fredwiggy

I was a gun salesman working for a sporting goods store, with a federal Firearms License. No bias whatsoever because I'm a realist who deals with facts and not opinions. No one I ever sold a gun to committed a crime that I know of, as the police were in my store daily, always talking about guns and crime, who did what with what gun etc. And yes of course I understand per capita. I again wasn't trying to deflect what's already there, but more people does mean more suicides, gangs and gun deaths., although the US ratio is indeed high. And again, most of the crimes were those, besides the despicable mass shootings, which are happening worldwide now, and will increase in every nation that has guns. Copycats are just that, and they are around. Thailand is a violent society if you look at crime here also, as well as some South American countries, African countries and the Middle east. People that haven't been to the US or only visited and see the news think it's a violent society, but most of the people living there are not violent, and never will be. 48,830 firearm deaths in the US. More people in the US die from suicide involving a firearm than homicides or accidents. This is out of almost 340 million people. Pretty small percentage seeing most are suicides and gang related. The society isn't violent, but a tiny percentage of it's people are, just like here and there. When you live in a country for 62 years and never see any violent crime, it means something, along with all of my family and friends who have seen only a few instances. It happens of course. The news says so, but unlike here, where only a tiny percentage of crime gets to the new stations., the US has thousands of news casters, and gun crime is a big deal because of the political impact it has. Here, where gun crime is high, it gets downgraded because they don't want to lose tourists with publicity, even though it does get out eventually.

What some don't realize is that yes, the gun deaths in America are a lot higher, but the population is 13 times more, which means more people, more crimes. I'm not trying to rationalize what's already there. There IS a problem that needs to be addressed, but it's not the guns themselves but, more people, more mental illness, more problems. The US doesn't have the highest gun deaths worldwide. There are countries that have a higher death rate, but again, I'm not trying to downgrade the problem. Thailand has almost the same rate as the US in gun crime, even though it's not known as much as the US is. Mass shootings, suicides and gang related crime is what takes up most of the stats. The most are from suicides and again, more people, more deaths. I lived there for 62 years and was outside daily in many states ,cities and the country parts, and never saw any violent crime. I sold guns and knew many policemen and sheriffs, who told their stories. It is mostly suicides and gangs.

Owning guns isn't an addiction. Buying more guns than you need and putting yourself in a financial hole isn't good. That goes for anything you can buy. Guns are just things, like cd's, movies, fishing rods and reels, magic tricks, books, houses, cars etc. I have over 40,000 cd's. Am I addicted? It's just a love for music. Just as hunters love hunting, being in the outdoors, having a chance at a trophy and meat. Fisherman traveling to many places in quest for a trophy fish or seafood, or both. Prescription drugs, from doctors, kill more people than most other things, including illegal drugs. People love to get high, buzzed, drunk, whatever, because it's an escape for a time from the BS of life. Same reason people hunt,shoot targets, go to concerts, dance, and fish. Everyone has a right to do whatever they want, as long as it doesn't affect others in a bad way. It's what makes America free. Marijuana will eventually be legal everywhere because it's not the demon weed people without knowledge make it to be. Booze kills more than weed will ever do, and it's legal because people make money on it, just as marijuana will eventually be. Guns in the wrong hands kill and maim people. Guns in the right hands bring meat to the table, and lives are saved because private owners have intervened many times. Most people will never need a gun for self defense, but if there comes a time when it's you or a person out to hurt you and or your family, having a gun could make you go home with that family, and the perp getting justice. People need to be responsible carrying and owning a thing that can kill. The same goes for knives, hammers, chain saws and cars. When I move back home, I will again have my guns, and they will be in a place where I can reach them, away from everyone else besides those in my house who know how to handle them, and if someone breaks into my house intending harm, he isn't walking away. Australia might have limited it's guns, but crime continues with them daily, and it's not legitimate gun owners doing it, just as it's not in America.

Our God isn't involved in such matters. Freedom of choice gives us the ability to do whatever we think is right. Many abuse that right. Ownership of guns is not the problem. Guns are necessary for so many things. Hunting, target shooting, self defense. I'm sure you're not against the military and police having guns. Most people that own guns never commit crimes. it's the ones who steal and take guns from legitimate owners. The disturbed ones who plan cruel acts because they don't fit into a normal society. Americans will never lose their guns. Americans will see to that, and many lives will be saved because of gun owners. As far as the ones who use them in crimes, that's something we all can agree on needs to be stopped. Hunting is a sport that's gone back hundreds of years and will never be stopped. Regulated yes, but not stopped. Take away things people like, and they rebel. This is why so much rebellion is going on here. Wrong people in charge, looking out for only themselves and their rich cronies. That also has to be stopped.

I'm sorry you don't realize owning a gun has nothing to do with intelligence but a desire. And you do remember a couple of posts back you stating you were a gun owner so.....

What about them?

If you would understand what I write, it isn't some "hick" style but replies from research, many years of daily reading, and coming from a father with a genius level IQ. The real kind, not the one you talk about promoting yourself. In any event, people from he Pine barrens aren't dopes anyway. Most of them are landowners, people who have built homes there to escape the city, cranberry growers and those that grew up there having family from the Revolutionary times. It's never wise to assume to whom you're replying , as this isn't a testing ground for Mensa.

