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Why are Americans trying to fight COVID-19 with guns?

TU Curmudgeon said:
From The Globe & Mail

Why are Americans trying to fight COVID-19 with guns?
​

Spooked by COVID-19, Americans not only stripped supermarket shelves of toilet paper and pasta, but also drove gun sales higher than ever.
Lobbyists for the U.S. gun industry want gun stores to be counted as “essential” businesses, like food shops and pharmacies. A number of states have readily complied, as has the Department of Homeland Security.

When it comes to guns, the rest of the world has long viewed the United States as being a little crazy. But there is something particularly odd about this latest rush to buy arms. Conservatives and gun lovers invoke history, tradition and the late-18th-century text of the U.S. Constitution to defend their right to carry anything from a Glock G-19 pistol to the popular AR-15 assault rifle.

The drafters of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment insisted in 1791 that: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The origin of this right goes back to the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution in England, when Protestant militias were authorized to bear arms to protect Parliamentary rule from a tyrannical monarchy.

In the U.S., too, militias of armed citizens were considered a necessary bulwark against a despotic federal state. The potential enemy was what U.S. President Donald Trump and his supporters like to call “the deep state,” an overweening federal government that should never be allowed to trample on the rights of freedom-loving people.

COMMENT:-

Please read the WHOLE of the opinion piece BEFORE posting in response to a "GUN BANNER'S threat to strip American's inalienble Second Amendment Rights from the Constitution of the United States of America".

THEN please respond to what the author is ACTUALLY saying.
​
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True my Saudi friends look on in amazement at the bunker mentality of some Americans in this situation. These are the same folks who built safe rooms to prepare for when the calender changed to Jan 1, 2000. Get a grip my fellow Americans!!
 
holbritter said:
Do you know a lot of people who think the US is the ONLY PERFECT society ever created? Because I don't a single person who thinks that, and I live here.
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You obviously don't read the posts from those who actually believe that the US is the freest country in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best healthcare system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best educational system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best healthcare system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the most honest government in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best healthcare system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the happiest people in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best healthcare system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US does more for refugees than any other country in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best healthcare system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the most free, fair, open, and honest elections in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best healthcare system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best ...
 
jamesbyoung said:
You have not made a point, nota bene. Buying guns is an irrational reaction to the threat. There is no breakdown of society, no crowds roaming the communities pillaging and plundering.
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Yet.

But if there is a breakdown of society, it may then be too late to buy guns.
 
Why are pet stores, medical marijuana stores, home improvement stores and various others too numerous to mention also considered "essential"? In short you can push an "essential" justification for nearly anything. I think Hobby Lobby should be annoyed at people complaining about them staying open (for awhile)
 
nota bene said:
Yet.

But if there is a breakdown of society, it may then be too late to buy guns.
Click to expand...

Do you honestly believe that there is a realistic possibility that American society is going to break down because of the "COVID-19 crisis"?
 
TU Curmudgeon said:
From The Globe & Mail

Why are Americans trying to fight COVID-19 with guns?
​

Spooked by COVID-19, Americans not only stripped supermarket shelves of toilet paper and pasta, but also drove gun sales higher than ever.
Lobbyists for the U.S. gun industry want gun stores to be counted as “essential” businesses, like food shops and pharmacies. A number of states have readily complied, as has the Department of Homeland Security.

When it comes to guns, the rest of the world has long viewed the United States as being a little crazy. But there is something particularly odd about this latest rush to buy arms. Conservatives and gun lovers invoke history, tradition and the late-18th-century text of the U.S. Constitution to defend their right to carry anything from a Glock G-19 pistol to the popular AR-15 assault rifle.

The drafters of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment insisted in 1791 that: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The origin of this right goes back to the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution in England, when Protestant militias were authorized to bear arms to protect Parliamentary rule from a tyrannical monarchy.

In the U.S., too, militias of armed citizens were considered a necessary bulwark against a despotic federal state. The potential enemy was what U.S. President Donald Trump and his supporters like to call “the deep state,” an overweening federal government that should never be allowed to trample on the rights of freedom-loving people.

COMMENT:-

Please read the WHOLE of the opinion piece BEFORE posting in response to a "GUN BANNER'S threat to strip American's inalienble Second Amendment Rights from the Constitution of the United States of America".

THEN please respond to what the author is ACTUALLY saying.
​
Click to expand...

People are terrified. Just assume everyone's now packing - drive defensively, don't start fights in grocery stores, be non-confrontational as possible.

I still don't own a firearm, and hope I'll never feel the urge to acquire one.
 
