Why must the general public be so woefully uneducated about guns?

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Eh, I don't so much blame the person who called 911 as I do the complete overreaction of the police. They could've sent a couple officers to calmly and quietly talk to the guy and whole thing would've been a non-event. Instead they call in the SWAT team and cordon off streets so the mayor can get some good PR in his bulletproof vest.

yeap Odds are the mayor wanted some PR by claiming ot be down in the "danger Zone" to make sure evyeroen was safe. So he had the Swat team down there closeing off the streets etc.

was a major overreaction from the police.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: alien42

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth

Originally posted by: alien42
think about that again. if your enemy has no guns then you dont need them either.

Why would your enemy follow your laws?

did you read my original statement?

"if there were no guns to begin with then this would never have happened"

pontifex is trying to twist a simple statement into something more. there is nothing in that statement that is pro or anti gun.

Try making the statement that if there were no peer to peer file sharing that there would be no RIAA/MPAA lawsuits. Your comment was flamebait and now you're trying to change what the intention was after the fact.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
The article specifically said a "high powered rifle." Would I expect people to be able to differentiate a pellet gun and a .22? No. But nobody in their right mind would refer to a .22 as a "high powered rifle."

And yes I most definitely do fault the police department (and the idiot mayor showing up in his bulletproof vest) but the initial over-reaction that started the whole thing was someone calling 911.

It could have been stopped before it even started if people hadn't been so paranoid.

Viper GTS

Exactly. I'd expect them to confuse a pellet gun with a rifle...they look pretty similar, and it's hard to tell through the window of an office building a ways away...but "high-powered"? They can't tell it's a pellet gun, but they know the caliber it fires?

Originally posted by: alien42
think about that again. if your enemy has no guns then you dont need them either.

You can't uninvent things. If that were the case, we could unilaterally get rid of all our nukes, confident that Iran can't pursue a nuclear weapons program without a blueprint to start from.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: wvtalbot

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that downtown Pittsburgh isn't one of those places.

While I haven't found anything specifically addressing it, you are likely correct. Many major cities do not allow open carry (even if state law allows it).

There are, however, plenty of allowances for people to transport their firearms - some of which could easily result in someone seeing you.

Viper GTS

There is a big difference between transporting a firearm and running around an urban downtown in camo with what LOOKS like a rifle.

heh i see guys in Camo all the time (in hunting season) around here! but yeah i live in a area where hunting is big.

I have to agree i would be wondering whats up if i seen a guy in camo carrying a rifle in chicago. but if it is hunting season i wouldnt really give it a 2nd thought.

 

[alien42]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth

Originally posted by: alien42

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth

Originally posted by: alien42
think about that again. if your enemy has no guns then you dont need them either.

Why would your enemy follow your laws?

did you read my original statement?

"if there were no guns to begin with then this would never have happened"

pontifex is trying to twist a simple statement into something more. there is nothing in that statement that is pro or anti gun.

Try making the statement that if there were no peer to peer file sharing that there would be no RIAA/MPAA lawsuits. Your comment was flamebait and now you're trying to change what the intention was after the fact.

whatever (guns and file sharing?). you are however sounding rather angry and violent like you might want to shoot me.

 

[wvtalbot]

I think the big question is WTF was the guy doing wearing camo to kill pigeons?

 

[CKent]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
For those who keep harping on the "not everyone can ID guns" issue that is a minor side point.

The real issue here is that people's lack of education combined with sensationalism spoon fed by the media results in completely unfounded fear.

People driven by fear do stupid sh!t, like call 911 because they saw someone with a gun.

Viper GTS

Your real problem then lies with the media FUD machine and the self-interest response of fear which fuels it, not to mention the overreaction of the police which is understandable considering the scathing criticism they receive anytime an incident happens, regardless of how well they handled it. Because the same freedom which grants you the right to own guns if you want to grants me the freedom to not know a damn thing about them if I don't want to

 

[phantom309]

Originally posted by: wvtalbot

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
For those who keep harping on the "not everyone knows about guns" issue that is a minor side issue.

The real issue here is that people's lack of education combined with sensationalism spoon fed by the media results in completely unfounded fear.

People driven by fear do stupid sh!t, like call 911 because they saw someone with a gun.

Viper GTS

Sorry I grew up in rural WV and know a lot about guns. (and yes still I am anti-handgun). And if I was in downtown pittsburgh and saw a guy in camo with a pellet gun. (which could easily be mistaken for a rifle at from a distance). I would be concerned.

I agree. I know a lot about guns too, but from a distance I doubt I could tell a scoped pellet or airsoft gun from the real thing. There are lots of instances of the news media sensationalizing guns, but I just don't think the OP has a reasonable argument here. It's like berating your mom for not knowing the difference between black metal and death metal.

 

[Platypus]

You could rewrite this thread title to be "Why must the general public be so woefully uneducated about _____________" and have an equally large discussion.

I don't know much and don't care to know much about guns though, just making an observation.

 

[Viper GTS]

Damn people, for the last time:

Education != the ability to ID guns

People have no clue what is legal or not legal, & get their only firearm exposure from the media.

The result is situations like this.

Viper GTS