Beach shooting was tragic, but justified under 2nd amendment

I don't always agree with you, Kerri. In fact, sometimes I wonder what they pay you for! But with this, you have hit the nail on the head. I could not have said any of this better myself. Way to earn your paycheck! =)

One poster stated that homes with small children would have to have special consideration. I would want to know what was meant by that. Would homes with small children be off limits to guns? Would there be special, mandated ways of storing guns, with random inspections to make sure concurrence is achieved? See where I am going with this? We always say we want to keep the government out of our bedrooms (any type of sex is allowed there between two consenting adults, etc. And the "right" to abortion grows out of that idea as well), but where are most guns stored? Do we really want a 3 AM knock on the door to show an officer that our gun is correctly locked down so young children cannot get at it? Cheers, MGM

"If you want to see a difference in the violent acts committed by persons with firearms… our elected officials should increase the penalty for felons who possess firearms illegally, increase the penalties for committing a crime with a firearm… the cost of those crimes needs to be so great that someone would be very fearful of committing such an act."

Then what would be your excuse for all the gun rights you claim you need because of the cirminals?
It's really to bad you missed that aritcle, as a gun advocate you would not have liked what the Supreme Court rueling really does and does not do expeciall in state like VA were you already have the right to bear arms. If I had my way there would be a data base with evry gun bought and sold, and every gun you owned listed on it.

No, I did not read the June 28 Pilot Editorial.
Firearms are not registered… at least not in the sense that I believe you are referring to. And they should not be… the government has no business keeping a list of who owns firearms, how many, type and/or caliber. To many firearms owners, registration is viewed as the first step in an effort to confiscation.

If you want to see a difference in the violent acts committed by persons with firearms… our elected officials should increase the penalty for felons who possess firearms illegally, increase the penalties for committing a crime with a firearm… the cost of those crimes needs to be so great that someone would be very fearful of committing such an act.

gabriellel45516 wrote I've got to chime in here in regard to your position that VA gun laws are too liberal. I totally disagree and believe our laws should be the rule, not the exception to the rule about gun laws.

Many of us have different opinions and I think those differences will determine if gun laws will change based on the new Supreme Court findings regarding the D.C. decision. I keep repeating myself, but I am not trying to take anyone's gun away, but I will continue to say there need's to be more restrictions in place. The S.C. stated it was illegal to ban hand guns in D.C. to protect ones home. I agree with that. I don't agree with guns being worn by everyone all over town and those that do own them should have to re-register them every so often, and pass a safety rquiremrnt on how to use them. When there are small childfren in the home, that needs to be taken into consideration also.

I've got to chime in here in regard to your position that VA gun laws are too liberal. I totally disagree and believe our laws should be the rule, not the exception to the rule about gun laws.

some years ago, as a female small business owner who often worked late into the night I applied for a concealed carry permit in Delaware. My application was denied. Not because of any criminal record (I have no criminal reord), not because of mental deficiences (some folks do think I'm nuts, but I have no history of mental disorders). Nope, my app was denied simply because the Judge had a personal problem with me.

Did you read the June 28 Pilot Editorial?

Quite the contrary is true.

The recent SCOTUS ruling on the Second Amendment, while resulting from a case originating in DC, does affect all citizens of this country. The rights of DC citizens aren’t different from those citizens’ elsewhere in the country. And, given that there is an abundance of anti-Second Amendment groups that vehemently oppose personal handgun ownership, this case reinforces what many Americans have understood and believed for a very long time... the Second Amendment is an individual right, not a collective right, as was represented by the state (District of Columbia, et al) to the court.

A story with a happy ending.

(Okay, then I wonder about how we ever decide when one opinion is more valuable than another. If we decide that all statistics are suspect (which would be a typical American reaction, since we all dislike math and we all love a good conspiracy theory), what is left to make this more than just a place to vent (which is often what voicing an opinion turns into)?)

It's opnions that can change laws sometime coupled with staticts quite often not. Try as anyone may, my opinions are mine, which consist of my experience, common sense, thinking through an issue, and sometimes even emotion. My opinion will not be taken away and they do not make me wrong and someone else right. As Americans we are entitled to our opinions. Where would this county be if our founding fathers did not have opinions? Many of this countries events, rights, laws and the list goes on started with an "opinion'.

Okay, then I wonder about how we ever decide when one opinion is more valuable than another. If we decide that all statistics are suspect (which would be a typical American reaction, since we all dislike math and we all love a good conspiracy theory), what is left to make this more than just a place to vent (which is often what voicing an opinion turns into)?
Logical reasoning tends to sway me, but I don't see many folks anymore who have either been taught that or have learned it by reading great works of literature.
We tend, as Americans, to say that, because we are all equal, all of our opinions are equal. That just can't be possible, because some opinions are the result of years of study and/or observing life, while others just pop off at the mouth and change their opinions every day as the wind blows. Just a thought. MGM

I'm not really sure stats do help. So often we read about stats and then turn round and read another, then another, then another. Some one told me a long time ago "figures don't lie, but liers do figure". In this forum it appears to be about opinions. My opinion is we need tighter gun laws in VA while others have taken the Supreme Courts rueling as rights that far extend what was really stated. The SC ruled about the ban of guns "to protect your home" in D.C. That ruleing doesn't affect VA because we already have the right to bear arms. Please let me say again, I'm not trying to take anyone's gun away, I just feel we need tighter restrictions.

Have a happy and save Holiday!

My opinion could be that there are more people in the U.S. than in any other country in the world (obviously I'm joking). But the statistics would PROVE me wrong. So while you have your opinions, the use of statistics would definitely help to prove your point. But like you said earlier, you are entitled to your own opinion.

