TSA: Gun Discoveries In Baggage Up 20% In 2015 Over 2014 (networkworld.com) 500
coondoggie writes: There was a 20% increase in firearm discoveries at TSA airport checkins from 2014's total of 2,212. It's an astounding number really, but the details get worse. The TSA goes onto say 2,653 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, averaging more than seven firearms per day. Of those, 2,198 (83%) were loaded. Firearms were intercepted at a total of 236 airports; 12 more airports than last year. Last year a TSA spokesman, when asked of the TSA has a theory on why so many more guns are being brought onboard airlines, Tweeted “The vast majority of passengers just tell law enforcement, ‘I forgot.’ We continue to remind passengers they can check them.”
2212 guns being "smuggled" into airports (Score:2)
And not a singe terrorist caught.
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*single* damn. it.
Re: 2212 guns being "smuggled" into airports (Score:3)
Except that the underwear bomber wasn't caught by the TSA. He got on the plane just fine, the only reason he was caught was because his bomb didn't detonate, and just burned instead.
Re:2212 guns being "smuggled" into airports (Score:4, Interesting)
Getting a gun on board isn't really very useful any more. The cabin door will be locked, and threatening to kill people isn't going to get them to open it. Shooting up the plane is unlikely to do enough damage to bring it down, especially since other passengers will immediately intervene. Maybe you could put a hole in a window, and force the aircraft to descend to a lower altitude and deploy oxygen masks, but that's about it.
The real reason to keep guns off aircraft is to stop morons being a pain in the arse with them, not terrorism. The last long haul flight I was on they gave me a metal knife to cut my dinner up with, because realistically what could I do with it?
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The real reason to keep guns off aircraft is to stop morons being a pain in the arse with them, not terrorism. The last long haul flight I was on they gave me a metal knife to cut my dinner up with, because realistically what could I do with it?
Thank you for making my point!
Re:2212 guns being "smuggled" into airports (Score:4, Insightful)
Getting a gun on board isn't really very useful any more.
But on second thoughts, while shooting up a single plane wouldn't do much, think about how much terrorism you could do by shooting up an airport - although you don't need to go through security to do that.
Re:2212 guns being "smuggled" into airports (Score:5, Insightful)
In fact, the security line itself would make a great target for a terrorist. Pick a busy airport at a very busy time of year. Get a suitcase so it looks like you're going on a flight, walk to the security line and wait until you're in the middle of it. Once you've completed your task (and presumably you are dead, but that's not a problem for most terrorists), flights will be messed up for days in that airport. Time this with a couple of people in other airports and you'd mess up flights all over the country as people panic. (And then will come the "we've got to do something" legislation from politicians stripping away more of our freedom to "protect" us from everything.)
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From what I hear, Israel figured this one out...security checkpoint isn't inside the airport, it's a checkstop one mile away where people are still in vehicles. Worst thing you can blow up is one, maybe two cars unless you are really packing a boom. Keep in mind anywhere near Israeli airports is basically a militarized zone, and that doesn't look 'American' to have guards with automatic rifles checking your stuff, but their security record is quite good considering the issues they have with their neighbour
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Not surprising (Score:5, Insightful)
It is not surprising that there are ths many attempts, or that most of them are accidental. There are a staggering number of people flying, and a high number of guns in the US.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (http://www.transtats.bts.gov/) says there were 689 million passenger enplanements. You can do the math, but approximately 2,000 guns found is nowhere near a concerning number. It sounds shocking on the face of it, but with a decade of record gun sales and a strong movement for people to carry concealed, I expected for more to be found.
Responsible enough to carry a loaded weapon, (Score:5, Insightful)
But so forgetful that you leave it in your carry-on accidentally?
It's not like they changed the rule about firearms on planes recently. That kind of irresponsibility should get you on some ATF no-buy list. If you can't be bothered to be cognizant of carrying a weapon, you shouldn't carry one.
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Re:Responsible enough to carry a loaded weapon, (Score:5, Insightful)
It happens, it does not make one irresponsible, maybe a bit too complacent, but not necessarily irresponsible.
