Letters: Arguments condoning gun freedom often make no sense
January 16, 2013 at 6:00 pm in Worthington Daily Globe
I have been reading a lot on gun control in the weeks since the Sandy Hook massacre. It’s interesting to read both sides of the argument. My stance is against, but for what it’s worth, I’d like to comment on a couple editorials in the Globe recently. Continue Reading

FREEDOM. Where does freedom come from? Since the dawn of civilization man has striven to be free, that is to not to be controlled by other men. This right was given to man by our Creator. Our Creator has not taken this freedom away from man but evil men, tyrants, have taken away this freedom and have oppressed his fellow man for his own benefit through out history. There are many examples of this happening even with modern man in the last 100 years.
How does a freedom loving man fight back against those that want to control him, make him a servant or even a slave?
He can use elegant speech to try and regain his freedom with hopes that the evil men of this world will listen. But what if this does not persuade them?
Then it requires the use of force and his blood to regain his freedom. For the tyrant will not give back without being forced to do so. Our Founding Fathers understood this concept very well for they lived it. They tried reason but that failed. They were forced to use force to regain there freedom or forever be under the King’s rule. They did not use sticks and stones to gain there freedom, but the most modern of weapons of there day.
Guns!
They put in our Constitution the power to maintain modern weapons for use for the next time that man needed to maintain his freedom. For they understood mans human nature and had seen through out history how he has oppressed his fellow man.
To keep our FREEDOM we must always maintain our guns and never give them up.
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You are assuming that no one in the military will stand up for the Constitution which they had to swear an oath to uphold when they joined. I do not think that lowly of our military.
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Merc was speaking hypothetically, I’m sure. Perhaps some people missed that.
Last time I checked, the men and the women of the military follow their commanders’ orders. And these commanders swear an oath to uphold the Constitution, as well. If you’re implying that they wouldn’t follow orders, then they’d be guilty of mutiny or treason or insubordination, what have you. I happen to think more highly of the integrity of our military personnel than you do.
The military defends ALL your freedoms, not just the 2nd amendment. I’m guessing you know that keeps them very busy! Let them do their job and stop the paranoia about somebody coming to take away your guns. Have you got nothing better to worry about?
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So according to merc we need to just lay down our arms to any tyrant that comes along. The extremists now contolling the democrat party would like nothing better. When the right to bear arms no longer exists none of our other freedoms will exist either. The individuals right to bear arms has been recognized for over 200 years in the existence of the United States and the left has been telling us for years now that is meaningless. I for one don’t subscribe to your wrong headed fabrications.
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What Obama has proposed is not unconstitutional. It is not against our 2nd Amendment. The assault weapon ban that he is proposing to reinstate was in affect for 10 years. Guess what? America survived. And look at that, it was also legal.
Left wing extremism, huh? The mere fact that you think our President and Senate are the ones on the fringe, really shows how out of touch (and on the fringe) you are yourself.
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Well said Washington !
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Might need to protect ones self from Mexican cartels known to be operating in the US. They are responsible for most of the killing in Chicago right now. You can also bet that there are plenty of Islamic terrorists in this country by now, thanks to the open border. We need guns more now than ever when our government is refusing to protect us, only wanting to rule us! This is no pipe dream! You can either be Ruled or fight back, your choice. I think I know which way merc would go but as for me I might need so serious guns!
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Your right: per·ceive (p…r-sv“) tr.v. per·ceived, per·ceiv·ing, per·ceives. 1. To become aware of directly through any of the senses, especially sight or hearing. 2. To achieve understanding of. That’s what I have all right! I’d like to rebut your argument, but why?
