Yes I am familiar with that cobag.

Sorry, Duros. You ought to hang out over at Tbogg’s more often.

Of course, if I have to explain my joke it wasn’t funny in the first place, but here goes: Jeff Goldstein, proprietor of Protein Wisdom, wrote a post in which he said he’d like to slap some of his critics using a specific part of his anatomy. References to that post have become a running punchline at Tbogg.

Thus when you wrote: “If your buddy just whipped it out and pointed it at your head, what would your first reaction be?”

My reply was: “Goldstein, is that you?”

Jay: “You have to understand that a waiting period is not some magic elixir that puts a person into a state that says, “I must wait 72 hours before I go and shoot that person.””

SDM: “Uh, actually that is exactly what a waiting period would do. Make you wait before you go and shoot a person.</i.”

Jay: “No Sean, all it does is prevent them from legally purchasing a firearm for 72 hours”

So first (rather floridly) you say a waiting period WON’T make someone say “I must wait.”. And then you say it DOES make them wait.

OK, if they are going to get the gun illegally they can bypass the waiting period. But that is significantly more difficult for most people than buying a gun at the local gun shop. So the existence of a waiting period DOES prevent the majority of people from getting a gun in the heat of the moment. Either because legally is the only way they really have to get a gun (I, for example, wouldn’t even know where to begin to try to get one illegally) or because getting one illegally takes more time (even if less then 72 hours) and effort.

No Sean, all it does is prevent them from legally purchasing a firearm for 72 hours (assuming they pass the background check).

Signing off for tonight.

“Goldstein, is that you?”

Uh, actually that is exactly what a waiting period would do. Make you wait before you go and shoot a person.

Could you stab them? Club them? Strangle them? Sure. But you couldn’t shoot them.

A knife, baseball bat, rope, etc require that you get into physical contact with your victim. Can they be used to kill quickly and effectively? Of course. Can someone who has been shot still survive and even manage to overcome their attacker? Of course.

But shooting someone is one of the best ways to cause the greatest harm with the least effort and risk to yourself. I suspect that’s one of the reasons many people are interested in regulating access to guns.

You should know this by now, Jay. Context is everything.

Jay, at 3:53 p.m.: “They’re thinking more along the lines of, ‘Oh! A gun! I had better run away before I have a cap popped in my ass!’”

That’s a mighty thin hair, Jay, but I know you can do it.

Oh for God’s sake, does everything have to be spelled out in the smallest details? Yes Quaker, I didn’t mean that a person would see a gun and say, “Oh! A gun! I had better run!” They’re thinking more along the lines of, “Oh! A gun! I had better run away before I have a cap popped in my ass!”

Cripes.

By its very definition, the sight of a gun can imply harm.

Oh nonsense. So a buddy of mine shows me a new gun that he purchased and when he does, he’s implying harm?

Not at all, Jay. You brought it up. We were talking about waiting periods for buying a gun. Buying a gun for self defense. Self defense as an immediate need of a gun. What I mean is that if peril is that imminent, what difference would 3 days make? I’m either in mortal danger now, or I’m not. And if I’m not, then there is no immediate need for a firearm.
If I already have a gun, your argument at least has merit.

Guess what? There are times when the mere sight of a handgun is going to cause the perp to run away.

Why would that be, Jay? Why would the “perp” run away? Could it be the threat of physical harm implied by me brandishing a weapon?
Not being pedantic, just askin’.

Then a handgun replica is just as effective?

Of course, that’s true only if it’s the actual appearance of the gun that causes the “perp” to run away. I believe it’s actually the implied threat of being shot and killed that is the deterrent, don’t you?

In addition, the 16-17 or states that have these waiting periods, most only apply to handguns. So if a guy was on a course to shoot his girlfriend or spouse, he could easily purchase a shotgun and do the job.

And again, the person who is hellbent on doing harm to another person is not going to allow a thing like a waiting period stop them. You have to understand that a waiting period is not some magic elixir that puts a person into a state that says, “I must wait 72 hours before I go and shoot that person.” If they’re that intent on doing harm, they’ll figure out a way. As is the case with most asinine gun laws, the laws don’t alleviate crime, they only make things more difficult for the law abiding citizen.

Jay: It’s called self defense.

If I have an immediate need for self defense, I don’t have time to go down to my local gun shop and get a gun.

I believe I understand what you’re getting at, and there certainly have been cases where a victim has had time between receiving a threat and being injured to take measures (such as arming themselves).

But people get mad, hurt, angry and if they can get a gun as readily as they can get a loaf of bread they may act on that. They can go off “half-cocked”, in a “fit of passion”, etc. If they have to wait a couple of days they have a chance to cool off, the situation has a little while to resolve.

To say we should get rid of waiting periods so the person who is scared (but not immediately, imminently facing a situation) can get a gun also allows the person who is mad (and is going to act immediately) to get a gun.

The far more likely result is more of exactly the situation you presumably want to avoid: bad person hurts good person.

No. Having a gun for self defense does not imply intent to commit harm. Everybody operates under the assumption that in order to use a handgun for self defense, it requires that another person is shot and killed. Guess what? There are times when the mere sight of a handgun is going to cause the perp to run away.

If there was an immediate need, 3-7 days wouldn’t make any difference. I either would already have a weapon or I wouldn’t. If I have the time to get in my car and drive to the gun store and select a firearm, take classes about its care and feeding and proper use, it would hardly be an immediate need, would it?

Now you’re being pedantic. With your way of thinking, people should just be content to be victims. Besides, if not having a waiting period is useless anyway, why have one?