The NRA Are A Bunch of ****ing ****, Eh?

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Fri Jan 18, 2013 9:20 pm

In which I stop trying to be even civil to the NRA.

http://politix.topix.com/homepage/4141- ... n-research

They effectively had government RESEARCH into gun violence banned?!?!

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:51 am

So two dudes got into a gun fight on a Texas campus this morning. Apparently, nobody died, but there were a few injuries and a heart attack.

The pro and anti gun "sides" have been going back and forth and I've been watching with not-necessarily cool detachment, over here in the Land of the Rising Sun.

And here's what I've come up with.

The only way to curb gun violence in the US would be to absolutely gut the gun industry. Bans on new guns and ammo. Gradual confiscation of existing guns and ammo. Even then, you probably wouldn't see much of a noticeable drop in gun deaths for years. Here's the important part...that ban/confiscation thing? That's not going to happen. EVER.

The pro-gun crowd is right about how proposed legislation will barely make a dent in gun related crimes and deaths. Maybe the penalties are stiffer. But for the most part, that'll take care of the punishment, but not the crime. Banning a certain type of gun isn't going to do anything. Ban automatic and/or semi-automatic guns, and curb mass shootings, that still doesn't do much for the individual 30,000 deaths per year. Saving ANY lives is an admirable goal, but this would be less than a drop in the bucket.

The anti-gun crowd is right about how fewer guns could lead to fewer gun deaths, but actually decreasing the number of guns in circulation would be...difficult...and take quite some time. Banning the production and sale of live ammo would be a step in the right direction, but, again...not gonna happen.

So...there you have it. What's the (eventual) solution to America's gun death epidemic? Ban guns. No more guns get made/sold. Existing guns and ammo removed from circulation over time. That's it. That's the ONLY way to get the number down. And it is not going to happen in my lifetime. There will continue to be tens of thousands of people killed with guns every year. I'll probably know at least a few of them personally. And that's kinda sad.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 6:44 pm

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02 ... -say?lite=

Even man's best friend.....

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:25 am

I've got this "friend". He's been a great friend ever since grade school. Then he went to the Navy, as a bunch of my friends did after high school (just a few months before 9/11, by the way). One old buddy came back from the Navy almost exactly the same as he was when he left. This friend, though. Didn't.

He did a few things that wound up getting him more or less kicked out of our little group. Things that, frankly, merited it. But I kept in contact. But he's been getting less and less stable. And recently, he's been posting all of this absurd pro-gun crap on Facebook.

Let me be clear. If your stance on guns is "We have the right to own guns because of the Supreme Court's interpretation of the 2nd amendment" there's very little I can say to argue. People DO have that right.

But he keeps posting stuff like "Want it? Come get it" and "I plead the 2nd." Finally, he posted something along the lines of "If we ban guns, there'll be no more guns. Maybe we should ban drugs." along with a picture of "The Stranger" from the Big Lebowski.

I mentioned to him that the difference between a firearm and drugs is that you can't make a firearm in your basement.

Dude went off on me. And then he went off on the Jews (which kind of came out of nowhere).

Eventually, he posted something along the lines of "The only people who have anything to fear from good guys with guns...are bad guys."

So I had to ask him. Where do all the wives and children who get shot because their father/husband mistook them for burglars fit into that? Are they "bad guys?"

How about the guy who got shot by his dog? Was he a bad guy? Was the dog the good guy?

I am, without even the shred of levity, concerned that this dude is going to show up at one of my other friends' parties and just start offing people. And literally none of my other friends are even the least bit concerned.

Every now and I again, one of my family members or friends likes to make fun of how "crazy" Japan is. Hahahaha! People are wearing surgical masks to keep from spreading germs! Hahaha! People buy cartoon porno! Hahahaha! ATMs close at like 9pm. You are crazy over there.

Me: We're crazy? 30,000 people are killed with guns every year. More people were killed with handguns in Chicago last week than in Japan ALL OF LAST YEAR. Who the hell are you to say that we're "crazy."

Hrrrnnn...

