Gun Control

[XU_Lou]

And yes, citizens were allowed to purchase and own cannons - despite the ill-informed comments throughout this thread.

Bannerman’s military surplus store in NYC sold them:

"Francis kept all his military surplus inventory in various places around New York City, but eventually consolidated it all in one store on Broadway in Manhattan: the world famous Bannerman’s Army & Navy Outfitters. Known simply as “Bannerman’s,” the store eventually grew to cover a block in length and seven floors in height, encompassing over 40,000 square feet of floor space. It also issued a 350+ page Sears-Roebuck-like catalog from which subscribers around the globe could mail-order horse saddles, swords, African spears, Civil War rifles, and even cannons if they fancied."

https://www.artofmanliness.com/chara...surplus-store/


You guys should also read "Over-The-Rhine: When Beer Was King". Pitched battles were fought in the streets of Cincy in the mid/late 1800s that involved cannons.

In 1884, "A cannon was taken from the city's largest gun store and paraded down Main Street by a group of about fifty people"

[paulxu]

It seems OK to own rifles and shotguns for hunting/sport, and handguns for defense of the home.
Not sure why anyone would need guns specifically designed to be more destructive in armed combat.
As to Jefferson's quote:

The phrase “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms” shows up in a draft of a proposed Virginia constitution in 1776. Subsequent drafts included the bracketed qualifier that “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms [within his own lands or tenements].” Although this sentence did not find its way into the final version of the Virginia state constitution, it is documented in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson.

I suspect the advocates of unlimited gun rights (any kind of weapon, no permits, no registrations, no training, open and concealed carry, etc.) would be really unhappy if you said...OK, you can do all that, but Jefferson said you have to stay on your own property.

[XU_Lou]

It seems OK to own rifles and shotguns for hunting/sport, and handguns for defense of the home.
Not sure why anyone would need guns specifically designed to be more destructive in armed combat.
As to Jefferson's quote:



I suspect the advocates of unlimited gun rights (any kind of weapon, no permits, no registrations, no training, open and concealed carry, etc.) would be really unhappy if you said...OK, you can do all that, but Jefferson said you have to stay on your own property.

Where does property end, or extend to? Is an automobile property? Is my body my own property when I'm at a concert or grocery?

Additionally, the government must have a certain degree of fear of us. You only have to look at what is happening right now in Shanghai, or to New Zealand or Australia (etc) to understand why the founding fathers felt that citizens needed to be armed to protect their freedoms.

[SemajParlor]

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."

- Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776

"I own slaves." - Thomas Jefferson.

[XU_Lou]

"I own slaves." - Thomas Jefferson.

Pretty stupid comment....

Edit: Have you disavowed everything the Democrat party has ever said or stood for then - that is if you're being intellectually consistent?

[SemajParlor]

Pretty stupid comment....

Edit: Have you disavowed everything the Democrat party has ever said or stood for then - that is if you're being intellectually consistent?

Sure if that makes you feel better. As a rule of thumb I don't like using someone from 400 years ago as complete justification for how to live today. Jefferson was shooting muskets. Use your head.

[Xville]

I think what this comes down to is that there are simple answers with complicated solutions:

Should there be some kind of gun reform? Sure. Makes sense that people should be allowed to own as many guns as they want. However, there should be things put in place such as universal background checks, waiting periods and mental health evaluations as a prerequisite for any purchase. How are those paid for, how are they put in place, what should be the parameters for what the average citizen should be allowed to purchase, who administers that mental health evaluation etc is the issue

Should there be an increased focus on mental health in this country? Absolutely---yet again, how is that paid for, what are the parameters etc?

Should there be an increased focus on family values and the family unit, morals etc---yep but where do you even start?

[D-West & PO-Z]

Should be no debate. Make getting guns harder. Longer wait periods. Better background checks including a mental health evaluation. Regular citizens don't need assault rifle's or whatever they're called or classified as. I know this wont and cant prevent all mass shootings, but the whole country should be behind limiting these events as much as possible. We should all be together on this.

100%

[D-West & PO-Z]

Gun control topics don't derail threads. People talking gun control derails threads.

Ha, well done!

[D-West & PO-Z]

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."

- Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833

You realize the government has tanks right? This doesnt apply in the least to the way the world works today. Billy Bob ain't keeping the government from doing whatever they want to him (if they really wanted to) because he has a few guns in the collection.

The whole "I need guns to prevent government oppression" argument is so hilariously absurd. Back then, no, now, yes.