There are only a couple of people here who live in fantasy land, and unfortunately you are one of them Maggie. I pity you.

Aliantha, is it somehow too much for you to allow, or admit of, armed defense of oneself? Our Republic conceives this as deriving from our condition as human beings, quite independent of any governmental provision. It's a human right, Aliantha, and against this you should not be setting your face.

Jesus fucking christ UG. Owning a gun is not a human rights issue. Get off the grass for a minute and watch where you're walking. You're very quickly losing your credibility.

Aliantha, that is the thinking that facilitates the greatest violation of human rights perpetratable. It is absolutely, unquestionably a matter of human rights not to endure genocide, and therefore, to have the only article known to have even a hope of preventing it. You're blind, Ali, and that saddens me. Your disbelief, your failure to understand, does not help you.

The ability to defend oneself is a human rights issue, attacking someone else isn't. It's all how you look at the issue.

If you think you might kill out of anger, rather than in accordance with the legal principles for the justified use of deadly force, then please don't arm yourself; you're not up to the responsibility.

Suggested reading: Ethics from the Barrel of a Gun

Evidently, not everyone agrees with that stance. http://www.a-human-right.com/

Based on this are we to assume everyone should get in line and be handed a gun so that those who are up to "your definition of responsibility" can kill off those who aren't? What happens when someone not meeting your qualifications kills your "responsible" ones? Perhaps we should go back to the old west. Oh, thats right they eventually LEARNED to restrict gun possession in the towns because too many innocent people were getting killed.

Are you saying that we should individually restrict gun possession? Thats inherently not gonna work too well, as we all know.

Well what if I really want a gun, you know, for "protection".

Don't make me get medieval on your ass. You can pro or con, any point about any issue, but your personal attacks, having nothing to do with the issues, come close to "intolerably irritating". Please stick to the issues.:chill:

Never asked you to justify your fetish for guns. "The likes of me"... you´re always on the defense...

Looking at your arsenal one can hardy assume it´s for self defense only, so save me that hipocracy the next time.

Is it only me noticing the pro gunners are noticeable more aggressive in this discussion? Coincidence... don´t think so.

Lots of tail-posting going on here... as I stated before my side-arm was used to protect me from animals as I grew-up. Nothing to do with human animals and it is my right to have it for that protection as well as protection against humans. On a ranch we use guns as tools like any other, it is no different than an ax or chainsaw. Sidearms are required because they need to be small and easy to carry. I have had to shoot rattlesnakes while crawling under citrus trees more than once and shot a charging wild boar with my side-arm once. People who rant about how "people don't need handguns" know nothing of what they speak.
& no, it is not for gun owners to prove that they need their guns, rights are not for explaining need, justification or desire... they just are.
I keep saying it, freedom means being exposed to other's freedoms... deal. If you don't like them, go where it is not free.
Takes a special, tough, tolerant, person to be free.

UG...I am far from blind. I see things (including you) very clearly.

rkz...I don't think you need to be special to be free.
I don't think you need to be tough to be free.
I don't think you need to be tolerant to be free.

Being free is a basic human right. It just is.

Then stop complaining about other's freedoms.

What if your freedoms inflict on my freedoms? Or my freedoms inflict on yours?