Lookey here, I don't want the government taking away all the guns from all the people. And as a Constitutional purist most of the time, I have a queasy feeling whenever said government wants to regulate arms. But, do we really need Uzi's slung from the shoulders of hormonal young males sauntering down our sidewalks? (Or, hormonal young females either.)
The Law of the Gun in the wild west had it's time, and I don't see a need to return to those "golden" days of yesteryear.
And you can't assume that every gun owner has a level head and practices good gun safety. Quite the contrary is often evidenced. The wild west at least had many natural foes to contend with, as well as low population. Not true of today's urban landscape.
Is a little common sense and a small bit of restraint too much to ask?
Looks as if we might as well all get used to this scenario, too.
What normal person walks around with a gun on your hip? Something's wrong in your life if you feel compelled to carry a gun as part of your daily routine, he said. (Gabba Kaye - Manager Mike's American Grill
If you want to keep a loaded gun in your house - should be your prerogative. However, I have a problem extending that right into public venues and streets as an open carry law. Go kill a corn-baited deer if that gives you joy, but don't expect me to be pleased to sit next to your loaded high-powered Beretta propped up in the booth behind me at my local hamburger joint. I don't give a crap if you are a bonafide card-carrying Daniel Boone, my right to eat in a public place without guns is just as important to me.
Individual businesses should also have a voice in whether they wish to allow guns or not.
And I don't want to hear about how a crazed gunman's murdering spree could have been stopped if only someone in the crowd was packin' heat. Agreed there might have been a few isolated cases when such a situation justified the mass arming of America. So, you carry a gun everyday to work...just in case? The key word in this paragraph is "crazed", so the notion that a lunatic gunman would not attempt the crime because he feared other gunmen does not compute.
Obtaining a license to carry in Texas makes sense, as does the current concealed weapon law on the books. Read frequently asked questions regarding Texas handgun law here.
8 comments:
Absolutely well-stated!!
Since the VA. Tech tragedy, folks have actually entertained the idea of allowing college students to be armed. Can you just imagine that?? "crazed" IS the opportune word for certain!
Excellent post.
"...as a Constitutional purist most of the time.."
You contradict yourself there as purist would indicate, um, all the time.
"..I don't give a crap if you are a bonafide card-carrying Daniel Boone, my right to eat in a public place without guns is just as important to me..."
The right to keep and bear arms is explicitly recognized in the Bill of Rights as a Constitutionally-guaranteed, fundamental, absolute human right. The right to "eat in a public place without guns" is not.
CitizenNothing,
Good point about the purist statement. I suppose you are thinking to use the word "purist" it has to be all or nothing. 100%.
Perhaps you are correct, grammatically speaking. So, I should amend my wording to reflect that I think the Constitution is an almost perfect governing document.
As to my "right" to eat in a public place WITHOUT guns.. well, sir, I plead the Tenth.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
cowtown pattie -
As to my "right" to eat in a public place WITHOUT guns.. well, sir, I plead the Tenth.
Claiming a "right" to eat in a public place without guns conflicts with the clearly enumerated right to keep and, again, bear arms.
If it makes you feel any better I regularly carry and pose no threat to you. I'd wager that nobody who cares about this law will ever be a threat to you. Might be of some assistance though.
The folks you're worried about carry illegally and concealed.
I should clarify that I regularly carry concealed. I would rarely open carry, but there should be no law against it if we are truely free men.
Vermont has no permitting requirements at all. If you're 18 you can carry concealed or openly. Don't hear about any problems from up there. Is it that Texans aren't as intelligent, or trustworthy as Vermonters?
Well, all I can add to the shooting from the hip about Constitutional rights, nothing could be as clear as "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ...;" yet, that clause has been interpreted so that it is in tatters.
And the Fourth Amendment -- well, if you don't know what that is, it's okay. Neither does the freaking President and his compadres.
I don't have a problem with guns - I own some too. But I don't want to lug one around. I'm pretty old and I lived most my adult life in big-city inner-city neighborhoods, for a couple years out of college I worked a community service job in a low-income neighborhood and I've been alone on foot after dark in places where I didn't speak the language. I've never been in a situation where I thought a handgun would be an asset. Nor have any of my friends or relatives ever told me of being in such a situation.
I know people who carry handguns. One is an ex-cop who says he would feel naked without it and I guess I can understand that. The rest say they are afraid. Why are they afraid when I don't feel afraid? Maybe I'm a fool; maybe I've just been lucky. But I think their fear is irrational.
I think too many of us today grow up in over-protected environments where tv and movies distort our view of the world. We have been influenced by politicians and others who exploit fear for their own gain. I don't know how to change these things but it is making our world worse.
Citizen,
You make some valid points, but I still "stand by my guns" (a little drumroll, please) and say we don't need to start totin' iron on our hips everyday in the public domain.
Bill and Bill : Excellent POV's, and if I ever need a Constitutional question answered, I know which "Bill" of rights to ask!
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