I would argue that leaving a weapon such as a gun in an unsecured/uncontrolled location* and not knowing where that weapon is, is the epitome of being irresponsible.
*You may consider it safe while it was in his own home, but once he left that location and was out and about with no clue he was carrying a weapon - well that is a different story all together.
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It happens, it does not make one irresponsible, maybe a bit too complacent, but not necessarily irresponsible.
I would argue that leaving a weapon such as a gun in an unsecured/uncontrolled location* and not knowing where that weapon is, is the epitome of being irresponsible.
*You may consider it safe while it was in his own home, but once he left that location and was out and about with no clue he was carrying a weapon - well that is a different story all together.
You may well be aware you have the weapon but not think about it when traveling. I have a pair of tactical boots that I keep a knife in. I never travel with those boots. Until the one time that I did. Thankfully I remembered when retying my shoe just before going to the airport. The knife sheath on that boot is such that it probably would have made it through the scanner just fine - it would have just looked like the ankle support on the boot.
While I don't carry that knife for self defense, it could st
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retying my shoe just before going to the airport.
See? A responsible weapon and tactical boot owner.
Re:Responsible enough to carry a loaded weapon, (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Responsible enough to carry a loaded weapon, (Score:4, Insightful)
a properly holstered pistol in the hands of a qualified carrier isn't any more dangerous [than a bottle of water].
Please hand in your weapons. For the safety of your family and all those around you.
Liquids are banned from planes because they may be liquid explosives. Not because water is dangerous. People have every right to forget they are carrying a bottle of water. A pistol is not the same.
Maybe you're joking... i hope so.
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There was no intent
Intent doesn't count for jack squat. Only actions count.
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It's not irresponsible to have a gun on your person you don't know about? Or to take said gun to an airport? Really?
Re:Responsible enough to carry a loaded weapon, (Score:5, Insightful)
Forgets in his rush to remove the firearm. It happens, it does not make one irresponsible, maybe a bit too complacent, but not necessarily irresponsible.
Um, being too forgetful to properly store your deadly weapon is, by definition, irresponsible. Sorry.
Re:Responsible enough to carry a loaded weapon, (Score:5, Insightful)
No it's not. You don't get to have mistakes with deadly weapons. That is how things like three year old's shooting themselves with your gun happen. It is irresponsible to not know where your firearm. You decide to own one your are responsible for it 24/7.
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Not that I advocate off body carry, but the mistake is understandable in that example. In a rush, something goes wrong, has to grab a different bag. Forgets in his rush to remove the firearm. It happens, it does not make one irresponsible, maybe a bit too complacent, but not necessarily irresponsible. And it takes a felony conviction to lose the right to buy/possess.
It certainly the fuck damn well does make one irresponsible. Guns are designed to launch projectiles that are designed to kill people, and one should never ever not know exactly where their's are. I know where every one of my pieces are, and there hasn't been a day I haven't.
There's a lot of responsibility to owning one, and not having an idea where it is, is right up their with the unloaded guns kill the most people irresponsibility.
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But so forgetful that you leave it in your carry-on accidentally?
If you think about that prior to getting to the airport that the carryon has been sitting around somewhere in their home for long enough that the owner forgot that there was a gun in it, then I'd say the problem extends well past "guns on planes".
To me these 2212 incidents are a clear indication that the bell curve does exist and does apply to the gun owner population - no matter how much pro-gun people speak of "responsible gun owners".
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You have to figure that at least half of them had left their gun in their luggage before and nothing had come of it. Maybe they just assumed it was no big deal and were relying on general TSA incompetence to let the gun through again. Hell, for all we know less than 10% of the guns in carry ons were caught by the TSA. It would make sense given their bomb-detecing track record.
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It is not surprising that there are ths many attempts, or that most of them are accidental. There are a staggering number of people flying, and a high number of guns in the US.
Flying is also stressful for most people, at least as far as getting from the house to the airport. Worrying about time, where to go, security lines, crowds, etc. I can see why some people might forget things that should be otherwise obvious.
