In a message dated 7/12/2000 7:53:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
RobertDuquette@Sympatico.ca writes:
<< Too many steak knives ( latest weapon of choice in Ottawa ), too many
cretins, not enough punishment, not enough right, too much alcohol, not
enough income, too
many politicians who would rather appease the public's perception instead of
fixing the problems.
The incidence of crime is pegged to how well ( or not ) the economy is
doing. Another alarming statistic, is how many children are being raised
without proper parental examples. How does a boy grow into a man without a
father to teach him the proper ethics of a man? How does a girl grow to be
a woman and choose her 'right man' ( if so inclined ) without the example of
her father? ( It goes much deeper than those superficial examples, but ...
consult an expert. :) )
It is not the object, but the person. The buck stops here. It's not what
we own, but what we do with it that determines who we are.
Penises and vaginas are far more serious to use than firearms. When you
create a life, yours is no longer ( completely ) yours. You are responsible
for your offsprings' direction, in much the same way that you are
responsible to ensure that your spridget steers and brakes.
A .357 in the drawer, shouldn't mean anything to someone who is loved by
someone. When you know and understand that your actions affect people that
you love and/or that love you, you don't do anything foolish based on a 'bad
day'. Mental illness could still be a problem. In Canada, identified
mental illness and/or violent criminal behaviour has long been a reason to
disallow people to purchase/retain firearms.
If you like guns, use them for their purpose, but keep the idiots away from
them. I remember the story where some dolt thought that keeping a loaded
revolver on his mantle was a good idea at a gathering. Someone who didn't
know better picked it up, aimed it at a door and shot his ( 2 year old? )
son through the door. The firearm should never have been made available to
someone who does not understand the consequences of not knowing what his
potential targets are. If you own a firearm, you have to think it through
and not allow it to get into the wrong hands. Imagine ( you, your
wife/girlfriend/child) coming home and finding out the hard way that someone
had broken into your house in your absence and had picked up your firearm
and was quite ready to use it ... IMHO, you are responsible for the firearm
in your care until it is stolen and removed from your property. In my
country, you are a criminal if someone manages to steal a firearm from you.
I don't agree with that, but I do realize that the victim of the theft could
die by the thief. >>
What he said! Well stated Robert. I especially agreed with the importance of
the father to BOTH the development of the son AND the daughter. ( I guess I
am one of those "experts" Robert mentioned, being a career Professional
Counselor) Wonderful article a few years ago, I have forgotten both the
author and the source, entitled "Like Father, Like Daughter", relaying the
crucial impace of the absence of the father in the daughter's development.
All your points are convincing and well-thought-out.
--David C.
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