hurricain catrina and guns

[Dak]

apparently, the aid that was sent in to the survivors of hurricaine catrina was deleyed because the people taking the aid in came under gun fire from some of the local inhabitants.

 

do you think this throws doubt on the argument that americans should be allowed guns for their own protection, as the guns aggrevated the situation in this case and that, whilst there are many stories of rape and robbery in post-catrina new orleans, i have not heard of a single instance in which an assailant was shot, or scared off with a gun (ie, no reports of people defending themselves with guns).

 

or does the rareness of the situation invalidate/weaken any anti-gun arguments drawn from it?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I do remember a case where engineers attempting to load a barge to fix the levies were fired at, and several of the assailants were shot and killed.

 

The problem is many of the guns were raided from gun stores--the people didn't own them, they didn't have licences or training, etc. It's not really a good example.

[Maioux]

I believe that the governemt should think about these sorts of events before making a decision. Always be prepared for the worst.

[BobbyJoeCool]

Always be prepared for the worst.

 

Unfortunatly, that costs money...

[bascule]

do you think this throws doubt on the argument that americans should be allowed guns for their own protection, as the guns aggrevated the situation in this case and that

 

No, and if I were ever trapped in a situation where the grid broke down like that, the first thing I'd want is a gun. Well, that and fresh water.

 

whilst there are many stories of rape and robbery in post-catrina new orleans, i have not heard of a single instance in which an assailant was shot, or scared off with a gun (ie, no reports of people defending themselves with guns).

 

The media has mostly been reporting systemic problems, not case instances, unless the case instances are bizzare and warrant attention. "Woman fends off rapist with gun in flood ravaged New Orleans" doesn't exactly scream national news, in my opinion. And besides, who's going to try to rob or rape someone when there's a camera crew around?

[john5746]

The problem is many of the guns were raided from gun stores--the people didn't own them, they didn't have licences or training, etc. It's not really a good example.

 

If we didn't allow Guns, there would be no gun stores to steal from. America seems to be stuck with this problem, but it would be nice if we could get rid of the guns

 

No, and if I were ever trapped in a situation where the grid broke down like that, the first thing I'd want is a gun. Well, that and fresh water.

 

The Brits probably don't feel this way, since every Tom, Dick and Bubba aren't armed there.

[5614]

No, and if I were ever trapped in a situation where the grid broke down like that, the first thing I'd want is a gun. Well, that and fresh water.

I would like a gun in that situation (and am British), but then I also like to see armed police or the army about... As for the rest of the British I think my view is in the minority, most people find guns scary or something .

[ecoli]

In that situation, people should not have been carrying guns, because they didn't know how to handle them. Those people who shot the aid workers where obviously scared from the hurricaine and freaked out, shooting people they felt were threatening. Scared people should not be carrying firearms. Only cool, levelheaded people that can think during emergency situations should be able to.

[Douglas]

apparently' date=' the aid that was sent in to the survivors of hurricaine catrina was deleyed because the people taking the aid in came under gun fire from some of the local inhabitants.

 

or does the rareness of the situation invalidate/weaken any anti-gun arguments drawn from it?[/quote']I'd vote for the rareness, meaning if you were making an argument for gun control, you wouldn't want to use that incident as an example.

 

Maybe the people that were firing the guns didn't know they were aid workers, perhaps they were protecting their bottled water supply.

 

If I were in New Orleans and had a case of bottled water, I'd be wishing I had a .44 magnum on me with plenty of ammo.

[john5746]

If I were in New Orleans and had a case of bottled water, I'd be wishing I had a .44 magnum on me with plenty of ammo.

 

I could see the captions now "White man, protecting his families' water"

 

"Black man, trying to murder white aid workers"