Stephen T-B

Starboy knows from the range of posts here that there is no such thing as an archetypal atheist in terms of gun ownership.
The purpose of his question, I suspect, was to show that people who don’t believe in god / gods are humane, gentle and highly ethical as opposed to those who do and cannot be relied upon to be any of those things
I think the most that can be said of those who have journeyed into atheism / agnosticism from a position of belief is that they possess an independent mind and are given to analysing the human condition.
(Personally, I am a very violent person. I have an airgun at home left by a son-in-law who’s gone to Zambia to do good works - he is, of course, an atheist – and I regularly splatter slugs with it. And boy, do they splatter! It’s just disgusting.
Since I found snails eating the plums on my plum tree and stripping the leaves off one of my prettiest plants, I’ve taken to shooting them as well. I regard slug-and-snail shooting as a sport in so far as they are moving targets and therefore have a sporting chance of not getting hit.)

sighhswolf

I owned a matched set of .45 Colt Commanders.
Chromed w/ real ivory handles.
I also owned a modified scatter gun, they were supposed to be outlawed for use in combat but I
knew plenty of recon people who would "never leave home without them."
When my kids were small I was not comfortable with
the weapons in the house so I got rid of them and have not had any for quite a number of years.
Besides that my eyes have gotten bad in my old age
I probably could not hit a stop sign from 5 feet.
I've always wondered why there were so many cars and trucks in the baptist church parking lot with bumper stickers that said,"You can have my gun, when you pry it from my cold dead hand."
YEEEEEEEEHawwwww!!
Wolf

Queen of Swords

Originally posted by Dark Jedi:
<strong>
Once finished, I plan on sending it to Michael Dorn. If he refuses it, it's yours.</strong>

qatlho'.

Lady MacDuff

I come from a long line of avid hunters, and learned rifle-safety and how to shoot at about age 12. My parents have a lot of guns in the house, in a locked cabinet.

When I was young, I was fascinated by the guns and even got into the cabinet once when no one was looking (from seeing my dad use it, I figured out where the key was hidden). I remember picking up a handgun and getting really scared because of the heaviness of it and the coldness of the metal. It felt so dangerous I quickly put it back and never picked up another handgun again.

Isn't there some statistic that says that possession of a handgun in the house is more likely to cause the death of a family-member than an intruder? I think I read that somewhere. Judging from my own experience with childhood curiosity, I would not keep a gun in my house.

yahwehyadayada

My husband & I own a 45 semiautomatic pistol. We go target shooting every now & then. I'm a terrible shot; I aim for the chest & always hit the groin.

Cappy

I have a gun, 9mm Beretta. I also went through gun saftey classes as an elementary student(not in school!), and in the military. I hope to never have to use it, but know that in my chosen profession, I will someday. I am in training to become a police officer.

As far as gun control, I think it should be mandatory that a person be state certified in gun saftey, be re-certified like every 5 years or so, and have a thourough backround check done before the purchase of a handgun. I do not like the idea of the government knowing each and every gun you own, and their serial numbers. It would be too easy to take away our right to own firearms. We will never be able to get guns from the crooks, so why take them away from the honest citizen and leave him or her defenceless.

GreggLD1

Haven't felt a need for one, but I agree with those who say owning a gun doesn't necessarily make one a violent person.

On the other hand, bumper stickers expressing sentiments like "Sure you can have my gun--bullets first!" don't exactly create a positive impression. That just doesn't strike me as something a mature, responsible adult would say, regardless of how strongly he might feel about gun control.

Joel

I do have several firearms around the house. Of course I grew up on a farm and my grandfather started taking me hunting with him at age 7, so it's always been natural to have them around.

And for the record, I'm not a typically violent person but I'd cheerfully shoot anybody that broke into my home.

Toefur

It's kind of hard to own a gun down here, but that's no issue with me. I've never felt the desire or need for one, and I'll happily go to my grave having never touched a gun.

Viti

If I ever have children the whole gun issue will be reexamined. Since I don't currently, and the guns are locked in our bedroom with the Rottweiler when any children visit, I feel okay about it.

Fact is, if someone gets past the Rottweiler, they are not opportunists, they are after me specifically and I will shoot to kill.