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Ignorant of TSA rules? (Score:2)
Really? What kind of special rock do you live under that you are concerned enough about your personal security to carry a weapon, but are unaware that it's been illegal to carry a loaded weapon on a plane for the last four(?) decades? It significantly pre-dates the existence of the TSA.
Is that because... (Score:5, Interesting)
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Regardless, it means the TSA needs more money.It also means they need more rights and people need to have less rights.
Wow... The TSA hasn't wasted enough money already? And exactly how many terrorist events has the TSA stopped since Sept 11th? None that we know about. Every instance since has been stopped by passengers on the plane. Airport security is an arms race that is impossible to win by just throwing more money at the problem. If you'd like to give up your constitutional rights, you're welcome to do so any time you're stopped by the police. The current security program far surpasses what I believe the 4th amen
Swedish perspective (Score:2)
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Found is the key word. And you guys don't have guns, the Swiss do.
LOL .. talk about uniformed. Sweden is in the top 10 countries of gun ownership per capita.
"It get's worse?" (Score:3)
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In the US a lot of people who own guns shouldn't, which is why kids are accidentally killing people, each other and the like. About 100 kids die each ear by being accidentally shot.
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Knives and cars are not designed solely to kill things. That's the difference. With that newly-found knowledge, go back and re-make your argument.
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In the US a lot of people who own guns shouldn't, which is why kids are accidentally killing people, each other and the like. About 100 kids die each ear by being accidentally shot.
I think anyone who is willing to spend the money on a gun ought to be willing to spend the money on a good safe.
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The truth is an unloaded gun is good for nothing more than a paperweight or a very inefficient club
You have obviously never used a Mosin-Nagant. If you have the bayonet they make an excellent pike/spear and with the metal butt stock they can make a very good club.
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The truth is an unloaded gun is good for nothing more than a paperweight or a very inefficient club
You have obviously never used a Mosin-Nagant. If you have the bayonet they make an excellent pike/spear and with the metal butt stock they can make a very good club.
I actually own a Mosin Nagant (receiver is stamped 1942). Unfortunately the guy I bought it from had lost the bayonet. :( In any case, I would hope that no one would really be trying to carry on a Mosin Nagant, and it's certainly pretty hard to "forget" you have one on you, as they are not light weapons. I think it's generally assumed that when people talk about firearms confiscated at TSA security, the majority of them are going to be handguns.
A mystery (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:A mystery (Score:5, Insightful)
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Parked in a McDonalds car park. Young couple in a car next to us wound down the window and lobbed out a load of leftovers, boxes, chips etc. Right next to a bin. Wife went over and threw it back in the window. Boyfriend gets out, yelling abuse and threatening. Wife refuses to back down. Guy returns to car, comes back with an axe. Wife refuses to back down (she's like that...). Guy then decides I'm a better target
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So true. Look at poor Canada, or India.
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Americans don't care what Europeans think. Thinking in general is considered highly suspect in America these days, even more so if done by Europeans.
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As a European, I continue to be utterly bemused/scared by America's obsession with owning guns. I know all the arguments that usually get trotted out, they just sound like crazy talk to me.
Why exactly does it scare you from a continent away? Do you worry that armed American citizens are going to storm the beaches of Europe?
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Obviously he is referring to the idea of a society where people feel the need to own and carry deadly weapons regularly. In western Europe it generally isn't necessary and the idea of living with that kind of fear and paranoia is not at all appealing.
Pointless forgetfulness. (Score:2)
"...2,198 (83%) were loaded."
"...The vast majority of passengers just tell law enforcement, ‘I forgot.’"
To address the other 17%, you forgot to do what? Load the damn thing?
I mean hell, if you're going to be THAT forgetful as a gun owner, might as well not even carry around a worthless steel brick.
It is all about the spin in the question (Score:5, Insightful)
There is approximately one billion of passengers in United States, an approximate number which includes domestic, international and private aviation helicopters and planes.
Let's crunch some numbers: 2,700 handguns were discovered for one billion boardings equals to approximately one gun per 370,000 passengers.
