Crazy human beings need to lose the guns. Latest story...

[witzend]

"I would probably shoot someone if I found someone in Monkey's room on top of her."

I can see that as a legitimate reaction in certain instances. However - In this story it is a 16 year old girl with a 17 year old girl from her school in her room. Beyond the 16 year old saying she doesn't know the boy, Dad and the boy have words for several minutes. Then the boy says something to tick the Dad off, then dad shoots him. (If he had a long gun he should have just smacked him in the head with it. A baseball bat is safer? That's not shooting someone you find in your grandchild's bed. I know our kids got in a lot of trouble in their time, but I don't think any of us would shoot a boy in that particular instance.

For me personally, I don't own any guns because I would have killed someone in my life by now. After being kidnapped off the street by a stranger with a .44 handgun and raped it was actually something I planned out. "No one is ever going to hurt me again, and they'd better be watching out for me." It would probably be one of those conversations where we all say "Well, I can understand that..." Later in my life it would have been someone's stepmother. But it's a burden I choose not to live with. I do have girlfriends that I used to joke with that we could have any gun we wanted and we got one free bullet and one free shot. But you'd better choose wisely.
I don't hunt, so I see no reason for me to have a long gun. I'd kill someone with a handgun, ergo there are no guns in our home.

 

[witzend]

In regard to the guns being stolen, I'm not a mathematician, but I do know that a lot of them are stolen.

No, they're not. Most guns used in crimes are bought in straw purchases in states where they're easy to buy, and they're sold on by legally licensed but corrupt at-home and commercial gun dealers.

According to a recent ATF report, there is a significant diversion to the illegal gun market from FFLs (Federal Firearms Licencees). The report states that "of the 120,370 crime guns that were traced to purchases from the FFLs then in business, 27.7% of these firearms were seized by law enforcement in connection with a crime within two years of the original sale. This rapid `time to crime' of a gun purchased from an FFL is a strong indicator that the initial seller or purchaser may have been engaged in unlawful activity."

Supported by the National Institute of Justice and based on interviews with those recently arrested, the study acknowledges gun theft is common, with 13 percent of all arrestees interviewed admitting that they had stolen a gun. However a key finding is that "the illegal market is the most likely source" for these people to obtain a gun. "In fact, more than half the arrestees say it is easy to obtain guns illegally," the report states. Responding to a question of how they obtained their most recent handgun, the arrestees answered as follows: 56% said they paid cash; 15% said it was a gift; 10% said they borrowed it; 8% said they traded for it; while 5% only said that they stole it.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/guns/procon/guns.html

 

[witzend]

Living in the UK, as I do, this whole thread is completely crazy to me.

It's crazy to me, too, and I'd bet that my home is the only one on my block without guns and that most if not all of them are illegal.

 

[TerryJ2]

This is bizarre: "Dad and the boy have words for several minutes. Then the boy says something to tick the Dad off, then dad shoots him."
Dad is crazy.

 

[BusynMember]

Dad needs to lose the gun. I think that may just happen now.

So I guess he knew it was consensual.

There are too many George Zimmerman's running around waving guns and using them if they think somebody is disrespecting them.

 

[witzend]

This is bizarre: "Dad and the boy have words for several minutes. Then the boy says something to tick the Dad off, then dad shoots him."
Dad is crazy.

Dad needs to go to jail. Daughter needs a better father figure.

 

[BusynMember]

Would be interesting to hear an update. Too often, lately we are letting murderers off the hook.

 

[Confused]

This is sad, its true about being people being gun crazy and with more and more mental illness/ people with anger issues, its even more dangerous. We never know the truth in most cases, two sides, but some are more obvious then others. ( along with evidence) We do need more updates and real punishment for those who commit the crimes. Bank robbers get more time then child molester and some murderers sometimes and its sad. Also like the robbers who break into the persons home and they get hurt or shot by the home owner, and home owner gets sued and most time loses depending on the state! Laws need to be changed for the better. Its a hard call anymore it seems on some matters.

 

[TerryJ2]

Also like the robbers who break into the persons home and they get hurt or shot by the home owner, and home owner gets sued and most time loses depending on the state! Laws need to be changed for the better.
I know. That sort of thing always makes me crazy. I think they must have crummy lawyers.
I remember hearing that in NYC, yrs ago, a woman shot an intruder and he was halfway on the fire escape outside. SHE was charged! My husband and I always joked that if that ever happened to us, we'd drag the guy back in before calling 911.

 

[BusynMember]

It's crazy to me, too, and I'd bet that my home is the only one on my block without guns and that most if not all of them are illegal.

Witz, Wisconsin is a huge hunting state and where I live there is very little crime. However, I also bet we may be the only ones on the block who have no weapons. We did once think of buying a handgun for protection, but my husband, who knows guns well from ten years in the Air Force, doesn't think you should load your gun and that you need to lock up the bullets to avoid accidents. Hub is sane.

