A couple of things about the issue;

For starters, the banning of guns for civilians and giving the military and law enforcement exclusive right to have them equals police state. We all seem to agree that the U.S. and other governments have shown little or no sense in some of the laws they create and enforce; the pot laws being a good one to mention here. Would you really want to let these same people have an unopposed life and death authority over you? Like in China, for instance?

Also, as someone said before, society has a violent history, and the weapons of choice are limited only by the imagination of the assailant. So, on the self defense against crime issue, you owe it to yourself to be able protect your home and family from those who would victimize you. To be weak is to attract predators. And the ability of law enforcement to protect you is limited, as most would agree. I believe that the same principles apply on a national level as well; even the Swiss have had to defend their neutrality with armed force. You want to live the way you want, you have to be able to defend yourself.

People hunt for a variety of reasons. They range from the need to hunt for survival, to the wanton killing of other creatures out of sheer cruelty. To lump them into a one size fits all category is pointless. I don't hunt by the way (or fish, for that matter).

I collect antique and old fashioned guns, mostly for the historical interest and because I like mechanical artifacts. It's one thing to know from a book that the people who settled this country (and Canada) used muzzle loading firearms as a tool for their survival, quite another thing to experience it first hand. You should all try it some time, to appreciate what courage they must have had.

I think the problems with firearms stem mostly from people who don't understand and respect them, and don't understand the nature of society. Saying "ban all guns" makes as much sense to me as "ban all marijuana". Some people mess up and give all the others a bad name; a law shouldn't be based on the few who use a thing wrongfully.

As for there being too many fat Americans, I can't argue with you there.

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