37: Gun Control

[Bucho]

Originally Posted by Super Mario

Why do i need an "assault rifle"? So when the government decides to take anymore of my rights away, i wont be defenseless against them.

I'm sure you're one of the good guys cowboy but I know who my money's on.

[Electric Squirrel]

Super Mario never used a gun. He would defeat the government with flowers, mushrooms and stars.

I doubt your credibility sir.

[juliofromny]

First off, Ron has a great radio voice. and he can tell a great story. I can listen to him do a bunch of audiobooks or short stories if he were to make a podcast like that. That said, as much as I appreciated his point of view I couldn't agree with most of it.

Regarding that mentally ill law, if I remember correctly, I heard a show on NPR (either RadioLab or This American Life) where they mentioned how in the 50's homosexuality was considered a mental illness and they would use that reasoning to put gays in asylums.

Also I don't agree on his stance about how we should police who can or cannot have kids. There's no guaranteed a person who is raised well will always come out as a regular nonviolent person. Sociopaths are sociopaths regardless of how they are raised.

Lastly, I don't agree on his stance that Hollywood and violent video games or violent movies have anything to do with how killers are created. I grew up watching horror movies at the age of 6 and on. In the 70's and 80's they blamed D&D games and Heavy Metal, and around the Red Scare comic books were considered to cultivate juvenile delinquents. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was one of the first horror films I've seen and I'm not a violent person nor do I have any inclination to buying a gun anytime soon. Not only that, but people argue that kids who harm animals in their youth grow up to be sociopaths and Ron was talking about all the crazy things he did to animals when he was a child and he grew up to be a fine adult without any sociopathic tendencies.

I do agree with his stance on protecting his right to bare arms and he made some good points in defense of that right.

[ImStillToni]

Originally Posted by juliofromny

First off, Ron has a great radio voice. and he can tell a great story. I can listen to him do a bunch of audiobooks or short stories if he were to make a podcast like that. That said, as much as I appreciated his point of view I couldn't agree with most of it..

Ron does have a great radio voice! And I have to say I found it refreshing to hear the opinions of someone who has had a relationship with firearms for many decades. While I will not say I agreed with everything Ron said, I do appreciate his candor & opinions. I do think the issue with gun ownership is generational/geographical on some level because I feel like most NYCers, myself included, think of a gun just as protection/safety and that's it. Not necessarily thinking of all the responsibility that goes with it. Although I carry a blade in my purse since I was mugged on the subway, that's technically illegal. Pepper spray is illegal there, its like NYC likes to prevent its residents from protecting themselves. One major point with moving to ATL, for my husband anyway, was the ease you can get a conceal weapons permit,

By comparison, here in the South, it IS pretty much expected that you have a gun in the home, so I get Ron's point with that. I have went to a local gun ranges recently to get familiar with shooting more than a .22 in preparation of getting my concealed permit license - NOT because I want a gun, but in the South there are wayyy too many home invasions (more so in apartments) & you have the right to bear arms to protect your hom eunder law here. So there is an assumption that most people are have weapons when they own a home, but not in an apartment/condo; therefore, the home invasion/robbery rates are skyrocketing. To the point I even got additional rental insurance. And I hate paying for additional shit I may never need!

Now if they let my black ass get a gun, so be it. I do believe in the right to protect yourself, your home, and your family.....but I'm with Chemda in that I do not need or want multiple guns, just one, and by no means do I need an assault riffle, just a nice mag or glock. The fact I am even considering getting a gun is terrifying to me considering I never needed (or could get, or even thought of getting) one in NYC, but in this instance I would have to say outside the city things are pretty different. The 1st time I went to the shooting range was so horrifying for me, I pray I'd never need to point a gun never mind actually shooting it. It does take a lot of time, money, and practice to be fully comfortable/responsible with a firearm, point blank.

But I would be lying if I didn't take my husband into consideration as well. I can get a permit, I can get a gun, I can even get a fingerprint safe, but the fact remains I have a gun in my home with a person I argue with at times....and access to my fingerprints. It's just not the gun owner who can be affected, as we are seeing with Newton CT, but also who else has access to the gun....and that's the point that truly scares me & makes me procrastinate even getting the license.

[juliofromny]

Yeah I agree that the issue with guns isn't completely cut and dry and the stances can vary between states and generations. I also don't necessarily believe that stricter laws make us any safer because as you pointed it out, criminals will always find a way to have access to what they want, it's the law abiding citizens that get affected by those laws. It's the same with anything in the underground market. I also appreciated his take on guns and I did agree with some of his stances in defense of gun ownership. It was some of the other stuff that he used as a counter rebuttal that I didn't agree with. Great show all the same.

[Bucho]

Yeah, I appreciate firearms in much the same way Ron does so I get where he's coming from on an emotional level to an extent but I thought he did a fairly poor job of making arguments to support those feelings. A lot of sloppy analogies and half-made points. To be fair though, he was a victim of a dastardly case of Ambush Journalism by Chemda.

Originally Posted by -John-

But I guess no one plays video games or watches movies outside of the USA.

What's a video game?

[Earl Dukes]

Originally Posted by hedcase

Laurens dad sounds exactly like Jesse Ventura!

I haven't heard the show yet, but that's especially apparent in his final quote from the trailer. I couldn't put my finger on who he sounded like, ha.

[Bucho]

Check out this hilarious article on how 5 people were shot at 3 different shows on Gun Appreciation Day. It sounds like it came from The Onion, right? Nope. Sometimes it seems like the real-life morons are trying to put the satirists out of business.

Clearly you can't blame the guns for the idiocy. None of this is the fault of the guns themselves. But where does the fault lie for the fact that there are guns in the hands of idiots? Does this happen in Switzerland too?

[Earl Dukes]

Originally Posted by juliofromny

Lastly, I don't agree on his stance that Hollywood and violent video games or violent movies have anything to do with how killers are created. I grew up watching horror movies at the age of 6 and on. In the 70's and 80's they blamed D&D games and Heavy Metal, and around the Red Scare comic books were considered to cultivate juvenile delinquents. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was one of the first horror films I've seen and I'm not a violent person nor do I have any inclination to buying a gun anytime soon. Not only that, but people argue that kids who harm animals in their youth grow up to be sociopaths and Ron was talking about all the crazy things he did to animals when he was a child and he grew up to be a fine adult without any sociopathic tendencies.

You're coming from a very personal point of view. All of those things play a part in a person's development, but the capacity to which they have an effect depends on who the person is. I've loved horror movies all of my life but never really had a way to watch them. Now that I have Netflix, I can watch whatever and as much as I want. I've probably watched ten movies a week for the past few months, but I have to stop some weekends because my mind goes into such a dark place that I've gotta chill for a little bit. I wouldn't ever hurt anyone because of a movie, and that intensity is the reason I gravitate toward those movies, but my mind still has to handle those emotions in some way. For me, it takes a few hours of self-reflection. For somebody else though, it may not be so easy. I think the way Lauren handles drugs is a great example also. From what I hear, he's able to maintain himself more so than other people. On the other hand, it's taken me a couple years to even figure out my limits on alcohol. I still can't handle too much pot, but I'm now able to tell myself to chill out, shut down, and let everything wash over, rather than freak out, take shit the wrong way, and engage people in a negative head. I'm not saying you're wrong for coming from your point of view, just that it depends and that the personal doesn't reflect the general.

[rain of frogs]

I'd love to listen this one but I can't get past the hare killing description in the trailer. Getting enjoyment out of killing anything is just so fucking sad and pathetic