On Samurai Swords and Gun Control

[lhynard]

So I think everyone at Hopkins has posted something about this story on FaceBook, but for those of you not living in Baltimore, a burglar was killed with a samurai sword -- yes, a samurai sword -- by an undergraduate student of Johns Hopkins early this morning just three blocks from where I am now sitting

Comments

[godwillnspire]

I always find it refreshing, in a sense, to hear that a citizen has put the arms race in its place. Nonetheless, any violence is tragic. But, given such violence, let it be by the sword or the club. Best yet, let the killer strangle the assailant with bare hands and feel the very life drain out of the body. Violence is savage, even if may be at times necesary, and I think its very harmful to avoid that truth. Technology greatly increases our capacity to deal death by detaching us more and more form the deed.

I'm not sure where I stand on handgun ownership. I want to say I lean more against it than for it, but I need to do more research before I say that with assurance. Handguns seem to lend themselves to accidental discharge moreso than longer, more traditional firearms. They also seem to lend themselves moreso to crime. But the argument is a considerable one that, if you make handguns illegal you are only disarming the law-abiding.

I am all about rifle ownership, though, for hunting, or revolution, or even self-defense (even though it can be less practical for self-defense than a pistol). I agree that RPGs and heavy weaponry should be kept from the public, lest anarchy gain such a foothole, yet I'm also very wary by such restrictions... the gov't has all the power now, and when it turns on the people they won't stand a chance... The RPG in particular absolutely fascinates me. Its ability to take down choppers is an incredible evening of the board, financially. It can serve the just underdog, but it can just as well serve the criminal underdog.