Conveniently Ironic
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Guns don’t kill people; people kill people. I find it ironic that as our nation considers taking guns away from us, it misses the elephants in the room.
The largest acts of terrorism perpetrated against the U.S. were done with commercial airliners, but they don’t ban commercial air travel.
Great numbers of people are killed annually by cars, but almost anybody can get a license. Drunks kill hundreds of Americans yearly by all sorts of means, but they still sell alcohol to everyone of legal age. U.S. gun violence is greatest in Chicago (the president’s former home), but he did little to enhance Illinois’ criminal statues.
States with legal statutes that seriously punish individuals who use guns to commit crime, paired with liberal gun-carry laws, have less crime. Police have never had significant issues about people with concealed carry permits because it helps them know who can be suspected of being armed.
Instead of focusing on punishing criminals who use guns to commit violent acts, our lawmakers (many are lawyers with lobbying brethren who make serious money defending bad guys) are focused on the Second Amendment rights of innocent citizens.
Our Founding Fathers focused on freedom of speech as the nature of our First Amendment. How far our current leaders distance themselves from the realities of the world when they fail to realize the absolute importance of our Second Amendment.
Ask any Third World populace, and they will tell you there can never be any type of freedom of speech in a nation whose citizens lack the right to bear arms to protect their personal freedom of speech. Biblically, we are told there will always be wars and rumors of wars.
Sometimes the greatest wars start on the slippery slopes of the disarmed masses.
Scott Middleton
Southern Pines
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Comments
OldPilot 2 months ago
The largest act of domestic terrorism may have been done using airliners as weapons but the highjackers didn't have firearms, just boxcutters, because firearms have been banned from commercial flights for years. The result: increased Federal regulation of carry-on items essentially banning all weapons, TSA to enforce that ban, armored cockpit doors and revised procedures to handle inflight threats. We the public are somewhat inconvenienced by these steps and there was and is a monitary expense involved. The benefit: no more airliner hijackings or deaths as a result thereof. Increased Federal regulation of firearms and broad enforcement of same would have the identical effect on firearm deaths in the long run. The inconvenience of rifles and shotguns being limited to three round clips/magazines, handguns to six, is insignificant and the cost virtually nil. Firearms have killed more than died on 9/11 and will continue to do so...the only difference is that 9/11 was all at once, firearm deaths just go on endlessly, a few ever day, year after year.
JimHeim 2 months ago
And drunken drivers still kill, but new laws and strict enforcement are reducing the toll. Likewise for autos in general. There are still fatalities but airbags, seat belts and other safety measures are making driving less dangerous.
What is the author willing to do to make bearing arms less dangerous? What's his plan to reduce the toll of children? How shall we protect wives from abusive husbands and boyfriends? How do we protect ourselves against idiots with concealed carry permits?
The second amendment shouldn't be a suicide pact and owning a gun should not make one immune from personal responsibility. When will the NRA and their ilk own up to the responsibility?
While there is the claim that states with loosened gun laws have less crime (I doubt it), it's true that the homicide rate goes up.
I'm sick and tired of reading about some three-year-old picking up mommy's little pink gun and blowing her brains all over mommy's nice dresser. I wish gun owners cared.
geoffcutler 2 months ago
What was the movie? A guy walks into a bar. It's a police bar and all the cops are in plain clothes. The guy pulls a gun. Guess what happened next?
What you really care about about, Jim, is overturning the Second Amendment and disarming American citizens.
JimHeim 2 months ago
geoff - So being a responsible gun owner equals disarmed. I think I see the problem.
jimt 2 months ago
Most gun owners are responsible gun owners...until the instant they are not. Then they fall into the class of "guns don't kill people, people kill people."
Geoff, per usual, creates the straw man argument that the objective of people favoring more controls on gun sales and gun capabilities harbor the ultimate objective to disarming everyone.
Just how does limiting the size of magazines and requiring more rigorous background checks disarm anyone? How does significantly increasing the penalty, and making it a Federal crime, associated with straw purchases disarm responsible gun owners?
It's not now on the table, but if it were, how does banning the future sale of semi-automatic firearms, regardless of their physical configuration (assault weapon style or pistol) disarm responsible gun owners of the future?
