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BRAZILIANS VOTE ON GUN BAN
With 99,57% of the votes counted, 63,89% of the voters had chosen "no"
while only 36.11% were in favor of "yes." In states like Rio Grande do
Sul, famous for its spirit of independence, almost 90% (86.82%) opposed
the ban to the commerce of weapons.
Prior to the referendum yesterday, the media reported heated campaigns on each side of the issue:
New York Times Gun-Happy Brazil Hotly Debates a Nationwide Ban - by Larry Rohter
Proponents of the ban, bolstered by a letter of support from several Nobel Peace Prize winners, say this is Brazil’s chance to vote for a safer society. “This is not Switzerland or England or even the United States, this is the country that kills with firearms more than any in the world,” said Rubem Cesar Fernandes, the director of Viva Rio, a civic organization that has championed the ban. “We’re experiencing an epidemic, a plague, and radical steps are required to control the spread and irresponsible use of firearms.”
And this by Monte Reel in the Washington Post foreign Service:
Weighs a National Gun Ban - Country Is First To Vote on Issue ...every citizen from 18 to 70 will confront a clear, yes-no question: Should the sale of all types of guns and ammunition be banned nationwide for everyone except the police and military?... In a shopping mall in the beachside neighborhood of Copacabana, the doors of the Guns & Security shop have been locked for the past week. The owner, Cirme Carvelho Alvim, said he stopped buying guns two weeks ago, figuring it was a waste to invest more in a business that might be forced to close within a month.
"Criminals don't buy guns from shops like mine," said Alvim, reached at a telephone number he had taped to his darkened shop window. He said most of his customers are police officers and retired military members. Criminals "smuggle their guns from other countries," he said. "Brazil's borders are too big, and the police can't stop that."The retired military man said he kept a gun and two big dogs at home for security.
"Any time I hear the dogs bark, I get my gun," he said. "The problem is not whether people have or don't have guns. . . . No one I know would buy a gun legally to commit a crime. The gun ban won't do anything to help decrease crime because criminals will still be able to get their guns without a problem. They can just go to the border of Paraguay. You can get a bazooka there if you want one."
"It's already very difficult to buy a gun in Brazil," said Flavio Bolsonaro, a representative in Rio's state legislature who is leading a local drive against the ban. "If a citizen can go through all the steps necessary to buy and register a gun here, then it's his right to defend himself."
...(A voter) who realizes that many of her neighbors will vote for the ban, said she has decided to vote against it. She said she hates the culture of guns and would love to see them disappear, but doesn't think the ban would reduce their presence in her neighborhood. She also fears it would increase the black-market gun trade.
Well, this lady has figured it out - whether you love 'em or
hate 'em, banning firearms ownership or sales will ensure that only
law-abiding citizens will be without weapons.
From Mad Ogre:
Buy a gun, buy lots of ammo for it, and buy some range time and practice. Everyone who can legally own a gun should own a handgun, a rifle, and a shotgun, in serious calibers… and a .22 of some sort.
Also this: Without secure borders, there is no Homeland Security
outside of the Second Amendment.
And this from Kim du Toit - "The Gun Guy":
Without local authority, your home is not safe outside of the Second Amendment.Remember that little fact the next time some GUN FEARING WUSS acquaintance asks you why you "need” a gun.
WHAT IF - A GUMMINT COULD BAN FIREARMS FOR EVERYONE EXCEPT POLICE AND SOLDIERS - AND MAKE IT STICK - THAT IS - PREVENT A BLACK MARKET IN FIREARMS?
I've got the bumper sticker for just such a scenario:
When guns are outlawed, only the cops and soldiers will have guns!
Memo to wing-nuts, right and left: The Bill of Rights is our protection against the tyranny of gummint, any gummint, elected Democrats, Republicans, or some other. All of the enumerated amendments assert our rights as American citizens. They aren't meant to make our existence less messy. The First Amendment permits speech and imagery that may be offensive to many of us and, yes, the Second Amendment may increase the murder rate, but we'll be free - as long as we don't permit our rights to be abridged. Ain't that America?
THE WILL TO DOUBT
IF you believe in a historical and literal Jesus, please speculate
as to how he and the 12 cronies managed to live without working for
wages? I know Jesus had a couple of wealthy patrons in Lazarus and
Nicodemus, which raises other questions, ahem.
Some of the apostles were fishermen. Did they basically support the rest of the gang?
Did Jesus pass the offering plate after presenting a few parables or homilies?
Did Mary Magdalene have to turn over all her earnings to Jesus?
Did he hit up his parents for a few coins now and again?
Nowadays, at least, Jesus would be entitled to a Public Defender at his trial...
Good fortune. COMMENT!! Please spread the meme. Don't smoke in bed...
