When did guns become evil?

[Realtor MA]

Back in the day a gun was just a tool. Hunting, protection or whatever. If something bad happened it was because a 'bad' person did it. Today people are literally afraid of guns. Whenever there's a shooting it's the gun, or the fact that the perpetrator had one, that get's all the attention.
Sometimes I think it was the JFK assassination that changed everything. What do you all think?

 

[GunGrey]

When politicans realized you can demonize a object instead of a person, and blame an inanimate object for the choices people make

 

[Cabin Fever]

I think the beginning was around the time of the NFA. They almost added handguns to the list of things to be registered!

 

[RichM]

The Vietnam protests? The realization the the National guard troops charged with protecting the government were unable to achieve superior firepower if the protests had turned more violent?

 

[In_God_We_Trust]

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Ask yourself why Obummer cannot say endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights when quoting one of the most important preambles ever written. If you strip God from that statement (or your higher power), then you never had any rights to begin with. And if you do not have unalienable Rights provided to you at birth, then you are simply a "subject", a pawn for a King or a Community Organizer In Chief and are bound by the laws in which they see fit to make for you. You no longer have a say. See the Health Care debacle and Supreme Court picks.

Strip God (or your higher power) from the history of this country and you are right back where we started prior to July 4, 1776. And that is why the Democrats do not like guns. A gun in the hand of a man is the equalizer.

 

[44marty]

I think it began with the proliferation of television.

 

[goofycj7]

The Vietnam protests? The realization the the National guard troops charged with protecting the government were unable to achieve superior firepower if the protests had turned more violent?

Vietnam when soldiers or anyone with guns were viewed as the enemy.

The liberal hippies forgot history, where coal miners were able to fight back because they had access to guns. Instead years later they decided they were better off if only the government had guns....
[sad2]

 

[GunGrey]

Ask yourself why Obummer cannot say endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights when quoting one of the most important preambles ever written. If you strip God from that statement (or your higher power), then you never had any rights to begin with. And if you do not have unalienable Rights provided to you at birth, then you are simply a "subject", a pawn for a King or a Community Organizer In Chief and are bound by the laws in which they see fit to make for you. You no longer have a say. See the Health Care debacle and Supreme Court picks.

Strip God (or your higher power) from the history of this country and you are right back where we started prior to July 4, 1776. And that is why the Democrats do not like guns. A gun in the hand of a man is the equalizer.

God made man; Samuel Colt made them equal

 

[smokey-seven]

It was 1963 and the Kennedy assassination. The NFA of 68 pushed through by Senator Kennedy of MA was the first stone of the barrage. That got all those, "evil through the mail rifles" off the market and set us on a course of safety for all mankind.

Before 63 I could walk out my door with a 22 rifle uncased and walk out of town to the woods and go hunting. The cops would wave.

 

[jarhead66]

The politicians started the guns are bad proposition. What I laughingly refer to as the news media took this theory and created a whole group of uninformed, misinformed and outright lying talking heads and self proclaimed experts on the subject. It is the agenda of the liberal press now and will never change until they are gone. We need desperatly to get rid of these people in the same manner as Dan Rather.

 

[Fixxah]

When the oldest liberal drew his/her first breath.

 

[Spanz]

In the sixties things were fine. Toy guns in every kids play chest.

In the seventies things started to change. Fewer cowboy westerns where the good guys used guns on tv/movies, and more "serpico" type movies where the bad guys rules and used guns. Maybe some influence from the antiwar movement. where our troops came back from vietnam and were treated poorly instead of like the heros they were.

Fast forward to the nineties, where kids don't have play guns in their toy chest, teachers in school tell kids how evil they are, and rap singers and movies/tv show every scumbag in the world shooting it up, and now good guys using guns positively.

But there is some hope. First person shooter games now abound. The kids want these games. I saw christmas toy ad the other day for a "skeet shooter" system where a plastic clay pops up, and you shoot it with a plastic projectile pistol! Sports figures are going showing up at shotgun shoots. And our boys are returning from war and being treated like heros again. Maybe the tide is turning?

 

[Speedway]

The 3 Kennedy Brothers come to mind.

 

[lupis42]

Prohibition. When the government realized it's enforcers were outgunned, they started demonizing guns. They were only able to start with specific types, but it started there.

 

[luceri]

I would say with the advent of CNN and their launching of the first commercially owned satellite to publicly broadcast the Vietnam War. Near-Live journalism on the field -- this brought the realization of what war is into the living rooms of all. This brought the Nam protests, the Nam protests brought the governments fear of the people. Decades of disinformation / current generation raised on "war is an evil thing" -- guns connote with war -- we have guns being "evil".

