Loughner declined from the army, but passed a background check to buy a gun?

[Nocte]

Also, there's no reason to get crazy defensive about this. It's not as if they're going to write legislation based on this thread's discussion. None of this really matters, except to state our cases and realize that we don't agree.

[john_savage1982]

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[john_savage1982]

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[LevinJ]

Why I own a gun: I am not good at being a victim. And I would rather risk my life than live the rest of my life knowing that my wife/other family/similar was hurt when I know that I could have done something to protect them. For better or worse, I live in a society where guns are prevalent and where local law enforcement is in a public union that sometimes slows down their response rate when they have pay and contract disputes (or when they feel like it).

This is not idle chat or a random feeling from watching movies. I am in the military and I am a combat veteran. I know what it means to carry a gun, be shot at, and to contemplate the consequences of pulling the trigger. I currently own a shotgun which is within arms reach while I sleep. It has rounds in the magazine but not in the chamber.

There have been break-ins in my town recently, largely because they know the police are slow to respond. My wife is pregnant and if I thought someone had broke into my home, I would be on a hair trigger. Don't like this? Don't break into my home. I currently live in a state where getting concealed carry license is near impossible, regrettably. We are moving soon to another state and I plan on getting a conceal carry license as soon as possible. I am a Catholic and I strongly oppose needlessly taking another life. But defense of my family from an aggressor is another thing entirely.

A female co-worker of mine was driving the other day at night through the city and someone ran up to her stopped car at a red light and mugged her at gun point. At the nearby university I attend, there have been similar muggings (mostly at knife point) and sexual assaults. Maybe a dozen in the past year. I don't think those criminals could even tell you what the laws for concealed carry or lawful gun possession are in my state.

Would I prefer that the world was different? Yes. Am I eager to point a gun at someone and pull the trigger? No. Am I aware that the odds of me or my immediate family being a victim of crime are significantly high, no matter what precautions I take? Yes. Just the world we live in.

[LevinJ]

Oh, and on a side note, I understand he was denied to the army because he did not pass a drug test (apparently he is a pot head). The army probably does not release those drug tests to police, as this could hurt recruiting if people were afraid that they faced being criminally charged if anything came out while they were talking to a military recruiter.

[Kassel]

Is it true? Do I really agree with Taxi ?? What is this world coming to.

I guess when you live in a country where people are not killed every day with guns you have a different perspective on the need for them in the first place.

[boboo]

Originally Posted by Kassel [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Is it true? Do I really agree with Taxi ?? What is this world coming to.

I guess when you live in a country where people are not killed every day with guns you have a different perspective on the need for them in the first place.

But thats my point though, the fact that people are killed every day is like a vicious circle. People get killed often because guns are omnipresent so people get guns to defend themselves.

It was like when i was in New York, some jesus freak started to talk to me and my reaction was to do what i usually do in Montreal when some people who pass these latter day saints leaflets try to talk to me which is to poke a little fun at them for my amusement and move on (like telling them that I am god).

But then i remembered where i was, Queens NY and all of a sudden the thought that came into my mind was "this motherfucker might just stab you for saying that yeah you are prepared to take the chance to go to hell by not beleiving in god". So i rapidly steered cleared of stabbing distance and moved along quickly.

I understand some of the need and want of americans to defend themselves, i just think its a downward spiral and americans need a big soul searching if they dont want their society to implode like a black hole, although my opinion is that it might be a little too late for that.

[Winobot]

Sadly, I've only met eurotools who pretend to give a damn about our problems because its trendy to do so. Wearing bush shirts, pins, stop the bomb/war/us. My question is -- what the hell are YOU doing about it?

[Kassel]

This conversation reminds me of a movie i watched this weekend, Planet Terror. This woman is driving away from killer Zombies, she gets to her fathers house and tells her Kid to stay in the car. She hands him a gun from the glove box and says "if anyone comes near the car you shoot them, its like your video games just aim and shoot, DO NOT point the gun at yourself" she gets out of the car, heads inside and not 3 seconds later, BLAMO, dead kid.

I laughed.

[boboo]

In related news, the Westboro Baptist church in Kansas praised Jared Lee Loughner for killing six people:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...a-taylor-green