even the ordinary Joe) will become even more Brazen (bold).
The Police are not going to help (there is no police).
I'll keep my Gun; thank you very much.

I lived through that experience. You don't know what you're talking about. How does that make you feel?

In fact, the governments' response before and after that situation exacerbated the problems. It's hardly about civilians owning guns. It's about a misplaced faith in government-provided security and the provision of basic needs in a time of crisis. Shit gets done better through the market.

[Gweeedo]

Quote: Legalize all drugs and make them taxable, this would fix so many problems to do with guns. End quote.

Besides Drugs (war on drugs) already being a big (huge) money maker.
Trading a gun problem (minor in comparison) for a even bigger drug problem?

No matter how realistic you might think this is; it is highly improbable.

What particular attributes are we suppose to be referring too the gun problem; example: why did Grandpa need a gun. Is that even relevant?
A gun misfire; this is not a problem!

I do not remember guns even being an issue, up until the Columbine Massacre‎.
Might I add...if it hadn't been blasted all over the news for months on end, maybe others would not have the desire (knowledge) to try and top it.

Fact is, if the (for the most part; School) Massacres could be dealt with...there would no longer be a ''Gun problem''.
Of course the (any) Government does not want its Citizens to be armed.

Outlawing guns would be a major feat in itself.
You have (50)state Law, federal Law, and the courts to contend with.
Same thing with legalizing drugs.
State might say OK drugs are legal...Feds walk in the next day and seize all your drugs and arrest you.
Good luck with that.

Happy days

Lemme ask ya something:

Suppose you have lent $100,000 worth of some product to Bob with the agreement that he pays you back. Bob however squanders that product and refuses to pay you back.

If you are by law prohibited from settling this with the courts or with any judges/lawyers, then how would you settle this contractual dispute?

I would become judge, jury and executioner...with my six gun in my hand.
THAT'S THE WAY THE DUKE WOULD OF DONE IT!
(isn't that the American way)

No, I would do nothing. I do not loan shit, $$ or anything else; unless I have it to 'give'.
Many a time a loan becomes a gift.
The blessings all the same. I am Blessed, just passing it along.

[patches70]

Lemme ask ya something:

Suppose you have lent $100,000 worth of some product to Bob with the agreement that he pays you back. Bob however squanders that product and refuses to pay you back.

If you are by law prohibited from settling this with the courts or with any judges/lawyers, then how would you settle this contractual dispute?

Haha! Drug dealers are so stupid. If I had no legal recourse, then I wouldn't have loaned the $100K to Bob in the first place without at least a $100K in collateral from Bob in my possession.

As it stands to your question, the only recourse is to either let it go (bad idea given the nature of the black market) or solve this through violence (bad idea but holds well with the nature of the black market).

Letting it go just encourages everyone to rip you off.
Violently resolving the problem with Bob lets everyone know that debts better be paid, or else.

Hahah, the black market is great!

And imagine, if we ban guns we could have the same market for them as well! It would certainly make the collections side of things much more interesting. Imagine you had loaned Bob $100K worth of guns and you have to go try and collect that debt after you've just armed Bob to the teeth! Wooot!

[patches70]

I lived through that experience. You don't know what you're talking about. How does that make you feel?

In fact, the governments' response before and after that situation exacerbated the problems. It's hardly about civilians owning guns. It's about a misplaced faith in government-provided security and the provision of basic needs in a time of crisis. Shit gets done better through the market.

I'm going to start calling you Snoopy.

I was playing poker once and there was a guy at the table wearing a New Orleans Saints hat. I kept calling him "Snoopy" through the whole game. Annoying him, trying to get him to tilt, so to speak. Anyway, he finally asks- "Why you keep calling me Snoopy?"

I reply- "Ohh, I figured you were from New Orleans and everyone from New Orleans sleeps on their roof. Like Snoopy."

Do you sleep on the roof, BBS?

Hahaha.

[Anarkistsdream]

You are poking fun at Katrina victims? Wow... another asshole.

[BigBallinStalin]

Quote: Legalize all drugs and make them taxable, this would fix so many problems to do with guns. End quote.

