I should think it sad that we, the American people – my people, may be having this argument somewhere ages hence and, although our voices held softly as not to penetrate the walls of our dingy confines, the rhetoric will possess the same sting as the hands of the guards outside them.  Shame, the liberal minded regard us as enemies when, the undeniable truth is, we will all suffer the same eventuality. 
It humors me when I hear the words “gun control” and “safety” uttered in the same breath, as if they are the same thing!  Besides, when did safety become as paramount as to displace our voracity for liberty?  Especially when speaking of the version whose definition is so highly regarded in this thread; the perceived sense that a greater force, our government, is protecting you.  Franklin said it best, “Those who would sacrifice liberty for security shall lose both and deserve neither!” he knew that true safety comes from our freedom to choose and, most importantly, our ability, our right, to defend those choices.

For every non gun owner or anyone who wants to take away our right to bear arms don’t you liberals get it. This right is the only way you are protected from tyranny and attack foriegn or domestic. Take away your gun and you might as well get rid of the rest of your rights because that would follow. I’m tired of hearing about how many people die due to hand guns. What about drunk drivers? Ban cars and drink? Ha! lets see that happen.And as far as assault weapons, a true assault weapon is discribed as full auto. Do you have one? I don’t.A recent article released from gun grabbers state that 200,000 people a day die world wide from AK-47s. Yea, how many from war? Don’t tell you that! Keep the guns.

I like my 1946 Winchester Model 12 Pump 12 gauge. It is a great home protection piece. you don’t even have to fire it, just one pump in a dark room, and all you hear is running feet!

AND if you do have to fire it, you don’t have to have good eyesight or a great aim. just point in the general direction of what you want to hit, and you are sure to get a piece of it!!!

It will be mine till they pry it from my cold dead hand!

Purple Girl, You’re making my point from my earlier post to 1twenty1 that proponents of gun-owner control don’t take the trouble to read about guns before forming opinions. “Automatic” weapons are illegal across the country unless one holds a machine-gun license and registers each piece. As for the guns you refer to as semi-autos, these are actually auto-reloading rifles, shotguns or handguns. They have many sporting uses, including skeet and trap shooting, duck hunting, handgun competion shooting (very popular) and many other legitimate uses by honest gunowners. This includes self-defense.

Personally, I prefer an old fashion double-action revolver. My 357 mag using high-pressure rounds, is probably the most effective and trouble-free (jam-free) self-defense handgun ever developed.
It’s worth mentioning that if those many young women who have been killed during their late night or solitary walks had been properly trained to protect themselves, they would be alive today. This involves practice and training, of course, to instill confidence and competence with a gun. A good place for these women to start is NOT an autoloader of any kind. It is a small hammerless or rounded-spur 5-shot 38-Special (caliber) revolver, loaded with fast-expanding Remington 110-grain SJHP semi-jacketed hollow-point ammo.
If under deadly assault, break free with a heel strike to bridge of foot or eye poke or whatever, step back and unload all five into the attacker’s clavicle. He’ll drop like a bad of stones.

It’s critical, though, that any person using a gun for defense has to practice often and be fully aware of legal constraints on the use of deadly force.

If you feel threatened, incapable or afraid to own a gun don’t own one.

When the anti-gun people have collected all the guns from all the “bad” people out there and can be “positively sure” they won’t get others, come see me, I’ll consider giving up mine. Since we know the first part will never happen why consider the second. 

J.S. - BTW the drafters, not having a time machine, couldn’t foresee any type of weapons but muskets. They wrote about what they knew. The weapons may have changed since the beginning of time but your basic right of self defense by any means necessary hasn’t.

No court can give that to you or take it from you.

I understand why people wish there were no guns, but for those of us who are smaller and weaker than most, they can literally be a lifesaver.  When armed, women, the elderly and disabled people are not at the mercy of any vicious bully who encounters them, or breaks into their home.
Prior to the invention of firearms, the strong arm ruled.  Now anyone who is willing to invest in some training can travel through life knowing that they are able to effectively defend themselves from assault.
Firearms can be a problem, but in thousands of cases every year they are used to defend honest people from hoodlums.

If you follow the theory of those “crazy” conspiracy theorists...All of a sudden gun ownership is a BAD thing ?? The “crazies” have predicted/theorized that gun ownership has now become the opposite of what was “totally” supported earlier.  Is this due to data that supports control, or does it indicate” the plan” in place for total control. They “used” the gun lobby for political power/control but, now, that they have a greater degree of control, it (the ownership of lethal weaponry) needs to be controlled/eradicated.They needed you “gun freaks”, that used the Constitution to justify that right, and “NOW” want to rescind it to protect themselves from the “harm” MADE possible of said possession/rights. I say that you “gun guys” fight like hell to keep these business guys wary. While I’m against the possession and, subsequent use of deadly instruments, I think it ironic that those that were elected to maintain your gun control rights are afraid to be victims of that ability.