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“Its your perceived fear that is keeping the death rate of children by guns at the levels they are now.” Actually, it’s the governments inaction on mental health issues, and ignoring the violence peddled by Hollywood and video game producers. It’s not about fear or paranoia, it’s about common sense and using ones brain that God gave them. What’s next, the war on obesity by outlawing the spoon? Studies to show which brand of pencil causes the most spelling errors? Don’t see any where that Deano said he was going to take ANYONE on by himself. Feel free to put a sign in your yard Merc stating that your home is proudly gun free. You shouldn’t have a problem with that beings you are so sure nothing bad could possibly happen.
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Ellamay,
Although the letter to the editor wasn’t addressing Obama’s proposal, he did indeed address these other culprits.
Hollywood and video games, maybe they have some affect on these violent situations, we don’t know that yet. But lets take Canada for example, they have access to these video games don’t they? They also have just as easy access to Hollywood movies. Why are they not having these same problems?
It’s easy to point the finger at everyone and everything else. But Obama’s new proposal just makes sense. As common sense adults, we shouldn’t look at these proposals as an infringement of our rights because it simply isn’t true. Reinstating a ban that was already in affect for ten years and found constitutional, is legal.
Universal background checks, money for research on video game effects and gun violence, steps to creating safer school environment, and even addressing mental health issues.
Take a deep breath and think about these proposals. He is addressing more than one issue. These are not outrageous measures. Yes, there will still be gun violence. And yes, you can still believe in conspiracy theories but if we all did that, there simply would be no progress.
Like VP Biden said, “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.”
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Ms. Merrick your letter joins a long list of ignorant commentary pretending to address an issue by only dealing with one of the many side effects. You would make a good politician, they never seem to want to deal with reality either. Gun Control has proven time and again not to work. Columbine? During the last “assault weapons ban”. Newtown? In Connecticutt with very strict gun control laws. Colorado theater? In a “gun free zone”. Chicago’s 500+ homocides? In the City that is only rivaled by D.C. for strictest gun laws.
Fact of the matter is, so called “assault rifles” which in and of itself is just completely ignorant, given that they are not technically any different in their action than any other semi automatic firearm and not what a real assault rifle would need to be (equipped with selective fire mechanism ie, a fully automatic machine gun), but I digress, the fact of the matter is these guns are used in a very small portion of gun crimes. Also, Adam Lanza could have done every bit as much damage with the two pistols he was carrying at the same time. But, ignorant fools will believe what radical politicians tell them and be scared of the big bad looking black gun…
Fools.
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Lawdog — You can send your rebuttal, in writing, to the Editor at the Daily Globe. Sign your name. Be sure to include all the colorful references you chose to use here — ignorant, fools, radical politicians, etc. Take full credit for your thoughts.
You see, hundreds, if not thousands, of Globe readers don’t see your comments here online. You should be willing to share your wisdom aloud and proud, without cover of anonymity. Perhaps Ms. HERRICK doesn’t read the comments section here, either. And she deserves to know that you think she’s an ignorant fool for voicing her first amendment rights.
Oh, and one last thing. Even a macho dude like yourself would be scared if you were staring down the barrel “of a big bad looking black gun.”
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So if it was painted white it would be ok with you eastender ?
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Don’t be a fool. I expect something better from someone who calls himself “smartimus”. Reading comprehension is apparently not your strong suit.
This whole debate about gun control — which has never been about going door to door to confiscate guns — is driven by paranoia. It’s tiresome beyond words.
As has been pointed out, with the hundreds of thousands of guns that are being stashed away by “guns rights advocates”, do you think anyone would sign on to go door to door to pick up weapons, legal or illegal? How long would it be before these officials were gunned down? It’s an impossible task. It will never happen. Anybody who think so is delusional.
Find something else to occupy your time.
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The fact of the matter is that the far left fringe now in contol of the Presidency and Senate have stated many times they would like to confiscate guns if they could. I’m only taking the radical left at their word, nothing more. I would hope that the radical left would have more than a little fear in their hearts at going door to door to confiscate guns. Please tell me how many tyranical governments currently allow gun ownership by the general public?
