what's your opinion?

[Surf City Baby]

Originally posted by Christy
NOW is a HUGE proponent of banning firearms.

And NEVER say NEVER.

I don't know, Christy. I just looked at NOW's "Issues" page (NOW Issues ). If NOW were truly a huge proponent of banning firearms, I would think the topic of firearms would be on their list of issues.

But the only thing I see there that could have anything to do with any type of ban is the "Violence Against Women" page (NOW -- Violence Against Women ). And on that page, the only thing about guns is from a brief news release about the law prohibiting people convicted of domestic violence from buying or possessing guns. (Codified: 18 U.S.C. 922 (g) (9))

IMO that's a common sense law. Also IMO, NOW's support of that law doesn't reveal the organization to be a huge proponent of banning firearms.

As for "never say never," if you've read the entire thread you know I learned my lesson... But knowing I'll never to own a gun is rather like knowing I'll never have children. I'm sure.

[Christy]

Surf, you shoulda been around during the "Million Mom March", they were out in droves recruiting support for "common sense" gun laws. It was a big Clinton agenda, and they are big Clinton supporters (which also always baffled me).

And yeah "common sense gun laws". Sure, who wouldn't want those? Problem was, they weren't common sense at all. Ah well, I can go on for days about what those chics are really about, as well as many other liberal organizations I was unfortunate enough to attempt to have dialogue with way back in the day.

[Sharon (Premo)]

Originally posted by Christy
Sharons husband (by far) makes the best stuffed ham in Southern MD.

Thanks!

I never heard of stuffed ham until I moved down here. And I'm still not a big fan of it. But of all I've tried, John's is

And Christy...

shooting really is FUN!

A few years ago, my sons and a girlfriend of one of them, would head out to the range to shoot a few times a week and then go swimming. She absolutely hated guns. She'd never even give it a try. She would just sit there quietly and watch. Although I offered many times to teach her to shoot I never pushed the issue.

One day she finally asked me if she could give it a try. She liked it so much that after a few months she asked her dad to buy her this nice little Ruger .22 and she started bringing her sisters with us too.

[Dymphna]

Originally posted by Christy
Surf, you shoulda been around during the "Million Mom March", they were out in droves recruiting support for "common sense" gun laws. It was a big Clinton agenda, and they are big Clinton supporters (which also always baffled me).

And yeah "common sense gun laws". Sure, who wouldn't want those? Problem was, they weren't common sense at all. Ah well, I can go on for days about what those chics are really about, as well as many other liberal organizations I was unfortunate enough to attempt to have dialogue with way back in the day.

No new gun laws are "common sense" until they start enforcing all of the laws already on the books.

For example:

It is a federal law that if you use a handgun in the commission of a felony. The penalty is a mandatory 5 years in jail, in addition to any other penalties associated with the crime itself. A few years ago, in Southern Virginia, they started enforcing this law across the board, if you had a handgun, you went to straight to the federal court, not state court. I don't know what the statistics are but according to people I knew in Richmond, there was a noticable decline in handgun use by criminals. Someone tried starting this in Baltimore and minority groups claimed it discriminated (I guess because most of the violators in the City were minorities??) Among Ehrlich's campaign promises was to get this program instituted statewide. The General Assembly doesn't need a law, it already exists. It doesn't require more police, this just needs to apply to people who are already being arrested. All it requires is that all state procecutors turn those criminals arrested with a handgun over to the FEDERAL court system, charging them with a federal crime in addition to state crimes. Why can't this be done? Why can't it be done to EVERY criminal with a handgun without regard to race?

When this and all the other gun laws are inforced and someone can show me that they work or don't work, THEN and ONLY THEN do I see a point in NEW gun laws.

(P.S. I am a democrat and a mother, with a Master's degree, so those who want to stereotype me as a gun-toting, conservative, ignorant, redneck, TOUGH LUCK!)

[Christy]

Originally posted by cmcdanal
No new gun laws are "common sense" until they start enforcing all of the laws already on the books.

You know I was floored when I discoverd that the average time served for murder is 5 years.

[vraiblonde]

C-Mac!

[Surf City Baby]

Originally posted by Christy
Surf, you shoulda been around during the "Million Mom March", they were out in droves recruiting support for "common sense" gun laws.

"They were out in droves" -- they being NOW members? Feminists? Parents of both genders, all ancestries, all political parties? Women in pink?

