I posted this a day or two ago, but it never showed up, so I'll try again.
Although I am not anti-gun, I don't personally see the need for ME to own one. I do not hunt, I am in a low crime (almost non-existent) area, and the only place that I would like to be able own a gun to defend myself (in my big trucks going through sewers such as Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, etc.) is illegal. I have scoffed at the reasons many of you give for owning a gun:home defense from criminals, terrorists, government gone haywire.

The boatload of Haitians has left me at a loss. If our President and government can't detect a boat of refugees until it is in waist high water, how are we to be protected. Our President has spent all that money on the office of homeland defense, and I consider it a waste.
Apparently I was too blind to have trusted our government with the lives of it's citizens. Although I won't run out to buy a gun, I can at least understand some of your fears.

Therefore, I apologize for thinking some of you a little fanatical in your reasons for gun ownership.

 

Sadly, it's not a boat load of terrorists storming our beaches that pose the biggest threat to you, it's the yahoo who shoots you and the convenience store clerk during a botched robbery attempt while you are paying for your slurpee, or the lowlife that finds home invasion robberies (your home) an easier way to make a living than what you and I do every day, or the jackass who thinks you looked at his girlfriend a little strange, or the opportunistic rapist who stops along the roadside to help your wife with her flat tire, etc.

Sure, most folks are decent, maybe even 99.99%. That still leaves a large number of bad folks out there. I'd like to be armed when one of them decides to make me their next victim.

 

some how some people miss the boat. its the right to own and the freedom to make the choice for yourself. the fact that you and i have the choice is whats important.

 

Its seems to me that you're starting this thread with no other purpose but to instigate an argument, based on the sarcasm its dripping with.

What do you want, another building to collapse to show the war on terrorism still exists? Considering how many terrorist attempts in the last year have been caught in the planning stages I think the President's efforts are working and its the very lack of successful attacks that shows its working.

 

What good does a gun do against a boatload of refugees? You think we should gun them down on the beaches? You can stop them short with a sandwich. As far as guns go, I think any law-abiding person in the US should be allowed to carry concealed, especially truckers, bus drivers, etc

 

Tim, the choice is yours and yours alone. You have the freedom to own a gun and right now you still have the power to make that choice.

If the anti-gun nuts get their way you'll have neither.

FYI, that boat load of Haitians was being tailed by the Coast Guard for a few days before they hit our shores. They deemed them a non-terrorist threat and watched them land instead of turning them around. Why? Something to think about. Oh, and that little punk that was running around with his "step-farther" blowing away people in the DC area, he is an illegal alien from Haiti who was deemed a non-terrorist treat too, and allowed to roam free until his immigration hearing. Why? Something else to think about.

 

things like that make me sick. ( goverment letting people roam free til their hearings, only to find out they are in the proccess of killing people. )

BuiltToughF250

 

If you want to know about all the terrorist threats out there, just go talk to your local fire chief, or director of emergency management for your area. There are new threats put out every day. Anywhere from Washington D.C., to the highways, to the railroads, to the water treatment plants, to your kids athletic events, to the front yard that your kids play in. Terrorism is all around us, both foreign and domestic. Someone is always out to try to destroy your way of life, because they are too lazy to make a good life for themselves. If you think you are not at risk, just look at your own school system to see how many times drugs have been found. Where there is a drug problem, there is always the chance for violence against innocent people. And yes, one incident, can constitute a drug problem. If they have found one, how many more have they not found. I really hate to lean on kids, but, todays kids have not got the respect of days gone by. When you have kids out there who will kill over a pair of shoes, you have to be prepared for anything. Some people choose not to own a gun. That is their choice. I hope they never experience an event that will change their mind. As for me, I don't think that anyone should tell me that I can't own a gun for the protection of myself and my family. And I pitty the person who tries to force his beliefs on me.

