mistercwood

Any Londoners on here? They should be able to give some solid insight into this. I'm a bit leery on the concept of a formal surveillance state, myself... You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

for an Aussie you seem to have very specific knowledge of US requirements. Or did you get that off a political website? I question its accuracy and will also point out that California alone represents more than 10% of the population. Treating it at 2% is an error. You're also quick to dismiss the NRA material, without having even viewed it. Seems a bit closed minded. But yes, my opinion is that your (not really spelled out) proposal will have no measurable incremental impact on accidental shootings, but will burden millions. Wikipedia was the source (take that as you will), scrolling through all the states requirements I only counted 6 states with mandatory training as a condition of purchase. The 88% just came from dividing 6 into 50, but in hindsight you're correct that isn't an accurate indicator of population per se. RE: The NRA material, fair enough, I'd be open to reading what was proposed. I found their website to be over the top propagada, but that doesn't mean that's all they do... With the last point, I guess we'll have to respectfully agree to disagree. It would be nice to see it trialled at least to see if there's an impact, and hey if I'm wrong the ditch the requirements. I know that's an unrealistic fantasy. Ah well... You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

An entire day of "shelter in place" for Boston and its suburbs plus postponent of MLB and NHL games...this kid takes hide & seek to a whole new level! Blues, Dave Instantly reminded me of this... You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

Wow. The first one is just annoying, the second one is outrageous. You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

Training requirements that exist in only 6 states. Which means 88% of US states have zero training requirement. So do you believe expanding those requirements would have absolutely no impact on accidental deaths? Or just not enough? I'm not sure I'd be comfortable having the NRA effectively marketing direct to kids - I had a hard time taking their website as anything other than propaganda. I do feel that if you're a gun owner and a parent, you damn well should be teaching your kids firearm safety and storing the weapons securely. Anything less is just negligent. You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

I'm not interested in throwing up extra barriers, I actually think the change to California law you mentioned was pointless. You do seem to have picked the most pessimistic interpretation of my proposal though. By time, I meant a couple hours training. And I had no intention of impacting mass shootings or crime with this, it is in fact the accidental shootings I expect to be reduced. Last I checked there were something like 35-40 gun related deaths in the US per day. Let's say just one of those, per day, is prevented because of mandatory basic safety training - currently only required in a half dozen states. In roughly a decade, you'll have saved the same amount of lives as were lost on 9/11. Not to mention non-fatal injuries caused by lax safety standards, and the reduced burden on your medical system by their prevention. You can't prevent every tragedy. It's lazy not to try. You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

Yeah I know that, and I should've realised someone would bring that up when making the analogy. What's your thoughts on my concern though? Would you object to mandatory safety training accompanying the purchase of a firearm? Not every time, just the first time. Assume no cost to yourself other than time. You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

I have half a dozen friends that do. Just talked to one a couple nights ago and he got special sights put on his .44 revolver (I'm old school.....guns are collectibles and the history is important, rifles should have wood stocks and the black plastic crap looks horrible to me......so I was dismayed that he marred such a nice piece with modern sights. But he said it was for function) You really are talking out your ass on this topic. Let alone the strawman/emotional argument that 'gun are designed for killing' - it's such a dodge and non-starter. The comment is solely to question another person's right to own property and determine for themselves how it's used. Fair enough, I stand corrected. I guess I was thinking more big game ie bears, deer etc, but apparently some people like to hunt bears with pistols (won't the bear hear their balls clanking together? ). You seem to misunderstand me though - I'm not advocating removing your right to responsibly own guns. Own as many as you damn well please! There seems to be very little attention paid to the responsibility part. There's maybe a half dozen states in America that require a safety course when purchasing a firearm, that's it. It's not like my FJC consisted of "Here's your rig, when the ground looks too big grab this bit here and pull it out." You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

To kill. People, animals, hell I've seen videos of people cutting down trees with gunfire. The primary purpose is to kill, or threaten to kill. I'm yet to see anyone refute that. You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

