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Howard Steven Friedman

Howard Steven Friedman

Posted: January 10, 2011 12:51 PM

Welcome to Guntopia!

What's Your Reaction:

Welcome to Guntopia! So glad you decided to visit. Guntopia is a wonderful place for those who understand the need to own handguns, hunting rifles, sniper rifles, Uzis, Kalashnikovs and other assorted projectile weapons.

Here in Guntopia owning a gun it is a fundamental right. Criminal record -- No problem! No identification -- No problem! Mental instability -- No problem! Illegal immigrant -- No problem! Underage -- Heck you're never too young to learn how to defend yourself with a semi-automatic. Want a sawed-off shotgun, just step right up and slap the money on the counter.

Guntopia citizens carry their guns concealed, unconcealed, wherever they want and whenever they want. Want to bring a shotgun to school -- Just do it! Going to a presidential rally -- Grab your Glock! Bring your Colt 45 6-shooter to the supermarket when you're buying an ice-cold Colt 45 6-pack!

Some commies -- I mean liberals -- say Guntopia isn't safe with all these guns. They whine that our murder rate is two to 10 times more than other wealthy countries, but I say guns don't kill, people kill, so the more guns we have the safer everyone is. So what if gun-related murders make up more than half of all murders, it wasn't the guns that did it because guns don't kill. Those wimps say if you don't have a gun you are much less likely to kill someone... I say you've never seen my lethal judo chop besides guns don't kill, people kill. They'll complain about all the assassinations and mass shootings here in Guntopia, but I say that means everyone needs to get their own pistol and be ready to fire. If some crackhead shows up at my little Johnnie's school looking to blow away some kids then my son'll pop a few caps in his *!# before that psycho gets one shot off.

That pinko pansy Michael Moore tried fooling people into thinking that outside of Guntopia some places have less guns, less crime and less murder. I say guns don't kill, people kill. Hey, I guess I said that line already but I really like the sound of it so I'll just keep repeating it until you think it means something intelligent.

Forgot to mention that our Constitution says that everyone has the right to get any gun they want, at any time they want, with no security check-ups, no background check-ups, no mental check-ups , no dental check-ups and they can carry it anywhere they want anytime they want. Some egghead might tell you the Constitution doesn't actually say this but in Guntopia we just know it's true in our guts so there's no point in bothering to read.

Say... why are you leaving Guntopia so soon?

 
 
 

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05:57 PM on 01/17/2011
I am not a statistician like Mr. Friedman, so I can't back up anything I'm going to say with numbers. All I know is that in Europe, where I live, people are still shocked when they learn that someone has been killed with a gun, and that is as it should be. In the U.S., it's just part of the game, and it's a game I rejected a long time ago. Guns are for inarticulate bullies who don't know how to settle their disagreements through civilized, diplomatic means.
nothing2fear
They only call it Class War when we fight back.
02:53 AM on 01/11/2011
Check out your local area and see what has been in your local news paper about your fellow citizens and their personal defence of their lives by the gun.

Armed Citizens Defending themselves:
www.nraila.org/armedcitizen/

More stories of civilians using guns in self-defense visit:
www.claytoncramer.com/gundefenseblog
nothing2fear
They only call it Class War when we fight back.
02:52 AM on 01/11/2011
"When seconds count the police are just minutes away."

I am just stunned that if there are so many concealed weapons and ready gunslingers in Arizona that the kid who shot Gabrielle Giffords is still alive.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mojopo
Enthusiast
04:34 PM on 01/10/2011
Great blog. Forget providing health care to the mentally ill - drive 'em to Walmart for more ammo in Guntopia!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
FearlessFraz
03:46 PM on 01/10/2011
Thank you Mr. Fineman. It seems some here do not understand the concept of irony, so here is the definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony
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FearlessFraz
04:56 PM on 01/10/2011
I apologize Mr. Friedman... My Bad!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
FearlessFraz
06:14 PM on 01/10/2011
I apologize Mr. Friedman... My Bad!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
FearlessFraz
02:55 PM on 01/10/2011
Apparently some who comment here do not get the concept of irony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
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02:11 PM on 01/10/2011
"Forgot to mention that our Constitution says that everyone has the right to get any gun they want, at any time they want, with no security check-ups, no background check-ups, no mental check-ups , no dental check-ups and they can carry it anywhere they want anytime they want."

