Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Well if we can find a way to reduce the number of out-of-shape, forty-year old, 5.11 wearing fools running around mean-mugging and open-carrying their 1911s in public, it might be a tad less offputting to reasonable people.

And de-stigmatizing the weapons would probably go a long way towards improving education of both the pro and anti gun groups. Not likely to happen though. As long as news is a business, every pistol grip rifle is a killing machine and every background check is a step towards the New World Order.

But really, we need more agenda-free education. The term "semi automatic" is a key point in the current discussion and I can't tell you how many people I've talked to who assume it indicates a machine gun.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

IDK how "simple" it would be in fact I think it would be difficult...but not impossible. As important as the second amendment is for Americans, freedom comes with responsibility, I haven't heard from either side a program for educating the public on fire arm safety or training, I would think that it would be near the top of the list of a regulation that wants to actually do something positive in the realm of gun ownership and rights. Neither Cuomo or Obama has a clue as to what it means to be a responsible gun owner, or how an effective education system would help reduce intentional and accidental injury due to lack of firearm safety. They would rather see no guns at all, but they both know that's not going to happen. So we have band aid regulation, to little to late, it's lake shutting the barn door after the horses already got out.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

There are more licensed arms dealers in the USA than there are McDonald's. I don't see any stigma.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Why can't the arms industry do this on their own? I mean they've thus far spent a huge amount of time and effort fighting off government regulation so far. Don't you think regulation would be far less likely if dealers were more responsible with respect to whom they sell guns to?

There could be a self imposed requirement for a customer to be a member of a gun club where they can be taught basic safety rules before they are allowed to buy a weapon. Gun sales could be by appointment only. So you don't get just anybody walking in off the street looking to buy a gun.

The industry could do some very simple things on it's own without any government intervention. But for some reason it won't.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

You talk as if accidental discharges are the primary problem in the US. They're a drop in the bucket statistically. If what we're talking about is injuries related to inadvertent accidents, we probably should target bicycles and motorcycles first because they pose a bigger threat to their owners.

And as for anything besides accidental discharges...remember that Anders Breivik was a member of the Oslo Shooting Club. On the other hand, not everyone who regularly shoots skeet and trap at the Medford Gun Club has a club membership. So I'm not really sure what we accomplish.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

With the US's gun problem, a statistical drop in the ocean is still hundreds, if not thousands of deaths a year.

You need a license to ride a motorcycle, right? If so, then motorcyclists do get trained before they get to ride. And cyclists rarely cause serious injury to anyone but themselves.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

I got my motorcycle license by riding a motorcycle around the block without dropping it. You're assuming that getting a motorcycle license involves a rigorous and thorough state-sponsored education and testing requirement. That's not the case.

Motorcycle deaths outnumber accidental firearms deaths three to one in the USA (about 4,500 per year to 1,500 per year). Now consider that there are 200 registered firearms and 7 million registered motorcycles per capita in the USA. So the deaths per capita are about 90:1. Bottom line: if you own both a motorcycle and a firearm, you are NINETY TIMES more likely to be killed in an accident with your motorcycle than in an accident with your firearm. Remember that next time you stick your head in the motorcycle enthusiasts' thread. (For what it's worth, I've been riding motorcycles since 1996; I'm not anti-motorcycle. Just trying to add some perspective of relative risk).

I think owners should get training appropriate for what they're going to buy and use. Just like I got training with my motorcycle through a private organization after receiving my license (which, for the record, actually saved my life a couple years later). But regulating what sort of training is a mess, and if we do it via government instead of via admonition to owners, we pull resources from other government projects which probably will save more lives per million dollars expended. And what sort of training is hard to regulate. If someone only intends on owning a break-action shotgun for competitive trap and skeet shooting, they can learn safe handling in about five minutes, and making them sit through a two-day class on how to disassemble and clean a 1911 semi-automatic handgun and an M1A rifle is a waste of everyone's time and resources.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

I do.

I'm not saying irrational fear and knee-jerk reactions are the rule when it comes to people on the street but it's not uncommon. And this is for both sides of the debate. There are people who are uncomfortable even seeing a gun and then there are people who feel the need to display theirs when carrying and neither is terribly rare.

Just because something is popular in some circles does not mean that it is embraced or understood by everyone.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Well in public, yeah. Using it on private land, whether it's your land, a business geared towards the item, or something else does not require a license. To do so in public, you do need a license. (in reasonable states, anyway) This is true of both guns and motorcycles.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Whoops!

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/01/19/five-injured-in-accidental-shootings-at-us-gun-shows

I have always maintained that if you want to own a firearm you should have to test each year to prove basic competency in handling and shooting accuracy. This is a good example as to why
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Whoa whoa! Let's leave 5.11 out of this! Their boots are great. XD
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

What you achieve is a change in attitude to guns. It's a starting point. Sort out the stuff that's easily avoidable first and give yourself some sort of base for educating people properly. By require gun owners to be part of a club they can be taught basic gun safety first before going out and buying an arsenal of guns.

These are simple changes the industry can make on it's own. And if it does, it may avoid heavy regulation by government and then Americans can continue to buy the guns they want to buy.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

They do make some decent, if unreasonably priced, gear. Coulda said "BLACKHAWK!!!! wearing fools" instead. More a comment about the people than the manufacturer, really.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

This has been repeatedly shown to be the case in states where 'open carry' is allowed. Any number of vids with people freaking out when someones carrying a side arm on their hip and minding their own business. Unreal.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Funny thing is I get a little freaky when I'm around someone with a gun and I don't have one. Especially if I don't know them. Don't know why I guess I have trust issues.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Yeah could be.

I dunno... where I grew up I assume most people have some type of gun on them. Many people in my family carry and always have had a concealed carry permit. I tend to be a bit less concerned with someone who's openly carrying than if they've got the gun tucked into their waistband and hidden by a tshirt.
 
I must admit I'd find it a little off putting , but as you say , it's probably more to do with culture as we rarely even see the police open carry , let alone Joe public.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

The open carry thing is very cultural. People are either used to it or they freak out. In major metro areas, Americans tend to freak out about open carry, even if it's just a handgun in a visible holster; in rural areas most people don't bat an eye at the concept of open-carrying either longarms or sidearms.

For contrast, open carry by off-duty members of the military (i.e., most young adults) is pretty common in Israel. Except for terrorism-related attacks, they don't have the gun violence issues the US does. I'm not saying we NEED open carry to be just like Israel, I'm just pointing out that it's not necessarily a bad thing, just a question of people's expectations.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Try a lot less concerned. The guy openly carrying his gun is not going to shoot me -- end of story. He knows that everyone is looking at him, watching him. Bad guys don't want to be watched. Total opposite.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

That really is a bad thing man.
Whatever the reasons, if you live in a society/culture/country where carrying a machine gun is common, accepted and just part of life then, IMHO, your society/culture/country has some serious issues.
Especially when you can look around the world and see places where people just don't have to do it because they have successfully developed to a state where that level of violent response isn't needed.
 
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