{"id":4198,"date":"2003-01-20T14:10:28","date_gmt":"2003-01-20T19:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/?p=4198"},"modified":"2003-01-20T14:10:28","modified_gmt":"2003-01-20T19:10:28","slug":"guns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/01\/20\/guns.html","title":{"rendered":"Guns"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post has been a long time in coming.<\/p>\n

Since I was in high school, and tasked with reading up on debate issues surrounding penal reform, I’ve been something of a gun control supporter. The stats seemed clear: guns in households kill people. Whether it’s innocent kids who get hold of them, or someone shooting a family member they thought was a burglar, or someone grabbing a gun in the middle of a heated argument, guns mean death. End of story. Restrict guns, and you reduce killings. QED.<\/p>\n

Except it’s not that simple. In fact, the more I’ve read over the past few years, the more I’ve realized that’s simplistic<\/i>. <\/p>\n

Arguing about whether the ills that privately held guns cause are due to their inherently overly-dangerous nature, due to negligence, or whatever, is a waste of bandwidth, since it’s become almost a religious tenet one way or another between different sides in this debate. <\/p>\n

But watching what’s happening in Britain<\/a>, with its “Don’t dare protect yourself — but, sorry, the police can’t protect you, either” message, and then seeing similar burblings going on here, too<\/a>, I’ve really come to the conclusion that an (optionally) armed populace is really not all that bad a thing. In fact, it has some “a pack, not a herd” aspects to it that I think are actually positive for society.<\/p>\n

Which isn’t to say that the idea of a gun in my own house makes me all that comfortable, to be sure. But, then, life doesn’t seem to be meant <\/i>to be comfortable, does it?<\/p>\n

(via Andrea<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post has been a long time in coming. Since I was in high school, and tasked with reading up on debate issues surrounding penal reform, I’ve been something of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics-law"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":129255,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/12\/24\/dark-things-fear-the-light-gun-freedom-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":4198,"position":0},"title":"Dark things fear the light (GUN FREEDOM! Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 24-Dec-15 3:08pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Because we can't have the Gummint gathering some actual data about guns and violence in a nationwide, funded, systemic fashion because ... well, who knows what we might find?!Even the original sponsor of Congress\u2019s gag order on research now agrees. \u201cI wish we had started the proper research and kept\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42433,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/06\/07\/guns-guns-guns-guns-2.html","url_meta":{"origin":4198,"position":1},"title":"Guns, guns, guns, guns","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 7-Jun-14 11:28am","format":false,"excerpt":"Ran across the below, and it prompted a flurry of tiny aneurysms. \u00a0If your prime counter-example is a domestic terrorist from almost twenty years go, it seems you're reaching -- especially when the number of people killed by guns in that same time frame is much, much higher.The analogy falls\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/BoQai8fIgAAk6n6.png.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42462,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/06\/09\/guns-guns-guns.html","url_meta":{"origin":4198,"position":2},"title":"Guns, guns, guns","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 9-Jun-14 11:02am","format":false,"excerpt":"Do people murder their whole family with weapons other than guns? \u00a0Sure.When given a choice, do they tend to opt for guns, which can kill quickly, effectively, and at a distance? \u00a0Sure seems that way.But, remember, guns must be freely available to keep families safe.(See also: suicide rates by gun,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33939,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/05\/20\/bullets-dont-care-if-theyre-fired-by-good-guys-or-bad-guys.html","url_meta":{"origin":4198,"position":3},"title":"Bullets don't care if they're fired by good guys or bad guys","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 20-May-13 4:56pm","format":false,"excerpt":"NRA head Wayne LaPierre insists that\u00a0\"the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.\" \u00a0The problem is, sometimes good guys get \"stopped\" by other good guys with guns. \u00a0Whether it's kids accidentally shooting each other, or innocents caught by \"friendly fire,\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":134962,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/10\/06\/guns-and-myth.html","url_meta":{"origin":4198,"position":4},"title":"Guns and Myth","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 6-Oct-17 2:26pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Even as the number of gun owners (and hunters) declines in the US, guns continue to be a hot commodity, with a small fraction of the population buying up ever-increasing weapons for ... well, for all sorts of reasons, including some ever-escalating fear-mongering from the unofficial lobbyists for the gun\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/unnamed-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":128303,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/13\/the-only-thing-that-can-stop-a-crazy-with-a-gun-is-um-no-more-crazy.html","url_meta":{"origin":4198,"position":5},"title":"The only thing that can stop a Crazy with a Gun is … um … no more Crazy!","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 13-Oct-15 11:10pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Jeb! has revealed his secret plan to stop mass killings: http:\/\/www.stonekettle.com\/2015\/10\/bang-bang-crazy-two-in-bush.htmlThe cause of all this gun violence is that crazy people can get guns! And then they kill people (not because they have guns, or that they are crazy and have guns, but because they are crazy). So, somehow, we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/gun-crazy-movie-poster-1949-10201427725B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4198\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}