I'm going to weigh in quickly, and will try to be brief, on this gun control issue.

(Don't get excited, righties, I happen to be essentially on your side on this one! )

I support, protect, and defend my Second Amendmant rights every bit as much as my First, or Fourth, of Fifth, or any of them.

Thomas Jefferson said something to the effect that "A nation is only free as long as it's citizens are capable of protecting themselves from their government." Or something very close, I don't have the exact quote.

Furthermore, IMHO the most important words in the Second are "...the right of the PEOPLE..." Back then EVERYONE was by necessity part of the militia, practically. This is not a right we should surrender too quickly or easily, despite the fact that we have Nat. Guard and full time and reserve professional military to provide for our protection and defense.

That being said, we do have to balance that right with our interests in public safety. It is not easy, and is again a delicate balance to try to achieve and maintain. I don't honestly know enough about specific firearms and their various configurations, nor about the wording of the AWB or any other gun control measure, but I am willing to defer to Buck and a few others, but some of you scare the crap out of me! (Just kiddin'! )

I don't think ordinary citizens need military style or military level weapons, certainly not fully automatic or even semiauto high capacity combat weapons. I believe the best all around home defense weapon is a pump action 12 ga, with a (legally) shortened barrel and custom grip. It does not require the marksmanship required of rifles and handguns, and is more effective in close quarters, plus you don't have to worry as much about a backstop, or an errant round killing your neighbor next door or across the street.

However, I believe Buck when he asserts that the AWB and other gun control laws go to far and to no useful result. A .22 cal. 5 round revolver will kill you just as dead as a round from an AK47. And laws ARE made for law abiding citizens, just as locks are made to keep honest people out. And the existing laws need to be enforced more aggressively with more stringent penalties for those who break them.

But I do not agree that gun control is a red herring or a smoke screen or a liberal agenda with some ulterior motive. I believe there is a legitimate public safety concern, but that it is not being addressed properly or effectively.
Nor do I agree with alot of the macho, defense of home and hearth, protect myself against criminals rhetoric. Someone who tries to do that is just as often injured, many times with their own weapon, as not, or else ends up in jail themselves. The laws on Use of Force, particularly deadly force, in the state of CT are very complex, and not at all unreasonable. (I could go into great detail, but this is already WAY longer than intended, so I will spare you.) Alot of that rhetoric is based upon macho fantasy and comes from watching too many movies, notwithstanding BR's anecdotes, which I don't question or doubt for a minute. Besides him and Buck, or any of you with active duty military or police experience, I bet very few of you, more than likely none of you, ever has or ever will find yourself in a combat situation requiring the use of a firearm or other deadly force.

(Just a note on my background in this subject area, FWIW [nothing probably!] I have worked in the protective services/criminal justice field for 16 years, but I admit I never carried a firearm. I did, however carry a police baton, handcuffs, and pepper spray, when I was a Sergeant with the Univ. of Hartford Dept. of Public Safety, and underwent extensive training under instructors from the C.S.P., H.P.D., W.H.P.D., and the M.P.T.C., which included "Use of Force", and "Arrest, Detention, Search and Seizure". While I was there I was one of three Defensive Tactics Instructors within the department. We were trained to train other Officers in these and various other areas related to our jobs on the campus. And at CJTS where I now work I carry handcuffs, which the state wants to take away from us because they're afraid we're gonna "hurt the children." Anyway...)

And I'm sorry, Buck, but I am going to have to again respectfully disagree with you that crime drops because people own and carry firearms. That has been repeatedly debunked and disproven and is merely a statistical coincidence.

The AWB and other gun control laws should be recrafted more reasonably and intelligently so as to address, to the greatest degree possible, the legitimate interest in public safety, while balancing that against the Second Amendmant right of "THE PEOPLE" to keep and bear arms.

Again, I don't know enough about guns to offer suggestions, but I agree that some real work is needed on this issue in order to achieve and maintain that balance.

So you see, I'm not such a extremist, radical, left wing, bleeding heart liberal, after all. And neither is Val, by the way! So ease up! Or I'll come back on the thread and tear everyone a new one!

(Just kiddin! :p )