It seems to me that as a society we have an obligation to consider the trade-offs involved in future firearms legislation. I'm sure people will create scenarios where they truly believe that only a semi-automatic weapon with a 30 round magazine is necessary to save their lives. I'm also sure that these weapons when used in a rampage can kill a lot more people than can a non semi-automatic weapon with a five or six round magazine before people can flee or rush and disarm the shooter. Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook, among other such rampages, attest to this fact.
So we have to consider the trade-off between the two. Is our society better off with the status quo with regard to semi-automatic weapons and magazine clips, or would it be better of with the restrictions suggested above. I know what I believe, and I've yet to hear a rational argument from those who prefer the status quo. Their argument boils down to two tracks: "it's my right, so I'll exercise it as I feel necessary," or "this is just the first step, next the government will ban all firearms."
It always seems to come down to emotion versus reason.
skylinefirepest 2 months ago
Here we go again...JimRussell I believe, is actually interested in saving lives, if possible. JimHeim on the other hand is only interested in the political party position! Jim Heim...please tell me where the idiots with concealed carry permits are!!???? Durned if I can find any...and it's been said by reliable sources that the policemen of this land commit more crimes per capita than the CCP holders!! Wow, who'd a thunk it??? So please inform me, Jimmy, where these people are. And actually, thanks to the NRA ( the premier firearms safety organization in this country ) the number of accidental deaths with firearms continues to come down. The problem JimH, is crime with firearms and I don't see any answer to that as long as the administration follows former administrations in not prosecuting these crimes. Your vice prez hisself actually said that it's just not in their interest to do so. Actually Mr. Middleton has made several very good arguments that your comments have not addressed beyond the "I don't like guns because my Democrat Party tells me not to like them." And OP, limiting the number of rounds in a firearm is an exercise in stupidity...which is why Democrat lawmakers just love such laws.
JimHeim 2 months ago
skylinefirepest - read the newspaper. Every week we read about a gun going off in a grocery store or a car or on the street or a dog shoots his owner.
There are people on the street right now with legally concealed weapons with bullets in the chamber (stupid) or with the safety off (stupider). There is simply no reason for it, but CC people do it.
We read about guns going off at gun shows while being checked. How stupid are those owners?
No gun ever goes off by itself. Idiots manage to shoot themselves or those around them by being irresponsible. An unloaded gun has never gone off...ever!
geoffcutler 2 months ago
"It always seems to come down to emotion versus reason." jimt
Now, there's a mouthful!
Not sure about your aims, jimt. Heim? Very sure about him.
And JER(Jim Russell)... he's not here. It's very difficult to keep all these leftist Jims straight.
uwharrieheirlooms 2 months ago
The writer lost me at, "our nation considers taking guns away from us." Who is going to "Take" the guns? This is hyperbole designed to stir up the "dumb masses" as Boortz loved to say.
Off the subject, but why are guns legal while industrial hemp cultivation is not? I really personally have no problem with either, but one is able to do more damage than the other.
I do own guns, by the way. They are stored safely where my children cannot get their hands on them. I'm not worried about anyone "taking" them because it just ain't gonna happen.
skylinefirepest 2 months ago
Hey, uwharrie, what just happened in the recent wet unpleasantness down N'Orleans way?? That's right, dude, the took them at gunpoint from little old ladies trying to protect themselves and their homes. So you don't think the liberals won't do it to you?? Wow, you're more trusting of them than I am, considering whenever they open their mouths a lie pops out. Jim Heim...what are you talking about? You don't have any idea about concealed carry, do you? As in the nasty comment you made about Ed Nicely the other day, you simply assume that a ccp holder is responsible every time a gun goes off??? Not very nice of you and really not showing us a whole lot of intelligence there, Jimmy!!!
JimHeim 2 months ago
skyline - I expect competence from concealed carry holders. So far I'm seeing Three Stooges action. Why should Americans die for a bunch of Bozos?
dentman65 2 months ago
Americans have been dying for political Bozos for years ; both during war and peace.
