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March 2, 2005
Arizona Lawmakers Okay Rocket Launchers in Schools, Anywhere
Uhhhh... WTF?
PHOENIX - The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to let people carry weapons - including guns, grenades, rockets, mines and sawed-off shotguns - into schools, polling places and nuclear plants if they claim they're only trying to protect themselves.
The vote on the legislation came after Rep. Ben Miranda, D-Phoenix, pointed out it would bar prosecution of those who want to bring a weapon into the House or Senate. Despite that, lawmakers gave it preliminary approval on a 30-16 margin.
But what's in House Bill 2666 surprised even Rep. Doug Quelland, R-Phoenix, who introduced the legislation and shepherded it through the House. He said he had no idea the legislation, crafted by constituents he wouldn't identify, was so broad that it would provide a catchall exemption in the state's weapons laws.
..snip..
He [Quelland] said that, if it were up to him, anyone would be able to carry a weapon in a pocket or purse or in a holster beneath a jacket without getting state permission. Quelland said only people who prey on others should be prosecuted under gun laws.
The Arizona Daily Star
Yeah, genius, and how much more likely is it for someone to get "preyed on" when every dimwit in Tucson is walking around with a sawed-off shotgun under his coat?
I mean, sure, let people do whatever they want! We'll only prosecute them once they've actually killed someone. If they're only planning or preparing to kill people, where's the harm in that?
Hasn't the idea that having lots of weapons around is an effective form of protection been pretty much debunked by now? Does it really need to be pointed out that the only time people ever get shot with a gun is when a gun is available?
Arizona is also considering another gun law this year, HB 2325, which would allow "anyone who gets a permit to carry a concealed weapon to keep that permission for life. Gone would be the requirement to renew the license every four years, undergo a new background check and attend a firearms refresher course."
HB 2325 also would cut the required hours of initial training to get a permit in half, to eight hours.
Fucking idiots have been out in the sun too long. Come inside, have an iced tea, and chill the fuck out! My god, what is the matter with you people?
Posted by ahecht at March 2, 2005 10:31 PM
Previous Comments
yep this only makes sense if yer a fundamentalist moron who believes we're in the fucking "end times" and it's a wise fundamentalist moron who show's up for armageddon fully loaded.
I think the downfall of the republicans will come sooner than many expect - the fact that "end times" fundamentalists currently occupy so many key positions in dubya's administration and act as dubya's key advisors means this president and the republicans in congress behave as if the future doesn't matter - guns, war, oil, more suburbia, the environment - you name it, they're not only doing nothing to safeguard the future, they're actively trying to accelerate the destruction of our planet and the arrival of the end.
Americans will wake up when gas hits $5 gallon and they're stuck with massive credit card debt and have to fucking drive some SUV everywhere 'cause they live in some piece of shit tract house in the burbs and not near anything one could call a civilization.
Yeah we should be like that other great country with that great leader who banned the personal ownership of weapons. Yes that was Germany prior to WWII and it was Hitler. You are very smart. I am very condesending and sarcastic. I like my weapons and I am not planning any crimes, not have I committed any, save speeding. Not all of this countries crimes be blamed on the legal ownership of weapons. That said only police should be able to carry weapons in to placeslike schools and municiple buildings, and such. So not all of us agree with the left or right wing gun nuts. Yes there are some of them out there.
Posted by: Mike at March 8, 2005 11:02 AM
Your arguments are pretty thin, Mike.
First you argue that Nazi Germany outlawed personal ownership of guns and therefore any country that does the same will somehow become like Nazi Germany. So if we ban assault weapons, we will inevitably start a holocaust? Post hoc. False.
The fact that many people who own guns do not commit murder doesn't refute the fact that fewer guns means fewer gun deaths. Many gun deaths are accidents, which may not be classified as "crimes," but are no less tragic. More, even.
Who argued that all of the country's crimes can be blamed on gun ownership? Straw man. False.
The law being considered in Arizona clearly goes too far. Even the representative who introduced it is backing off (he didn't even know what it said until it came out in the press).
The larger issue of gun rights is a tricky one. I'm all for personal freedom, but I also believe in reasonable limits and I have trouble with guns. I have yet to be convinced that they have a legitimate use other than hunting, and I believe they should be strictly regulated for that purpose. Registered, traceable, etc. Handguns, assault rifles, rocket launchers, grenades? Give me a break.
We are basically a minority of one in the developed world with our obsession with firearms. The dozens of other countries that have outlawed or never had a right to carry weapons aren't exactly falling apart because of it. In fact - guess what? - far fewer of their citizens are killed by guns. Fancy that.
Posted by:
Anthony at March 8, 2005 12:58 PM
