In order to make any true progress on the issue of gun violence in our nation it would be wise if all gun control advocates banned the use of the word "ban" when referring to future federal gun laws.
That one simple word is causing many gun owners to ignore any reasonable ideas purposed by the gun control side of the debate and instead to start talking about "jack booted thugs" or blue helmeted UN troops going house to house, confiscating firearms and sending their owners to clandestine FEMA reeducation camps for "reeducation."
Gun owners fearing a total ban or confiscation are running down to their local gun stores and buying everything in sight including all the ammo. They feel that if you have any desire to buy a firearm it is wise to buy it now. Consequently some very lethal firearms are ending up in the hands of people who have little or no use for them or experience in how to safely handle such weapons. I fear many will not be stored properly in gun safes and might be stolen and end up on our streets in criminal hands. We should be trying to reduce the number of firearms in the wrong hands through better laws but instead we are causing the sales of these weapons to skyrocket instead. We are effectively shooting ourselves in the foot.
I seriously can't believe some of the total bullshit I have heard recently about Obama and how he intends to destroy our nation. It is true that he is far more liberal than conservative Americans would prefer but he does not plan to repeal the 2nd Amendment or redistribute all the wealth of the 1% to those on welfare. When I mention this to other gun owners they yell at me that Obama wants to take away our guns and once he accomplishes this he will tear up the Constitution and pass laws so he can be President forever. I know some well educated and intelligent gun owners who actually believe this shit. It's driving me crazy!
When the word "ban" is mentioned when discussing Federal gun control it is like throwing gasoline on a simmering fire. The simple political reality is that at the best a future assault weapons ban will not truly "ban" these weapons but might involve better regulation of them . Why not simply avoid the term "ban" and instead say "better regulate"? Our leaders should be telling people that if they are honest, sane and responsible citizens that our government is not going to confiscate their firearms.
Now for those of you who do wish to ban firearms I suggest you work at your state level. New York just passed a very strong gun control law so perhaps you can pass a much stronger law in your state.
Of course I would also like to caution the extreme right to turn down their rhetoric. If they fire up a few very dangerous people and cause them to launch an insurrection it will be quickly squashed as it has little support from 95% of our citizens. Of course if a minor rebellion does occur we will undoubtedly have some truly draconian gun laws in the future. I also have some serious worry that some nut case or small group may try to assassinate Obama or another public official. If that does happen the far right wing commentators may have blood on their hands.
It would also help if the news media reported the facts about this issue without lies and distortions. For example rifles similar to the AR-15 are not "killing machines" but are used for competitive target shooting at the national level and hunting and may be a good choice for a self defense weapon in a rural environment. It is true that you don't need a hi-capacity magazine to hunt deer and states that do allow deer hunting with a semi-auto rifle have a limit on the amount of rounds you can have in the magazine (usually five). In states like Florida which have a high population of feral pigs hunters do use AR-15s with 20 or 30 round magazines. Feral pigs are not native to our nation and do a considerable amount of damage to the environment and therefore are considered pests. They are also quite intelligent and have been known to attack humans. You definitely do not wish to come between a mother boar and her piglets.
Wild boar
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Aggression toward humans
Wild boar attacks on humans are not common but do occur occasionally. Usually, boars, like most wild animals, will avoid interactions with humans. Due to the clearing of natural boar habitats, the number of interactions, including aggressive ones, between humans and boars has increased. When dealing aggressively with a human, boars will charge at them. Sometimes, these may be bluff charges but, in other cases, violent contact will be made. While the impact of the large, hard-skulled head may cause considerable damage itself, most damage is inflicted by the boar's tusk. When ramming into a person, the boar will slash the tusks upwards, creating sizeable open lacerations on the skin. Due to the height of the boar relative to a human, most wounds are inflicted to the upper legs. Some attacks are provoked, such as when hunters wound a boar which then counterattacks. Male boars become most aggressive during the mating season and may charge at humans at such times. Occasionally, female boars will attack if they feel their piglets are threatened, especially if a human physically comes between them and their young. Although a majority of boar attack victims recover with medical treatment, fatalities do occasionally occur.[45]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_boar
What I am basically suggesting is that both sides of the gun control issue tone down a bit and treat each other with some respect and honesty. If that happens, which is probably unlikely, we might actually pass some meaningful legislation that will help curb gun violence and mass murders.
I can always hope.
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