Bluehawk

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displaythumbnail.php?&photoid=4318&.jpg
F-250 SD XLT CC 4x4 Shortbed; 285/75R16 BFGoodrich T/A KO, MAAP nerf bars, Rally/Lightbar combo, PIAA 1300 driving lights, Lund bugshield, Lund SunVisor, tinted windows, K&N airfilter, Access tonneau cover, Rhino Liner, remote starter/security system, custom built console, Cobra 29 ST/WX CB with a Wilson 1000 magnet mount antenna, Realistic 500 channel police scanner, Kenwood 10 disk CD changer, Compaq laptop, SVP 100 Watt siren, and 24 Strobe lights.

Upgrades for the near future include: Warn Rio Grande pushbar with a 12,000# winch, 4" lift kit, and fender flares.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 01-Nov-02 AT 00:30 AM (EST)]Bluehawk-
I agree with you, but in my opinion a lack of respect that kids show now days can be traced back to "the older people" and society. Kids know only what their parents and society teaches them. So maybe we should be looking in the mirror before we blame those damn kids

 

I seem to vaguely remember a response from a Japanese general when asked why they didn't invade us and he indicated that everybody had a gun!!!!!The very fact that a potential aggressor has knowledge of your decisive ability to inflict much pain is the ultimate deterrence that usually prevents a war from getting started.....this is true for citizens as well as nations , that is why the "right to carry" is a very effective defense of your person and home.....Everybody should own and possess a weapon in their home and know how to use it as the police cannot act until AFTER a crime has already been commited , which means the cops are always getting there after the fact --which is just alittle TOO late , isn't it------fd

 

Fatdaddy, As recently as the early eighties the Russians were formulating plans for a possible ground war in the US. According to their own figures, they figured that even with their military might, they would have had to face 17 MILLION CIVILIAN GUNS in the state of Pennsylvania alone. The Russians knew our people would fight to the death and can hit what they aim at. The Russians finally concluded that it just isn't worth trying. They didn't want to face a "Stalingrad" of their own.

 

rocky , you just made my case!!!I got my Coonskin hat out of the closet and dusted it off , cleaned up my 50 caliber Sharps , loaded abunch of ammo , and I'm teaching my dog "Saddam"(the Coonhound) how to track a Camel across across the barren desert just in case "Mohammed the Conqueror" decides to fly over on his Magic Carpet with all 50 wives and his army of arabs and start a Holy war at the local Hooters at lunchtime.........Where's Bubba when we really need him?????fd

 

Ken,

I agree there is some sarcasm in my post, but the main reason for the post is a true apology. In the gun related posts I have been criticizing peoples reasons for owning a gun. One of those reasons was the threat of terrorism against us. I thought that threat to be just about impossible, but if a boat of people can get that close, what about a couple of individuals in a small boat? So, I wanted everyone to know that I now understand what they were getting at.

Rocky, you missed "the boat". I wasn't talking about gunning down the boaters, I was referring to the apparent "loose" border control.

hitecdan, I agree.

No digs or insults intended. Just wanted to say I can understand the other way of thinking.

 

It is my understanding the Coast Guard was shadowing the boat of Hatian Democrats as they were on a Pleasure Cruise and decided to stop in at Key West and vote on those new Florida voting machines and appearantly somebody in the crowd announced that "Free Cheese" would be given too each person that voted.....Well!!!Those folks couldn't get offa Dat boat fast enough to Vote and get some of that free cheese and maybe become American Democrats all at the same time----some of them even knew how to spell "chappaquidick" which is on the POP Test for being a Citizen in Massachusetts and Mississippi.....what's next........the possibilities boggle the Mind.......fd

 

I for one am thoroughly disgusted at the Border Patrol and INS. They are constantly whining that, "we can't stop them", yet they collect paychecks for doing just that. Why weren't the college kids that helped the Haitians get away arrested and charged withg fleeing? The cops too dumb to take down license numbers? I want success, or resignations. No more lame excuses. I've never had a job where failure was the norm, have you?