The problem is the hotheads and those who would really LIKE to use those guns. I have no problem with sane people and guns. The problem is, too many aren't sane and some of the laws like "stand your ground" just encourage these people to shoot and then say "Well, I was afraid for my life." I am hopeful we can keep "stand your ground" out of Wisconsin, but not very hopeful with the present people running the state.

It blows my mind, literally, that Adam Lanza, as disturbed as his family knew he was, was taught to use a gun. Yeeeeech. None of my kids, even the normal ones, have ever held a gun. I am Sonic's legal guardian and gave him every right an adult has except the right to own a gun, not that he'd ever feel inclined to do so, but just being careful. I don't think 36 should EVER own a gun, but since he has no legal record and no real mental health treatment, he could buy one legally. Scary thought. Can we say hothead???? I think you should have to be twenty-one to learn to shoot, but due to our hunting culture, I realize this will never happen. I just make sure I stay away from all the prime hunting spots during deer hunting season in Wisconsin. And I and my husbands (of which I've had two...lol) always made sure we only moved to VERY low crime areas with the exception of two scary years in Chicago. Never again.

 

[witzend]

I live on a wooded lot. In the spring there is always some fool out in the woods shooting his gun. The law says it has to be outside 500 feet of private property. A bullet will travel 1 - 2 miles.

They shoot over and over for hours. How many shots before they miss their target? How many misses before they hit something they don't mean to? Don't get me wrong, I know that these people are bored to tears out here and that guns are relatively cheap entertainment. But one of the largest indoor firing ranges in the state is about 3 miles away, and Wednesday and Sunday it's lady's night. _O: Or as they call it "ladies night".

When I asked the SWAT Captain he said that I should call non-emergency next time and say I saw them, give the general direction, and tell them to send a car.

Kids are walking through these lots all the time. My dogs are out in the well fenced yard.

 

[DammitJanet]

There are idiots everywhere. At least here, and when my boys were younger, they had to take a hunter safety course to be able to hunt alone. I think they took it when they were 15 years old. After that you need a license. Or I think you do. Until kids are allowed to hunt on their own, they must be under the supervision of an adult.

We are also well aware of the distance a bullet can travel. For shotguns that isnt very far. Different long guns have different differences but most will lose velocity after about 75 yards and the bullets will begin to fall. And no one should shoot at anything unless they are absolutely sure what they are aiming at. That means no shooting at what one thinks is a bear or deer and then finding out later is was a big dog.

I have a feeling that with Monkey the turkey shoot interest will pass after not too much time. After all, any shot gun will kick and it will probably hurt her shoulder but she wants to do something with Papa and this is safe.

Now I do have to admit I had a totally different opinion on this subject until I became country...lol.

 

[SuZir]

Around here everyone wanting to buy, own or use (independently, you can let someone else shoot with your gun if you are right there with them supervising) a gun has to have a permit from local police department. Nowadays they are rather strict with it. Even speeding tickets can cause you to loose your guns or not get them in the first place. And other than background check there is an interview. You also has to have a legit reason to want a gun and locked gun safe to keep it, and you are responsible no one has access to that. No one gets a permit for protection, in fact surest way not to get a permit is even hint you may find owning a gun bringing you safety in that interview. Basically you can get a permit for hunting guns if you are active hunter (have hunting permits and belong to some hunting club or own enough private property to hunt there etc.) or active target shooter (had done that in range for some time, belong to the shooting club, have their recommendations, maybe participate in shooting competitions etc.) Still we do have lots of guns, because hunting is really big and popular. Most guns are also hunting guns, rifles and shotguns.

Still there is always someone, who, drunk or not, loses their mind and uses their guns to shoot someone, usually family member. Even though they don't have any red flags in their history, doesn't mean it can't happen. Or someone else gets to their guns, usually a family member (and yes, it is hard to keep gunsafe key so that people in your household can't find it. My husband has guns too. I don't have permits to them, so I shouldn't have an access. Want to take bets do I know where he keeps a key and do I have access? In fact I'm quite sure also at least easy child knows, most likely also difficult child even though he haven't lived here in few years.)

Around here hunters mostly hunt within hunting clubs (clubs rent hunting permits from land owners from the area and only members of that club can hunt in that area) and most of the hunting with rifles is done as a group activity and is very structured, so I can't say I would worry even when they hunt near our home. Hunting for smaller game is done more individually but in that they mostly use shot guns and shot gun of course is only dangerous for very short distance, so much less likely to cause accidents than big calibre rifles they use to hunt elks, which really can kill you kilometres away. Which is why it is so regulated and they tend to build shooting towers so they can always shoot downwards and be sure bullet is not travelling anywhere they can't see for sure. Luckily shooting accidents are not very common and those that happen are usually not very serious.

But in the end, you can kill with a knife too, even if you don't have a firearm. And that unfortunately is not at all uncommon around here.

 

[witzend]

I don't see a problem with hunting rifles. Anyone who says they need a partially or fully automatic rifle to hunt with is either a p*88 poor shot, a liar, or both.

Any newer safe worth it's salt has a coded lock. No keys, and anyone who is concerned that someone might know their combo can change it regularly.

