Guard Dog

Yes they are designed to be alterable by the Constitutional Amendment process as laid out in Article 5 of the constitution. The problem I have with gun control laws is that to date they have side stepped that and tried to enact their agenda by legislative or judicial fiat. If that happens then the scenario I laid out happens just that way. To enforce such a law they will need to trample those amendments I noted. And if the government is not held to it's own law then it becomes and out of control monster in a BIG hurry. The Constitution is the supreme law of the United States. All powers and limitations assigned to the US Government as well as most of the personal freedoms enjoyed by US citizens are codified therein. Politically I consider myself a strict constructionist and I recoil when I hear US politicians (like Al Gore and Hillary Clinton who both said it) state that the Constitution is a "living" document that needs to change with the times. Laws need to change with the times, but the rules of governance do not. As I said, if all 50 states and 2/3 of the citizens decide the time has come to set the second amendment aside, and DO IT LEGALLY by the amendment process, then that will become the law of the land I will get rid of my firearms then. Until that day "from my cold dead hand".

To Hell Kitty and Blue: points well taken.

Saw this on the news tonight. Some suicide prevention group is boycotting GM over it's Robot Commercial in the Super Bowl. And the CEO at GM actually felt he had to respond to it. I tell you all, this crap is getting out of control. Here is the link to the commercial. It was the second best on IMHO: GM Robot commercial

It can't. Blanks are different size and weight from live rounds. A little OT here but... Don't know if it is still this way but when I was in the USMC, every Thursday was training/field day. No matter what job you did, every Thursday morning you would do some kind of infantry training. Well, one particular time we did M-60E-3 (light 7.62mm machine gun) training. Since you need to be at a range to fire live ammo, we were using blanks. Since I was the duty armorer that month I checked the M-60 and 80 belts of blanks (100 rounds per belt) and took it to the training area and at the end of the day brought it back. Now, I had to clean it. I had no idea blanks made such a bloody MESS. When you fire a round the burned powder is pulled down the barrel by the vacuum created by the projectile leaving. Some of it burns from the friction the projectile exerts on the barrel, a far bit exits the barrel behind the projectile (GSR for you CSI fans). Well, with the blanks, the barrel is stoppered so it goes nowhere. An after 8000 rounds it is caked up and burned in. So, anyway, I cleaned this damned thing for 3 days with a toothbrush, q-tips, pipe cleaners, bore patches,and CLP (the ONLY compound authorized for cleaning a military weapon.) I got no where. I voiced my frustrations many times to the armorer but he just laughed. Finally on day 4 I filled a 5 gallon trash basket with gasoline and hid it in the back of my car. I asked the armorer if I could take it topside to work on it that day (the armory was underground). He agreed. After 30 min in gasoline it was spotless. I rubbed it down with CLP to get rid of the smell and turned it in. Anyway, the armorer looks it over and laughs and said "It took you three days to figure it out. Sometimes you gotta break the rules to get the job done." Anyway, blanks just screw up your weapon. Don't use them.

I had a friend who used to say, "live hard, die young, and leave a fond memory". I guess she did all those things. Sort of... I guess... Well.... I don't think I'd want to be remebered for the things she'll be remembered for.

You can come up with a better conspiracy theory than that!

Well, they MIGHT try to ban PAC groups like the NRA so there goes the 1st amendment but you got the idea. As for the first post, I just threw those out off the top of my head, but when you called me on it I really gave it a bit more thought.

A BFA (Blank Firing Adapter) goes over the end of the barrel and screws a bolt into the muzzle. The idea is, without a projectile to trap the gas from the charge, you need to close the barrel to work the action of the gun. It take a little while to take one on and off, and you really can't do it in the dark. Also, most manufacturers do not make them in any case. They figure if you wanted a toy gun, you wold have bought one.

Drugs. Had to be drugs.

Here we go again..... Yeah what the hell Calson says. We don't need that old 2nd amendment, and so to get rid of it lets also throw out the 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th and 10th amendments. It's quite a country you want to create there Calson. I'm glad I won't live to see it. Slippery Slope fallacy. Not at all. Shutting down gun maufacturers will be a direct violation of Article 1 sect 8 of the US Constitution. It will also be a violation of the 4th and 9th 10th amendments since they are all non-government entities publicly or privately owned. Conficastion of private property (guns) will be a violation of the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 9th, and 10th amendments. Going "waco" on people who refuse to give up their God-given freedoms is a violation of the 4th, 5th, 8th, and 14th amendments. Once the government can ignore the Constitution with impunity it will not be worth the paper it's written on. The only way you can make this happen legally is a constitutional amendment repealing the second, or amending it to prohibit private ownership. That will happen when pigs grow wings and fly.

