Should Unsafe = no gun rights?

[Farmland]

Sometimes when I get bored I take a trip on You Tube just to see the crazy things people do with guns. I don't have to tell you there sure are enough people that I don't want to be around when they are shooting.

However the thing that really hits home is the age of some of these people. I'm not giving a pass to the youth however I would never expect some of these people to act in such a careless manner.

I have seen drunks, inexperience shooters, people making someone shoot a weapon that is too powerful for them to hold, undiscriminated shooting I mean the list goes on and on.

Sometimes I get the feeling that people don't fully understand the power they hold in their hands. I certainly know they have no regard to safety and I even wonder if they should own a weapon.

Now that last one probably hits home when a true die in the wool pro gun person makes a statement like that. If that thought can cross my mine just think what a true anti gun person thinks when they see these videos.

I would hope more people would stop and think before doing crazy things and unsafe things with weapons.

So what I want to know, am I in the minority when it comes to gun safety?

The next question I have to ask why would you post an unsafe video?

The last question I have to ask should a person loose their right to own a gun when they willfully act in such an unsafe manner?

NOTE: It took a lot for me to ask this question because I think the government has been way to restrictive on the subject of gun ownership.

 

[JagFarlane]

So what I want to know, am I in the minority when it comes to gun safety?

Newp, just like with a lot of things, its about 5-10% of the population that makes the rest look bad. Though, I will say in a lot of chats with gun shop clerks, the amount of respect given to firearms is going down. Honestly, a lot of it has to do with parenting nowadays, parents let their kids get away with bloody murder. Hell I KNOW had I even touched a display firearm as a kid, without it being handed to me, there would have been repercussions, these days, less parents are like that. Why? Who knows, coddling maybe, fear of others calling Child Services, whatever...thats were the bud needs to be nipped...


The next question I have to ask why would you post an unsafe video?

Some people really don't think before they act.

The last question I have to ask should a person loose their right to own a gun when they willfully act in such an unsafe manner?

As nice as it would be to say yes, the question of how to go about that comes up.

 

[oneounceload]

In England, where gun ownership is already severely restricted, you can lose your right to own shotguns (a shotgun certificate) through "irresponsible behavior". If you get into a row in a bar, (no guns involved), speeding too much over the limit, domestic issues beyond a certain level, etc. the gov't will revoke your certificate, thereby disallowing your ownership of shotguns. That could be very scary. A friend of mine who is English, had a doctor friend have that happen due to a speeding infraction in his car. No accident, aggressive driving weaving in and out, just going too fast.

Would that really stop the small percentage of yahoos who do stupid things? Doubtful, no more than warning labels do on ladders. But it could sure inconvenience a lot of other folks for some minor mishaps.

 

[chemgirlie]

If you do something stupid that threatens another person (brandishing, threatening, etc) and are convicted of such I suppose you could lose your 2A rights via a felony conviction or terms of probation.

The problem is once the door is opened to disallowing people to own guns the power can and will be abused and overused. With that in mind I'm going to say a stern talking to and potential call the LEOs (depending on the danger of the stupidity involved) should happen, but not revoking gun rights for non- convicted felons.

 

[SIGSHR]

The development of digital cameras, video recording, cell phome cameras, etc seems to have hit the "Stupid" button in many people's psyches. 40 years ago if you wanted to star in your own "adult" pictures, you had to stick to Polaroids or learn to develop your own films since sending them out for processing risked exposure, nowadays all you have to do is hit the "Record"
button. But you risk it being posted on the Web. In 1973 during the "streaking" craze an individual streaked the Academy Awards while David Niven was speaking. Without missing a beat Niven said "He has to take off all his clothes to reveal all his deficiencies." That's what I think of people who make "adult" movies or "Stupid Gun Videos". However, "Stupid" is NOT a crime and performing stupid acts is not grounds for forfeiture of 2A rights. (How come the other rights are never subject to forfeiture? Should someone who bought a house with a mortgage and then defaulted be barred from ever obtaining a mortgage again?)

 

[LeopardCurDog]

Your opinion of unsafe or stupid or silly may be totally opposite of mine and many others. You have any examples?

 

[44 AMP]

Welcome to the modern era

People (especially young men) have been doing stupid things since the beginning of young men. The main difference is that today, it can easily be captured on video, and shown world wide, repeatedly, even constantly!

As we all know, stupidity itself is not a crime. Until you harm someone, then it is.

Accidents happen, and people suffer. Deliberately creating a situation where people can be injured is covered under existing law. Do most of these stupid people deserve a spanking? I think so. But I'm not their daddy, to give it to them. And neither are you. And certainly neither is the government.

Thats the downside of liberty. stupid people get to be free too.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

The last question I have to ask should a person loose their right to own a gun when they willfully act in such an unsafe manner?

People make stupid statements, but the they don't lose their right to free speech over it. Same thing with guns.

I don't disagree that people do stupid things with firearms, but any system that gives someone else the power of judging your actions based on their own belief system and making decisions for you will only result in everyone losing their freedom.

 

[ZeSpectre]

I have to ask why would you post an unsafe video?

Exhibitionism.

Should a person loose their right to own a gun when they willfully act in such an unsafe manner?

Stupidity is not a crime. It's a shame, but it's not a crime.

