Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for March 23, 2010

Gun owner’s paradise!

Awwwww geeez…

I was so hoping this was going to be a one-day joke.

I’ve got to disagree with you there, Radish. I think if the liberals hadn’t made Starbucks the boycott target, the open carry crowd wouldn’t be there in force.

I never thought I’d feel sorry for Starbucks.

Yeah, them drug-dealers got their AKs from Remington, Winchester, Smith&Wesson, Colt, etc. Sick American Slime capitalist scum-bags!

@Rosie- An AK is a particular make of Russian automatic rifle, a Kalashnikov. Otherwise you’re right. Most of the weapons used in the Mexican are made in the US and they are almost exclusively purchased there.

@Rosie, you won’t find guns so scary after you’ve gone through detox a couple times. Just sayin’.

Are you sayin’ I’m drunk, Jesse James? Why don’t you go polish your 12 gauge replacement for your manhood…

She’s not drunk, but her mom was during her pregnancy.

At an AA meeting the other day, a loaded automatic fell from a belt and hit the floor. Now I’m for private ownership, but—-

Hay, I’m not saying be a Burt Gummier. A few rifles for hunting, or target shutting. We have a few, not an auto among them.

\\//_

Guns don’t kill people. Bullets kill people.

Keep bullets out of Starbucks. They make the coffee taste funny.

Jeez. I own a rifle, I grew up around guns, my father still shoots muskets deep into his 70s, and I’ve never felt the need to claim that having a pistol on my hip means I’ve got a penis.

Nor do I claim garbage like we need to carry to protect ourselves against the “illegals” and the drug dealers, when it’s a proven fact that 75% of gun deaths come at the hands of a friend, family member or acquaintance of the victim. For every he-man who “defends” his property with his gun against a burglar, twenty get blown away by the next door neighbor in a squabble.

I wish you kids would play nicer.

And a big :-) @ NebulousRikulau.

They wear their guns to Starbucks because it’s against the law to display ones bleeep in public. Maybe a tribal phallic sheath would help.

I recognize this is a political satire cartoon, but really. Why not get to the discussion of the nations adoption of socialism, between Pelosi and all the other political clowns in Washington there must be some good material there.

By the way I do carry, as much as a political statement of individuality as for my family’s protection. Read the numbers, guns, when carried by law abiding citizens reduce crime.

Where’d his glasses go in panel 2?

I own a gun - i use it for target shooting. For an alarm, I;d rather have a dog. For protection, a shotgun.

Rosie - get a life.

New here – ceasarjd, ronebofh, treblmaker: you-all troll a comic? – is this an everyday thing? – nothing better to do?

I have/had some friends who carry handguns. One shot and killed his girlfriend in a jealous rage before committing suicide. One almost killed his son one night, mistaking him for an intruder. Another succumbed to his chronic depression and blew his brains out. Hmmmm.

So, is there any REAL news about AD’s or is it wishful thinking that the nuts will bring enough bad press upon them?

Guns are unsportsmanlike. If one is going to carry an unconcealed weapon, it should be a Gerber Mark II belt knife and/or a well-made sword.

I dunno… I have yet to hear of even ONE mugging or armed robbery thwarted by someone a “concealed carry” permit.

Accidental deaths, the gun just “going off,” kids playing with loaded heaters, and unarmed folks getting gunned down (even in churches), on the other hand…

Otherwise, I agree with Orgelspieler. I prefer a rapier or even a commoner’s longsword: not as clumsy or random as a .44 Magnum; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.

I agree with Orgelspieler up to a point. Duels at 50 paces with flint locks are sporting. I will take a knife over a gun at less than 20 feet any day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE2Vdcv9Q_o

I’m glad to see that the subject of carrying a gun is being furiously argued. Americans don’t all take it for granted that everyone should carry them.

In Canada we are much more likely to be against it.

Those who HAVE used a Weapon to “discourage” a free-lance wealth re-distributor RARELY mention it.

Unless, they HAD to discharge it, and the Cops responded.

Then, it’s Lawyers, Paperwork, unbelievable hassles, and grilling as if YOU were the one who tried to commit a felony.

Swords can be silent, but carrying one is even more problematic than “packing heat,” not to mention the limited range. Knives are a bit more useful “in close” but I’d rather not let ‘em get that close to those I love.