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 4:26 am

Here ya go Smooth. Another one.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03 ... gger?lite=

Like we've both said, nobody talks about the accidental shootings that kill so many innocent people. This could have killed some kid in that house.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 8:53 am

Careful, Yaya. If we'll be here until our own deaths of we try to list them all.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 7:19 pm

Okay Smooth, but if an orangutan shoots someone, I'm citing it.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Wed Mar 06, 2013 5:29 am

Yaya wrote:Okay Smooth, but if an orangutan shoots someone, I'm citing it.

Please proceed.

Post by **Computron** » Thu Mar 07, 2013 10:39 pm

I was at Northern Illinois University getting my law degree when that shooting went down a few years ago. While I wasn't shot at and while I'm certainly not claiming any sort of PTSD status or ongoing harm, I'd like to think my opinion carries a smidgen of weight given the hilarious fun of being interrupted in class by a hysterical student screaming that shots are being fired in a building just a few dozens yards away.

So in light of that I have the following to say:

You're right. The 2nd Amendment lets you have weapons. But if you think that means it's an unregulated right without the need for background checks, registries and so forth, then I eagerly anticipate your new stance on removing the need for driver's licenses, pilot's licenses, and any other sort of regulation. Heck let's just have anyone perform surgery, cause we all have a constitutional right to contract etc etc.

*sigh*

Oh hello everyone.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Fri Mar 08, 2013 1:20 am

I liked in the dorm overlooking that lecture hall where that shooting happened. I graduated from NIU a semester before the shooting. I was working at my first junior high school in Japan at the time. One of the teachers came over to my desk and asked "What college did you go to?" I told her I went to NIU. She sadly showed me the news coming out of the school.

"I...I need to make some phone calls."

I found a quiet room and proceeded to make absurdly expensive phone calls to everybody I knew at NIU and/or their family members.

My girlfriend at the time had a slightly different experience. She found out after a class and began going through the same motions as I was. But she had a student (who was about to do some study-abroad work in the US) come down and ask her some questions while she was in the middle of it. One of the other teachers said "Sensei can't talk right now. Her classmates just got shot."

Once the phone calls were finished, my ex regained her composure and asked the student what questions she had. The student said "I want to know about...guns?"

But enough of share time.

You can't compare gun regulations to regulations on driving or practicing medicine. The "right to bear arms" is in the constitution. The right to drive or work as a doctor is not.

BUT the right to freedom of expression IS in the constitution. And there ARE certain limits placed on that freedom. You can't, for example, whip your dick out in front of a theater while screaming "FIRE!" and threatening to kill the President. Those are limits that pretty much everybody can agree are fair.

And those are the kind of regulations I'd like to see on guns. 30 round magazines/clips? For home use? Are you kidding me? What the hell do you need to shoot 30 times without reloading? Assault weapons? For WHAT? Hunting? Guess what? You're a ****ing p****!

Defense? What defense does a gun offer that a taser or a can of mace not offer? And if you accidentally mace your spouse or kid, at least it's not a FATAL mistake.

I just wish I could get through to some really hardcore gun nuts. Because it seems to me that they are basing a lot of their views on EASILY disprovable bull**** slogans.

The only people who have to worry about a good guy with a gun are bad guys.

Really? You're 90% more likely to shoot a family member by accident than an intruder.

Banning guns will get rid of guns? Hell, why don't we ban drugs?

You can't make a gun in your bathroom with stuff bought from Target.

When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will own guns.

Yeah, outlaws and, you know, cops.

We need guns to keep the government from becoming tyrannical!

You want to fight the government? With guns? Do you also have satellite defense networks, bunker busting missiles, Tanks, F-22s, EMPs, a Rail Gun and a fairly large nuclear arsenal? Because if not, you're not gonna put up much of a fight...

I'm sleepy.

Post by **Computron** » Fri Mar 08, 2013 2:21 am

My analogy was a bit poorly worded. The constitutional right to contract suggests that I could hire anyone to perform surgery on me or drive me around, but we clearly don't allow that. One would say we have restrictions or licensing requirements.

I think the same should apply to the 2nd Amendment. All in all we agree.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Fri Mar 08, 2013 2:33 am

Computron wrote:My analogy was a bit poorly worded. The constitutional right to contract suggests that I could hire anyone to perform surgery on me or drive me around, but we clearly don't allow that. One would say we have restrictions or licensing requirements.

