31 dead at Virgina Tech University....

[Toysrme]

Toys, nice gun collection. Based on your collection I would venture to guess you are either a peace officer of some fashion or in the military at one time back in Aussie land...Am I right or wrong?

............................


lol

Why would an australian say yall, and aint all the damn time lol!



















































It's ignorant to think that anyone who wants a gun, anywhere remotely civilized on Earth. Would not be able to get one with minimal effort.

In the US gun laws varry by the state. All states participate in the Federal NICS background check when purchasing a firearm, and almost no sate will issue a firearm to anyone that turns up convicted of a felony charge.

 

[cribbj]

It's ignorant to think that anyone who wants a gun, anywhere remotely civilized on Earth. Would not be able to get one with minimal effort.

Toys, I used to think this too, but after working overseas for the last 16 years, and living in societies where guns, shooting, and hunting just don't exist, I've flipflopped. I sold my (small) gun collection in 1999 when we moved back to the States, and now whenever I even see a gun in someone's possession I get a bit nervous. I still work overseas, and live in Houston, but quite honestly, I now feel more secure in Algeria than I do on the freeways of Houston, where half the population is carrying some sort of concealed cannon under their seats.

I even used to be an NRA member, and still have a bunch of badges for marksmanship competition from my youth, but nowadays I strongly support gun control legislation.

My wife is the same way now, and she used to be quite good at the pistol range with a .357 Magnum.

Bearing arms is definitely a big cultural difference Americans have from other societies, and as right as I thought it was 20 years ago, I think it's wrong now.

Todd, good balanced post, and very well said.

milnersXcoupe, I think you take the prize for the longest single post on this forum, albeit 75% was white space :shock:

 

[jibbby]

Toysrme - All these years I thought you were an Aussie boy..Don't I feel like the jackass....

A Bama boy from the deep SOUTH....Do you guys still have the BP gas stations, Piggly Wiggle's, Waffle houses, and the occasional Ford pickup sporting a confederate flag sticker on the bumper going on down their? It's been a while, but I kinda liked it, a little hot and humid, and alot of rednecks that love there deer hunting seasons... Nice folk though...

Guns....Hmmmm... A few safety tips and facts about owning a gun...

1st -Got too keep the gun away from the kids and socially unstable teenagers in the house..Keep it locked up or something....Oh and now keep the gun away from foreign exchange college students that are insane...(the shooter was a foreign college student that went nuts in the Virgina Tech college shooting, as I am seeing this live on the news now, unbelieveable)....

2nd - If you do shoot the gun when defending your life, try and look where the bullet may travel after entering and exiting your target, that is if you own a cannon...Alot of accidents happen when using too powerful of guns for home protection, the bullet ends up going threw people, walls, neighbors, etc..you name it..

I found out when purchasing a gun for home protection you have to make some sensible choices, you got to think what do you want the gun to do?...Stop the intruder without his ability to return fire after being hit, right? Thus saving your life your families lives and we can't forget about the family dog either.. A shorty shotgun would work great I would think, but that is too big and not very practical or mobil...Last time I checked, sawed off shot guns were illegal to own, not sure about that though... Also, the most powerful handguns like the 45 calibers and 9mil's are not the best choice, the bullet may keep going long after the robber is taken down...The gun may fly out of your hands too if your not use to shooting it....You also don't want to take out a neighbor now do you? Anyway, I got a snub nose .357 S&W revolver, why a revolver? because they never jamb and are far more reliable then a clip gun... I also chose to arm my little revolver with hollow tip bullets which are ment to mushroom out at impact... basically man stopper bullets... Anyway, I think I made a good choice of gun for home protection.....I hope I never have to use it in that fashion, but I don't regret owning it, and I know I am very responsible with it....


We went from the shooting incident, crime, politics and now guns.. What next?

 

[TKing]

Hey! Pick me, pick me!!!!

How about....CARS? :happysad:

 

[91_4x4runner]

jibbby - as far as I know, sawed off shotguns are legal in Texas but they have a minimum length I believe. You're also going to tear up your house pretty bad with a shotgun as opposed to a pistol.

 

[Lextreme II]

AK47 Vs MAK90. What is the difference? Its the same..... The only different would be flash suppressor and piston grip. They both shoot AK rounds.

 

[jibbby]

91 - Hard to miss with a sawed off shot gun at reasonably close firing range, like when your half asleep, it's dark and in the middle of the night in your home....(that's worse case scenario)...Hand guns in critical situations may cause you to rush, panic and miss the target.....

Back on topic...The shooter in the college incident showed signs of being unstable prior to the event happening...Too bad the authorities could not have picked up on this nut before he went off the deep end and went on the killing spree...News reports said he was a total loner, and listened to heavy metal music constantly, stalked from time to time, and was on meds. Too too bad......

Ps...Oh, Did I mention my SC400 is falling apart..:rant:

 

[91_4x4runner]

It's truly a shame, but it's impossible to keep people from going off the deep end. Part of it probably has to deal with the way they're brought up, what influences them, etc.