Why are Americans trying to fight COVID-19 with guns? Because we are really really good shots.
 
TU Curmudgeon said:
Do you honestly believe that there is a realistic possibility that American society is going to break down because of the "COVID-19 crisis"?
Click to expand...

I have no idea. Do you remember way back in the day now when people at DP were posting that COVID-19 wasn't a pandemic and wasn't going to be?

Have you seen the photo of the miles-long vehicular wait in Florida this week to reach a food bank? Should there be food shortages--I'm not talking about the current inconvenience--do you doubt that some people will try to take what they need by whatever means they have to?
 
Dayton3 said:
Why are pet stores, medical marijuana stores, home improvement stores and various others too numerous to mention also considered "essential"? In short you can push an "essential" justification for nearly anything. I think Hobby Lobby should be annoyed at people complaining about them staying open (for awhile)
Click to expand...

Some pet stores sell meds and prescription food. And pandemic or not, people may need materials for plumbing repairs or need to buy a toilet or mend a roof.
 
nota bene said:
Yet.

But if there is a breakdown of society, it may then be too late to buy guns.
Click to expand...

New York City is already seeing a drastic increase in burglaries and other crimes, and I would anticipate this trend will continue to happen in other areas the longer the COVID19 quarantines are encouraged. Completely agree it'll be too late for many Americans who will be unable to respond to criminal mischief and protect themselves and their families.
 
TU Curmudgeon said:
Why are Americans trying to fight COVID-19 with guns?
​
Click to expand...

Were not buying guns to fight a virus but protect ourselves from people who would take away our freedom when society breaks down in pandemics and other catastrophic events.

TU Curmudgeon said:
When it comes to guns, the rest of the world has long viewed the United States as being a little crazy. But there is something particularly odd about this latest rush to buy arms. Conservatives and gun lovers invoke history, tradition and the late-18th-century text of the U.S. Constitution to defend their right to carry anything from a Glock G-19 pistol to the popular AR-15 assault rifle.
Click to expand...


That is why they come running here tail between their legs when some bully starts pushing them around in their country. They know that not only do we have the guns but we are brave enough to fight not only for our freedom but theirs as well.
 
TU Curmudgeon said:
You obviously don't read the posts from those who actually believe that the US is the freest country in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best healthcare system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best educational system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best healthcare system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the most honest government in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best healthcare system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the happiest people in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best healthcare system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US does more for refugees than any other country in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best healthcare system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the most free, fair, open, and honest elections in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best healthcare system in the world (at least they say they do), or that the US has the best ...
Click to expand...


Someone saying the 'US has the best healthcare system in the world', while also inaccurate, is a FAR stretch from saying 'the US is the only perfect society ever created'. Just because you think that's what they mean, doesn't make it so.
 
I wonder why there's need for buying guns?

Maybe that's just bad superficial question, but as foreigner (to US) I still don't get it. I lived all my life without gun and never wanted one. I think it's weird mechanism what generates need to buy a gun. We don't have it here.
 
nota bene said:
Yet.

But if there is a breakdown of society, it may then be too late to buy guns.
Click to expand...


Be realistic. The Dodgers have not won a WS in 32 years. Yet.

Trump has not become dictators. Yet.
 
jamesbyoung said:
Be realistic. The Dodgers have not won a WS in 32 years. Yet.

Trump has not become dictators. Yet.
Click to expand...

When you suggest that Trump might become a dictator, I realize that you aren't serious in this discussion.
 
TU Curmudgeon said:
Which tells you what about the state of American society?
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that we are pessimistically realistic, unlike other countries that think the government , if it comes down to it, can actually protect you from everything... or will even try.
 
TU Curmudgeon said:
It tells anyone who isn't intimately wedded to the idea that the United States of America is the ONLY PERFECT society ever created that the American society is one hell of a lot more fragile than those who believe that the United States of America is the ONLY PERFECT society ever created want to think it is.
Click to expand...

boy do you have the wrong idea.

the whole point of the US of america, at least what is started with is that there IS NO perfect society, or government and when government gets out of line, the people have to be able and willing to bring it back IN LINE... and the freedoms of "by and for the people."

that's what the idiots in our society are trying to sell down the river for some fantasy of "safety by government"

oh and the people teaching those schoolchildren nowadays? a lot of those are those ****ing idiots.
 
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FinnFox said:
I wonder why there's need for buying guns?

Maybe that's just bad superficial question, but as foreigner (to US) I still don't get it. I lived all my life without gun and never wanted one. I think it's weird mechanism what generates need to buy a gun. We don't have it here.
Click to expand...