I guess, fbjsr, you forgot about the story not too long after Texas passed the concealed carry law. Someone at a club in Houston pulled out a gun and some legally carrying civilian decided to help out. He drew his weapon and shot someone completely uninvolved in the whole incident. Yes, it does happen even if you haven’t heard about it.

Last Sunday while talking with a friend in Kroger’s parking lot a customer walked by wearing a Marine Corp ‘T’ shirt and hat with a semi auto pistol and 2 clips on his belt…now I understand why…this Kroger has a Starbucks!!

I say again, Awww Geeeze.

Hi RinaFarina! Actually, this is why there will never be coherent and uniform gun laws in the States. There are too many raving loons on both sides (and not your dollar type).

People, please stop spreading your lame assertions as facts until you’ve checked them against some sources other than your propaganda mill of choice. Wanting this drivel to be true so very much doesn’t make it true.

Neo-Freudians, your phallic observations say more about your own obsessions than bother the persons you direct them at.

collateral damage— a certain number is acceptable , after all, happiness IS a warm gun..

yes it is

btw, you go , Rosie!

Mike looks about 20 years younger without those glasses perched on that thing that is supposed to be his nose.

TexTech said, about 1 hour ago

I guess, fbjsr, you forgot about the story not too long after Texas passed the concealed carry law. Someone at a club in Houston pulled out a gun and some legally carrying civilian decided to help out. He drew his weapon and shot someone completely uninvolved in the whole incident. Yes, it does happen even if you haven’t heard about it.

But the crime rates in states that allow Concealed Carry are lower.

cdward said, about 3 hours ago

I have/had some friends who carry handguns. One shot and killed his girlfriend in a jealous rage before committing suicide. One almost killed his son one night, mistaking him for an intruder. Another succumbed to his chronic depression and blew his brains out. Hmmmm

So, there are no other ways of commiting suicide?

I have a friend that beat his wife to death with a BANJO…a Doctor in China just killed 8 first graders with a knife because guns are illegal…don’t blame gun ownership…there’s a thousand ways to kill someone.

The difference between guns and other deadly weapons is that it’s easier, and safer, to shoot someone from a distance than to physically engage them with a knife or other weapon.

It’s the detachment of using a gun - kind of like how much easier it is to act macho when you’re driving a vehicle than it is when you’re on foot.

I am not sure why they are picking on Starbucks. Starbucks did not put up a big sign that said guns welcome. The Starbucks that allow people to carry are located in states that allow the practice. Does every other restaurant, coffee shop, and bistro forbid carry in those states?

By the way, I am a gun totin liberal and proud of it!

@ Wildcard

After Hurricane Andrew I had to pull my pistol out from under the seat of my truck to keep from being mugged for the food and medical supplies I was delivering to a Salvation Army aid station. It was 3 against me and they decided it wasn’t worth dieing for. Just displaying the fact I was armed prevented the situation from escalating.

After Hurricane Charlie, my mother (who lives in Port Charlotte) had to chase off a car-load of thugs who were trying to steal the generator out of her back yard. One blast of a shotgun into the air sent them running. The police were later able to identify the car and arrest three of the maggots.

Just because you don’t read of incidents like these don’t mean they don’t happen every day across the nation. When law enforcement and civilian authorities are stretched to the point they can no longer protect the individuals, people with low or no morals or ethics will attempt to take advantage of the weak. That is a fact of nature and life. Harlem, South Central LA, Southern Florida, East St.Louis, and many, many other low or depressed income areas are prime examples. Street gangs could not exist if law enforcement could contain them or if the local population could or would stand up to them. I don’t advocate violence, but I do advocate standing up for yourself and what’s morally, ethically, and legally right. If you’re not going to stand for yourself, I don’t want to hear your complaining when someone stands on top of you.

And for the record, I own many guns for different types of hunting and shooting. I do hold a concealed weapons permit and do occasionally carry a concealed pistol. However, I think that people who carry a gun just because they can are doing much more harm than good. Not because of some perceived threat to bystanders, but because frankly, they plain just look silly. “Packing heat” in a Starbucks is just plain ridiculous and is nothing more than a cry for attention. “Lookie at me! I’m Yosemite Sam!”

I am in the NRA and I do vote. That doesn’t mean I support everything the NRA says any more than I vote strict party lines.

I’d feel safer in that Bucky’s if I could be absolutely certain that no one had substituted decaf. for the regular.

Boy, this is so interresting.

For someone who is living in a society where fire weapons are something you only see openly on policemen it is hard to understand why anyone would even WANT to be allowed to carry one around and proudly show it to everyone.