Toda 2 months ago
Congress on assault weapons ban ... Link Here
skylinefirepest 2 months ago
JimH...where's your evidence, Jimmy?? According to law enforcement ccp holders are not a problem at all...so where are you getting all this "three stooges and bozo" stuff?? I'm afraid that just doesn't hold up to the light of day. Toda...so they want to reinstate a ban that even the FBI said was worthless and didn't do anything for crime...why??? Waste of time and our money at work here. You should know that these are simply plain old rifles that look nasty to the uninformed eye. An assault rifle fires approximately NINE HUNDRED rounds a minute...a liberal and media "assault rifle" fires approximately SEVENTY rounds a minute. Where's the problem? Used in next to nothing statistically crimewise! Simply more of the liberal left's control problem.
mymindwanders 2 months ago
jimhiem-that truely is a stupid statement.i have a ccp and my weapon right now is in a safe, locked up,not chambered and on safe.your mouth shoots off more erroneous shots than my gun ever has.
JimHeim 2 months ago
mymindwanders - That's good. Now we know that one is safe. Sadly, you are a small minority.
The news is rife with stories of accidental discharges (there is no such thing) from legal guns. The gun community shows exactly zero interest in improving their safety record.
Keep at it. If you don't, someone else will. And you'll have no one to blame but yourselves.
FightFireWithFire 2 months ago
Mr. Heim,
"The news is rife with stories of accidental discharges (there is no such thing) from legal guns. The gun community shows exactly zero interest in improving their safety record. Keep at it. If you don't, someone else will. And you'll have no one to blame but yourselves."
As someone who has been a firearms instructor and has many friends who are also instructors in both the law enforcement and military fields, I will tell you that a closer examination into the causes of negligent discharges will bring to light the reason these things happen: a lack of training, a lack of oversite and mixing firearms with alcohol. If every time one of these events occurred the individual was actually held responsible (whoops, there's that word again!) for their actions, it would send a clear message to others. Unfortunately that is almost never the case. Public outrage would ensue if a parent who just had to bury their child (who had accessed the parents gun and shot themselves) was charged with negligent homicide. Oh, the horror!
The law in NC clearly states that gun owners are responsible (there it is again) for the storage of firearms to protect minors. § 14‑315.1. Storage of firearms to protect minors.
(a) Any person who resides in the same premises as a minor, owns or possesses a firearm, and stores or leaves the firearm (i) in a condition that the firearm can be discharged and (ii) in a manner that the person knew or should have known that an unsupervised minor would be able to gain access to the firearm, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if a minor gains access to the firearm without the lawful permission of the minor's parents or a person having charge of the minor and the minor: (1) Possesses it in violation of G.S. 14‑269.2(b); (2) Exhibits it in a public place in a careless, angry, or threatening manner; (3) Causes personal injury or death with it not in self defense; or (4) Uses it in the commission of a crime. (b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a person from carrying a firearm on his or her body, or placed in such close proximity that it can be used as easily and quickly as if carried on the body. (c) This section shall not apply if the minor obtained the firearm as a result of an unlawful entry by any person. (d) "Minor" as used in this section means a person under 18 years of age who is not emancipated. (1993, c. 558, s. 2; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 14, s. 11.)
This is not "the fault of the gun community" as you put it, but a fault of the law enforcement community.
clarabelle 2 months ago
" mymindwanders - jimhiem-that truely is a stupid statement.i have a ccp and my weapon right now is in a safe, locked up,not chambered and on safe"
So............. if an intruder breaks in I am certain he will wait until you get your gun from the safe and defend yourself.................. nice!
mymindwanders 2 months ago
Don't worry clarrabelle.that was my conceal carry i was speaking of at 6:45 this morning as I awoke. It is now safely unchambered and on safety on my person.besides I have a night stand safe with another gun which was unchambered and on safety which I can easily get to, if needed. Besides that , my 7 outdoor dogs give me plenty of heads up if someone is on my property. Thank you for your concern of my well being. I hope you can protect yourself as well.
By the way. God Bless America!!!
JimHeim 2 months ago
Fightfre - You make an excellent case but please let me quibble about the problem being inadequate policing. If gun owners accepted the responsibility that comes with the possession of lethal devices, policing would not be so necessary.
Consider aviation. There are a lots of laws to obey but pilots don't need much policing. They accept the necessity of rules and with few exceptions follow them. Contrary to public opinion, risky behavior is not part of their DNA.