Let's take into the prospective:
On average, statistically, in this country there is 1.1 weapon per every person. We do not break down by the type of gun or passenger, but three forgetful citizens out of one million is a really really low number.
Here are some sobering conclusions:
1. None of the passengers had intention of using the weapon. Why? Because nobody used. Because if they wanted to they would have.
2. Even if there would be no TSA, the safety would not deteriorate or decrease. Metal detectors manned by the private screeners could detect all the forgotten weapons. More: currently cockpit doors are locked as such, a handgun inside the plane is pretty much useless. Yes: you can shoot a hole or kill a passenger or two, but the rest of passengers will tear you apart.
So it all boils down to how the question is presented:
" Why so many guns were brought to the airport".
The real questions should have been following:
Question: "In a country with 400 million guns only less than 3,000 guns are brought to the airport. All of the owners meant to leave the gun in a checked in bag? Is existence, the cost, and the false sense of security of TSA justified?"
The real answer: "No. One segment fee of $5.60 is an evidence of mind boggling waste and incompetence. This $5.60 will only increase in the future. TSA should be disbanded and handling of the security should be up to the airports and the carriers".
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"I forgot" (Score:5, Insightful)
"I forgot" as an excuse for bringing a firearm on a plane should mean you are instantly put on a no-buy and no-fly list, and that any other guns you own must be turned over to authorities.
If you're so irresponsible that you can't remember that you're carrying a firearm, let alone a loaded one, onto a plane, then you're far, far, far too irresponsible to be trusted with a firearm under any circumstances. It very likely means you "forget" to put the guns properly in a safe or "forget" rules of responsible use, or "forget" who the hell knows what.
If you're so paranoid about terrorists that you'll try and sneak a firearm onto a plane "just in case" (and then cowardly enough to lie about why you did it, to boot) then you're probably not mentally stable enough to be a responsible firearm owner and the same rules should apply - no-buy, no-fly and your guns are confiscated.
I don't have a problem with responsible, sane gun ownership, but in no way, shape, or form does bringing a firearm onto a plane in your carry-on unless you're an air marshal, intersect with either "responsible" or "sane."
Re:"I forgot" (Score:4, Insightful)
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Ah, I see what you are doing there...
Proposition A) We should never let crazy or stupid people own or carry firearms, just like we shouldn't let them reproduce, vote, operate power tools, drive, teach, preach, or work in government.
Proposition B) It is crazy and stupid to own a firearm! Studies show that you are more likely to shoot a relative than a criminal (even if that relative DID "need killin'"). They are expensive. They serve no useful purpose except to enable an individual to hurt someone or punc
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"I forgot" as an excuse for bringing a firearm on a plane should mean you are instantly put on a no-buy and no-fly list, and that any other guns you own must be turned over to authorities...
OK, calm the hell down already.
In the larger scheme of things, the car you and the other 200 million Americans drive every day kills 35,000 people every year, and when you "forget" to use your turn signal and cause an accident, no one is demanding you ride a fucking bicycle for the rest of your life.
We're human. Humans make mistakes. And statistically speaking, the mistakes being made are by a very small percentage of the gun-toting population, regardless of how sensationalized we want to portray this.
Re:"I forgot" (Score:5, Interesting)
How many people were intentionally or accidentally killed with a bottle of water last year? How may with guns.
There's the justification for the difference in the severity of the penalty.
By the way - if you get caught with a bottle of anything over 3 ounces, you must forfeit the bottle and it is destroyed (thrown away or dumped out). I suspect that was not the case with the firearms in question.
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That's the extent of your argument? Really? That's the best you could do?
A simple solution... (Score:4, Funny)
... we could all just fly naked. Think of the advantages! No more worries about concealed weapons that are any larger than will comfortably fit in an orifice. An opportunity to really get to know your neighbor. Necessarily improved climate control -- no more flights that are too cold or too warm. And a complete lack of literalist religious folk on the aircraft, because for most of them appearing naked in public is an even bigger sin than allowing infidels to spread lies about the one true faith or failing to bring on the apocalypse so Jesus can return to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The merely prudish would, of course, take the train, which would be a welcome burst of new business for alternative transportation. Throw in a little alcohol and a whole new meaning of "in-flight entertainment" could emerge as a new cultural norm. The increased happiness among fliers could lead us to world peace!
