[geeks] [rescue] Guns - what are they good for? - was Re: TME and Apple II and other Drive emulator questions.

[Lionel Peterson]

In a country of over 300 million, we have many extremists on all sides of
almost any issue. It's certainly possible it occurred, but I suspect the
reality may have been a bit less extreme than as was reported in Mother Jones
magazine. In my experience Mother Jones is a very one-sided publication and as
such can be prone to overstating things to fire up folks on their side.

One of, if not the most popular gun in America (as I understand it) is the
AR-15 Semi-automatic rifle. Being semi-automatic means you don't have to stop
and take action to laid another round in the chamber after shooting as you
would with, say, a bolt-action rifle like the ones I learned to shoot with in
summer camp in the early 70s. All semi-automatic means is one bullet is shot
for each squeeze of the trigger - semi-automatic is not a 'machine gun' like
the AK-47 or other fully-automatic weapon where multiple bullets can be shot
with one squeeze of the trigger. Actual machine guns are essentially illegal
for private ownership with precious few exceptions.

Open carry in any state allows for many activities that 'scare' anti-gun
folks. In states like Texas it is not uncommon for businesses and private
residences to post anti-gun open-carry signs alerting anyone with a firearm
that they are not welcome if carrying a weapon - they are almost as common as
'no shirt, no shoes, no service' signs in some areas.

I hope that helps,

Lionel

> On May 19, 2014, at 6:07 AM, Jonathan Groll <lists at groll.co.za> wrote:
>
> On Wed, 14 May 2014 21:47:26 -0400, Lionel Peterson <lionel4287 at gmail.com>
wrote:
>
>>> On May 14, 2014, at 8:54 PM, Toby Thain <toby at telegraphics.com.au> wrote:
>>>
>>>>> On 14/05/14 10:35 AM, Jerry Kemp wrote:
>>>>>> On 05/13/14 07:35 PM, Toby Thain wrote:
>>>>>> On 13/05/14 12:09 PM, Nick B wrote:
>>>>>> Man, as much as I want a 5000$ single family home, I want to not get
>>>>>> shot
>>>>>> more.
>>>>>> Nick
>>>>>
>>>>> I hear theys lotsa guns in Texas.
>>>>> --T
>>>>
>>>> And an armed society makes for a polite society.
>>>
>>> They say that, don't they.
>>>
>>> It also makes for a sky-high homicide rate, and a lot of dead kids and
>> toddlers for no particularly good reason.
>>>
>>> Plus, as someone who's lived in several countries with fewer than 300
>> million guns, I can tell you that, if anything, they are much more
"polite"
>> than the USA. Not to mention safer.
>>
>> Interestingly, the District of Columbia has the highest gun homicide rate
>> (circa 2010), roughly three times higher than the second highest state...
>>
>> Guess how draconian DC gun laws are? Very draconian - a TV host was in
danger
>> of going to jail for merely holding an empty  'hi-capacity' gun clip in
his
>> hand in a DC TV studio... No gun, just the clip.
>>
>> Gun-free zones are defense-free zones, and the crime statistics bear that
out
>> in America.
>
> Hey, I'm a South African. We're like the epicenter of family murders
> (where a father kills his family). Never mind Oscar Pistorious. To get
> an illicit AK47 here is neither difficult not expensive [1]
>
> But, even I was shocked reading this (admittedly very anti-gun article):
>
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/05/guns-bullying-open-carry-women-mo
ms-texas
>
> As an outsider reading about US gun issues, the vitriolic retoric is
> sometimes shocking even to those of us who live in parts of the world
> with endemic gun violence.
>
> Can Open Carry Texas really send groups carrying semi-automatic rifles
> along a busy road? WTF?
>
> Cheers,
> Jonathan
>
> [1]
>
http://soundmoneysa.co.za/2012/10/what-can-the-ak-47-teach-us-about-gun-contr
ol-in-south-africa/
>
> --
> jjg: Jonathan J. Groll : groll co za
> has_one { :blog => "http://bloggroll.com" }
> Any other Disclaimer in this mail is Wrong.
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