In gun-related threads here, rebellion against rules of any kind is endemic. Suggesting even the slightest nod toward safety or personal responsibility triggers a vitriolic response. That only hardens the resolve of those who want safety for themselves and their children.
I couldn't help noticing that the laws you cite which are aimed at saving lives are misdemeanors if violated. Our Republican legislature is working to make exposing a female breast (rarely a deadly event) a felony. Priorities.
geoffcutler 2 months ago
"Our Republican legislature is working to make exposing a female breast (rarely a deadly event) a felony. Priorities." Jim Heim
Finally something legitimate to bitch at Republicans about. Idiots! I'm calling Raleigh right now.
JimHeim 2 months ago
geoff - You might be surprised to know that Public Policy Polling looked into this and found that menin North Carolina are solidly against this bill. Yay, us!
geoffcutler 2 months ago
Not surprised, and glad we can agree on something.
mymindwanders 2 months ago
I would like to judge a couple of these violations for myself. It may take multiple sightings of violations to truely form my opinion.
JimHeim 2 months ago
wdd - You may certainly have a holster on your hip. I see them in town from time to time. They get the 'point and giggle' treatment.
As for your law-abiding second amendment fans, they are a group of lawless individuals no better than the drug cartels. Reading these posts I get the sense that you actually believe that the second gives you the right to overthrow a democratically elected government if it does something to displease you.
As a group you show no understanding of the concept to personal responsibility, thinking that having a gun makes you the arbiter of all things.
This kind of juvenile attitude threatens us all. It's time to rein it in. Keep advocating for irresponsibility and help us out.
mymindwanders 2 months ago
Jimhiem.once again stupid statement.2nd amendment fans no better than drug cartel. Come on, really? I believe you only say stuff like that to rile people up.
Courseaire 2 months ago
Jimheim - "As for your law-abiding second amendment fans, they are a group of lawless individuals no better than the drug cartels"
I think you've completely flipped out with this statement. I suppose you think 1st amendment fans are a bunch of loudmouth blowhards, no better than.....
DingoMike 2 months ago
In most liberal talks about the subject of guns, I hear from the liberal point of view words like "reasonable gun restrictions, or gun safety laws or child protection laws". I also heard from jimt that he proposes to ban all future sales of semi-automatic weapons. WHAT A LOAD OF HOG WASH!!!!! Why is it that we kill the messenger and never the source of that message. Reasonable gun restrictions are the start of this bs from the liberal camp. What makes up a reasonable gun restriction will change over time. Just like the formula for Coca-cola changed from having a little cocaine to having none. Most Americans feel that little govermental intrusiion in their lives as possible is a good thing. So why is it that we already have many gun laws on our books that are not being enforced and yet the liberal camp wants to put more "child protection laws" on the books? I belong to the NRA and I'm a Lifetime member and I also hold a concealed carry permit. I feel that if you use a rifle or pistol in the commision of a crime you need to have a MANDATORY sentence of 10 years in prison. If you kill someone in that crime then it's life. Death sentences will depend on the prosecutor and existing state laws. Make the punishment so painful that the criminal will think twice or three times before they use a weapon. I'll leave the rest of the gun control debate for a later discussion. Maybe over a large glass of Single Barrel Bourbon and a good cigar.
Thatcher 2 months ago
mymindwanders, Courseaire, and wdd101st-- As I've said many times, you have to give JimHeim credit for saying out loud what most liberals believe but will only say in private to fellow liberals. And the left wonders why the right is suspicious of their true intentions: JimHeim's nonsense on guns is Exhibit A. Cheers!
jimt 2 months ago
wdd: "Look in the FBI crime statistics and see how many people have been killed with knives. Way more than with guns. Are you also in favor of banning knives? If not why not. How about blunt objects like bats, crow bars, etc."
OK, I did.
According to the FBI annual crime statistics report:
2009, Murder by Firearms 9,146, by Knives 1,825, by Blunt Objects 611, By Hands, Feet, etc. 801 2010, Murder by Firearms 8,775, by Knives 1,704, by Blunt Objects 540, By Hands, Feet, etc. 745 2011, Murder by Firearms 8,583, by Knives 1,694, by Blunt Objects 496, By Hands, Feet, etc. 728
http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/crimestats
Would you kindly explain the obvious discrepencies between your assertions and the actual FBI reporting? Perhaps you could start by citing your source(s)?