It's the perfect solution. At least as long as they have one of those boxes that say "your body must fit inside of this box in order to take this flight" -- for humans...
rgb
Isn't TSA supposed to *prevent* this? (Score:2)
"when asked of the TSA has a theory on why so many more guns are being brought onboard airlines"
I would thought that preventing people from taking guns "onboard airlines" was sort of the sine qua non for a TSA checkpoint.
I suppose the sentence should be "why so many guns are being brought into security checklanes". Or maybe not, as TSA has been shown to be an abject farce.
Number of inadvertent guns on airplanes stable? (Score:4, Insightful)
So given that there are 7 guns on airplanes everyday, can we assume that in years prior that was a good rule of thumb?
Why then are there not 7 highjackings every day?
Why are there not 7 air rage shootings everyday?
Could it be because most people carrying weapons aren't bad guys? They just want protection and don't mean to cause any harm? Certainly if they wanted to cause harm they could have.
no problem bringing a pistol on board in 1990s (Score:3)
Talking with someone back then who said when he checks in baggage, he wants to carry on his pistol as valuable possession not to get lost in baggage. This was before 9-11 and I don't think they objected. I may have not remembered some details, I think airline would at least request it be placed with pilot.
Also before 9-11 another who loves to cook and he always brings his knives as carry on as these are expensive and doesn't want to get lost in baggage. Those were the days!
"I Forgot?" (Score:3)
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Rape and homicide by minorities were also up in 2015 over 2014
Citation, please? Not trivial to find. Google is showing me a lot of stuff written in 2015 about 2013, which is how it usually works.
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No, it hasn't.
Chicago has not been the murder capital for at least the past 25 years.
http://cloudfront.mediamatters... [mediamatters.org]
http://cloudfront.mediamatters... [mediamatters.org]
http://cloudfront.mediamatters... [mediamatters.org]
Damn those pesky facts.
Re:Women are the majority of gun owners (Score:5, Insightful)
http://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/uploader/image/2015/07/07/chicagonola.jpg [mediamatters.org]
What's interesting to me is how stunningly higher the murder rates are than the gun-only murder rates: less than 18% of Detroit's murders were committed by a gun.
We should ban whatever they use the other 82% of the time.
Damn those peskier facts.
Re:Women are the majority of gun owners (Score:5, Informative)
I can see that you extrapolated based on those three columns, but the graphic isn't exactly clear on how they're arriving at those numbers - they could be pulled from two totally different sets of data for all we know. In a clearer statement, "data collected by the FBI show that firearms were used in 68 percent of murders" in 2011.
http://www.nij.gov/topics/crim... [nij.gov]
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Then can we come to the conclusion that MediaMatters is issuing grossly misleading pseudo-statistics that actually harms their argument?
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Trusting mediamatters on something is like trusting pravda to have no propaganda. And mediamatters has a long history of massaging legitimate stats in order to paint an agenda.
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Actually, the top 5 cities for violent crime are all cities lack gun control (4 of which are legally banned, by state law, from enacting gun control).
and cities like New York, with its strict gun control, is actually ranked one of the safest cities in the country.
Damn.
So much for your BS.
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The countdown for the Top 30 Murder Capitals of America:
Rank City
30 Chicago Heights, IL
29 Baton Rouge, LA
28 Buffalo, NY
27 Hattiesburg, MS
26 East Chicago, IN
25 Birmingham, AL
24 Desert Hot Springs, CA
23 Compton, CA
22 Myrtle Beach, SC
21 Fort Pierce, FL
20 Harvey, IL
19 Bridgeton, NJ
18 Flint, MI
17 Rocky Mount, NC
16 Pine Bluff, AR
15 Petersburg, VA
14 Newark, NJ
13 Baltimore, MD
12 Harrisburg, PA
11 Jackson, MS
10 Wilmington, DE
9 Trenton, NJ
8 Rivier
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Here is a challenge for you. Go to this page that has a convenient table [wikipedia.org] with gun ownership and homicide rates. Copy and paste this table into your favorite spreadsheet. Make an X-Y scatter graph with "Gun ownership %" as the X axis and "Homicides per 100,000" as the Y axis. Add a linear trend line.