Back off topic.... average pistol clip is about 10 rounds (6 for revolver).... if the intruder starts charging at you (most likely scenario) and you can't immobilize them with that many shots, you probably shouldn't own a handgun, let alone a rifle.

 

[Pro]

Actually it's not all that bad here, just in certain areas, and isolated incidents like this college shooting which doesn't happen all that often...

it shouldn't happen at all. but it does, so you have to accept it like death and taxes.

what a fantastic attitude.

next time someone breaks into my home, i'll just accept it because it doesn;t happen all the time and in reality i'm only a small part of the population so i shouldn't judge the situation based on this instance alone.

wow.

Well Aaron, I guess your really lucky you don't live here in the US then... You Aussie's get mad and angry you throw a pint of beer at each other....Here in the US we blast each other with AK40 assault rifles and what not...

I do feel lucky.

Lucky to know that IF i do get broken into, chances are against the person having a gun. And I can take that nice big machete i got from the camping store from under my dressing table, match that with my years of self defence training and have a pretty good standing against the person in my free-form living area who is chasing my mobile / CDs / car keys to sell for their next hit.

Lucky is the word...:AR15firing:

 

[stevechumo]

I didn't know you're all idealists and can become politicians about what's going on about the Tech Univ. :rant: ..LOL. Some are pro guns and some are anti-guns. That's what make us unique & interesting people.

Honestly, it's very hard to compare between the Aussie & the U.S. We have totally different geographical areas, populations, economics, and lifestyles...etc. U.S people can't live like the Aussie and vice versa. Gun laws of the Aussie can't be applied to the U.S. or vice versa. The incident that happened isn't just about restricting the gun laws. Many other poor or even developed highly populated have many homicides (countless), too. They don't even have access to guns. And regards to death tolls, gun deaths aren't listed in the top 10 causes of death, except in war times. I actually did a deep research on guns about 6 or 7 years ago for my sociology class.

Anyway, it's not the calibers of guns that can kill innocent people (.50 bmg, .44 magnum, 7.62x39, .22, or even a .177 airgun pellet...), but it's mainly the mentality that kill innocent people.

 

[Cobber]

True, guns don't kill people, cars don't kill people it's just a lump of steel.

I have never seen a gun or car up in court for anything. People need to interact with these items.

If there were no guns in the world people would be bashed over the haeds with rocks.

A shame anything like this ever happens but it does and it will again.

If you feel safe with a gun, knife or whatever to protect yourself / family then good for you.

If I ever get to that stage then it's time to move.

I know I have been there.
I have been confronted by someone breaking in to my house (PNG), not a nice thing to happen. Did I shoot him, knife him, both were available.
I just shouted at him, he wet himself and led flat on the ground with his hands behind his head until security got there took him outside and educated him. He knew the routine. I was very lucky.

In PNG "Hands up" costs you 20 keena, life is cheap.
Guns are made from bits of pipe elastic bands a nail and a shotgun cartridge. I don't think they licence them.

Any type of gun reform will not stop people getting firearms or weapons if they want them. There are at least 5 known stolen rocket launchers floating around Australia at the moment.

Mental health and health care is something that can be improved.
On the whole AU, US & EU are all very lucky countries.

 

[mshawari1]

Any type of gun reform will not stop people getting firearms or weapons if they want them. There are at least 5 known stolen rocket launchers floating around Australia at the moment.

.

Wow … (rocket launchers) ??#!!

I agree with you and cribbj …
The guns will make the thing more easy for any one Not depends on he have the money or no .
Many years ago the people live more better without guns. So we can live without guns at all ………………….​

 

[jibbby]

I do feel lucky.

Lucky to know that IF i do get broken into, chances are against the person having a gun. And I can take that nice big machete i got from the camping store from under my dressing table, match that with my years of self defence training and have a pretty good standing against the person in my free-form living area who is chasing my mobile / CDs / car keys to sell for their next hit.

Lucky is the word...:AR15firing:

Pro, there could be two or three robbers confronting you with two or three machete's and I bet someone would be wishing they had a gun in hand rather then a machete....:smoker:

Also there's really not a big difference between big arse machete's and guns, both intimidate, both can cause injury, and even kill....:swordfight: Sword fighting and gun fighting :AR15firing: :rocketwhore: ain't all that different....

Maybe the gun is just a little more effective but the machete will never run out of bullets...

How about a skilled Ninja warrior with a Samuri sword in hand :006: or me with my .357 revolver in hand half asleep faced off late at night while I'm still suffering from a hangover:1244: I may still get used in the dark at home, ooooops, getting a little silly now.....

Also there is an old saying "It's better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it" referring to guns...


It's really the mentally ill, and unstable religous extremists that we should all be worried about.. Could you imagine Al Queda with long range nuclear warheads ...Ouch, now that would be a scary matter....:wall:

 

[stevechumo]

This is a true story about 5 years back. My aunt's store got robbed and the robber shot her. However, he missed. He kicked the door down, and while taking the money, he commanded her to go into the restroom. At this time, she knew she'll be doomed & death. So she found a split second and ran out of the store and survived. Also, in her business, a nail store got robbed 2 months before, and after her being robbed for a 1 month, the liquor store owner's throat was cut. So what do the anti-gun people say? Or they're just lucky because things didn't happen to them?