Besides Drugs (war on drugs) already being a big (huge) money maker.
Trading a gun problem (minor in comparison) for a even bigger drug problem?

No matter how realistic you might think this is; it is highly improbable.

What particular attributes are we suppose to be referring too the gun problem; example: why did Grandpa need a gun. Is that even relevant?
A gun misfire; this is not a problem!

I do not remember guns even being an issue, up until the Columbine Massacre‎.
Might I add...if it hadn't been blasted all over the news for months on end, maybe others would not have the desire (knowledge) to try and top it.

Fact is, if the (for the most part; School) Massacres could be dealt with...there would no longer be a ''Gun problem''.
Of course the (any) Government does not want its Citizens to be armed.

Outlawing guns would be a major feat in itself.
You have (50)state Law, federal Law, and the courts to contend with.
Same thing with legalizing drugs.
State might say OK drugs are legal...Feds walk in the next day and seize all your drugs and arrest you.
Good luck with that.

Happy days

Lemme ask ya something:

Suppose you have lent $100,000 worth of some product to Bob with the agreement that he pays you back. Bob however squanders that product and refuses to pay you back.

If you are by law prohibited from settling this with the courts or with any judges/lawyers, then how would you settle this contractual dispute?

I would become judge, jury and executioner...with my six gun in my hand.
THAT'S THE WAY THE DUKE WOULD OF DONE IT!
(isn't that the American way)

No, I would do nothing. I do not loan shit, $$ or anything else; unless I have it to 'give'.
Many a time a loan becomes a gift.
The blessings all the same. I am Blessed, just passing it along.

Your business model would fail because it's not profitable enough. Others however will have no problem using violence and no courts to settle contractual disputes. The fundamental problem is that the prohibition on drugs push markets underground, thus away from the courts. In turn, you get more crime--not because of the guns directly, but because the government has curtailed people's opportunities to settle disputes through the court of Law.

[patches70]

You are poking fun at Katrina victims? Wow... another asshole.

What? Too soon?

Poke fun at everything, anything, don't limit yourself. Not to mention that my "poking fun" had a very specific and narrow purpose designed to mess with the head of a specific individual. Maybe you should learn what "putting someone on tilt" means and why it's done in poker.

Regardless, it must be hard to sit down with that stick up your ass. And yeah, I'll poke fun at BBS all day long, because he can take it.

[chapcrap]

I don't know any Americans who don't own a gun.

[patches70]

I don't know any Americans who don't own a gun.

And do you live in constant fear that you'll be shot?

(Just asking is all)

Most of the people I know also have guns. I don't worry even a tad about getting shot. It just seems silly of me to try and go through life worrying about what might happen. I have an active imagination and if I let myself I could imagine all types of terrible things happening. But I prefer to not be afraid and I'll just deal with whatever comes my way when it comes. Today has enough worries to be fretting too much over tomorrow. IMO.

I'm also a big fan of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. A little prep tends to help alleviate the stress of things that might happen. (For the Anachist)That's a lesson that people should have learned and practiced in New Orleans.

Disaster can (and does) strike at any time and without warning. It's called life. One can go through life worrying about everything or they can go through life doing the best they can. Having a gun is one of those things that can be viewed as prep work for certain ill fortunes that can and do happen.

Or one need not take that prep if they deem it best for themselves, who are any of us to tell another what they do or do not need? Or what steps other people should or should not take to prepare for those ill times when fate and chance circumstance unexpectedly show up from time to time to give us the figurative "kick in the face"?

It's one thing to suggest or counsel this or that course of action and leave one to decide for themselves what is best for them. It's another things all together to say "You don't need this/that <or> can't do this/that <or> can't have this/that".

[Metsfanmax]

Quote: Legalize all drugs and make them taxable, this would fix so many problems to do with guns. End quote.

Besides Drugs (war on drugs) already being a big (huge) money maker.
Trading a gun problem (minor in comparison) for a even bigger drug problem?

What's the "even bigger drug problem?"

I suspect, although I haven't done the research, that less people are killed by drugs they aren't themselves using than people killed by guns they aren't themselves using.