It certainly is easier to argue for the restriction of a civil liberty when you create such a ridiculous straw-man with which to do battle.
02:09 PM on 01/10/2011
Here in Guntopia owning a gun it is a fundamental right. Criminal record - No problem! No identification - No problem! Mental instability - No problem! Illegal immigrant - No problem! Underage - Heck you're never too young to learn how to defend yourself with a semi-automatic. Want a sawed-off shotgun, just step right up and slap the money on the counter

Article is full of nothing but Fail

But then again if you want to push some kind of agenda just make things up
01:31 PM on 01/10/2011
Guntopia sounds like an interesting place, not sure I'd want to live there though. In America, the underage cannot buy guns. Please tell me where I can legally buy an Uzi! Not in my state! If you saw off a shotgun, you can go to jail for most of the rest of your life. I bought a gun two weeks ago. I had to present my driver's license. Get approval from my local police chief. Wait 7 days and then undergo an FBI background investigation. I could not have committed a felony, have a restraining order against me, ever been in a mental institution, nor been institutionalized for alcohol or drug addiction. Where is this Guntopia the author speaks of?
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FearlessFraz
02:46 PM on 01/10/2011
Here is one place. Others soon to come I'm sure.........
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2010/07/29/20100729arizona-concealed-weapons-law.html
05:15 PM on 01/10/2011
ARIZONA
01:27 PM on 01/10/2011
Guntopia, indeed. I can explain a huge amount of the variance in murder rates with a measure based on income inequality. How much can I explain with gun ownership rates? The answer is far less, and in many studies it is questionable whether there is a relation. It is a tragedy when someone who is mentally unstable seeks to kill others. But we've seen that in many contexts. The Unabomber did not use guns. Timothy McVeigh did not use a gun. The Sarin gas Tokyo terrorists did not use guns. And boxcutters and airplanes were used on 9-11. If you move from areas of the US where gun ownership is high to areas where it is low, there is not a dramatic change in murder rate. Gun policies simply bear weakly on homicide rates at best. Besides, like marijuana, guns are easy to get and easy to make irrespective of their legal status. Ask any machinist - you can make a gun from scratch in just a few hours.
05:19 PM on 01/10/2011
Well, ONE MILLION people have been killed in this country by guns since 1968, I wonder how many have been killed in England, Canada, or Japan that have MUCH more sensible gun laws ???????
04:48 PM on 01/11/2011
We know that an armed population is a Polite polulation; witness the 15,000 (yup, Fifteeen Thousand) BOTTLE SLASHINGS in your beloved England - each Year.

Now what do you think the comparable rate is for the USA? Bonus Question? WHY IS DO YOU THINK THAT THE US RATE FOR THESE ASSAULTS IS SO MUCH LOWER ?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/3211769.stm
09:43 PM on 01/11/2011
That is a question, but it is not the question. Will reasonable changes in gun laws effect changes in homicide rates? Gun ownership rates, and gun laws, across states are uncorrelated with homicide rates. There is no reason to think that legislative changes will cause changes in gun related homicides. Don't get me wrong. I think reducing homicides is a valuable and worthy goal. It is just that doing that through gun control legislation is following a well trodden worthless path. If you apply statistics and study the factors that relate to homicide rates (gun control is not one of them), you can effect positive change. If you look at a mentally ill person who commits murder and only see the gun, then you are likely to react in a way that is unlikely to reduce the future homicide rates. Don't blame the gun, blame the jerk on the trigger.
01:24 PM on 01/10/2011
What exactly does shall not be infringed mean then? Take is as a given that the supreme court has ruled in favor of the individual right to bear arms. Show your work.