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This is a very sticky issue for me. I agree with what you are saying, but there is the problem of too many careless accidents in many of the homes of people who have guns.

Look at the amount of children that have died due to the pure neglect of the gun's owner. It makes me shutter. What about the tons of people that cross the line between sanity and unsanity? They either go off on a rage and kill innocent people or use it on themselves. Look at all of the shootings that take place in the Universities and Campus's. It is horrible. How about the terrorists. You or I could have one living next door or down the street. I guess, the real problem is, there is no such thing as Gun Control! It can never be controlled. The old saying goes, where there is a will there is a way. If someone wants one bad enough, they will find a way to obtain one. It is a very difficult issue.

Then on the flip side, do we not have the right to protect ourselves and our loved ones? I am not sure there is any solution to this....It has become like drug and alcohol abuse. If they want it... they will get it....

Who is qualified to make the determination as to whether an individual is "fit" to have a gun permit?

I meant insanity not "UN"!

I always had guns within reach, heck we kept them in our rooms as kids. The difference was, we had it drummed into us from a very early age just how dangerous they were, and how and when they were to be used. By the same token the neighbor across the road kept his gun hidden from the kids, but the young boy found it and accidentally killed his sister. As for the nuts, if they want one, they'll get one. I don't disagree that people known to have mental defects shouldn't have one. By the same token a town in Georgia, Kennesaw, passed a law REQUIRING home owners not only to own a gun, but demonstrate that they knew how to use it. Guess what happened, the incident of burglary dropped to nothing overnight. Eventually, it picked back up a little, but always when nobody was home.

The solution, for the most part, is education, from an early age. With proper instruction in their dangers and use, there would be no accidents. We'll never stop the criminal element from getting their hands on them. In Texas, carrying a firearm, even concealed is legal. When they made it legal, the media played up every gun related incident in Texas to try to make us believe it was a bad thing. The truth of the matter was that gun related incidents went down, not up.

There are certainly pros and cons to the issue. I believe we should have the right to protect ourselves, homes, families, etc. I know, if it came down to me standing face to face with an intruder, I would want to have protection.

I personally am afraid of guns. Too many childhood memories. My father threatened to shoot my mother one night after too many drinks. The police we called and mom hid outside until they came. When they arrived, they told her, she had to enter the home before them. They did not have the right to go in. Tell me who that law protects...

Maybe, there should be more pit bulls in the homes. It would not do me any good, because I am afraid of those as well. They can do some serious damage.

I can understand the crime rate dropping when guns are allowed. Have you watched the new movie with Jodie Foster where she plays the part of a vigilante? I forget the name of it, but it is a perfect example showing why we should be able to have protection. Maybe, we could think about a tazor?? (sp?) It might give one time to run like hell....

The politicos NEVER mention the reason the founding fathers put the right to keep and bear arms in the bill of rights the way they did. They put it in because the first thing the King tried to do to quell the insurrection was take their guns away from them, so they would have no way to fight back. The citizenry of the time, when forming a new government, wanted it understood from the get go that if and when the government got too big for it's britches, they could and would overthrow it again. You can't possibly believe the politicos want to take guns away from the citizens because they really give a damn about any of us, other than what they can get in their pockets. They don't want the citizenry to be able to overthrow them. Let's face it, their gun ban in DC backfired, the city was so dangerous that they couldn't go out without armed bodyguards. Even though that very problem proved the case that gun bans don't work, they still wanted to ban them.

Did you know that every year, the mistakes of doctors kill more people than all the guns in the world, including those lost in wars? I'm not talking about people that would die anyway, but are killed by the doctor's mistakes. You want to save lives, ban doctors.

The second amendment guarantees our fundamental right to defend ourselves, as long as we are law abiding citizens. So how can they take away our right? I think, I read or heard, that the Supreme Court overturned Washington D.C.'s ban on self defense in the homes. Wouldn't this vindicate Americans throughout the country???

LOL. Mistakes happen everywhere Toot but how many other millions have Doctors saved too? Have you figured it out? No one is infallible. But as far as guns are concerned, I think the problem here is not the guns but the RAGE that people have within themselves that produces them to get a gun and strike at another individual for no reason at all but just to appease their own inability to cope and resort to the easiest way to fix the so called problem
that they cannot reason with. My father had guns and he would use them when he went hunting. We never even thought to go near them unless we were going to use them to hunt wild life. Things have changed now I know. People have become more aggresive and that's what's causing to my way of thinking the problems that we have.
By the way, the movie that Appl was referring to with Jody Foster is called The Brave One. It seems that now people have to take matters into their own hands to get the right results they want. Is that right?