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Eastender, you call me a fool, but you portray looking down the barrel of a “black” gun as somehow worse than looking down the barrel of any gun. Could you please elaborate on your foolish statement?
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eastender, that’s rich, you say I need to submit any comments in writing to the paper with my name signed and yet you are in here commenting more than just about everybody else combined. I know its inconvenient for you that the facts I raised don’t support your position and therefore you want to “shoot the messenger” but good grief the hypocrisy of your response is off the charts. You need to get a grip on reality.
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I gave you several valid reasons why you should send your rebuttal in writing to the editor.. re-read them. They’re all valid. If you still believe what you said – and the way you said it – you should have the guts to send it in.
It would serve no purpose for me to rebut your comments in a letter to the editor, because there’s no context for it. I happen to largely agree with the writer — unlike you — so certainly a rebuttal wouldn’t make sense. Rebuttals represent opposing views, not agreement.
If you truly believe the writer is ignorant, out of touch, and a fool, she deserves to know and you should be man enough to put your name to it. If you’ve now decided you were too harsh, you owe her an apology.
Assuming you’re older than 10, you should know that you can state your opinions and facts without calling the other person an ignorant, out of touch, fool. Or at least be prepared to say it to their face.
There’s no hypocrisy on my part. Nice try. I put my comments HERE because I’m responding to comments MADE HERE. Got it?
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Don’t pretend you know how to “portray” anything. The “foolish statement” about the “big black gun” came from Lawdog (see above), not from me. Here’s what he said.. I’ll save you the trouble of having to “scroll up”:
“But, ignorant fools will believe what radical politicians tell them and be scared of the big bad looking black gun…”
(And, I might add, the “gun rights fools” will believe anything the NRA tells them!)
Your comment is still foolish. If you had read the whole thread, you’d have understand in what context my reply was made. There is no “fact of the matter” that the “far left fringe” wants to do anything about confiscating guns. That’s paranoid baloney. You have a right to your own opinion, but not your own facts. You should know better.
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I call em like I see em.
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Eastender, the statement you made was “Even a macho dude like yourself would be scared if you were staring down the barrel ‘ of a big bad looking black gun’ “. Most of the words were your own words. How soon the left forgets when the truth doesn’t fit their narative.
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You brought up the issue of the color of the gun. If you’re “smart”, you’ll drop this before you look even more foolish. I’ve wasted far too much time trying to explain it to you.
The “right” has no corner on the truth, obviously. Don’t flatter yourselves.
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If being correct makes me look foolish bring it on.
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“This whole debate about gun control — which has never been about going door to door to confiscate guns — is driven by paranoia. It’s tiresome beyond words.” Yet you keep returning to spew your blather. YOU can write the Globe also, sign your name and take credit for YOUR thoughts and beliefs. They will print it just like they do anyone elses. You’ve made that suggestion to NUMEROUS other people, how bout YOU take credit for the garbage you spew!
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Okay, folks, this is getting unnecessarily rude.
Please stay civil or I’ll have to shut down the thread, and nobody wants that-people still have plenty to say on the topic.
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Mental health and gun ownership. I think it would be sensible to require three references to vouch for an applicants mental health before being issued a permit to own a gun. I also think the references should include the mental health of immediate family members of the applicant or anyone in the household who could potentially have access to the gun(s).
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Where’s the wisdom in creating new laws or bans when the government, in Bidens words, “Don’t have the time to prosecute gun buyers that lie on background checks.” Is this all just a “feel good” thing for them then? Instead of trying to find the cause they just create new laws that they won’t have the time to prosecute?
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“You really think your handguns and even AR-15s will stop the US military if they were to turn onto the people of the US in some tyrannical takeover”
I guess the Vietnam war is not covered history class anymore.
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If I remember correctly, the US left Vietnam with it’s tail between it’s legs and 55,000 dead Americans. It is not so much military might but the will of the people to win that will determine the outcome of any conflict.
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