Hey, look at that! The trend is that more gun ownership is correlated with LESS homicide. It is a weak correlation, but it is there. OK, Washington DC has few guns, but by far the most homicides. Delete t
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That simply is not true. Oakland California and two cities in Michigan (Flint and Detroit )fill the top 3spots. In Michigan municipalities can create gun control laws as long as they do not conflict with state laws and you essentially need a permit for a hand gun as well as a permit for most private sales of firearms. In Oakland, they just passed two gun control laws and are working on a third after the terrorist incident in San Bernardino. California already has some of the strictest gun control laws on th
Re:Women are the majority of gun owners (Score:4, Insightful)
The first, fourth, fifth, and sixth amendments can be rolled back just as easily, especially once precedents are set.
They already have. The second is protected because people want their toys, not because they worry about the constitution.
You've already accepted a roll-back (Score:5, Informative)
Based on your comments, like most people, you believe that in order for citizens to have a right, it must be granted by the constitution. In fact, it is just the opposite. The constitution grants rights and responsibilities to the government and any responsibility not explicitly granted to the government remains the right of the people. Many of the founders specifically objected to the Bill of Rights for this reason because it made it seem like if the constitution wasn't giving a right to the people, then they didn't have that right. You don't only have the rights in the bill of rights. You have ALL rights unless a specific limitation is put in place in the constitution granting the government dominion over a particular activity. Do not fall into the trap of saying that if it isn't in the Bill of RIghts, it's not a right.
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Have you ever considered that you might be a bigot?
No, the religious right is not trying to force their religion on anyone. The Left has been trying to take away religious freedom, but that is a different thing.
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"One Nation THUMP Under God THUMP with Liberty and Justice for All". I always wondered why that didn't flow smoothly until I learned that the religious right rammed it in as an afterthought just to show the Godless Commies.
Or perhaps is has to do with you pausing before under god for some reason when the pause is only after under god.
"In God We Trust". Right on the money.
So, this is somehow forcing you to believe in the Christian God, vs the Jewish, Muslim, or whoever else's god/gods, or none at all?
Any number of states and communities attempting to pass "anti-Sharia" laws
Let me guess, blocking religious law from becoming state law is now a bad thing?
fighting to display the 10 Commandments on public property. Not to mention the occasional cross atop the water tower.
You do realize that this is not against the First amendment right? Preventing others from displaying their religious symbols however is.
Organized high school sports. Just try and avoid the FCA without suffering the consequences.
In english please? I do believe that there has bee
Re: You've already accepted a roll-back (Score:5, Insightful)
All of those are things which actually deny others their rights but somehow were twisted into the person trying to limit another being denied their right to religious freedom.
Re: You've already accepted a roll-back (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:Women are the majority of gun owners (Score:5, Interesting)
The funny thing about guns in cities is that they are only loosely related.
Chicago. Last year. Same laws for the entire city. Some zip codes had NO shootings, and others had around 100. What is the difference? Poverty.
No surprise, but zip codes with no shootings have money. Zip codes with dozens of shootings have poverty. So, instead of focusing on the guns, why not focus on the REAL problem?
Does anybody think that lax gun laws would actually create shootings in areas with money? Chicago already HAS strict gun laws, and that does not seem to help much.
And before anybody says "The criminals get their guns from cities with looser laws," compare Chicago with Dallas. About the same size, but Dallas has more lax laws, and less homicide.
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Most of the increase in gun violence is in cities where they have passed gun control laws. It's fairly obvious evidence that gun control laws actually have the opposite effect of what they are intended for. Criminals wind up being the only one with guns, and they run rampant and terrorize the law abiding populace.