 

[LKB3rd]

Throughout history governments have tried and succeeded at disarming their populations, even before it was guns. We had it good for a hundred or two years.

 

[MagGus1820]

In the sixties things were fine. Toy guns in every kids play chest.

In the seventies things started to change. Fewer cowboy westerns where the good guys used guns on tv/movies, and more "serpico" type movies where the bad guys rules and used guns. Maybe some influence from the antiwar movement. where our troops came back from vietnam and were treated poorly instead of like the heros they were.

Fast forward to the nineties, where kids don't have play guns in their toy chest, teachers in school tell kids how evil they are, and rap singers and movies/tv show every scumbag in the world shooting it up, and now good guys using guns positively.

But there is some hope. First person shooter games now abound. The kids want these games. I saw christmas toy ad the other day for a "skeet shooter" system where a plastic clay pops up, and you shoot it with a plastic projectile pistol! Sports figures are going showing up at shotgun shoots. And our boys are returning from war and being treated like heros again. Maybe the tide is turning?

I think your right on with this. My friends 13-year old is super excited about guns. He begs me just to see one. I showed him a couple of pics on my phone and he was like "Oh man a Glock!". I was surprised he knew what it was just from looking at it. Then he asked me about a bunch of guns he knows from Call of Duty.

 

[bullseye]

The 3 Kennedy stooges come to mind.

Fixed it

 

[mac1911]

when man touched them, yet to set blame on the human element is not good for the nannypanny cry babies. All things evil come from man.

 

[atmay]

I think the evil is imbued during the finishing process.

Due to the chemical nature of each finish, different amount of evil are imbued.

Blued carbon steel holds the least evil.
Stainless steel holds a little bit more.
Parkerized holds the most.

Combine any one of these finishes with wood furniture, and the evil goes down.
Combine it with plastic furniture, and the evil exponentially goes up.

 

[bullseye]

I would say with the advent of CNN and their launching of the first commercially owned satellite to publicly broadcast the Vietnam War. Near-Live journalism on the field -- this brought the realization of what war is into the living rooms of all. This brought the Nam protests, the Nam protests brought the governments fear of the people. Decades of disinformation / current generation raised on "war is an evil thing" -- guns connote with war -- we have guns being "evil".

CNN was founded in 1980, Vietnam was long over, except for the lessons learned. Demonetization of guns was a long a gradual occurrence with an agenda that was bolstered by every negative item the gun haters could muster against the 2nd amendment. They used every bank robbery, accidental shooting, even violent crimes that were not gun related against gun ownership. The proliferation of the drug culture and the use of "Saturday night specials", uzi's, full auto, Miami Vice, the shooting of Presidents, Kennedy and Reagan, Jim Brady, the Texas massacre you name it, they were all used against the right to own. Before we knew it, the Brady bunch ahd built a force that had President Clinton's ear and us gun owners had no one to lobby for us, the NRA at the time was very disorganized and was the only point person(s) to fight for our rights. Yes, the tide has turned with recent decisions, but as you all see in states like MASS, NY and CT, work needs to be done.

 

[MaroonedinMA]

I would say with the advent of CNN and their launching of the first commercially owned satellite to publicly broadcast the Vietnam War. Near-Live journalism on the field -- this brought the realization of what war is into the living rooms of all. This brought the Nam protests, the Nam protests brought the governments fear of the people. Decades of disinformation / current generation raised on "war is an evil thing" -- guns connote with war -- we have guns being "evil".

CNN's first broadcast was June 1 1980, Saigon fell April 30, 1975... so, no. But the rest of your point is arguable.

ETA...Bullseye beat me to it.

 

[Plural of Mongoose]

Growing up in the seventies, I didnt see a lot of anti gun fervor where I lived. As kids we rode our bikes through town with shotguns or a .22 on our handle bars. In the mornings we walked through the woods to the bus stop with our guns and were allowed to leave them on the bus during the day and they would be there waiting for us when it was time to go home. Ammo was in our pockets or lockers during the school day. No one ever gave us problems or looked at us as potential terrorists.

The one incident I recall that really made guns evil in the public's mind was the incident where that A-hole shot up the school yard in California with a Chinese AK in 1989.

I refer to wikipedia.... After the shooting "measures were taken to first define and then ban assault weapons, resulting in the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Act. On the Federal level, Congress struggled with a way to ban weapons like Purdy's aesthetically military-style rifle without being seen to also ban more sporting-looking rifles. In the end, Congress incorrectly defined "assault weapons" as semi-automatic weapons with certain military-style secondary features such as flash suppressors, bayonet lugs, and pistol grips".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_School_massacre

 

[MisterHappy]

Guns became evil when it became wrong to apply that term to people.

