#591782 - 03/16/1303:03 PMRe: OK NRA ... riddle me this?
[Re: steveg]
yoyo52 Nothing comes of nothing.
Registered: 05/25/01
Posts: 30520
Loc: PA, USA
From Gail Collins's column in the NY Times today:
Quote:
During a meeting of the Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Senator John Cornyn of Texas tried to shore up the pro-gun side by offering nine “news stories of people defending themselves with assault weapons” for the record. The list spanned 17 years and included things like “tenant shoots intruder on porch.”
_________________________ MACTECHubi dolor ibi digitus
Even if driving recklessly that would be called an accident. No one wakes up and thinks "i'll just kill a bunch of people today... and instead of using a firearm...I'm going to use my nice expensive sport car".
That's where you and I differ, I guess. Driving recklessly leaves the realms of accident and heads into territory of causality. Much like you cannot drink and drive - courts have now decided that while you might not intend to cause death, when one occurs you are culpable. I similarly consider a reckless driver to be as much culpable and any death resulting from their decision to drive recklessly to be a result of negligence and not accidental.
And for the record I also consider "accidental firearm discharges" to be a factor of negligence, rather than accident. Before getting a firearm, get training in both handling safety and usage, before you start to mess with it.
_________________________ I used to think it was terrible that life was unfair. Then I thought what if life were fair and all of the terrible things that happen came because we really deserved them? Now I take comfort in the general unfairness and hostility of the universe.
#591788 - 03/16/1305:48 PMRe: OK NRA ... riddle me this?
[Re: steveg]
yoyo52 Nothing comes of nothing.
Registered: 05/25/01
Posts: 30520
Loc: PA, USA
Jesuitically speaking (appropriate now that one of 'em is the pope) intentionality doesn't matter, I suppose. So the guy who drives recklessly with no intent to kill anyone is as culpable as the mass murderer who uses his semiautomatic to mow down 20 kids.
No wonder I stopped being jesuitically inclined.
_________________________ MACTECHubi dolor ibi digitus
Even if driving recklessly that would be called an accident. No one wakes up and thinks "i'll just kill a bunch of people today... and instead of using a firearm...I'm going to use my nice expensive sport car".
That's where you and I differ, I guess. Driving recklessly leaves the realms of accident and heads into territory of causality. Much like you cannot drink and drive - courts have now decided that while you might not intend to cause death, when one occurs you are culpable. I similarly consider a reckless driver to be as much culpable and any death resulting from their decision to drive recklessly to be a result of negligence and not accidental.
And for the record I also consider "accidental firearm discharges" to be a factor of negligence, rather than accident. Before getting a firearm, get training in both handling safety and usage, before you start to mess with it.
Huge difference between manslaughter and maniacal, planned, cold blooded homicide.
Anyways... please feel free to point out/link multiple any auto accidents that took the lives of 20-30 people, mostly kids. Purposely, or not.