I don’t know about any crime stats, but at least I know that here I can’t be shot by just anyone.

Instead we export firearms nearly everywhere, which really gets me thinking…

Well spoken fbjsr. Av8tor, I disagree with you on only one point. For those of you who are so strongly against civilians arming themselves, don’t worry. I will not draw my weapon in your presence, unless you are attacking me or mine. Unfortunately, that includes not defending you if you are the one being harmed.

where i live, lots of people carry guns. the neighbors can get rather troublesome, and there have been several incidents where citizens have stopped terrorist attacks with their handguns and/or assault rifles.

on the other hand, the government does not hand out permits like candy, and the people who carry the guns are usually soldiers (mostly reservists), so they have some idea of how to store and use them.

i have very mixed feelings about this issue, and i wish there were no need for guns.

sigh…

Av8tor sounds like a Branch Davidian “beat off” that got away.

I am again stating that while I am a gun owner I am against ownership of certain types of guns and ammo. What use does an ordinary citizen have for a .50 caliber sniper rifle? Why would you need ammo that’s only purpose is to penetrate bullet proof vests such as the police use?

Three times in my life I have had rounds accidently fired into the ground at my feet from guns that only seconds before had been pointed at me. This in 2 cases was by law enforcement persons trained in the care and use of weapons. I also have prevented the “accidental discharge” of a couple of other handguns. Let me tell you that I was shaken in each case. I have in several cases been prepared to take another’s life, but thankfully it has never come to this. I pray that it never does happen, but the last time I fired in the general direction of a person was only months back.

the level of discourse on political issues on this board is usually pretty uninformed and silly, but now it’s really getting scary.

at least now if i get shot in a starbucks, or wherever else our wacko armed militias and vigilantes choose to congregate, my health care provider (which just raised my monthly premium by 70% btw) won’t be able to cancel my coverage.

I fear Alex may want to have her latte tested for gun residue…

Anyone else notice how Mike’s glasses disappeared in Panel 2?

RosieTheRioter said,

“I once dated a guy with a gun; when I found out, I said take a hike, Freak! I remember the time clearly…It was right before my sixteenth abortion…”

Your sixteenth abortion? If you don’t want children that much, wouldn’t it be cheaper to get your tubes tied? Not to mention less stress on your body to have one operation instead of nearly a score.

everyonerelax - I don’t believe that Pirate was calling people LOOKING for food, medicals supplies and electricity maggots. They weren’t looking for anything, they were stealing it from others who were also in need, including stealing it from the Salvation Army, who was willingly giving it to those in need and willing to go to their aid stations to get it.

After reading all the comments so far, it’s my opinion that the debate has been interesting, valuable, reasoned, a little passionate (as it should be) and apparently not all uninformed. This is what made America - open debate. (Also, having guns got us our freedom from England. That’s why it’s in the Constitution.) I ask everyone to continue to study the issues and keep thinking because that, not guns specifically, is what will preserve America.

“Guns don’t kill people. Bullets kill people. Keep bullets out of Starbucks. They make the coffee taste funny.” NebulousRikulau

I’m curious–what is the velocity of a hand-thrown bullet?

@ everyonerelax

ldyhwkd is correct. These individuals were not looking for help, they were attempting to help themselves to other people’s property.

The Salvation Army is an extraordinary institution that will literally give you a shirt for your back and ask nothing in return. I support them with financial and other contributions on a regular basis. To steal from them as they are in a disaster-torn area is reprehensible. Their Christian values would say to turn the other cheek. Mine would be to take the thieves into the Everglades and leave them there.

As far as trying to steal MY generator from MY mother… I’ll reserve my comment so as to not give anti-gun folks “ammo” against my arguments. I may be a hot-headed good ‘ol Southern boy, but I’m anything but stupid.

My description of the type of people who would openly steal from others during a disaster recovery is accurate.

@ Annie Smith

Two-thirds the velocity of a hand-thrown swallow.

Pirate,

Would that be a coconut laden sallow?

Yeah, we noticed, Dragoncat.

He looks younger, doesn’t he? Good rendering of father and daughter, too. They definitely look related to each other.

Justice22 said, about 5 hours ago

I am again stating that while I am a gun owner I am against ownership of certain types of guns and ammo. What use does an ordinary citizen have for a .50 caliber sniper rifle? Why would you need ammo that’s only purpose is to penetrate bullet proof vests such as the police use?