I mentioned it sickens me when this happens. I talk to God all the time, asking for all madness to stop, especially against children, the poor and elderly.

Bergen County

You really are showing with every post a lack of not only intelligence but restraint. So you traveled to Texas, meeting how many Texans? I was there 32 years, and knew thousands. Just like everywhere else I've been, some were jerks and most were fine people. You're saying you met a few of the 30 million whop live there and are judging them as jerks from this? They talk funny? A southern accent, shared by many millions across the south, and brought about over time, just like those in every other country. Do they all talk funny? Your Chinese wife was rather exotic when the Chinese have been there for centuries? That's kinda like the ones here who have seen foreigners for a hundred years and still point at us and say farang. Ignorance comes in many disguises. 4 of my children, all above average IQ, were all born in Texas, making them native Texans even though I'm from New Jersey. Hardly dumb kids. re·straint /rəˈstrānt/ noun noun: restraint; plural noun: restraints 1. a measure or condition that keeps someone or something under control or within limits. "decisions are made within the financial restraints of the budget" the action of keeping someone or something under control. "a policy of restraint in public spending" deprivation or restriction of personal liberty or freedom of movement.

Calling Texans dumb shows you've never been there, and have no idea of the people who live there. I'm not a native Texan, moved there in 1985 from New Jersey but lived there 32 years before coming here. Calling yourself a genius shows you aren't, s a genius doesn't brag about it, seeing they're smart enough to know intelligence will show anyway. Gun ownership, meaning legitimate for hunting, targets and protection, isn't stupid in any meaning of the word. These are legitimate pastimes that have been around for centuries. God put animals here, meaning game, for us to eat. Yes, we could use bows and crossbows like I do now, but guns are also used. This has nothing to do with Trump, as he's just another disturbed individual some believe in. Just like Hitler, Putin, Stalin, Mao, Kim and all the others. And you can buy a Weatherby for under $2500

You try and take Americans guns away you lose votes. Votes are what they're after. More than 40% are gun owners. No matter what, that's a lot of votes.

I didn't miss your point. You just listed things that don't exist. Guns are not the problem. Guns by themselves can't hurt anything. People are, and always will be, the problem. Meaning disturbed, narcissistic, mentally ill people who's only agenda is to hurt others because they either weren't raised with the thought that human lives are precious, or in the minority of cases, were born with that predisposition. People will and have killed with anything they can get their hands on. Knives, guns, baseball bats, sticks, hammers, screwdrivers, ice picks, even pens and pencils. People all have a dark side. A smart person keeps it under wraps, only letting it out when it's necessary, as in self defense or in defense or family, friends or property. Jealousy has some do things that are irrational, meaning they get cheated on and take revenge, instead of leaving the person who cheated on them, seeing it as their problem and that they weren't worthy if you treated them right. Some people have hard depression and take their own lives, thinking there is no other way around their present feelings. Some use guns, all will do anything they can to end the pain. The real problem is not many really care. Courts will punish some and let others go who are worse. Money talks instead of common sense. Thinking ridding the world of guns will make it a safer place aren't seeing the real picture. Evil is among us all day long. We elect narcissistic leaders who's only concern is money and power. Some start out trying to help, but get caught up in the power aspect and think that's all the matters. Seeing that this evil will always be among us because it's part of human nature, what's to be done? Judges and police forces doing the jobs intended instead of letting people go because they can pay their way out. Not having children unless you are both mentally and financially capable of raising them in a loving environment. Girls not having sex with just anyone because he's cute, instead looking at what kind of partner and maybe father ho could be. Curbing the violence is necessary of course, but how to do this is if some people are unstable? The breakdown of the family is the destruction of a civilized world. It all starts at home. Everyone who has gone out into the world and intentionally hurt someone weren't taught that lives matter as a child. Either they saw their parents solving problems with violence or their parents weren't available and they learned by seeing what their peers do, many of which come from unstable homes themselves. Guns are necessary for a few reasons. To curb crime, to hunt, to target shoot for fun, to fight against those unstable people who are out to hurt others. To keep this crazed world safe from people who really don't belong here. Some guns aren't necessary but getting rid of them won't solve the problem.

Not sure where you found these stats, or received them from someone who wasn't aware but, mental health issues are as they are most everywhere, with 1 in 5 experiencing them. Single parent households are around 15%. This doesn't mean much because having a single parent household isn't a precursor to children running amok. It's not having a good male role model which leads many boys astray. Among others, there are 38 biker gangs, some involved in the drug trade. Gaming is as high as many other countries. The Dept. of Home Affairs lists about 70,000 illegal immigrants living there. Crime isn't unusually high but exists............https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice

