Pteropus

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Posts posted by Pteropus


  1. Some people would have said, prior to this video; "That's never happened before, therefore it's not something to worry about." Just like the do for skydiving with hooded sweatshirts, with dangling drawstrings... But weird stuff happens at 120 mph. And sooner or later it WILL happen. Don't let it happen to you.

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    FACT is, the average citizen is not a target. Presidents and Congresspersons ARE known to be targets.



    So all those FBI crime stats are comprised of only famous people who have been attacked?
    And ordinary folks are never attacked, live their lives in perfect safety, and have nothing to fear?

    Of course not.

    So you would seem to be using a very narrow definition of "target". One that is so narrow as to render your submission invalid.

    Women who are raped were targets. Homes that were burglarized were targets. People that are robbed were targets. All perfectly ordinary people.

    It's not just the rich and famous that are targets of crime. Everyone is subject to it. And everyone should have the right of armed self defense against it.

  3. Pretty good video, interspersing celebrity anti-gun messages with segments of them in movies blasting away with guns.

    If they want to have any credibility with their anti-gun views, they should take a pledge not to glorify gun violence in their movies, and refuse to accept any roles in which they have to shoot guns.

    Oh, but that might cost them a little money...

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    Utterly, utterly missing the point.



    Is there an echo in here?

    Just because someone doesn't address your particular point, doesn't mean that they didn't understand it. They are under no obligation to address your point. And maybe they just wish to make their own, different point. Furthermore, if you find that so many people seem to have missed your point, then maybe it's your own fault for not expressing it well enough.

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    Me personally, I would be OK with the idea that all firearms be sold with a trigger lock. Yes, it's another damn regulation, and yes it will add to the cost of the gun but it's the only thing that might have saved the massacre...



    They can be easily defeated with a hammer and chisel, bolt cutters, or a hack saw. Someone determined enough to commit mass murder, isn't likely to be stopped by a trigger lock.

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    a device on all guns that would only allow the owner to operate it



    There are companies working on that, but they don't work reliably. You don't want a self-defense gun that won't fire when you need it to, because it has a dead battery, or doesn't recognize your dirty fingerprint.

    And besides, there are already millions of regular guns already in circulation, and they aren't going anywhere. So no killer is going to be deterred for want of a workable gun.

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    why can't we do something that works?



    Because there are no perfect solutions to anything. No matter what measures are instituted to solve some problem, the problem-makers will circumvent them or find new ways to continue being problems. And in the process of doing all these things to try and stop the problem-makers, the rest of us who aren't the problem-makers, are burdened more and have less freedom.

    That's my cynical view of things.

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    Look at what she says -- "If we should ever face a shooter like the one in Connecticut, I'm fully prepared to respond with my firearm."

    She has NO idea what it's like to look at another person through the sights.



    Nor does she have any idea what it's like to have another person looking through their gun sights at her and her kids. But she knows that's something to be avoided if at all possible.

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    The armed person entering the room will be wearing a police uniform, and the teacher will know not to shoot - it's the good guys. If she opens fire anyway, she'll die from return fire - that's her doing - make the correct decisions. If the person entering is the actual shooter, they still have an advantage of surprise, because the shooter doesn't know where they are right away, and that gives a second or two to identify and decide. If the teacher hesitates and the shooter gets her first, then it's no different than if she was unarmed - the entire class will be at the mercy of the shooter. Better to have some chance to save the kids, then none. Teachers would be trained to immediately put down their gun when they see the police to avoid mistaken identity with the real shooter - the police will then hold fire. A real shooter wouldn't do that, or if they did, then they deserve the same hold fire so they can be apprehended - again no difference in the way things already work.



    Two questions:
    1) what about the kids behind the teacher in your first return fire scenario?
    2) What about a perpetrator wearing a (fake) police uniform?



    1) If the shooter wins that duel, then the kids are dead anyway. So better to try and lose, then to not try at all.
    2) I haven't heard of any mass shooter wearing a fake police uniform yet. If they do, and the teacher lays down her gun, then once again, the sitution is no different from the unarmed schools we already have - the entire class is at the mercy of the shooter.

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    Here is another one: during an actual incident, at some point well-armed law enforcement will enter each classroom in the school, open each closet, etc, to clear the school. From the teacher's perspective, they will see an armed person enter the room and they will have a fraction of a second to decide if it is the shooter or not. What will happen if the teacher opens fire on a law enforcement officer? What will happen if they hesitate, and the person entering the room is the actual shooter? Are teachers going to be trained in how to make such split-second decisions?

    Just curious what people think of these issues.



    The armed person entering the room will be wearing a police uniform, and the teacher will know not to shoot - it's the good guys. If she opens fire anyway, she'll die from return fire - that's her doing - make the correct decisions. If the person entering is the actual shooter, the teacher still has an advantage of surprise, because the shooter doesn't know where they are right away, and that gives a second or two to identify and decide. If the teacher hesitates and the shooter gets her first, then it's no different than if she was unarmed - the entire class will be at the mercy of the shooter. Better to have some chance to save the kids, then none. Teachers would be trained to immediately put down their gun when they see the police to avoid mistaken identity with the real shooter - the police will then hold fire. A real shooter wouldn't do that, or if they did, then they deserve the same hold fire so they can be apprehended - again no difference in the way things already work.

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    However, it does re-enforce the difference between a mad-man shooting in an area where everyone is armed and an area where no one is armed.

    How far did he get?



    Three officers wounded, two with only minor injuries. Shooter quickly killed by return fire. Quite a difference from the high body counts of mass shooters in no-gun zones...

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    You could even make a single day last 48 hours.


    Or even have an "Endless Summer".



    Endless summer is metaphorical at best. You can swap hemispheres, but at the end of one summer you still end up in the spring of the other.



    I don't think the concept is about fixed dates on a calender. It's about being somewhere warm, year-round. And you can set an itinerary such that you can accomplish that, by migrating from country to country. and always being in the right place at the right time. It may be "spring" somewhere, but it can still be warm enough to enjoy summer activities.

    To Nigel: Glad you had that neat experience. It seems to be getting pooh-poohed here as no big deal, but it actually is. Very few people get to experience such an event because of the things required to make it happen, and good on you for having the gumption to do it,