I live in Texas and I have a concealed carry permit - ever since the law was enacted. (I had carried one legally for years before that too.) The crime rate in crimes against persons went down because the "bad guys" didn't know which little old lady was "packing".

Two instances - a friend of mine (little old lady type) pulled up to a heavy traffic intersection. Her purse (with the gun) was on the passenger seat beside her. Suddenly her passenger window was smashed and a man reached in and reached for the purse. The gun was in a position where she could pick it up quickly and she did. As the man yanked the purse, he pulled it off the gun and found it aimed directly at him. He froze! A police car about three car lengths behind saw what happened and saved him. They commended my friend for both quick action and restraint. You don't necessarily have to fire a weapon to use it (but you must be prepared to use it if you pick it up and aim it).

The second instance was a a woman sitting in her living room reading - her gun was on the table beside her. Suddenly her patio door was kicked in and two masked men entered. She shot the first one and the second one got the message and spread himself on the floor. The first man died on the spot. The second one said they didn't know that "that old lady would have a gun". IT was discovered they had been guilty of similar break-ins (two of which had resulted in the deaths of two home owners).

We have a mall close by that is notorious for having a parking lot frequented by gangs. I rarely go there, but one evening about dusk I had to go there and as I was leaving, there were maybe six older teenagers at the base of a light standard. I did not look directly at them, but I was very aware and I had one hand in my purse. I heard one of the guys say, "Better leave her alone. I saw her at the pawn shop buying guns - she probably has one in that bag." I got in my car and left. A few hours later one of the gang was arrested. They had knocked a woman down, taken her keys and stole her purse and keys. They almost killed her, but she was able to identify one and from that identification they found the others.

I am in favor of carrying guns, but I am also in favor of background checks, psycho checks and extensive training classes in how to use a firearm - then licensing.

I would not want to be all alone in my home or anywhere and be at risk of being raped or killed. I can not even imagine having my vehicle break down, especially at night, and be confronted by an intruder or intruders. My worst fear is having a group of gang members assault me and leave me for dead. I do not have a gun permit. Many of my friends do. I would have to be taught how to use one safely and properly. I know nothing about them. However, I do believe a gun would definitely be my closest friend, should I be in a situation that would otherwise seem hopeless. I agree with Sah's regulations. Some accidents are inevitable, but ignorance is no excuse. If someone is going to own a gun, they better darn well be aware of the dangers with children in the home and and when and how to use it! I think I will carry a black squirt gun in my purse until I can make other arrangements. This stuff scares me.

Like Sah and I said, education is the key. Also Zoc, who do you expect to protect you? The Police? When do they ever stop anything? About all they can do is attempt to catch the perp after the fact, what good is that to the person killed, raped or maimed? Of course, even self defense is not the real reason the founding fathers wanted us to be able to keep and bear arms. The first thing an oppressive government does is try to take away the guns of the citizens so they cannot defend themselves against the government. King George tried this, the minute men hand to hide their weapons, yet be able to get to them quickly. Just having guns after the edict was considered a hanging offense. As the government becomes more and more intrusive, now even going so far in some places as telling people they cannot smoke on their own property, and telling restaurants what they can and cannot serve, it seems the time is near for another armed revolt.

I'm not in love with the Georgia law that makes home owners keep a gun either. It should be a personal choice. They did have the good sense to write into the law that the homeowner must also demonstrate the ability to use it properly.

In this state, the law is screwy. Theoretically, a man could break into your home, cart out everything you owned, and if you used a weapon on him you're the one in trouble. In practice, it doesn't work that way. The cops never press the charges they could, if in fact the perp has a record.

An interesting side note. Cops busted in to a mans home with a "no knock" warrant...I forget where it was. The man living there shot the first cop through the door, penetrating two so called bullet proof vests, nearly coming out the back. The cop survived, barely. The man was taken into custody, of course, but the charges had to be dropped. Why? The cops busted into the wrong house, he had every right to stop anyone breaking into his home. They don't announce "Police" with a no knock warrant. The city even had to pay for the clean up and fixing the door, among other things.