Seems like ....

Guns are designed to kill. But by themselves, and without the involvement of humans, they are an inanimate object. So, people kill people, nut guns.

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True, but you wouldn't throw a matchbook into a baby's crib and say, "matches don't burn baby's, baby's burn baby's"

Ownership of assault weapons is outlawed, unless the individual has a special Federal Firearms License

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What about semi automatic weapons which are very easily converted to full auto? My point is that these weapons serve no usefull purpose in a civil society.

But most studies show that tougher gun laws indeed do just the opposite... exposing the innocent victim to a deadly situation of them holding a club or a knife versus a thug brandishing an illegaly obtained firearm.

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I disagree. If everyone is armed all you get is an escalation in violence. The thug entering a house in such an area will be more likely to shoot you before you shoot him if he suspects you are armed.
As noted by AllVol, (some law-abiding chump's name is on the registration slip) the fact that "law-abiding chump's" guns can be easily stolen leads to more guns in the hands of thugs anyway. Maybe instead, as noted by a comedian, guns should be readily available but ammunition should be so expensive that you would think twice about shooting anyone.

Doesn't matter what a person uses to kill another with, be it guns, cars, clubs, rocks, or corn cobs. By themselves they all are inanimate objects incapable of doing nothing until put into action by a human or a damn smart monkey!

Semi-automatic weapons are not easily converter to full auto. Many of the mfgr.s go to great lengths to reduce the chances of that, except for the occasional saavy gunsmith or machinist who has access to tooling and the know how to perform the modifications.

As for a civil society, that term is rather loose. Until everyone gets on the same civil bandwagon and gets along 100%, there will be situations that end up criminal. And that doesn't even include the criminally insane!

The thug entering the home of an armed citizen if often thwarted. You need to read many of the publicized police reports that document that... and there are plenty. Interesting to note is the fact that a majority of American law enforcement officials approve of armed citizens... however they would like to see them better educated and properly trained on using firearms along with scenarios and legal issues that follow. I agree with them.

AllVol,
Tennessee doesn't require any sort of background checks or similar before purchasing a firearm? If not that absolutely rediculous! I just purchased a .45cal semi-auto last week and I was required to fill out, testify and sign both federal and state questionaires that inquire about criminal history, drug/narcotics history, mental/psychological status followed up by an instant background check through the state police's database. Surely you need to file the federal form for firearms purchase?

HiTech said:

Surely you need to file the federal form for firearms purchase?

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Yes, indeed, if you are buying legally.

Criminals do not obtain their weapons legally.

I posted that I could buy them, and I could because I spent enough time legally working in and around that crowd to establish contacts. Could you? No. And if I did, it would be a one-time event, because I would lose all my cred. But to those in the 'hood, buying a piece is as easy as having money in one hand and a brown paper bag in the other.

I spent enough time pussy-footing around the edge to learn that it is a different world, even in my small community, than you or most of the others on this forum can imagine. Think "Law and Order" or "CID Miami" where the bad guys win most of the time. Nearly every morning, we read in the "Area Round-up" newspaper column a two-paragraph story about someone found shot or stabbed on a secluded street or alleyway.

By the way, I love your post. You are right on!