chimp said

"It's reassuring to know that the most blinkered and paranoid citizens are always the most gun-happy ones, too.

explain why the 2nd ammendment exists?..Do you think that people that had just fought, suffered and died to rid themselves of an opressive government may have had a good reason to put into words and law, the very reason why the public should never be without the right? What do you think of the founding fathers of this great country? Were they "blinkered and paranoid citizens"?

Kenneth St. Cyr

Another example of why there really should be more gun control laws so that extremist wack jobs who go off their nut don't hurt themselves and others.

Good point. How many drive-by knifing have ya heard about?

I've got it - the solution to the gun related crimes debate.

The biggest problem with guns is that they are an effective tool for murder. So.... I was just thinking and it hit me. Why don't we just outlaw murder? Thats it. Just make a law against murdering another person. That way, it doesn't matter what tool someone comes up with to use, it would be against the law to murder no matter what means is used. I can't believe no one thought of this before.

Almost no one knows this, but the NRA has been pushing state legislatures for years to enact the following:

If you use a gun while commiting a felony, then add ten years to whatever sentence the original crime deserves.

The problem is not guns, per se, but their illegal use.

Talk about 'automatic weapons' or 'assault weapons' is almost always uninformed nonsense. Yes, it is possible for a private person to possess a machine gun, but doing so requires a very-difficult-to-get federal license and background check.

I am hindered from possessing a weapon every time I travel outside the State of New Hampshire. Sure I can carry my weapon concealed or otherwise where ever I go in state. But when I travel outside the state I cannot be as safe as I am in my home state. The Federal Government should enact a national concealed carry permit. I have nothing to hide and would be willing to undergo any background check to get one.

Need I say more. Bad guys have them and so do the good guys.
Aim, take a breath, exhale and pull the trigger. You have just saved the taxpayers the cost of a trial. Does Addison (Cop Killer) ring a bell. For you anti-gun folks, just give the bad guy a hug as your dying. Hugs and Kisses Yea Right

I believe that all mentally competent citizens without a violent felony on their record should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon subject to a reasonable waiting period; no more than 7 days. I think all handguns should be registered for the purposes of criminal investigations, just as you have to license an automobile. Everyone should have to get a permit and take a safety class before carrying a gun, unless they can test out of it somehow. I think that assault weapons and armor piercing bullets should be outlawed.

I would draw a huge distinction between weapons for hunting and handguns if such a thing were possible. Most violent crimes are committed by handguns so if at all possible I'd limit the regulations to handguns. If that muzzle loader described below is what they say it is, it strikes me as ridiculous that someone would have to jump through hoops to get it.

Plus if anyone uses a gun in self defense, I think they should not be penalized for whatever laws they had to break to obtain that weapon. Or if someone can prove that they had reason to believe that their safety was in imminent danger, they shoud not be penalized for skirting the gun laws to get that weapon.

While I am for getting rid of many laws regarding the 'control' of fire arms in this Country, I do not believe we should allow all guns. Is there a real need for some of the fully automatic weapons out there?

Having said that, I propose a solution or at least partial solution, to the problem of criminals and guns. How about cutting off their trigger fingers? They can still function without them, but it would make firing a weapon a bit harder. It would make them easy to spot when they attempted to purchase a gun illegally. Not a perfect solution, but I think its a good start.

Yes I am serious.

...is a way to prevent those who shouldn't have access to deadly weapons from getting their hands on them - without infringing on rights of those who will never harm anyone (shouldn't = children, felons, drug addicts, i.e.) Now that would be a challenge! There are some, like the liberal media and politicians, who believe blanket laws are the answer. But we enlightened folks know that in reality, those laws only affect the people we shouldn't be concerned about. This debate can rage on and on, but unfortunately nobody's mind is going to be changed.
Mr. Hill has a good point, but goes a bit too far.

A documentary on gang activity on National Geographic last week. I was shocked at what I saw.

At one point in the documentary 6 gang members (wearing bandanas over their faces) posed for the camera with semi automatic weapons, machine guns and armor piercing bullets. All the weapons they had were illegal. The documentary continued for an hour as these criminal pulled out gun after gun after gun. They had stock piles.

It is obvious that gun control laws do not work. Abe, you ask -"Are you being hindered from possessing and using weapons today?" the answer is YES. People like myself and Hunter Dan have to jump though hoops in order to purchase a simple muzzle loader for hunting (In case you don't know, a muzzle loader takes only one shot and has to be packed and loaded by hand each time.) Hoops that can take up to 6 months to get through. I'm not opposed to this time period because as a law abiding gun owner I have no immediate NEED to have a weapon by tomorrow. But yes, citizens who obey the law are most certainly, without a doubt hindered in EVERY WAY possible.

Sam's letter needs to be taken quite seriously. Gun control does NOTHING to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals. The entire process needs to be disected and re-evaluated. As Sam states in his letter, Criminals - by definition - do not obey laws!

Gun control is not the issue -criminals and the black market are.