 

[macville]

Think about it this way. Should Unsafe = no drivers license? There are probably 100+ million drivers every day in the US who drive VERY dangerously (and I don't mean just drunk driving!) Should the government take away people's rights because they act in a possibly unsafe manner? The problem is the government does sweeping laws. The same reason we have absurd gun laws for carry and firearms in general are because of stupid people and criminals. A law passed to help people who are foolish wouldn't just affect those dumb people, it would affect EVERYONE because "THEY can not be trusted." The "easy" solution is to just hit everyone instead of the people it really needs to be tailored for. Same reason playgrounds are SOOOO safe when compared to when I was a kid. Some kids/parents were too stupid and ended up suing over their own stupidity.

The thing is, how do we expect people to properly handle firearms when they are not trained in school? Every kid should be taught in K-3 grades about not handling firearms. Then in late middle school they should be taught about actually handling them and marksmanship. It would help people to have farm more respect for firearms.

It's funny this came up because last night my father-in-law was over here with me and my wife for dinner. He brought us a box of .380 ammo for my wife's new Bersa .380 Plus and loaded a mag for us. When he got done he inserted the clip into the gun and then started waving the gun around at us (not pointing mind you, just waving) to see how it felt with the 15 rounds in the gun. He hadn't chambered a round or cocked the hammer, so the gun had 0% of going off even if dropped. However, my wife and I immediately told him to stop point the gun at us. Here is a man who should know better (a lawyer who has been around guns growing us), but needed to be reminded of two basic rules: treat all guns as loaded and don't point at something you don't want to shoot. Those rules and few others need to be beat into EVERYONE's head so even 80 years after taking a class they instinctively come up when handling a firearm.

Matthew

 

[inSight-NEO]

I would hope more people would stop and think before doing crazy things and unsafe things with weapons.

Agreed. Unfortunately, stupid is as stupid does. Ever hear of the saying "You can lead a horse to water, but you cant make him drink."? Well, relating to your statement, "You can hand someone a gun, but you cant make them think."

For one reason or another, many out there simply choose to ignore/disrespect certain precautions as related to anything dangerous. Cavalier attitude? Superman complex? Immaturity? Stupidity? Blantant carelessness? Too distracted? Too tired? Who knows?

So what I want to know, am I in the minority when it comes to gun safety?

No and yes...it depends. Im almost sure that the basics of gun safety are known by most gun owners out there. But, this often gets shoved by the wayside due to experimentation, thrill seeking, presumption, and/or sheer carelessness. As an example, even trained individuals who should know better have shot either themselves or other objects by accident. Why? Its not that they dont know the "rules." Its that they have either become complacent and a bit too presumptuous as relating to gun safety or have, for one reason or another, developed a cavalier attitude towards weapons.

However, there are many, many responsible gun owners out there who have yet to suffer such a lack of safety. Its these individuals I tend to pay attention to. Groups like the media, however, tend to pay more attention to those belonging to the other crowd. This is unfortunate and is essentially the bane of all responsible gun owners out there.

In my opinion, guns are like anything else construed as dangerous in that, while accidents do happen, there are many steps/methods available to prevent such tragic and/or stupid occurances. All one has to do is simply pay attention, develop/practice safe habits and never lose "respect" for the inherent dangers associated with such an object.

The next question I have to ask why would you post an unsafe video?

I wouldnt. Ill leave that to those who do not mind looking like idiots.

The last question I have to ask should a person loose their right to own a gun when they willfully act in such an unsafe manner?

As long as Ive been alive, myself (along any other American) has had the right to make his/her own stupid mistakes. Are there usually consequences for these mistakes? Certainly. Sometimes severe consequences. However, I prefer consequences to the loss of rights. Consequences are the result of ones chosen action; this I can live with. Control (gonvernmental, for instance), on the flipside, not only affects the irresponsible, but can also affect the responsible (in a negative way). This I have a problem with. Give one an inch, he/she may take a mile...so to speak.


So, if its not considered irresponsible by legal standards, then the answer to this particular question is no. Beyond that I cant and wont say as we could then be approaching a huge Second Ammendment rights/freedom/governmental intrusion debate. Frankly, I dont have the energy for that one.

 

[Evan Thomas]

I think inSight-NEO pretty much nailed this one... a fine and thoughtful response.

You can't legislate against ignorance and stupidity -- only against their more unfortunate consequences...

But -- I'd add that it's worth at least trying to educate people who are behaving unsafely, before just writing them off as Darwin Award candidates... this recent thread is a nice example of how it can (occasionally) be done. Not saying everyone's educable, but the fellow who posted the link to his "fun" (and appalling) videos ended the discussion with this:

My apologies to the firearm world for my unsafe actions. Let's call it then a "What NOT to do at the shooting range" video.

It sounds like he actually learned something... and he's a pretty stand-up guy to say so, and apologize.

 

[SIGSHR]

To quote an adage I have seen posted elsehwere:
"No man is completely useless-he can always serve as a bad example."
If "Stupid Gun Videos" show what NOT to do then they serve a useful purpose.

 

[inSight-NEO]

"No man is completely useless-he can always serve as a bad example."
If "Stupid Gun Videos" show what NOT to do then they serve a useful purpose.

True. Ill add this though: If one does not know the difference between acceptable and unacceptable gun practice(s) in the first place, then such videos serve no purpose and essentially, glorify unsafe/irresponsible behavior. The only hope is that someone more responsible and knowledgeable will come along and set the record straight.

But, boys will be boys....Ive been there, so I hold no grudges. Some come around...some do not. I applaud those that do.

 

[Housezealot]

what ever happened to young idiots playing mumbleypeg?
now they all seem to have PGO shotguns and soon to be tested body armor.

 

[w_houle]

How about this: Should Unsafe = no rights?