As for my opinion on the matter, I am a firm believer that gun laws mostly only affect law abiding citizens like myself. Hand guns have been banned in my city for decades. As I said, I don't live in the worst neighborhood in the city, but it has only been a week since I have heard gun shots. 10 years ago in this neighborhood I would have probably heard them every night. If there were a way to get all the guns off the streets I would be all for it, but we live in the real world, and I am a pragmatist...

i bought all my firearms in chicago, or around cook county and the license is the hardest thing to get after that you can buy away as long as you have no felonies on your record you should be fine! i got mine in 2 months even though they said it would take 6 months!

i lived on the north side where i rarely heard gun shots(halsted and addison) i lived a few blocks down from there and from the cubbies home!

When you have a complete ban as was the case in DC, that answer would be 100%.

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This is huge news. This is a landmark case and I am very glad that it turned out the way that it did.

The 2nd Amendment is another form of checks and balances for the government. The government has internal checks and balances put in place to keep one branch of the government from becoming overbearing against the other branches. The 2nd Amendment shifts the balance of power tremendously towards the side of the people, so that if the government gets out of line, the people will have the tools necessary to enact necessary change. The people keep the government in check. The reason that this would work is that there are way more people than their are government soldiers. Looking at recent situations in Iraq and Afganistan, firearms in the hands of the people can effectively defend against a foreign force.

The underlying principle of the U.S. governmental system is that the government is by the people and for the people. The 2nd Amendment makes sure that the government does not go above the people, but rather gives the people actual power over the government. Without arms, the relationship between the government and the people is based solely on trust, with the people being at the mercy of the government. This would be a problem that the founding fathers saw and wanted to prevent.

Here's a good quote that I found: "Look at your rights and freedoms as what would be required to survive and be free as if there were no government. Governments come and go, but your rights live on. If you wish to survive government, you must protect with jealous resolve all the powers that come with your rights - especially with the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Without the power of those arms, you will perish with that government - or at its hand." B.E. Wood

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The ban in DC is a handgun ban, observed only by non-criminals. Even liberal reporters had guns at their homes ("Carl Rowan shoots intruder in his backyard", used a .38 I seem to recall). I believe you can still own a shotgun, which is the better home defense gun as shot doesn't over penetrate. Slugs now...

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I am not worried about having to fight the US government. I live in a city with about 2.8 million people (just Chicago propper) with about 10,000 Chicago Police. I do know that there probably won't be a cop there when I need one. That being said, checks and balances is what has made our democracy work.



In a way that is a funny statement. In a way is is very sad. 435 homicides last year in Chicago, the vast majority of which were committed by illegal guns.

Yes...the DC ban was for handguns, and you were allowed to keep a shotgun or rifle in your home. Here it comes...BUT if you did keep a shotgun or rifle in your home it had to either be unloaded and disassembled or it had to have a trigger lock. The latter sounds reasonable, but think about it for a second: if you take the trigger lock off, it's now illegal.

In essense, you had no right to self-defense in DC at least not with a firearm. You could use a baseball bat or a machette...but that didn't really help Redskins player Sean Taylor too much in Miami when intruders broke into his house.

edit: second paragraph

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saying guns kill people is like saying spoons made Rosy Odonald fat.

also, If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.

And like what Zulu said, ever since the handgun ban in DC, that place is getting terrible.

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For those from Chicago and Illinois, there is a huge pro-gun event headed your way! Check it out. I'll definitely be there.

http://www.chicagorally.isra.org/

I think I'll post this up as a stand-alone thread as well.

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