There are lots of reasons to own firearms in the US here are a couple;
Lots of American hunt, yes other countries have hunters, but none in the numbers the US has,
Competition, many Americans belong to gun clubs and also compete in shooting events, it is a large business here,
Self defence, few countries have the crime issues the US has, much of it brought on by the drug trade and poverty. The is nearly no small community that does not have some sort of gang problem, and no major city is gang free. Criminals are armed it is one of their tools of their trade. As such Americans that do not want to to be helpless victims feel the need to be armed so that they at least have a fighting chance, and it happens on a daily basis.
In this country we have it written into our Bill of Rights that we believe in the right of the People to own and bear arms, no one if forced to own them it is a choice person makes for themselves, for many us the efforts to take away our Rights is taken as UnAmerican and as an act of War against the People by the Government and if need be in the end fight to retain our Rights. The question is would you be willing to simply give up your Rights simply because the Government said so? Many a war has been fought over the rights of the People, in most cases the People win.
 
nota bene said:
When you suggest that Trump might become a dictator, I realize that you aren't serious in this discussion.
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Not anymore serious than you with the suggestion we are going to need guns because society breaks down. Thank you for understanding.
 
Casper said:
There are lots of reasons to own firearms in the US here are a couple;
Lots of American hunt, yes other countries have hunters, but none in the numbers the US has,
Competition, many Americans belong to gun clubs and also compete in shooting events, it is a large business here,
Self defence, few countries have the crime issues the US has, much of it brought on by the drug trade and poverty. The is nearly no small community that does not have some sort of gang problem, and no major city is gang free. Criminals are armed it is one of their tools of their trade. As such Americans that do not want to to be helpless victims feel the need to be armed so that they at least have a fighting chance, and it happens on a daily basis.
In this country we have it written into our Bill of Rights that we believe in the right of the People to own and bear arms, no one if forced to own them it is a choice person makes for themselves, for many us the efforts to take away our Rights is taken as UnAmerican and as an act of War against the People by the Government and if need be in the end fight to retain our Rights. The question is would you be willing to simply give up your Rights simply because the Government said so? Many a war has been fought over the rights of the People, in most cases the People win.
Click to expand...

There would be no more, because Americans know that if a dictator took over the government and if the military supported him/her, all the citizens could do is die.
 
Hypothetical said:
boy do you have the wrong idea.

the whole point of the US of america, at least what is started with is that there IS NO perfect society, or government and when government gets out of line, the people have to be able and willing to bring it back IN LINE... and the freedoms of "by and for the people."

that's what the idiots in our society are trying to sell down the river for some fantasy of "safety by government"

oh and the people teaching those schoolchildren nowadays? a lot of those are those ****ing idiots.
Click to expand...

That is not rational thinking. If the military takes over, all resisters can do is die.
 
PIPEWRENCH said:
Were not buying guns to fight a virus but protect ourselves from people who would take away our freedom when society breaks down in pandemics and other catastrophic events.
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Gosh, did you know that, if you had actually read the article, you would have learned that that was almost what it said.

You would have been even closer to what the article said if you had written

We're not buying guns to fight a virus but protect ourselves because we are afraid that there are people who would take away our our stuff when the societial breakdown that we are afraid is going to happen takes place.
​

PIPEWRENCH said:
That is why they come running here tail between their legs when some bully starts pushing them around in their country. They know that not only do we have the guns but we are brave enough to fight not only for our freedom but theirs as well.
Click to expand...

Indeed, <SARC>there hasn't ever been a single case of any US government supporting any thug or bully like Saddam Hussein, The Shah of Iran, Synghman Rhee, Chang Kai Chek, Manuel Noriega, Colonel Battista, or anyone even remotely like them. Why I clearly recall how welcoming the US was to the passengers on the SS St. Louis when they fled Nazi persecution and remember even more clearly how the US was the first country in the world to declare war on Germany in both WWI and WWII as well as the first country in the world to declare war on Japan in WWII</SARC>.
 
jamesbyoung said:
Not anymore serious than you with the suggestion we are going to need guns because society breaks down. Thank you for understanding.
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Be honest. You omitted my "if." And my opinion stands: IF society breaks down, guns will be needed to defend hearth and home.
 
nota bene said:
Be honest. You omitted my "if." And my opinion stands: IF society breaks down, guns will be needed to defend hearth and home.
Click to expand...

Be honest. The 'if' was a cover for an argument that does not make sense. America is not going to fall, but your argument does.
 
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