Also, if you're going to respond to me, use the quote function.

Fun fact: More people overdose from legal drugs than illegal drugs!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-0 ... caine.html

That's not meaningful if they don't normalize to the total availability of those drugs. Since there are a lot more prescription drugs in use than illegal drugs, that conclusion will likely not hold when we take that factor into account.

[Anarkistsdream]

You are poking fun at Katrina victims? Wow... another asshole.

What? Too soon?

Poke fun at everything, anything, don't limit yourself. Not to mention that my "poking fun" had a very specific and narrow purpose designed to mess with the head of a specific individual. Maybe you should learn what "putting someone on tilt" means and why it's done in poker.

Regardless, it must be hard to sit down with that stick up your ass. And yeah, I'll poke fun at BBS all day long, because he can take it.

It has nothing to do with BBS... I had a friend whose mother died in Katrina... So up yours...

And, as for acting like I don't know what things mean... Get to know me first... Because what you did was a jackass move...

[BigBallinStalin]

Quote: Legalize all drugs and make them taxable, this would fix so many problems to do with guns. End quote.

Besides Drugs (war on drugs) already being a big (huge) money maker.
Trading a gun problem (minor in comparison) for a even bigger drug problem?

What's the "even bigger drug problem?"

I suspect, although I haven't done the research, that less people are killed by drugs they aren't themselves using than people killed by guns they aren't themselves using.

Also, if you're going to respond to me, use the quote function.

Fun fact: More people overdose from legal drugs than illegal drugs!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-0 ... caine.html

That's not meaningful if they don't normalize to the total availability of those drugs. Since there are a lot more prescription drugs in use than illegal drugs, that conclusion will likely not hold when we take that factor into account.

Sure, and there's problems with collecting and analyzing data on illegal drugs. Nevertheless, this still supports the claim that more people die from legal drug overdoses than illegal. Hopefully, this frames your perspective. If it were the opposite case, many would simply nod their heads and say, "well of course there's more illegal drug overdoses than legal because we have the FDA to protect and yada yada." I have yet to see enough evidence that the opposite is true--given your contention.

[Metsfanmax]

Quote: Legalize all drugs and make them taxable, this would fix so many problems to do with guns. End quote.

Besides Drugs (war on drugs) already being a big (huge) money maker.
Trading a gun problem (minor in comparison) for a even bigger drug problem?

What's the "even bigger drug problem?"

I suspect, although I haven't done the research, that less people are killed by drugs they aren't themselves using than people killed by guns they aren't themselves using.

Also, if you're going to respond to me, use the quote function.

Fun fact: More people overdose from legal drugs than illegal drugs!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-0 ... caine.html

That's not meaningful if they don't normalize to the total availability of those drugs. Since there are a lot more prescription drugs in use than illegal drugs, that conclusion will likely not hold when we take that factor into account.

Sure, and there's problems with collecting and analyzing data on illegal drugs. Nevertheless, this still supports the claim that more people die from legal drug overdoses than illegal. Hopefully, this frames your perspective. If it were the opposite case, many would simply nod their heads and say, "well of course there's more illegal drug overdoses than legal because we have the FDA to protect and yada yada." I have yet to see enough evidence that the opposite is true--given your contention.

Yes, but you should very well know that making claims based on "X > Y" is meaningless unless X and Y are normalized to the same scale. For example, suppose I'm a public health professional and I'm trying to determine whether I should target my work to teach people how to use legal drugs responsibly, or how to use illegal drugs responsibly. The correct metric to look at is the number of overdoses per unit of the drug, because that tells you how likely a given person is to misuse the drug. Since there are also lots of public health benefits to those prescription drugs, but presumably not many associated with cocaine and heroin, it is very likely the case that you do the most good per capita by focusing on the illegal drugs.

[Gweeedo]

Often times, Prescription drugs fall under the category of illegal drug use.

Face it, Americans loves guns. We love, BIG F*CKIN GUNS!

[thegreekdog]

I don't know any Americans who don't own a gun.

Hi. I'm American and I don't own a gun. Nice to meet you.