.50 caliber can be used to hunt, and kill bear. Also, are you going to ban any rounds that can penetrate police armor? There are varying grades of bullet proof vests, the lowest grade allows alot of rounds to penetrate.

I say, make it mandatory to have training, like they do with concealed carry lisences, to have a firearm.

mroberts, I don’t think you need a gun that will turn a bear into jelly at 5 miles to hunt bear. Maybe you haven’t seen the sniper rifles? It would take two people to carry one up a mountain. I believe the rounds I am speaking of are called Black Talon. Teflon coated and made to specifically kill officers. The people who fired rounds as I stated had police training except for one.

@ Justice

I have seen a VERY large grown grizzly bear get knocked down and then get up and charge after being hit twice with a .460 Weatherby Magnum. There are large game that are still commonly harvested that require large caliber rifles. Whether it’s a .50BMG or a .22 magnum, guns are tools and caliber choice is just an additional means of making sure the right tool for the job is determined.

The Barrett M82 .50 cal sniper rifles weighs in at 31 pounds (according to Wikipedia).

The point of exception that I take with a lot of the anti-gun and anti-ammunition arguments is in regards to the KTW and “Black Talon” so-called “Cop Killer” rounds.

First and foremost that should be understood is that the KTW and other Teflon-coated rounds ARE ILLEGAL IN CIVILIAN HANDS. Period. They cannot ever be legally distributed to non-law enforcement or government personnel.

If a cop gives you a KTW round as a joke, you are BOTH in violation of the law. Using the argument that someone used a KTW round to kill a cop is redundant, since even the possession of the KTW round is a felony offense. The fact that one compounds a felony with a felony has no bearing whatsoever in a logical discussion.

Also, please… PLEASE… Stop parroting the rhetoric that KTW ammunition was “made to specifically kill officers”. It is made FOR officers and is only sold TO law enforcement for use against body-armored perpetrators and/or armored vehicles. Again, a non-law enforcement individual is committing a felony by being in possession of one.

The argument is so redundant that I cannot even think of a metaphor or example that parallels it.

@ brad….

Oh Dude! The correct answer was “European or African swallow?”!!!!

I can’t believe nobody picked that up and ran with it… I am soooo disappointed…

LOL

Justice22 said, about 2 hours ago

mroberts, I don’t think you need a gun that will turn a bear into jelly at 5 miles to hunt bear. Maybe you haven’t seen the sniper rifles? It would take two people to carry one up a mountain. I believe the rounds I am speaking of are called Black Talon. Teflon coated and made to specifically kill officers. The people who fired rounds as I stated had police training except for one

Teflon, and the rounds you named, arent made to “kill cops”. As Pirate pointed out, they are made FOR cops. Itd be like giving Marines weapons to kill Marines. Makes no sense.

Yes, I am aware of how heavy the .50 Sniper Rifle is. I’ve held one, it was unloaded. Bears are large animals, so .50 works well, or you’re telling people who have hunted bear, they aren’t using the right caliber. Teflon makes the round slide through the barrell easier, it doesnt make it any easier to penetrate body armor.

Guns are inanimate objects, a person can be killed by a .22 if shot in the right spot.

rmbdot and summerdog- there folks are fixed on the guns. we dont need no stinking guns- what happened to the glasses?

You people are so gullible and predictable…

As I’ve said before I’m for hand guns for home and rifles for hunting. All other guns should be banned. There are people who say that all guns should be available. Who on earth needs a sub automatic machine gun!!!!! That’s a recipe for disaster.

You’re rather redundant there BigHug. You don’t see any machine guns privately owned in most parts of the US because you have to jump through so many legal hoops to be allowed to own one, then you have a lot of strict laws to follow. Because they are so strictly regulated, you never see machine guns used in crimes anymore. You’ll probably find very few crimes in places where people are allowed to be armed because criminals don’t like being shot back at. In Illinois where we have stricter gun control laws crime is higher than in adjacent states where gun control laws are more lax.

And I do remember the incident you mentioned the last time your husband was in the US. Most of the country is safer than that, even with people being allowed to own firearms. I’ve been abound them all my life, and have never used one on a person or had one aimed at me.

chrisp n wrote: “Awwwww geeez…

I was so hoping this was going to be a one-day joke. ”

The thought that an armed individual can actually defend himself is a joke that will last for a very long time.

What happened to his glasses in the second panel?