Sorry, but I do't need statistics to voice my opinion and neither do you or anyone else. Just my opinion!

I have asked several times since the Supreme Court ruling last week that, if people want to make statements about folks with concealed carry permits using their guns illegally, they need to provide stats to back that up.

Here another writer says that "those who carry guns legally seem anxious to use them." I don't want to know what *seems* true to you, me, or anyone else, I want to know what the stats show.

Can anyone present any statistics whatsoever that indicate that people who have permits to carry a weapon, whether openly or concealed, illegally discharge those weapons with any regularity?

As a military member, I have seen the opposite. Those who carry would only shoot as a last resort. Cheers, MGM

You are centainly entitled to your opinion, please allow me the same courtesy. We don't agree on this issue and we probably won't. That does not make you right and me wrong. Not everything in life is black and white, and I never said anything about VA Tech.

I personally don't find it regretful in the least to find out that an armed robber has been stopped permanently with extreme prejudice.

I have said repeatedly that I am not trying to take your gun away.

It's not what you say George; it's how you say it. If there was an organized movement to do away with private gun ownership, you would be rushing to get in that line. Your writings state as much.

I have also said that gun rights in VA are too liberal, that's my opinion.

Yep, an uneducated opinion. The biggest issue most use is of the Cho Tech killings. These weren't because of gun laws, it was the schools refusal to formally document that Cho was mentally deficient after several complaints from staff and several visits to mental professionals.

So many people seem so anxious to kill someone because it's their right to own a gun.

You call it anxious to kill, I call it protection. If someone pulls a gun on me, my mentality is he's going to shoot; if he doesn't, I sure as hell am...

I have said repeatedly that I am not trying to take your gun away. Over and over I have said that. I have also said that gun rights in VA are too liberal, that's my opinion. What would I have done? I don't know and I don't think many would unless they were in the same situation. Although, I'm sure many of you will say they would shoot to kill. So many people seem so anxious to kill someone because it's their right to own a gun. I have also said that the pizza owner DID the right thing, I guess you didn't read that part either.

Good for Ferdinando!

Anyone who has ever been a victim of a crime -- even a non-violent one -- knows how he must have felt. When you take away someone else's rights, you deserve to lose yours.

So, George, what would you have done? The scumbag wasn't satisfied with money in the cash register and desperate enough to take a wild shot. You love to spout the liberal anti-gun rhetoric, but you give not one solution to society's ills. Furthermore, you refuse to admit guns have a place in society and in this case exemplify it.

What would you have done...

WOW! Sooo anxious to use deadly force. Scary!

When RF is acquitted, it will affirm our right to use deadly force when we perceive that we are in danger, even if it can be shown later that the danger didn't exist.

I look forward to the trial.

jmo

I don't disagree with anything in your last post, George. You say that people are using this case to promote unrestricted/unlimited gun rights, but I haven't seen these posts...point them out please.

I think that you're trying to make this something that it's not.

jmo

"It is common practice throughout the nation for the police to knock down a door immediately after announcing they are executing a search warrant. What do you expect?"

Really? I have corresponded with Law Enforcement Officers from around the country in the wake of Det. Shivers tragic death and I have been universally told that such entries are reserved for cases where there is evidence that could be destroyed, hostages are in peril, or known armed and dangerous criminals must be taken by surprise.

Since the non-existent marijuana plants were supposed to be in Frederick's garage, out of his reach, no one else was there, and Frederick had no criminal record at all, much less one of violence, why was the one method of serving a warrant most likely to get someone killed chosen?

Whatever happened to simply knocking on the door and waiting for the suspect to answer and be served the warrant peacea

Just part of the Pilot Editorial.

"Scalia's decision, quite explicitly, warns gun activists that the Wild West hasn't been reopened. The Second Amendment, he wrote, "is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose," a position sure to frustrate some activist groups.
He leaves open the door to limits on concealed weapons and the right of felons and the mentally ill to own guns. He says that guns may be banned from "sensitive places such as schools and government buildings," and allows for "laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms."

"What's truly sad about this icident is what the gun advocates are doing with it to justify their gun rights without any restrictions."

Sorry GeorgeS, but I haven't read any comments that state what you are suggesting. Gun-rights advocates are simply using this as an example of why we should retain the right to keep and bear arms. And it's a good example.

jmo

What's truly sad about this icident is what the gun advocates are doing with it to justify their gun rights without any restrictions. Of course the pizza owner did the right thing, and the would-be robber won't bother anyone else again. My point all along is that this one incident, and surely there are others like it, still do not judstify all the gun rights you want without control/restrictions. Any number of times I have said I am not trying to take your gun away, I am saying VA gun laws are too liberal, and I believe the Supreme Court opened the door for changes. Please read the Pilot Editorial regarding gun rights and the Supreme Court.

If there's a parade I'll even drive the convertible! Not only did he rid us of a bottom-feeding piece of trash (see my earlier definition of 'bottom feeder') but he saved the city and state a lot of money investigating, prosecuting, incarcerating. (He should get a rebate on his business taxes!)

Some people would rather have the armed robber free to commit more crime - maybe even kill someone while commiting his crimes. Fortunately there are those of us who are willing to defend ourselves.

jmo

with the pizza owner sitting on the back of a convertible, marching bands, streets filled with people wearing their guns, and chanting MY HERO, MY HEOR! Mabye there will be book about the incident or better yet a movie. WOW! The sad fact is this incident happened right after the Supreme Court said it was against the law to ban guns to protect your home in D.C. Gun advocates have found this incident to be better than sliced bread, and made the pizza owner their poster child.