From owner-freebsd-chat Sun Jun 28 15:17:08 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) id PAA17091 for freebsd-chat-outgoing; Sun, 28 Jun 1998 15:17:08 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from owner-freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG) Received: from jason03.u.washington.edu (root@jason03.u.washington.edu [140.142.77.10]) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id PAA17085 for ; Sun, 28 Jun 1998 15:17:04 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from jcwells@u.washington.edu) Received: from saul9.u.washington.edu (root@saul9.u.washington.edu [140.142.82.7]) by jason03.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW97.05) with ESMTP id PAA18012; Sun, 28 Jun 1998 15:16:58 -0700 Received: from s8-37-26.student.washington.edu (S8-37-26.student.washington.edu [128.208.37.26]) by saul9.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW97.04) with SMTP id PAA32335; Sun, 28 Jun 1998 15:16:57 -0700 (PDT) Date: Sun, 28 Jun 1998 15:06:46 +0000 (GMT) From: "Jason C. Wells" X-Sender: jason@s8-37-26.student.washington.edu To: Gary Kline cc: freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Does it's true? In-Reply-To: <199806280319.UAA12882@athena.tera.com> Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.org On Sat, 27 Jun 1998, Gary Kline wrote: > C'mon, guys, let's get _really_ real... We need to > abolish handguns altogether, since, let's face it: > the only thing a .454 Colt Bisley is meant to kill > is a human target. --One, maybe two for the expert > shooter. > > Rather than mess around, we need a new paradigm in > the way of personal weaponry. I suggest something > like the Personal Grenade. Something that would > take adversaries out at, oh, say, 20 feet and leave > oneself entirely safe. Most of the folks here are actually discussing this issue. What is this second paragraph intended to do? I will agree 100% with one statement. I hope everyone reads this and understands what I am going to say. Handguns are designed with the express purpose of killing. Such is the case with all weapons. Even target weapons are simple the "auto-racing" verions of a more mundane instrument of death. The Toledo of the conquistador broadsword is intended purely to kill people. So is the Dai Katana of the Samurai. Excalibur was wielded by King Arthur in "defending the faith." But the intentions of the wielder of these weapons vary widely. The point is that a weapon is inanimate. A weapon is neither good nor evil. A weapon has no intentions. A weapon cannot be tried for a crime by an court on the planet. Can you even imagine such a trial? Mr. .454, where were you on the night of... This is ludicrous. Why is it ludicrous? Because the _human being_ is responsible for the use that the weapon is put to. Let me be more cliche. "Guns don't kill people. People kill people." I invite anyone to show me a case where a weapon has been found guilty of a crime and has been convicted under the law of that government. Catchya Later, | UW Mechanical Engineering Jason Wells | http://weber.u.washington.edu/~jcwells/ | 206-633-5994 To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message