In a way, I was here for the Million Mom March... it was several months before I moved out here to join her, but my mate, KJ, was there, along with four military friends. For days before the event I got a nightly review of the local news about the rally; that evening, I got a two-hour description of the day. I've asked KJ about the NOW presence at the rally, and gone through her photos of the day (about 40). She doesn't remember hearing members of NOW identify themselves as such, doesn't remember seeing those ubiquitous round blue signs of NOW's -- in fact, she doesn't remember seeing anyone inserting any other message or agenda into the day other than what the march & rally were specifically about. (Except for the counter-demonstrators. God Bless America!)

My point, which I've belabored enough now, is that I don't buy that NOW is a "huge proponent of banning firearms." Do they have an interest in the issue? Of course they do, as do many other groups and millions of individuals. But from reviewing NOW's materials, I can see that seeking a firearms ban is not a main part of their agenda.

Originally posted by cmcdanal
(P.S. I am a democrat and a mother, with a Master's degree, so those who want to stereotype me as a gun-toting, conservative, ignorant, redneck, TOUGH LUCK!)

I for one wouldn't so stereotype you, or anyone else. Some of my relatives are gun-toting, conservative, ignorant rednecks, and I love 'em and wouldn't stereotype them, either.

Look, here's what I think about guns & political parties: It seems that most members of the NRA are politically conservative. It seems that most attendees at the Million Mom March were politically liberal.

Big fat deal.

I don't care what party one affiliates him- or herself with. I absolutely refuse to generalize about a person's morality, intelligence, or politics based upon what party s/he aligns him- or herself with, or based upon what s/he thinks of the 2nd Amendment, the separation of church & state, the pedophilia scandal in the Catholic church, the 1st Amendment, the 14th Amendment, Roe v. Wade, the war in Iraq, the tax cut, Lawrence v. Texas, the pledge of allegiance, flag-burning, Brown v. Board of Education, or any other politically charged and potentially polarizing issue, case, news story, or discussion.

Everyone is an individual. Everyone has a different lifelong set of experiences that's gone into making him or her who s/he is. Everyone approaches life from a different perspective.

That's going to make for some very different, unexpected people. Some people are shocked at the thought of someone being a member of both the NRA and the Democratic Party. Others are shocked at the existence of the Log Cabin Republicans (a gay Republican organization). Still others can't imagine a liberal Catholic who participates in anti-abortion protests, and others' minds boggle at the thought of an atheist who supports prayer in schools.

We're all different, and IMO until we learn to quit generalizing about each other (I need that lesson badly) and learn to listen to each other (I need that one too) we're going to keep butting heads and getting nowhere.

I'm now stepping off my soapbox for the evening....

Whatever you're doing on Memorial Day, have a blast -- and remember to fly the colors if you have them.

'night, all.

Originally posted by Christy


You know I was floored when I discoverd that the average time served for murder is 5 years.

And, the average time for drunk driving (murder) is 3 years, with 2 years suspended. For good behavior you may get 3 to 6 months. Like my husband said, you can go out here and rob a store or bank, and get more time!! Doesn't make sense to me!!

The guy that killed his wife (Sears) in P.G. in 1992, and got a 30 year sentence, and then got out on parole after 9 years, and now ended up killing his girlfriend is a message to the State of Maryland that something is lacking somewhere.

The laws need a drastic change.

[alex]

I can't say I like living here but I can tolerate it. I hate that I have to drive everywhere. You can't walk to a store or take reliable public transist.

I have worked in county and in DC and got treated better at the DC job than the county one. I have meet some nice people down here. But I have also meet a lot more petty people then anywhere else.


I have lived here for 17+ years now and seen a lot of change. However, I would move tomorrow and never look back.

[OliveOyl]

Originally posted by IM4Change
I answered with “I love it here.” I have only heard 2 people complain about this area, ST and Olive Oyl, which leads me to believe that they are miserable people who hate everything including their own birthdays. Happiness is what you make it and if you’re an azzclown with no friends, it can be a miserable place to live, just ask Olive Oyl and ST.

I assume you know my answer.

Anyway, my main complaints about the area were just that it was sooooo far from civilization and there was very little culture outside of hunting,gutting deer in your front yard, and watching little sh*ts and their father ride on your property with their ATVs.

Other than that, it was a fine community to live in.

Seriously, if you're looking for culture, restaurants, things to do, and any type of shopping, avoid SoMD like the plague.

That is, unless you like hanging out with the crowd at Wal-Mart.