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[Chase]

Lee,

Some of the disparity in our opinions comes from being brought up in different worlds with different ideas in regard to constitutional law.  But isn't it grand we can put these differing ideas in print?

It’s unfortunate that your hunting experiences were with the dregs, and with so many police officers involved, I’d be suspecting mayhem, rather than carelessness.

I avoid those “hunters” you speak of like typhoid carriers, checking a potential hunting partner’s demeanor before I take a single step into the woods.  Does she ever flash her muzzle across another person?  Does he load the chamber, not just his magazine?  Does she trust a “safety,” the biggest joke in gun terms?  Does his finger caress inside the trigger guard or stay outside, an additional bar to “accidents”?  Does she “scope” animals (and other hunters) or use binoculars?  If the answer to any of those was yes, I hunt another day.  Anyone who’s taken a serious hunter safety class does the same.  The hunter safety statistics of Virginia say the vast majority of Virginia hunters do the same.  I do believe you saw what you saw, but they definitely were oddities doing the unusual.  The real hunters were off somewhere doing real hunting.

I don’t hunt with dogs, even birds, but that’s only personal preference, and I don’t rule how others hunt unless I’m part of the party.  I don’t keep trophies, and I guess the few who do are the ones we see in the magazines.  Again, state-by-state hunting statistics show the majority of hunters hunt for food.  All the hunters I know do.  Even so, giving the food away doesn’t necessarily imply a “sport” is being pursued.  I know many hunters who hunt for the companionship, the love of the outdoors, the camping, the exercise.

The gun registration process you speak of is patently unconstitutional in these United States.  It really provides nothing more than a paper trail for those who want to confiscate guns now and in the future.  Such a registration process is what led to the virtually total disarming of Europe before and during World War II.  Holding gun owners accountable was the excuse for post-occupation Japanese registration.  What eventually happened was all the guns and ammunition were confiscated.

The good people of the Commonwealth of Virginia are resisting such measures, God bless ‘em.

I’ll unbarb the comment about the meaningless slogan painted on so many police vehicles.  There is no way on God’s green earth that any police officer can protect anyone who is under determined attack until the officer arrives.  In many, many cases, it’s too late.  When it counts, we can only do that job ourselves.

You can invoke all the emotion you want, but well over half of the duty of an officer – brave or otherwise – is to collect data for prosecution.  In several cases I can cite, that prosecution has been of the person who originally called for help.

I realize you're only making a point, but you did ignore the meaning behind the formally trained writer.  It was an analogy, but I know you're aware of that and are trolling for more emotion.

Yes, one can teach commas and colons.  One can also teach storytelling – I’ve seen it done quite effectively.

Chase

[Chuck]

Let's compare gun deaths per capita in the U.S. with other civilized countries.

Lets' also remember that a lot of Brits choose to set their thrillers in the U.S. with an American protagonist. Their readers simply don't believe that this much violence and mayhem could happen in their own country.

Is this violence a characteristic of American people or is it due to the availability of guns?

Ingrid

We can compare other countries. Finland, Lithuania and Switzerland all have higher gun ownership per capita than we do. All 3 have it for a reason. In the case of Finland and Lithuania, they learned the hard way, living next door to a huge, powerful bully. Lithuania allows concealed carry without a permit, and their crime rate which had been rising nearly as fast as England's suddenly took a nosedive during the last few years.

England is no longer the world example of a gun free society. The rate of firearms used in crimes is soaring and has been for some time. Writers might use America in their books. The BBC uses England and almost every one of their crime shows has guns. And, since they're supposed to be believable, maybe their TV shows tell more about life there than the Crown would like the world to believe.

Knives are still much more common in crimes there, and now they want to ban sharp knives (as of a year or so ago).

[Chase]

Bring on those stats, Ingrid, but not only the ones created from fluff by Ann Landers and her ilk.  How about statistics gathered by independent researchers in those countries?  And why skew the statistics by limiting them to “gun deaths,” admitted by their own tabloids to be grossly mis-reported in Great Britain?

I’m sure you’re aware of the suicide statistics in Japan.  Researchers at University of Osaka put the number of suicides at five times that of the suicide rate in the U.S.– three times the number of gun deaths per capita in the U.S.  I wonder if you’re also aware that many blame the consistently high decade after decade suicide rate on the police state and other oppressive factors in Japan?

Statistics in the old Soviet Union were similar.

Your question is true begging of the question, as the premis is more than faulty. 

Chase

[Chase]

No, Lee, you're not trying to be nice.  You're trying to gain sympathy for a differing view by claiming offense at words you're choosing to misinterpret.  No credible reader will agree I called your friends or especially your family dregs.  You know I was referring to the hunters whom you described doing deplorable things.

"Every waking moment of a police officer's day"?  That one really flew over the cuckoo's nest.  Be sure to twist the cuckoo's nest metaphor at the station house, but anyone who's followed this discussion will wonder how someone so actively looking for offenses can hope for a viable point.

Chase

[Elena]

Chase,

I was teaching in a high school in the Cherry Creek section of Denver when JFK was killed.  I learned a valuable lesson that day.  Men in our culture are not taught or even allowed peaceful ways of showing their emotions.   There were fist fights between the boys and male teachers which resulted in many needing hospitalization.  What was wrong?  Their worlds were torn apart, the way they believed the world worked was turned upsidedown, and not knowing how to safely vent and handle those strong emotions they fought their closest friends.

You are sounding like one of those terribly hurt men and because of that are lashing out against people who have done you no harm.   I suggest you write out all the feelings that have been triggered.  Read them.  If you are still hurting, please, please get some professional help.   Don't let this fester inside you.  And, above all don't let this alienate you.

I am holding you in my heart,
Elena

[Bob Mueller]

I'd point out a couple of things. It's said that "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns," and I think that was proved in Japan, where the mayor of Nagasaki was recently shot to death, very publicly, by the Yakuza.

And if we're going to compare death rates, let's also look at overall violent crime rates - they're going up in countries that have restrictive gun laws. Great Britain's gun crime rate is actually going up - how did that happen?

It's interesting to note that while we've supposedly become a more violent society since the early 60's, guns have also gotten harder to get since then. In the 60's, you could still buy guns through the mail. You can't know, but there's more gun violence now. I wonder what changed.
 
The state of Vermont doesn't require a permit to carry a concealed weapon. But there's no blood in the streets there.
 

[Peg H]

every waking moment of a police officer's day is spent protecting you

From the time he gets up in the morning, puts his bullet proof vest on and leaves the house, until he's home safely once again.  And even then the neighbors never failed to ask him for help any time day or night.  Our phone has rung at all hours and he didn't work for the department in our town. He would unselfishly help when he could and recommend calling the locals or call them himself when he couldn't.   I'm glad he's retired, but not for the reason he had to leave the job.  He loved his work and had/still has excellent people skills.  I'm proud to be a police officer's wife.  I am honored to have many friends who are police officers. 

Peg H

[Chuck]

One other point in the gun control debate that's overlooked or ignored.

Criminals won't register their guns.  And courts have actually ruled that they don't have to!  Forcing a criminal to register his illegally owned firearm is a violation of his Fifth Amendment rights, believe it or not.  So the Fifth Amendment rights of criminals are apparently more important than the Second Amendment rights of gun owners.