Yes, people can and do kill with knives. However, killing someone with a knife is quite grizzly business. There's a reason they always say "And he stabbed her 11 tinmes! We found him because he cut his hand in the process." That's because you're probably not going to kill them the first stab if you're not sure that's what you're going to do. You might not even connect. Even if someone gets started on that job they might think twice about finishing it. Someone who has the cajones to murder you with a knife probably wasn't a regular Joe who went off their nut all of a sudden and slashes or shanks someone to death. This is someone who has a clear idea of what they're doing and have decided that if they get close enough to you with a knife to kill you they are going to be able to complete the job without your disarming them and/or turning the weapon back on them. That entire scenario is moot with a gun.

It always kills me when you see on TV someone walking into a room with their gun arm extended looking for the "bad guy". Oh, please! in real life you wait for the bad guy to pop out and then you shoot him from as far away as you can and still be accurate - just as when you are hunting.

 

[BusynMember]

I live on a wooded lot. In the spring there is always some fool out in the woods shooting his gun. The law says it has to be outside 500 feet of private property. A bullet will travel 1 - 2 miles.

They shoot over and over for hours. How many shots before they miss their target? How many misses before they hit something they don't mean to? Don't get me wrong, I know that these people are bored to tears out here and that guns are relatively cheap entertainment. But one of the largest indoor firing ranges in the state is about 3 miles away, and Wednesday and Sunday it's lady's night. _O: Or as they call it "ladies night".

When I asked the SWAT Captain he said that I should call non-emergency next time and say I saw them, give the general direction, and tell them to send a car.

Kids are walking through these lots all the time. My dogs are out in the well fenced yard.

When we did live in the country on a lot of land, I didn't let the kids or dogs out back during hunting season Sure enough some drunk hunter would stagger on our land and shoot. Too many hunters drink and shoot. It's scary. But we are always very mindful during hunting season and I've never seen a real bullet in my life (at least not one flying through the air). I think a friend cop showed me a bullet once. I think I may have even held it. Memory old and faded.

 

[witzend]

When we did live in the country on a lot of land, I didn't let the kids or dogs out back during hunting season Sure enough some drunk hunter would stagger on our land and shoot.

Hunting season in these parts is "Sunny" and "It's my gun and ain't nobody going to tell me when and where I can shoot it!"

 

[BusynMember]

I'm not sure they knew it was private property (or cared). It was rented land...we did not own the house. Landlord used to hunt so maybe they were in friends and thought it was ok? At any rate, I didn't bother asking myself why I heard the guns. I just kept the kids and dogs in the house or the front yard, which was safe.And I stayed outside with them to make sure they didn't sneak in back. Or we went to a park far away from Hunting Haven. The kids and dogs were scared too so it wasn't hard to get them to cooperate.

I understand and support the right to hunt for food (not just for sport) but I do think it should be illegal to drink and hunt. Just makes sense to me. During the three or so weeks of deer hunting season as I drive home there are hunters on the sides of the rode (I kid you not) looking to shoot a deer, but at least rifles are facing away from the streets. Often I see beer next to said hunter. Really smart!!!

There is always some idiot who shoots a person during hunting season. It never fails. I don't want a part of that drama. I have enough of my own

 

[AnnieO]

I personally have a .22 AR-15 semiautomatic. That sounds scary, doesn't it? Given that it is properly cared for and locked, with ammo locked in a different location entirely... Well, that and semiautomatic sounds a lot worse than it is. In my case I just don't have to reload after every trigger pull.

I used to have HUGE issues with any kind of firearm. Until I learned to shoot, and learned gun safety. I had to; with husband having a hunting rifle and a .22 for the kids, I wanted to make sure they weren't a liability. They had locks; I bought new ones.

They're used for target practice, gun safety with the kids, and the hunting rifle is for HUNTING. Due to their location, the odds of an intruder using it against one of us would be astronomically low, because by the time they got through the entire house to the firearms, the cops would be there. Someone would have to know where they are kept and get by me and husband. And the dog.

The problem as I see it is the father shot the kid. You shoot at a person only with the intent to kill. And you only aim a gun at someone you intend to shoot. And if he engaged in dialogue with the kid - um. The ONLY dialogue I can see is to 911 that there's an intruder.

Yeah, I'm pro-firearm, but only responsible firearm ownership. This guy doesn't need to be near one.

 

[DammitJanet]

Amen Annie. One thing Tony taught the boys from a very early age was you only shot something if you could clearly see it. No shooting because you heard what you thought was something behind a tree. That could be a person, a dog or some animal out of season.

I personally dont know any hunters who would drink and hunt. Its also illegal to shoot after dusk because its unfair to the animals. Many idiots do attempt to by shining lights into fields to see them animals and the animals basically just stand there and stare at you. So unfair.

 

[witzend]

Many idiots do attempt to (shoot after dusk) by shining lights into fields to see them animals and the animals basically just stand there and stare at you. So unfair.

So illegal in all states.