Comments do not represent the opinions of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, nor does it review every comment. Profanities, slurs and libelous remarks are prohibited. For more information you can view our Terms & Conditions and/or Ethics policy.
I'll forward this on to Mr. Dodd as well in hopes that it might be read, but gun control is not the answer, and the reason is because you CAN NOT control it. I agree gunshow laws should be tightened, that's all well and fine. But how do you control when the two parties just go down the street to one of the party's homes and trade guns there? You can't, you simply can't.
Furthermore, say you were able to take every single gun away that there ever was. If your officers are still armed, that's the number one thing criminals will want. Your police officers are now even more of a target. So, you take the officers away, all guns are now gone.
What about knives? What about improvised explosives? What about fire? Cars? Beatings?
The mind of a criminal is the real weapon. I don't have any hard stats on it, but I'd be willing to guess that out of 10 gun owners 9.9 have never commited a crime or desired to. Why do people want high capacity magazines (they are not called clips unless you're shooting a Garand) why do people want semi-automatic weapons? To protect themselves from such criminals. It's the minority of criminals against the vast majority of people who have guns for defense, hunting, and my personal favorite; competition. Look at Top Shot on TV, look at the awesome competitive atmostphere at a local IDPA or 3 Gun match or Cowboys match like those held in Cleveland every month. These are people who treat it as a sport and they love their sport. These are people who have families who they want to protect from the criminal mind.
Chicago and Washington DC had STRONG anti-gun laws and look how much is helped their cities. It didn't. It disarmed the innocent and gave power to the criminal.
You want to change the face of crime? Don't look on the surface, look at the cause of it. It's not hidden. It's very plain to see.
I can't speak for the wild-card from Colorado who took the life of a well-respected officer; evil can be random.
But in your community, the ghetto mindset and lifestyle somehow is a glorified thing. People subjected to years of parental abuse, alcoholism, violence in the home; they don't see a way out. So, they embrace the lifestyle that's so prevalent in the urban communities. Gang life, drug dealing; these are a way out to them. Big money, respect, notoriety. And the tools of the trade for gangs and drug dealers? Guns. The see it as power, power they didn't have growing up, respect they didn't have growing up, white, black, latino, it doesn't matter. This lifestyle is intriguing to them because it's seen as an escape from their current reality. (end of Part 1)
I'll forward this on to Mr. Dodd as well in hopes that it might be read, but gun control is not the answer, and the reason is because you CAN NOT control it. I agree gunshow laws should be tightened, that's all well and fine. But how do you control when the two parties just go down the street to one of the party's homes and trade guns there? You can't, you simply can't.
Furthermore, say you were able to take every single gun away that there ever was. If your officers are still armed, that's the number one thing criminals will want. Your police officers are now even more of a target. So, you take the officers away, all guns are now gone.
What about knives? What about improvised explosives? What about fire? Cars? Beatings?
The mind of a criminal is the real weapon. I don't have any hard stats on it, but I'd be willing to guess that out of 10 gun owners 9.9 have never commited a crime or desired to. Why do people want high capacity magazines (they are not called clips unless you're shooting a Garand) why do people want semi-automatic weapons? To protect themselves from such criminals. It's the minority of criminals against the vast majority of people who have guns for defense, hunting, and my personal favorite; competition. Look at Top Shot on TV, look at the awesome competitive atmostphere at a local IDPA or 3 Gun match or Cowboys match like those held in Cleveland every month. These are people who treat it as a sport and they love their sport. These are people who have families who they want to protect from the criminal mind.
Chicago and Washington DC had STRONG anti-gun laws and look how much is helped their cities. It didn't. It disarmed the innocent and gave power to the criminal.
You want to change the face of crime? Don't look on the surface, look at the cause of it. It's not hidden. It's very plain to see.
I can't speak for the wild-card from Colorado who took the life of a well-respected officer; evil can be random.
But in your community, the ghetto mindset and lifestyle somehow is a glorified thing. People subjected to years of parental abuse, alcoholism, violence in the home; they don't see a way out. So, they embrace the lifestyle that's so prevalent in the urban communities. Gang life, drug dealing; these are a way out to them. Big money, respect, notoriety. And the tools of the trade for gangs and drug dealers? Guns. The see it as power, power they didn't have growing up, respect they didn't have growing up, white, black, latino, it doesn't matter. This lifestyle is intriguing to them because it's seen as an escape from their current reality. (end of Part 1)
Or login with:
New Account