If a criminal robs a store, it's because he's hungry, and was drawn to rob the store by the presence of the gun; had it not been present, he'd have gone to the soup kitchen.

This way, society can tell itself that it did not create a bad person, and no collective guilt attaches.

When the AWB was proposed, the "fact" that Assault Weapons were the choice of criminals was tossed about, despite the statisitcal insignificance of the use of long arms in crimes.

Again, Society could tell itself that the gun caused the drive-by, not the fact that the inner-city schools sucked so badly that the graduates could not read; that there was no hope; that the social engineering of the last 50 years had failed. All it needed was a "little tweak" - get rid of the guns, and we'd all get along, peace will guide the planets, and love will steer the stars.

When someone says, "We don't want illegal immigration," and is countered by "People are not illegal," the dichotomy is seen - where one group blames the action (illegal immigration) the other group ignores the action, and accuses the first group of hatred.

Guns are evil, because people CAN'T be!

 

[Zappa]

Guns became evil when it became wrong to apply that term to people.

If a criminal robs a store, it's because he's hungry, and was drawn to rob the store by the presence of the gun; had it not been present, he'd have gone to the soup kitchen.

Then how do the libs explain it when the same scumbag robs a store using a machete instead of a gun?

The tool must be evil!

 

[calsdad]

If you look at "guns" as "weapons in the hands of the masses" - they have ALWAYS been considered evil by those who wish to retain power.

Go back and look at the history of England and off and on again thruout English history the kings went back and forth on allowing "commoners" to arm themselves.

Thruout history - the bow and arrow, swords, pikes, knives, etc. - were all banned for "commoners" off and on in some countries - and pretty much have been in perpetuity in other countries - Japan for instance.

This is why the Constitution says "right to bear arms" and does not say " right to bear rifles" - because as technology moves forward the appropriate weapon for the day will change.

It's not about the gun - it's about the power the gun gives you. The power the gun gives a person today is the same power a sword or a bow and arrow gave an individual person when those were the state of the art: the ability to come face to face with those who would oppress you and try to take away your rights and/or your life.

This is why all the people who argue that modern day civilians cannot stand up to a modern army need to be kicked in the nuts and stomped on - HARD. They are in essence arguing that guns in the hands of civilians be relegated to the same status as swords and bows and arrows: Neat toys but nothing more.

There are plenty of gun owners who are in this camp - they just don't get it.

 

[Climbnsink]

Of course down South even the dems will run campaign ads showing the candidate at a range.guns aren't equally evil everywhere.

 

[MisterHappy]

Then how do the libs explain it when the same scumbag robs a store using a machete instead of a gun?

The tool must be evil!

That's right. That's why machetes are specificaly "banned" in some localities, and blade-length ordinances are becoming more common.

If the tool is removed, then the evil will not happen (because the motivation of the actor is not the casue of the action.)

As Kang (or Kodos) on the Simpsons said, after they were driven off earth by someone with a board with a nail in it: "They will make bigger boards, with bigger nails, and destroy themselves!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!"

It's the tool, not the user, that is evil (because people are all good at heart, right?) In my original post, I'd have mentioned the sharp-pointies, but the specific question was guns.

 

[P-14]

In the sixties things were fine. Toy guns in every kids play chest.

In the seventies things started to change. Fewer cowboy westerns where the good guys used guns on tv/movies, and more "serpico" type movies where the bad guys rules and used guns. Maybe some influence from the antiwar movement. where our troops came back from vietnam and were treated poorly instead of like the heros they were.

Fast forward to the nineties, where kids don't have play guns in their toy chest, teachers in school tell kids how evil they are, and rap singers and movies/tv show every scumbag in the world shooting it up, and now good guys using guns positively.

It's the elementary, middle, and high schools and the teachers. In the 80's the school shootings started and even making your fingers into a gun was cause for expulsion. Zero tolerance in schools BS has ruined 3 generations of kids and made them anti gun and afraid.

They cowered in Virginia Tech and got slaughtered instead of jumping on the Ahole shooting at them when he was reloading - because they did not know that guns run out of bullets. [sad2]

 

[bpm990d]

I'm not so sure that Jack Kennedy was anti-gun. When he was a Senator from Mass. he got a DCM Garand and then when he was President, he had Gary Anderson to the Oval Office to award him an International Distinguished badge after his World Championship in Cairo.

B