E, your argument completely misses the mark.
Statistically those incidents are minimal and pale in comparison to violent crimes with guns.
Do you see someone blowing up a building with powdered sugar every day? On a rare occasion this may occur.
my point was that it is ridiculous to limit people based on "not knowing their intentions"
Do you see someone being shot, robbed, or threatened at gunpoint every day? Absolutely.
and most often the person who is being shot, robed, or threatened at gunpoint is unable to defend themselves because they are unarmed... usually due to some delusional belief that the police and or government will save them from any harm or wrong doing
Also the point was unless you know someone's intentions what in the hell does a background check tell you? The answer is nothing. Do you know anyone's history when they turn 18 and have a clean record? You don't, so you can't use the argument of prior behavior and history as being an accurate method of evaluating someone.
generally you need to be 21 or older to carry a concealed handgun
often you must supply character witnesses
you almost always have to go for 2 or more interviews with the chief/captain of your local police department... one of which is sometimes at your home
by the time they are done and decide that they will allow you to exercise your second amendment right, they know plenty about you
Its the small group that ruins everything for the masses. I'm glad you think that guns are the solution, but as we already pointed out they were one of the facilitators of a major problem.
i don't think that guns are THE answer... they are MY answer... as ive said several times already guns are not for everyone... but if a criminals are going to carry guns, then i am going to carry a gun to level the field... YOU dont have to carry a gun... no one is going to force you to
" i guaran-fuckin-tee there is a hell of a lot more gun crime committed by people who own them illegally
to which i say if they are already breaking the law to get their gun... what the hell are more laws and restrictions going to do"
And how did they receive those guns? A gun manufacturer somewhere was allowed to produce guns that were sold off to someone or guns "fell off the back of the truck", or hell even stores sold guns on the black market to make a tidy profit. The issue isn't how did they obtain the gun, but rather the chose weapon in crimes is guns.
how they got their gun is not of my concern
it is the fact that they have them that concerns me
sure it would be all kinds of fairy tale beautiful if we could go back in time and erase the gun from history... then, i would carry a sword... actually id probably opt for a dagger (better concealment)... the point is, it doesnt matter what the weapon is... if criminals are going to use them, i will use them to legally defend myself
As I said, the system is clearly failing. There's no clear cut answer as to a viable solution, but you portray the current solution which is clearly flawed as the ultimate one. I don't know how any more narrow minded that could possibly be... Try to think outside of the box here.
i really dont see where you are coming from here with this "the system is failing" stuff... what system???
guns exist
criminals have them
usually illegally
criminals use them to overpower an unarmed populous that is unable to fight back
you can either bow to the criminals demands... or you can fight back... fighting back successfully means you must even out the odds... so either become a ninja, or fight fire(arms) with fire(arms)
is it the ultimate answer? no
but given the circumstances and lack of ninjas... it is an option
I don't believe I ever said I had a problem with responsible gun owners but there's truly no way to gauge without actual trial and error or the impossibility of knowing one's thoughts, who will be responsible with a firearm
indeed, you can not know someones thoughts... but as i said if someone is going to go through the virtual cavity search required in most places to receive a CCW permit... they are likely to be more responsible and law abiding than the person who gets their guns illegally, seeing that their finger prints and sometimes the ballistic signatures of the weapon are already on file... making it somewhat hard to get away with much