I'm stubborn, Andy. I have abandonment issues. I can't let go. You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

My other favourite is the gun control -> nazi germany angle, history repeats itself etc etc... Yeah it's been so tough for me here under this fascist regime the last 16 years... You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

Hey. Anyonbe "suspicious" should be reported. If you don't want to be searched and held then don't look suspicious. Duh! You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

Or it means you've used your weapons in a recreational manner, responsibly, rather than as the device was originally intended to be used as its primary purpose. My issue has never been with responsible gun ownership. My issue is that the "responsible" part is not reinforced in any way, and without that part all it takes is a brain fart and someone ends up dead. Or at least a lot breezier than they were a few seconds ago. You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

I used the qualifier "primary" for a reason. Your points raised are absolutely valid to still potentially have a handgun with you, I thought examples such as you've given as self-evident enough I didn't need to state it explicitly. If anything though, you reinforce my point - the handgun is in your examples the device to remove an immediate threat as quickly as possible with lethal force. I dunno, guys. I just find the refusal to admit a gun is primarily designed to kill, is like saying a nuke isn't designed to take out a large population centre in one go. Sure, you could use one to move an annoying mountain out of the way, but that's not what it was made for. That could be a really shitty analogy but it's late and I'm tired and I don't care...

I used to be quite averse to the c-bomb, not so much these days. I still do my best to treat it like I choose to treat anger - I save it up til I really really need it... You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

You're already contradicting your strawman, now. You had said their only purpose was to kill people. Now you've added several more. It's almost a certainty that when someone makes a stupid statement like X's only purpose is to do Y (and Y is bad, therefore X is bad), that they're trying to avoid a significant part of the issue. And you still forgotten about their role with non human animals. (Ever see Jaws?) Well, no, he didn't - he called someone else out on stating that was their 'only' purpose, quite firmly. He also covered the animal part when he differentiated between the primary suited purpose of rifles vs handguns. Who goes hunting with a pistol as their primary weapon?? No one, it's the wrong tool for the job. I reckon Bill made a spot on assessment splitting the two out. ETA: I'm not stating that either type of weapon is inherently good or bad. A sports shooter is not using their weapon to kill someone when they shoot targets, they're demonstrating a skill. Doesn't change the fact that the device they use to demonstrate that skill was originally conceived and designed to kill, whether for noble purposes or evil ones. You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

My ex is a burlesque dancer, I was not sad to see the sparkle-cancer leave my life... You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

I liked Watchmen, really enjoyed 300, but yeah I forgot about Suckerpunch. Looked amazing, but I was bored shitless less than an hour in, never bothered to finish it. You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

I'd agree.... Spacey did a great job as Luthor, but it was clear they were still trying to keep a lot of the 'slapstick' nature of Hackman's take on it, rather than letting him really get evil (which he's better at imo). I just really loved the "aloneness" of Singer's character... but I'm sure I'll enjoy this one even more, these days I tend to prejudge a movie based on who's directing rather than starring. You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

Does that make me one of the gang, now? You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

One of several movies I'm very much looking forward to this year. I actually quite liked Superman Returns, as it happens - I really think it was underrated for the way it approached him more in his nature and experience as an alien, rather than his 'super-humanness'... You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

If you mouth the word 'vacuum' it looks like you're saying 'fuck you'. So you could say "Vacuum, Billy!" and he'll never know the difference... You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

I believe he thought you meant having twice the number of runners, not spectators... You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

Yeah I know it's a bit of a stretch, stimulus was a hell of a lot easier with our much smaller population base... I'd say comparing Europe to the US isn't as a big a jump though, and it should be serving as a shining example of what not to do. You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

I'm still yet to understand how anyone pushing for austerity as a solution to the US economy is still taken seriously, given we have to two real world examples of the pros and cons - Australia opted for stimulus and skated through the GFC with barely a scratch, while Europe has bet everything on austerity and is currently imploding. Doesn't seem like rocket surgery to me.... You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.