I think the same should apply to the 2nd Amendment. All in all we agree.

Yep.

But any time you compare guns to cars or medicine or whatever, the "other side" has a tailor-made defense to shut down further discussion. Whereas if you compare it to free speech (on which there are certain limitations) they've got nothing.

saysadie · Post by **saysadie** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 3:33 pm

Sorry, I need to interrupt your USA gun thread to go:

NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE

Post by **Computron** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 9:21 pm

saysadie wrote:Sorry, I need to interrupt your USA gun thread to go:

NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE

Hello! Its been way too long. Hope you and everyone have been well.

Seeing as Im still an admin Im ok with derailing this thread.

saysadie · Post by **saysadie** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 6:52 am

Computron wrote:
saysadie wrote:Sorry, I need to interrupt your USA gun thread to go:

NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE
Hello! Its been way too long. Hope you and everyone have been well.

Seeing as Im still an admin Im ok with derailing this thread.

Can't speak for anyone else, but I'm doing fandiddlytastic. I married the Archive's Hound (Hubcap here), moved him to Canada and we're going to have a baby in a couple of months.

He says you need to post at the Archive now, btw.

Oh- on topic. Um... I wish I could post on topic, but I know next to nothing about guns. I know my dad has them for hunting, he's had to register them, and no one here bats an eye about it, as far as I know.

I don't understand this "pro-gun" stuff I read.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:32 am

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/12/justi ... ?c=&page=1

6 month old baby shot to death in Chicago.

Post by **Computron** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:04 pm

saysadie wrote:
Computron wrote:
saysadie wrote:Sorry, I need to interrupt your USA gun thread to go:

NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE
Hello! Its been way too long. Hope you and everyone have been well.

Seeing as Im still an admin Im ok with derailing this thread.
Can't speak for anyone else, but I'm doing fandiddlytastic. I married the Archive's Hound (Hubcap here), moved him to Canada and we're going to have a baby in a couple of months.

He says you need to post at the Archive now, btw.

Oh- on topic. Um... I wish I could post on topic, but I know next to nothing about guns. I know my dad has them for hunting, he's had to register them, and no one here bats an eye about it, as far as I know.

I don't understand this "pro-gun" stuff I read.

Congratulations both on the marriage and on the baby! Boy or girl? Or keeping it a surprise?

I got married as well this past May, and I see that Smooth is relatively recently wed, so marriages all around it seems! No children for my wife and I yet, but who knows what the next year or two will bring. Now there is a thought. Me influencing the next generation.

Otherwise I'm doing pretty well all things considered.

saysadie · Post by **saysadie** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:05 pm

Computron wrote:
Congratulations both on the marriage and on the baby! Boy or girl? Or keeping it a surprise?

I got married as well this past May, and I see that Smooth is relatively recently wed, so marriages all around it seems! No children for my wife and I yet, but who knows what the next year or two will bring. Now there is a thought. Me influencing the next generation.

Otherwise I'm doing pretty well all things considered.

Girl! Hah, you influencing the next generation... what about me? Scary thought. But I think I'm up to it, wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I was, so I suppose that's something.

And yes- we're about hitting that age it seems.

Congrats to you as well! Josh and I are coming up on our one-year anniversary later this month. It doesn't seem like a year has gone by already, tbh. Crazy stuff.

You're an attorney, right? How's that going?

Post by **Computron** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 10:51 pm

saysadie wrote:
Computron wrote:
Congratulations both on the marriage and on the baby! Boy or girl? Or keeping it a surprise?

I got married as well this past May, and I see that Smooth is relatively recently wed, so marriages all around it seems! No children for my wife and I yet, but who knows what the next year or two will bring. Now there is a thought. Me influencing the next generation.

Otherwise I'm doing pretty well all things considered.
Girl! Hah, you influencing the next generation... what about me? Scary thought. But I think I'm up to it, wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I was, so I suppose that's something.

And yes- we're about hitting that age it seems. Congrats to you as well! Josh and I are coming up on our one-year anniversary later this month. It doesn't seem like a year has gone by already, tbh. Crazy stuff.

You're an attorney, right? How's that going?

I have full faith in you and I am certain you will do just fine.

you will of course have to share baby pics so we can all coo and go awww!