I read your whole comment, and not only does it not contain a citation, but it doesn't even address the point "raised" in "your" prior comment. I conclude that you have no point, and you are a typical trolling AC.
Bullshit (Score:5, Informative)
Women are the majority of gun owners
http://www.gallup.com/poll/160... [gallup.com]
Gun ownership among men: 45%
Gun ownership among women: 12%
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It's a dumb claim. What isn't is that women are buying a lot of guns [nytimes.com], perhaps more than "ever" before. (I'm sure somebody can point to some month or even year in the past where women bought a lot of guns, but let's keep statistical blips out of the discussion.) So yes, gun ownership is primarily male, but women are getting more involved in gun ownership.
Re:Bullshit (Score:5, Interesting)
You've made your bed, time to enjoy your nap while the adults clean up the mess liberal Democrats made yet again.
I stand amazed at the projection coming from the Right. The Bush Administration spent 8 years nearly ruining this country; starting unnecessary wars, curtailing civil liberties, and implementing irresponsible tax cuts. By the end of his presidency even hardcore Republicans were running away from him and the whole country couldn't wait to elect a different president. Yet you still write sentences like that above and expect to be taken seriously.
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Rape and homicide by minorities were also up in 2015 over 2014 which is why women have flocked to guns for self protection, even when traveling on airplanes. The country is scared, the country is angry, and Trump will make America great again come Nov 2016.
Yup. New gun owners make noob mistakes with their new guns.
23 million NICS checks in 2015 represent somewhere between 20 million to 50 million new firearms purchased. (Depending on what you think the number of forms with more than one firearm are, and the checks that don't involve firearms, or used firearms sold through an FFL, or the ones that were just denials.)
This breaks previous records, and 2016 is on track to breaking previous monthly records the whole way through too.
Re:And shootings on airplanes are... (Score:5, Insightful)
Not really a scare article. It's just the TSA issuing press releases trying to make it sound like they're doing a good job despite the fact that they fail 95% of the their own tests [nbcnews.com] of their system.
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It's just the TSA issuing press releases trying to make it sound like they're doing a good job despite the fact that they fail 95% of the their own tests of their system.
Exactly. A 20% increase in gun detections seems more likely that the TSA's miss rate has dropped to 94%, than that there are actually 20% more guns.
That won't stop people from spinning it as though there's been a massive rise in attempted terrorist hijackings, while the brave officers of the TSA continue to thwart each and every one. Those men and women are doing a hard job, and we should probably invest in more technology to help them do it. Is it budget season?
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Actually, I suspect the reason for the increase is fairly innocuous. As concealed weapons permits become more and more common, more people are getting used to carrying around concealed weapons without really thinking about it. So when they tell a TSA agent that they forgot they had it, they're probably being honest. They probably got up that morning, went through their usual routine (including putting their weapon in its holster or in their purse) and didn't think about the fact that they would be flying th
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Re:And shootings on airplanes are... (Score:4, Insightful)
I thought the mantra was that gun owners are responsible. If they forget they have a loaded gun on them, they are clearly not responsible, by the very definition of the word.
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Even cops sometimes forget that they're carrying their guns, or reach down to draw their taser and accidentally draw their gun instead.
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So when they tell a TSA agent that they forgot they had it, they're probably being honest.
One should never ever forget that they are carrying a device whose purpose is to kill people.
Gun ownership is a right. It's also a responsibility. Forgetting that you are carrying is a very bad sign.
This is a Bad Idea (TM) (Score:3)
And when a terrorist comes on board with a legal CC weapon? How about when 4-6 of them do, as with the 9-11 hijackers? Two dozen people (4 terrorists and 20 armed citizens) in a firefight in an airplane at 30,000 feet is very likely to result in the same number of deaths (i.e. everyone in the plane) whether the terrorists take over the plane or not.
Remember - someone who intends to blow up or otherwise crash a plane to incite fear in the population is already a dead man who has already made peace with his