Originally Posted by BeautifulBurnout (Post 105325)

Waco notwithstanding, I think that is a bit of a scary reason why one would want to keep a gun - the implication here is that the government are gonna getcha, unless I am reading this completely wrong. I thought all that stuff disappeared after 9/11 and now it was muslims who were gonna getcha (if one was of that paranoid frame of mind in the first place, that is.)

Maybe the reason why people are buying more guns is because the right-wing gun-nut branch of the Repubs has bought into the claptrap about Obama being The Beast and his election being the end of civilisation as they know it? Or maybe a more feral, purely racist view that they won't be safe with an African-American in power?

I really don't want to wade into the guns vs no guns debate because I can see it turning into 25 pages of increasingly polarised views. But I am not surprised that this has happened, given the complete rubbish that was being spouted by some real wingnuts over there about what an Obama win would mean .

Originally Posted by IsiliRunite (Post 105318)

Riiight. I think the nation might be a little more diverse than your self-serving generalizations would lead you to believe.

Why shouldn't taking precautions to preserve you, your kin, and property be empowering? Would you rather the government keep you safe (from itself)?

Just because the 2nd amendment may stand outside your personal prejudices about society, government, and violence... limited foresight does not render any part of the constitution inappropriate or those who exercise their rights "chickenshits".

Originally Posted by cacophony (Post 105338)

are we discussing the second amendment in general or the timing with which these sales have shot up?

Originally Posted by IsiliRunite (Post 105341)

I would like to know why someone is a chickenshit for buying/owning a gun, or how those two variables are correlated.