While it's true you can develop a mental illness, most start at a young age. Also true is that the 3% of shootings that happen with a semi auto aren't done by hunters but are from guns taken or stolen from legitimate owners, or are bought by people who aren't hunters but disturbed individuals bent on havoc. You take away semi autos and crazies will still use other weapons to kill people. Again, I'm not a semi auto user, but it isn't the weapon but the person using it, and they can use most anything, and have, to kill more than one or two. I'm more for protecting the rights of legitimate gun owners, meaning all guns besides full autos, which have no place in hunting or regular ownership situations. I own guns, and have since I was 17, and would never use any of them against an innocent person. Remember that the ex cop who killed 37 here, including 24 children, used a knife and 9MM. It's keeping all weapons with bullets away from them. How can you do that? Americans will always have their weapons. No one will take them away, so how do you stop mass shootings? And owning weapons for hunting and target shooting are valid reasons, as well as self protection from those that own or get them that are disturbed loose cannons. Hunting isn't just in America also. It's most everywhere. Not here of course because these aren't conservation minded people. And crime with guns isn't just in America, as many nations have it worse. Even here it happens, and has for quite awhile..........https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_in_Thailand

Many semi autos are .223 caliber. Many use them after pigs in Texas, at night, which is legal because pigs are considered pests that ruin habitats. You can shoot a few before they run away with a semi. Many semi owners are target shooters and they like rapid fire. Having a semi doesn't mean you shoot haphazardly. It means a quick follow up shot, or more. I can shoot a bolt action pretty fast, but not as fast as a semi, and I would use one for the type of hunting I stated. I don't use one, but know many who do, and that still shoot one shot at a time, and don't spray bullets everywhere. The people I know that use semis aren't incompetent butchers but safety minded, competent shooters. There are many hunters that aren't good shots, that wound animals with bolt and lever action rifles. Some don't bother to practice and that's a mistake. I myself don't own a semi, preferring a bolt and lever action for guns, and bow and crossbow mostly anyway. To each his own. It isn't the semis that are killing the people but a mentally disturbed person with a semi auto. Like I mentioned earlier, a person can use a revolver and shoot six people, reload and six more etc. A semi can shoot faster, but magazines they carry in any weapon is how many are shot. Many don't realize these weapons aren't assault weapons. Assault weapons have the capability to change from semi to full auto. High capacity magazines are not necessary. I'm a hunter and think they should be banned. A lot of people are against the gun culture in America, but it's part of what gives us the freedom we have. There will always be weapons and mentally ill people. What needs to be done is keeping guns away from them any way possible.

I'm sorry you don't understand, but many don't so don't feel bad. I said, guns in the right hands are safe. This means that a mentally stable, law abiding person isn't the ones a person should be worried about, but the mentally ill that get their hands on guns. Normal people don't shoot innocent people. They don't go into schools or businesses and randomly shoot anyone. This is what you said and I replied to........"Do you really think weapons make the world safer. Look around". People who have weapons have saved countless lives in many wars and situations. What will make the world safer is stricter punishment for the mentally ill that are killing and hurting innocent people. Judges that can't be paid off and police that are corrupt removed from duty. Laws that are enforced. Besides a background check a psychological before buying a weapon. People who lock up their weapons so others can't take or steal them so easily. All schools with monitors at doors, guarded by off duty police (who would be glad to have the extra work). All countries have mentally stable, law abiding citizens, and all countries have mentally ill, narcissistic law breakers that are raised or sometimes born that way.

The right hands are law abiding, mentally sound individuals. Doesn't matter where they live.

But I do recall 24 children, and 12 adults being killed by an ex cop two years ago. Thai news doesn't cover every shooting that happens. American news, meaning local for every state, covers much more because there are multiple networks in each state There are shootings here every day. News here, like I mentioned, covers far less than America's news does. I lived in the US for 62 years, and know full well what goes on there to this day. More people, more crime. https://eastasiaforum.org/2023/12/13/thailands-growing-gun-problem/

Although there is truth in what you say, mass shootings are the result of mental illness, and it doesn't take a semi auto to kill many people. Someone with two handguns and multiple magazines can shoot many until he's stopped. Semi autos are used for hunting, although aren't really necessary. Some just like the semi auto. Target shooters like them for fun. If you need a quick follow up shot after hitting an animal, a semi can shoot faster than all others besides full autos, which are for the most part illegal to own. It is sad that some children are killed with handguns kept in a home. That's the responsibility of the gun owners, keeping them out of reach ,sight or possession of children. As far as suicide, owning a gun only makes it easier for the time being. People who are going to commit suicide will do it in many ways, including my best friend who used carbon monoxide. It might give them more time to think if they aren't in possession of a gun, but if they've made their minds up.......... A gun stored in a home, with children living there, can be reached if it is put in a place where only the owner, or mate, knows where it is. I as a gun owner wish there were safer ways, but if there are guns, there will always be irresponsible people who have some of them.

Out of touch I see. Imagine a world where only criminals had weapons, including terrorists. Can't keep weapons away because they will always exist. Weapons in the right hands are why we , meaning most of us, are living in a free world.

It's what I consider loving the outdoors. You can't know what I feel nor understand it because you aren't for hunting. I don't often injure anything, preferring to ensure I make a killing shot that doesn't let the animal suffer. Sometimes taking home meat means most of the time I just like to sit and enjoy seeing the animals, along with other animals, in their natural habitat. The same way I assume you enjoy the outdoors without sometimes killing.