 

[milnersXcoupe]

"..?....I do'tn FEEL tardie......."

milnersXcoupe, I think you take the prize for the longest single post on this forum, albeit 75% was white space :shock: cribbj;








:1244::bsflag: ".....they Love me..........they reelly... Reelly Du.....!":684:

 

[cribbj]

Steve, first off, I'm really sorry to hear about what happened to your aunt, her friend, and the liquor store owner. However, it's a given that hardened criminals will always have firearms. In the US we need "much" more effective police than we have now to combat that element, and that's a different problem altogether from a known nutcase going out and buying two handguns, probably from a legitimate gun dealer, and committing a massacre.

One of my goals in supporting gun control is to limit the ability of extremely unstable people like Mr. Cho, from obtaining guns through legitimate means.

It's also to educate people that keeping that loaded .357 Magnum in their bedside drawer is not a real good idea with kids in the house, although people continue to do it.

It's also to limit that element of society, who are just on the verge of going bad, from obtaining weapons and going the "rest of the way", ie gangbangers, drive-by shooters, etc.

And finally, it's to eliminate these concealed cannons that people are carrying around in their cars. Road rage and concealed handguns are a lethal combination.

milnersXcoupe: I neglected to say, that I agreed with nearly everything you said; I just got tired of scrolling through it ;-)

 

[jibbby]

Yeah Steve, Los Angeles County store owners that do business in the suspect areas better have a little more then fire power handy behind those counter tops...You really need that thick bullet proof glass divider seperating the store owners from the customers...You see that alot now in liquer stores, fast food drive thru's....etc... Even now you see a few cab drivers with the bullet proof glass dividers inside the cabs to prevent getting robbed at gun point or by a knife.... I remember ten years ago you never saw those glass dividers up in stores and what not....

Steve, sorry to hear that happen to your aunt. Really unfortunate. It always seems the hard working good people that kind of bad stuff happens too, atleast you hear about it more often then not on the news...Again, what a shame....

 

[storm_rider_]

I was watching on sky news last night and in the bottom corner scrolling along it said that the mayor of Nagasaki was shot dead by a mobster, Madness.

It almost has to be just bad news to make the news, Which in it self drives the paranoier and scare mongering. You hardly here positive news stories or if they are they are a tiny little segment at the end.

Interestingly though the states doesn't have the worst killing spree, port arthur in oz holds that dubious title. we here in NZ have had our share of madness to.

I was involved years a go with a women that is part of one of the big gangs in christchurch and used to run one of the drug houses. There was always weapons and stuff going on. I was there when one of there people got taken out in a drive by and they called a meeting to put the hit on the guy that did it. Needless to say i bailed out of that situation, lol

And to who ever said if it isn't for guns it would be something else i fully agree but on one note. I think with guns and bombs etc its alot less personal. And in some ways there is no consiquence for the action where when you had to use a knife/sword or a club its alot more personal and maybe that changes the mentality of the situation and by the action of the weapon it makes it alot harder to have as large a body count.

I think you need faith in people as people and hope that everything will come right, don't blam the easy scape goats and take some responsiability for you actions.

 

[stevechumo]

Cribbj & John,

Thanks for your understanding. I also agree that firearms aren't for everybody. But how do we know which person is able to use them correctly? It's not easy to answer.

This is another true story that I had a chance to tell. Just last night on the way home, I saw 5 police cars that followed each other into a wrong apartment on the left hand side. And then 2-3 minutes later, they all backed up and followed each other to the other apartment right across the previous one. I guess that they went into the wrong place. So what do I think? They have wasted that critical moment to resolve the situation. And what if within that moment, another crazy person just put an end to another person? For years, I haven't been believing in the protection of anybody or any agencies, except myself. That's why I believe self defense is a must. And what's self defense? I strongly believe it's not just talking the crazy guy to leave you or even begging for the crazy guy to let you live. That's just in movies.

 

[jibbby]

Stormrider - the saying goes..."No news is good news"

I strongly believe the media is also the motivating culprit that shapes society for the worse in some ways...The news media has so much infuence on people in general, everthing from politics, horrific crimes, and just about everything else under the sun... If you happen to watch the news today this South Korean college kid who shot up everyone at Virgina Tech mentions the Colorado high school Columbine shooters in his letters to NBC news company....

I would venture to guess this South Korean Virgina Tech shooter got motivated from the continued media coverage from the Columbine high school shootings...Media creates bad stories then dwells on them, and the drawn out bad stories give deranged people horrific ideas.... The media should tone things down abit and really regulate what they report, because they report "what ever" they can to gain high TV coverage ratings...That "what ever" is usually negative news reports....More positive stories are needed, and less negative....

Steve, where do you live I forgot...Must be a high crime area?