Courseaire 2 months ago
Jimt - Murder by guns is more humane, as it is usually quicker with less suffering, therefore the preferred way to be murdered.
Middleman522 2 months ago
Liberal leaders are control freaks by nature, and anything that weakens their control has got to go. Look at their policies. Taxes, Social Security, food stamps, welfare, FDA, EPA, Dodd Frank, Oblaimacare, Student Loans, and more. They want religion minimized because they can't control it. They want more on unemployment so they control their lives. Dodd/Frank started out with IRS notification of any CASH purchase over $600, up from $10,000. Their empty souls crave control because their beliefs ring so wrong. Cap & Trade, over taxing, gun registration (control), no school vouchers, TSA, now internet control. Why won't Janet tell us why 1.6 billion bullets were bought. But their greatest trick of all is "mind control", with the help of the media. They have made these kool-aiders believe that US paid for, world wide abortions, no drilling, 65% tax on the rich and businesses, total gun control, open borders, reperations, apologizing to Muslims, domestic drone strikes at will, are things that should be in the Constitution. We need to educate them and get them off of the kool-aid!
JimHeim 2 months ago
wdd - Lance is obviously a tea hatriot idiot. He is to be ignored if he can't tell the obvious lies from facts.
Over a quarter of a million guns are smuggled into Mexico from Texas every year. Where do you suppose they come from. Law-abiding gun stores? I think not.
I have seen on this site gun-owner after gun-owner sya that if laws are tightened they'll igonre them. have I missed something?
Thatcher 2 months ago
JimHeim (9 min. ago)-- "Have I missed something?" Of course not. When you tell us your views on the Second Amendment and "...law-abiding second amendment fans," you don't miss a thing regarding what most liberals really believe on the topic. Thanks for being honest about your views and intentions. Cheers!
JimHeim 2 months ago
Middlman - Guess you didn't get the memo. It was 500 million or so over five years. It turns out that the government gets a better deal when they buy in bulk. Who knew?
JimHeim 2 months ago
jimt - A data point. Over a million Americans have died from gun violence since John Lennon was shot to death. There are those who think that's not a good thing.
jimt 2 months ago
Jim,
I need some sourcing on that. It seems too high unless you are including suicides by firearms as well.
Seems wdd is missing in action.
Could your wife please prescribe some serious anti-depressants and valium for him and middleman, they're seriously in need.
jimt 2 months ago
wdd, where's you sourcing about how knives kill more people than guns every year?
At best, the FBI sources I provided prove you're ignorant, but I think we all already knew that. Worse would be than you're so deluded you literally cannot discriminate between what is and what is not a fact when presented with the two in writing. Thus you could easily fall into the category of being medically deluded.
As for liberals being the only haters you "see around here," more indication of your delusions. You are the most hateful person who has ever posted to The Pilot in my judgment, well you and middleman, and that's saying something.
The thought of either of you walking around armed is truly scary.
DingoMike 2 months ago
The only scarey thing is the poor woman that had to shoot at 2 intruders to her home. She shot one and scared the other away. I sure hope the woman did not have a high cap mag. She might break a law. Happened this week right here in N.C. Now what kind of statistic will that be filed under?
skylinefirepest 2 months ago
The Democrats are not interested in the slightest in saving lives...they have already proven that beyond the shadow of a doubt. They simply want control of the law abiding masses, having already given in to the idea that criminals can't be stopped. You only have to read Jimmy's silly comments about gun owners and drug cartels to realize that the Dems only want the law abiding to give up their means of self defense. Firearms have been confiscated, and then thrown in barrels with no consideration to preserving their value or usefulness, in the very recent past and yet the Dems holler snottily about "what, you think we want your guns?" The answer being, of course they do but they are willing to go about it incrementally. Funny, they want to ban so called "assault rifles" yet the FBI says that these so called weapons are used in only a very small percentage of crimes. Makes you wonder why Jimmy wants us to give them up, doesn't it? He hollers about personal responsibility but his wonderful liberal administration gave thousands to criminals in Mexico and then lied about it.