With a stroke of the pen Monday, Gov. Jon S. Corzine banned the death penalty in New Jersey. The measure, however, spares the life of a notorious sex offender whose grisly crimes inspired Megan’s Law.
Not really an issue of the separation of church and state, but a good morality topic. I am truly on the fence on the Death penalty. I hate the idea of Death Row inmates appealing for ever at the expense of the taxpayers, and I really hate the idea that some innocent people have been put to death.But isn’t there some validity to removing the DNA-proven criminals from society, once and for all? I have no pity (and I mean NONE) for murderers and rapists, so if the criminals are going to live in our prison system, they should work for 18 hours/day, producing income for the country (or the victim’s families) until they drop dead. Just my opinion.
Pkite,
So, you were a gun-bunny, were you? Artillary: king of Battle.
Interesting that atomictesting is interested in statistics, except when they contradict him. For example, even though he posted after me, he didn’t try to answer the points I made that if you are a woman or a child in high gun-holding states, you are more likely to be killed by a gun.
atomictesting also likes to compare apples and oranges.
“If the stats I’ve found are correct then you are twice as likely to experience a home invasion than die in a fire.”
He compares dying from a fire not to dying from a home invasion, but simply the home invasion itself. Lots of people probably have fires at home that they don’t die from.
As to home invasions, how many of those are done by people who are family, friends, acquaintances, or associates of the victims?
There are about 32,000 deaths due to guns each year in the U.S. But 19,000 of them are suicides. As I mentioned above about women, about 60% of their deaths by guns are caused by someone they are more or less intimate with.
The best thing to do is that if you know people who keep guns, you should stay away from them.
I’m not saying more because I have already made 19 posts on the subject and I’ve gotten no further than the first. I’m not going to get into an endless debate with any of you on this anymore. Good day.
My 2 cents: Almost everyone I know in my community owns some kind of firearm. No para-military gangs, no vigilante justice, and the state seems okay (cept for fiscal breakdowns).
Also, wouldn’t a couple of grapefruit-sized men’s fists be more of a danger in a home than a gun? Seems like more men beat their wives/girlfriends (sometimes to death) than shoot them? I’ve been at the wrong end of those fists a few times, but I never had a gun turned on me. Just curious.
By the way, I did use my .38 as a deterrent against a stalker. I didn’t point it in his face, but I had it with me when I confronted him. Because of the courage my .38 gave me, I was able to ID my stalker, and aid the police in getting him off my back.
Nevertheless, the state police advised me to use my gun if I felt threatened. After reporting my stalker 8+ times, they knew they wouldn’t get there in time if he decided to attack.
Just my 2 cents.
I wish I could leave this alone.
A SUMMARY
AT- IQ dropped in my absence. Ordinary people are at risk from increased home invasion.
I am prepared to defend myself. Everyone should have a gun so we would be safer.
If everyone had a gun they could have opened up on that mall shooter.
O-HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAHHHHAAHHH (ridicule seemed the only reasonable response.)
OTHERS- We are concerned about the proliferation of automatic weapons.
AT- I know a bad guy when I see one and I?m prepared, not paranoid. Liberals are deluded. AKs are fine, just use them in the country. Guns are freedom.
The Jews would have had a better chance if Hitler hadn?t restricted guns. You are idiots.
OTHERS- Do you really think we?d be safer if everyone were armed? Do you live in a bad area? Could we overthrow the government?
AT- Yes. And I have personal experience that guns are a deterrent. I am not paranoid just prepared . I keep a loaded Glock within arm?s reach. Liberals are cowards and wimps.
Ron Dapia ridicules paranoia.
AT- TV demonstrates how dangerous it is. Instead you ?moron liberals? worry about global warming when the real threat is from home invasion.
O- But the statistics show that one is more likely to die in an accident Look at these stats.
http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds.htm
AT- Canadians are stupid because one of them advocated banning guns after a teenager was stabbed. Here are three stories about it.
O- You?re right, there is violence in the world but TV and news skews one?s perception of the threat.
AT- Here are some stats from an advertisement which proves my point about home invasion.
You are more likely to die in a fire or a pool.
If I defend myself Liberal idiots like you will convict me instead of the criminal.
You are all afraid of guns.
OTHERS- You have a right to own guns but you seem to be overreacting to a perceived threat. You’re not paranoid but you seem to have a ?fortress mentality?.
AT We can?t go on in circles.
OTHERS- Agreed.
Obeah,
Nice summary – it put a smile on my face. Also that’s an interesting link for statistics. Worth a read.
Thanks again – and happy solstice!
HeatheNZ,
Thanks. Finding that link was quick. I spent WAY too much time searching Stats Canada for that home invasion stats, to no avail.
Merry Sqidmass.
Obeah,
Great summary, but you missed one important point. AT agreed that weapons that cause collateral damagae should be kept out of the hands of civilians. Now the question becomes: What qualifies as collateral damage?
AT believes hand genades and anti-tank missles cause collateral damage, and rightly so. I happen to think the AK-47 used in the Omaha Mall shooting caused collateral dammage.
Ren,
I missed a lot because I didn’t want to re-read the whole thing.
I think if you asked there would be varied opinion on collateral damage.
I’m up in Canuckistan and we have too many idiot liberals who think guns ought to be registered so as to keep track of them. Seems I’m left of idiot liberal; I like guns though.
Obeah,
My wife just moved to the St. Cloud, MN area. She will be there for another 3 yrs. Sometime during that period we will have to visit Canuckistan. I have been to Vancouver, BC, before, but nowhere else in your beautiful third world country. I think the closest big city to her will be Thunder Bay. Doesn’t look like the worlds most exciting place, but that is probably where we will head. If you have any suggestions for holiday destinations in that region, I am all ears.
Ren,
I wish I could help but Thunder Bay, while still in my province, is on the other side of the Big Waters. I understand that there are a lot of little lakes too.
A friend says the hiking is good but the closest I’ve come was flying over it on the way to Vancouver. (Is it a lie if you have no idea where the plane actually flys?)
Obeah,
Naw! I ain’t never been to the Grand Canyon, but I’ve heard several times, “If you’ll look out the left side of the aircraft…”, so I guess you could say I’ve been there.
As you said at the intro, “I have no pity (and I mean NONE) for murderers and rapists, so if the criminals are going to live in our prison system, they should work for 18 hours/day, producing income for the country (or the victim’s families) until they drop dead.”
Does that apply to 14-year-olds too?
Here is a story of one such murderer. Of course the final results will not be in for years, but so far the judge’s decision seems to have been right.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071222/ap_on_re_us/youth_on_trial_judge_s_gamble
“If it was my son who was murdered … would I be able to accept that? I don’t know,” he says. “But you make decisions on an individual basis based on the knowledge you have at the time. Sometimes you’re right. Sometimes you’re wrong. It’d be nice if it was perfect.”