Yup I am an attorney. The great State of Illinois allows me go into courtrooms and litigate. I find it to be fascinating, fun and also deeply frustrating at times. When it is good it is fantastic. First Amendment stuff, constitutional law, nursing home abuse or helping people against mean ol insurance companies. But when it is bad (custody cases, anything involving family really) it is downright depressing. I try only to do the stuff I am interested in which is 90 % of the time I suppose.

On the whole tho I love it and am deeply grateful to be doing it.

On a side note it is deeply amusing how many questions on the State Bar's ethical exam could be answered by just stating what Optimus Prime would do but I digress.

I would like to work for the Federal Govt as aI litigator though. Push the real levers of power and really help people. Nothing says we mean business like a subpoena from the Feds.

Hubcap · Post by **Hubcap** » Thu Mar 14, 2013 4:05 pm

Well hello there Strafe!

Yep, I married Sadie. Crazy huh?

Not only that but immigrated to Canada to do it.

It's crazy how grown up we've all gotten. I remember when everyone was a college student. Now everyone's married and some of us with kids.

You should come say hi at the Archive, Cliffy's there. He's married and going to have a kid too now. It's pretty slow there but it's pretty slow here too.

Post by **Computron** » Thu Mar 14, 2013 9:51 pm

Hubcap wrote:Well hello there Strafe!

Yep, I married Sadie. Crazy huh?

Not only that but immigrated to Canada to do it.

It's crazy how grown up we've all gotten. I remember when everyone was a college student. Now everyone's married and some of us with kids.

You should come say hi at the Archive, Cliffy's there. He's married and going to have a kid too now. It's pretty slow there but it's pretty slow here too.

It's 2003 all over again, ahhhhhh! I feel like I should be reading this while broiling in the hot Florida sun in my A/C-less dorm room. Ah the memories.

Instead I'm posting while at work! Ha!

But allow me to offer my congratulations! A shame everyone is all over the place cause hearing about how you two got together would be a fun story to hear over a few beers. (Virgin drinks of course for the Mom to be.

)

Things have changed quite a bit for everyone I imagine, but at the end of the day we're still, hopefully, a bunch of not too overly cranky individuals who want to read/watch good stories of robots fighting robots.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Fri Mar 15, 2013 1:21 am

Whassup, Compy.

In case you missed the drama, I am the artist formerly known as sprunkner.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 11:38 pm

See, did this robot cowboy have to use a gun? No siree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-l2zl85PHs

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 6:29 pm

You know, if the NRA REALLY wants the vote of the Transformers lobby and REALLY wants to go after inane "Big Government" laws, why not work towards "Born This Way: Megatron should totally still be a pistol" legislation?

Surely we can all agree that this - as compared to some of the other laws about type of guns, registrations, ammo limits - is pretty small potatoes, and furthermore, here in the US Megatron is most certainly NOT a gun and look where that's gotten us! It certainly hasn't stopped gun violence. In fact, specious data shows that Megatron being a gun was in fact the proverbial thumb in the dyke of gun violence and it has all been downhill since G2.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:47 am

http://gma.yahoo.com/teenager-mistakes- ... ories.html

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 11:00 pm

I'm getting my NRA talking points mixed up here.

The only people who have to worry about a good guy with a gun are bad guys. So was the *12 year old kid* a bad guy?

Or are we going with "if the *12 year old kid" had a gun with him, he could have protected himself"?

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Fri Apr 19, 2013 1:41 am

http://www.theonion.com/articles/next-w ... -fo,32094/

Next Week's School Shooting Victims Thank Senate for Failing to Pass Gun Bill

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Fri Apr 19, 2013 2:45 am

****** unbelievable. I just cannot grasp it. I cannot for the life of me fathom this, of all issues our nation has faced. Only America's acceptance of the legitimacy for the Iraq War might exceed this in sheer stupidity.

Hot Shot · Post by **Hot Shot** » Fri Apr 19, 2013 3:34 am

Murica. Fcuk yep.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 1:40 am

http://www.boston.com/ae/radio/blog/201 ... idiot.html

Jeebus...

TransFans.co.uk

The NRA Are A Bunch of ing , Eh?