The fact is there is nothing funny (or in this case attemped funny) that does not offend someone. Make a joke about muslims on TV and three hundred million people want to behead you. Make a joke about about homophobia and GLAAD and it's ilk gets all upset and files protests, threatens boycotts, an on and on and on..... Kind of makes you appreciate Rednecks. Joke about them all you want and they laugh too. By the way Kitty, most heterosexual men are just a tiny bit homomphobic. Anyone who says they are not is a liar. It is not right, it is not fair, it is a failing of the human character, but it is true. Might just as well laugh about it.

Here we go again..... Yeah what the hell Calson says. We don't need that old 2nd amendment, and so to get rid of it lets also throw out the 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th and 10th amendments. It's quite a country you want to create there Calson. I'm glad I won't live to see it.

If you are an idealist I would not reccomend involving yourself in politics. The political process will sour you on your country, your countrymen, democracy and make you doubt the worth of all good things. It is like a huge private club where common sense is checked at the door. Nobody cares about actually solving problems, just about being on the right side of them. You will be shocked to hear the condescending and insulting way political insiders think of the average citizen, but after talking to voters you will start to feel the same way. Most of them (politicians) do not have a shred of self respect and most honestly believe we NEED them in office simply because they are so much better than we are. Winning in politics is the equivalent of selling your soul for beans.

Plus, chambering a shell with a pump action is a loud and unmistakable sound. Who is going to stick around after hearing that? As much as I am willing and able to use deadly force to defend myself and home, I'd rather an intruder run before it comes to that. *edit* But I have 14 dogs, who in their right mind will ever break into my place?

What it really comes down to Alan is the weight of the projectile and the degree to which in "mushrooms". For example, full jacketed amunition (which is illegal in the US) does not expand after impact so it does not slow down as much. You are far more likely to have a projectile go in and out of a body if it is full jacketed. Hollow points double in diameter after they impact which of course slows them down a lot but because the projectile is so much larger insude the body than the entry would they do horrible damage. A center mass hit with a hollowpoint is almost invariably fatal. A larger projectile (like a .45 for example) will have almost 70% more mass. The average 9mm is around 160 grains and the .45 is around 245 grains. So a 45 will not cover the range of a 9mm but will do more damage to what it hits and is less likely to do an in-and-out

Depends on the type of round, jacket, projectile, distance to the wall, angle of impact. Hardball (softpoint) projectiles penetrate better than hollow points, but do less damage. But a few sheets of drywall will not stop a 9mm. The exterior wall should. That is why I would prefer a shotgun for home defense.

Besides, night sights also make target shooting a lot easier in the daylight. And target shooting is fun. I know we got off on the whole gun control thing here but the truth is, the number on use of firearms is the totally harmless sport of Marksmanship, which is both relaxing, and enjoyable.

This commercial is not homophobia. This is Homophobia:Murder charges planned in beating death of gay student BIG difference.

You know one of the biggest problems in the world today is too many people with a total lack of a sense of humor. The second biggest problem is too many other people walking on eggshells around these humorless idiots so as not to "offend" them. To say this commercial (which was not really funny anyway) promotes violence against gays is stupidity in the extreme. Anyway, if you did not see it, here is the link on you tube: Super Bowl 41 - Snickers Kiss - Commercial

In 1922 the US Congress awarders the Congressional Medal of Honor to the Italian Unknown Soldier butit was really to honor ALL Italians who fought in WW1. Here is the article and the link. Not what you were looking for I know, but hope it helps. Non US Citizen Medal Recipients

I disagree. The best home defense weapon IMHO is a .12 GA pump shotgun. Use #2 buckshot, keep the magazine full and the chamber empty. If needed, the sound of the pump chambering the shell is usually enough to send anyone running. Plus you do not need to be particularly accurate to be effective with it. And, odds are the blast will not penetrate a wall (provided you are not right in front of it). A pistol shot will punch right through a wall or two. Makes you think about which way you are shooting.

WTF??? Where did you get that from? The US has some of the toughest waste disposal regulations in the industrialized world. These days anyway. We might screw up royally from time to time but we usually learn from it. No more "Love Canals" these days.

Yeah what the hell Gorgon says. We don't need that old 2nd amendment, and so to get rid of it lets also throw out the 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th and 10th amendments.

The Constitution takes no stance on the issue of language. If it did this thread would have been a lot shorter!