Go Texas

Wow, so it's been a long time since I posted. In no small part due to the fact I have a major paper I'm working, and work has been crushing. Be that as it may...

There aren't too many areas where I'm overly sympathetic to the conservatives, but gun control is one. I was driving up 95 through Philly yesterday and there was a billboard that announced something like "We're tired of the violence guns bring to our communities, no more guns!"

Yeah, I've seen them too. Those little machines that are running around killing people. They hop around, filling themselves with bullets and wait for people to come home so they can shoot your children. How do guns bring violence to your community? First of all, guns are a symptom of a couple of things 1) could just be that people like to hunt or target practice (animal rights and the questionable practice of "sportsmanship" aside) 2) could be that someone did their homework and found that governments are not always trustworthy and if they come after you, they'll have guns... guess you're screwed if you don't 3) and finally, someone wants to hurt someone else.

The first two I'm ok with; the last one I'm not. Keeping something out of peoples hands that they really want is impossible eg war on drugs, prohibition, etc. Whether gun ownership is a right or not, we've been under the impression it is for so long that it is impossible to take them all back.

As a last point, I support what the guy in Texas did. If someone broke into my house, I'm not taking names or asking them why they're there, I will kill them as quickly as possible. The offence of these men was not against society, it was against an individual. The idea that people are "taking the law into their own hands" is assinine. The law is in your hands for your personal protection- you may have hired out the job to the police, but they come in after the fact. I'm tired of good people waiting for "the law" to show up. These are the same kinds of people who are waiting for FEMA to show up. Get off you ass and do something to help yourself. If that means killing thieves to prevent theft, crime, rape, murder, and who knows what else... then OK.