Tadpole Jackson
yeah the flash caught the barrel like that, in the ******** version of the photo you can see the breech face, it's blatantly obvious a round isn't in the pipe.
I kind of figured it would be unloaded, but that doesn't mean you still aren't breaking one of "the rules."
I mean, really, it's fine... but even if I checked it myself it would still give me the willies to look down it from the business end like that.
RE: "Statistics and anecdotes"
It's hard to compare to different countries... there's all kinds of factors that might make things work in one place but not in another.
Within the US though, there is a very clear and present trend as several states have more recently issued carry permits, that at the minimum does not increase gun violence. In all cases to my knowledge, crime goes down... but as we all know, correlation does not imply causation.
I would at least say that it's pretty conclusive evidence that giving law abiding citizens who pass background checks the ability to carry a gun does not implicitly cause gun violence. This seems like a "duh," but the Brady campaign screams that "blood will run in the streets" every time a state passes shall-issue carry. They've been wrong every single time.
If the police/government can figure out a way to take away guns from the majority of the criminals first, then at least the anti-gun folks would have a platform to stand on (though there are other reasons, at least they would have a valid talking point). Taking them away from the law-abiding folks first with laws that are completely ineffective at stopping the criminals is about the most a**-backwards strategy I can think of.
nouveau sereph
I can honestly say I've never
missed having the opportunity to own a gun.
It's hard to miss what you've never had.
blaugh
Seriously though, once you get outside of the whole stigma about them being scary evil devices only capable of hurting children and old women, they are FUN.
In the same way you might play bowling, or drive a fast car around a race track, it's a feat of skill. Yes, you don't throw the bowling ball back into the seats of your teammates, or drive you car through the crowd. Similarly, responsible gun owners following responsible gun handling rules are perusing a completely safe hobby.
Swimming is a great one to bring up too, since kids are literally about 100 times more likely to be killed by downing in a residential pool in the backyard than they are by a gun in the house.
(This being in the US even, where supposedly there are guns in every drawer and under every mattress.)
Even within the scope of ownership (without use), they are fascinating devices. A lot of old-school engineering goes into making one, machining and smith work. Something with a quality of craftsmanship is not something you see so much theses days in a world of Chinese plastic, assembly lines, and microprocessors.
I love breaking mine down to work on. Kind of like... how a guy might enjoy working on a muscle car in his garage.
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