|
Post by Einherjer on Jul 9, 2010 18:54:30 GMT -5
A quick back-story: My neighbor, a pretty hard-core Christian, recently declared that Atheists were "gun-scared Liberals who would make us bow down to the first gunmen we see."
He was quite surprised when I produced my concealed carry permit, but quickly stonewalled by repeating that I was "the exception that proves the rule" without actually saying why.
That got me curious, though, just what many Atheists and Agnostics think about firearm ownership. We are generally considered to be Liberals, but at the same time, we tend to be a bit more level-headed and more willing to look at studies and tests than simply touting what we want to be true as actually being true. These two stances seem to butt heads a little bit.
Please note that in the poll, I am asking about law-abiding citizens being permitted to own a firearm, NOT federal criminals. Also, if your own religion (and I know we have some pretty level-headed religious people who come here) has a generally-accepted view about firearms, perhaps make a note of them in the comments?
Ciao!
|
|
|
Post by aaa on Jul 9, 2010 19:11:10 GMT -5
I am perfectly fine with owning firearms. Old guns tend to have quite a bit of history behind them and finding out about their past is quite a nice way of spending an evening. If you ask me about gun control, i don't think any firearms should be made illegal. Just controlled with reasonable limits.
If you ask me about how they should be controlled, getting the permission to own a firearm should be designed to prevent morons from owning guns. Mandatory classes for gun safety, a background check and a doctor's permission is enough for somebody who wants a basic permission.
|
|
|
Post by sithyeti on Jul 9, 2010 19:11:56 GMT -5
I don't currently own a gun, but I love to shoot. I love the thrill of it.
|
|
|
Post by faythofdragons on Jul 9, 2010 19:29:09 GMT -5
I'm not religious at all, but my boyfriend is looking at getting a couple of guns once we have jobs. He wants a shotgun for home defence, and a pistol of some sort for target shooting. He's also going to get a concealed carry permit, just because Washington has some really confusing laws concerning transporting firearms. I'm okay with it, as long as someone teaches me how to use them safely.
|
|
|
Post by Alexandria on Jul 9, 2010 19:29:21 GMT -5
I went with my "ideal" choice, in that if I could have my way period, it'd be that, (atheist, not ok for anyone). However, realistically, I'm fine with hunters owning them. As in, you need a hunting license to own a gun, cause more often than not, hunters know how to be safe with them and aren't likely to kill a human intentionally with one.
|
|
|
Post by DeadpanDoubter on Jul 9, 2010 20:31:30 GMT -5
Guns scare me, but then I've never been around them (my parents actually banned plastic guns and discouraged pretend gun play) and I've never fired one. That said, I'd prefer that people who can demonstrate that they know how to use one and aren't, you know, fucked up in the head be allowed to own them. It's not like the people who don't care about the law are going to stop carrying guns, but then again, it's not like having a gun really protects you in a panic, so...yeah, I dunno, just let sane people choose whether they wan guns or not.
|
|
|
Post by Vene on Jul 9, 2010 20:42:31 GMT -5
I grew up in a hunting community, guns were commonplace. I think that it's a good idea to make sure that guns are only in the hands of responsible people and are used responsibly. I also think that there are firearms that civilians never, ever need (an easy example would be the M82), but I don't think that there should be an all out ban on all guns.
|
|
|
Post by devilschaplain2 on Jul 9, 2010 20:50:56 GMT -5
I support the right for competent adults (as in no criminal record and mentally sound) to own handguns, and I'm an atheist. I also had no idea there was a correlation between atheism and support for second amendment rights.
|
|
|
Post by malendras on Jul 9, 2010 21:11:25 GMT -5
I'm atheist, and I have no problem with guns. As long as you don't have a mental or crime-related reason not to own one, that is. I also don't think any civilian in the US needs, say, a full-auto AK-47 or .50 cal sniper rifle. That's just overkill. But when I have the spare cash and get the permits, I'd actually like a nice rifle or shotgun. Hunting, home defense, target shooting, whatever.
|
|
|
Post by Mlle Antéchrist on Jul 9, 2010 21:24:56 GMT -5
Atheist. I personally don't care to own a firearm, but I see no reason to force that belief upon others. I do support some degree of gun control (most importantly, only selling them to people with no criminal record) and banning certain weapons. I'm not in favour of outright banning all firearms, as I believe that guns can be used for sporting purposes and that people have a right to defend themselves if the situation calls for it.
I'm also not a big fan of hunting for sport, but again, I'm not going to force my opinions onto other people.
Edit: I actually think it would be more interesting to compare opinions on gun ownership with nationality, to see how much of a role culture is playing here.
|
|
Pyena
Full Member
Just Doing It To Get Attention
Posts: 108
|
Post by Pyena on Jul 9, 2010 21:40:31 GMT -5
I'm vaguely religious, and I believe that responsible people should be able to own a gun if they choose to. However, I do think there are limits. (such as what malendras mentioned.)
I do think that before someone is allowed to own a gun, they need to pass an intelligence and safety test. There's a difference between a good hunter and an inexperienced idiot that shoots everything that moves. (The latter are the reason Mom wouldn't let me play outside during deer season.)
|
|
|
Post by Einherjer on Jul 9, 2010 21:42:46 GMT -5
Edit: I actually think it would be more interesting to compare opinions on gun ownership with nationality, to see how much of a role culture is playing here. That would be interesting, indeed, but... the poll would be huge ._. There would need to be so many topics for it, just to cover all the bases. I suppose it could be limited to the continents, N./S. America, Europe, etc, but even then there are such varied changes between individual nations. The EU alone has over a dozen nations in it while many states in the USA have the populations of entire nations, and opinions are varied even between states and other more localized borders. The ability to get a good, solid bit of info on that, from a community as small as FSTDT (in relation to the global community at large) would be difficult, at best, and would give such a small view that it would be almost meaningless. Or so my opinion stands. If another person has the desire to go to the efforts it needs, I will stand behind them 100%, but considering I work two jobs and only have 1-2 hours' free time each day (which is spent looking for a job to replace the two) I simply couldn't accomplish the depth that such a topic would need.
|
|
|
Post by Vene on Jul 9, 2010 21:47:57 GMT -5
You know, I bet that Ein's neighbor would still claim we hate guns because a fair number of us are good with restrictions on it. You know, to try and avoid shit like this happening.
|
|
|
Post by Mlle Antéchrist on Jul 9, 2010 21:48:32 GMT -5
I was just speaking generally, not suggesting we try to turn it into a scientific poll. It's doubtful that any attempt to collect data on this site (or most internet polls, really) would ever be scientific. For a thread asking about nationality and gun control opinions, we'd be better off just asking people to reply with their nationality and opinion than trying to make a poll. Edit: Referring to Ein's post, Vene ninja'd me
|
|
|
Post by Her3tiK on Jul 9, 2010 21:50:45 GMT -5
I don't have any problem with firearms, though I really don't think automatic and/or armor piercing weapons should be available to the public. There's absolutely no reason for the average person to have that kind of firepower.
|
|