I agree.

This thread makes me very uncomfortable.
I cannot admire a gun. No matter how well trained and how well intentioned you are, that is a thing that is made to kill, and I can not admire that.

Awesome. I carry a Glock .45. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I really hate everything about guns; however, I am glad they are in my home (DH hunts). In some shooting incidents innocent people were saved because someone was armed and stopped the shooter. Genocide also wouldn't be as common in other parts of the world if the general population was armed.

Just yesterday here in Seattle a jury in a police shooting decided the policeman who killed a man on the street did not have sufficient cause to shoot him after reviewing video. The video didn't show the actual shooting but did show the man who was shot just before it happened. The policeman claimed he felt in imminent danger from the man who was carrying a knife (which was closed)...he was a native american who did wood carving...and was so drunk there obviously was no way he was a danger. To be fair, we have had several horrible shootings of cops here in the past year and the police are jittery but that doesn't excuse the shooting of an innocent person. The cowboy mentality in the U.S. is crazy.

May your tribe increase! <wave>

You can put a safety lock on it

Nuts like that would still find a way to get a weapon. I am dissappointed that one of the citizens in the crowd didn't draw their own gun and shoot him down before so many lives were lost. That being said, I too find it sad that some people are saying nice toy! Guns are serious business. Educate yourself and then protect yourself.

Actually, there were some who ran toward the problem and one of the good guys almost got shot except for one thing - - the gun owner was a responsible person and made sure before he just started shooting the one with the gun (which had been wrested from the perpetrator) ...
I find it remarkable the the perpetrator made it out of the melee without being seriously damaged, though I am sure his lawyers will try to make some extra $$ because it took some pressure to keep the bad guy under control - - funniest thing, but bad guys have a tendency to think THEY are really important enough to be defended and protected.
The event in Tucson made me even MORE pro-gun because it is apparent that self-protection is needed in our nation.
In the last few days, more than two dozen police officers have been shot - - if we, the citizens, cannot protect ourselves, and the bad guys are shooting our police officers - - who is going to protect you? and what will our nation look like in another two years?
I am glad that we are having this discussion ... I guess, I would have to say: If the good guys can't get guns, who do you think will be having them? <wave>