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An Interview With Karl Malone about Gun Ownership

Dreamer

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Pretty good until the last 2 paragraphs I thought.

The whole bit about getting a body guard seems a little out-of-touch with the reality of life in America. Maybe some NBA superstar with a multi-million dollar contract can afford to hire properly trained and licensed persona bodyguards, but I know MOST Americans sure as hell can't.

And the bit about "how are you living that you need a gun for protection" also comes across as being a little elitist and out-of-touch. Most NBA players live in big cities, where a simple trip to the gas station can turn into a deadly encounter at any moment. What is this guy thinking? How does he live where he doesn't have to worry about being out and about, amongst the general public? Oh, yeah, he's a multi-millionaire, and probably has "people" to do all that stuff for him while he sits in his $2million mansion and watches his 100" flat screen TV...

I live in a small, quiet town in rural NC. I have a nice house, in a quiet neighborhood full of decent, law-abiding, hard-working people who all watch out for each other. Since I've lived here, there hasn't been any crime in my neighborhood. For that I am thankful.

However, the hotel I used to work at had a gang-rape-at-gunpoint, two armed robberies, a strong-arm robbery with assault involving 3 assailants against one victim, an attempted suicide, a stabbing, and several "unaimed discharges" of firearms in the parking lot during the year I worked there, and ALL these events (except for the stabbing) happened on my shift. I worked midnight-8am, and just driving to work in that particular part of town was often an adventure. Now this wasn't a dive hotel--it was a major mid-price chain, and it wasn't in the middle of "da hood"--it was on the main road of a small town of under 13,000.

But I carried EVERY day when I worked there, and STILL carry every day (unless I'm on on my college campus for classes), because I know that nobody is immune to the thuggery that seems to be increasing all around this country. Not even Cops are immune--here in this part of NC, we've had 1 deputy killed by some thug with a rifle in the line of duty and one who luckily was able to escape an armed robbery attempt while off-duty with his CC pistol by shooting the assailant. If an off-duty Deputy Sheriff can't even go to an ATM without being assaulted by some thug with a gun, how the heck am I supposed to safely conduct my daily business unarmed?

The point is, owning a gun isn't a privilege. And it's not JUST a right--it is your DUTY as a law-abiding citizen, and as someone who values your own life and safety, and that of your family.

Professional athletes are a rare breed. Many of them come from dodgy families in dodgy neighborhoods. Many of them are not well-educated. And it's pretty clear that many of them are not too bright. But somehow, they end up becoming very famous, very wealthy, and very high-profile. Unfortunately, some of them can't seem to grow out of their pasts. You'd think all that wealth, fame, and exposure would prompt them to gain a little maturity, but I fear that many of them fall into a cloistered existence of self-indulgence, insulation from the "real world", and overblown egos.

Hopefully these two Washington players will be treated by the DC LE community like EVERY OTHER citizen of the USA who would do the same thing. I think the DC gun ban is a stupid law, but it IS the law, and when people break it, they need to ALL be treated equally--not given preferential treatment because they are "celebrities". The should have their firearms seized, and they should be fined and jailed under DC law for illegal possession of unregistered firearms, assault with a deadly weapon, and illegal transport of a regulated firearm into DC.

Then maybe they'll learn that they aren't all that special, just because they can put a ball through a hoop...
 

donsk

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I think the last sentence needs to be taken in context of the situation. He is referring to the Gilbert Arenas situation (as the first part of the article stated) in which Gilbert Arenas brandished his firearm in the locker room - Gilbert Arenas claims it was a joke, whether it was or not, who knows, but regardless, it is an irresponsible use of firearms and I think that is where the last sentence stems from. There has been a large amount of "incidents" with athletes and firearms that has given guns a horrible rap lately, (Plax Burress, Pacman Jones, Stephen Jackson) and this is just one more of those cases. He probably shouldn't have said its a privilege to own a firearm, but if you are trying to send a message to athletes that you need to handle firearms responsibly and not give every gun owner a bad name then it needs to be taken in context to the situation.


MarlboroLts5150 wrote:
Caught this interview when I checked my e-mail. Great interview, until I read the last sentence.

"If I seem a little fired up, I am. It's a privilege to own a firearm and I take offense when people don't handle their business the right way."


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/nba/01/05/karl.malone.arenas/index.html

Thoughts???
 

darthmord

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donsk16 wrote:
I think the last sentence needs to be taken in context of the situation. He is referring to the Gilbert Arenas situation (as the first part of the article stated) in which Gilbert Arenas brandished his firearm in the locker room - Gilbert Arenas claims it was a joke, whether it was or not, who knows, but regardless, it is an irresponsible use of firearms and I think that is where the last sentence stems from. There has been a large amount of "incidents" with athletes and firearms that has given guns a horrible rap lately, (Plax Burress, Pacman Jones, Stephen Jackson) and this is just one more of those cases. He probably shouldn't have said its a privilege to own a firearm, but if you are trying to send a message to athletes that you need to handle firearms responsibly and not give every gun owner a bad name then it needs to be taken in context to the situation.


MarlboroLts5150 wrote:
Caught this interview when I checked my e-mail. Great interview, until I read the last sentence.

"If I seem a little fired up, I am. It's a privilege to own a firearm and I take offense when people don't handle their business the right way."


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/nba/01/05/karl.malone.arenas/index.html

Thoughts???

In many wasy it *is* a privilege to own a firearm... granted that privilege comes from the right to defend one's self. Do something particularly stupid and that can get curtailed by your peers in court.

But yeah, in the vein it was discussed, the guy (Arenas) was stupid.
 
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Is a right a privilege, or a privilege a right? Are we equal or not?

The Second Amendment says "shall not be infringed." It does not say that the privilege must be enjoyed responsibly.

Either we are equal or we are not. Good people ought to be armed where they will, with wits and guns and the truth. NRA KMA$$ Goddamn thy Obamination and its teeth.
 

simmonsjoe

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Master Doug Huffman wrote:
Is a right a privilege, or a privilege a right? Are we equal or not?

The Second Amendment says "shall not be infringed." It does not say that the privilege must be enjoyed responsibly.

Either we are equal or we are not. Good people ought to be armed where they will, with wits and guns and the truth. NRA KMA$$ Goddamn thy Obamination and its teeth.
a right is not a privilege.
a privilege is not a right.

Why? responsibility.
A right means you are responsible to choose how to use and protect that right, and you are responsible for the consequences of using it.
A privilege means someone else has the responsibility to decide how you may use something, how that privilege should be protected, and they are responsible for the consequences.

Privileges are for children and the elite.
 

tekshogun

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Yeah, great until the last two paragraphs (as Dreamer pointed out) and some of the very last sentence especially.

GUN OWNERSHIP IS NOT A PRIVILEGE. IT IS A BLOODY RIGHT AS MADE PERFECTLY CLEAR IN THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION.

I too believe that his intention of the statement was to point out that misuses of a firearm in any way can remove your right (and potentially everyone else's right) to keep and bear arms. As this is a Republic, the possibility to change our rights exists and it has happened in the past, it can happen now, and it can happen in the future. All under the guise of the definition of a republic. We have to do what we can to maintain our rights and release the tight-reigns that have been placed upon them.

With that said...

For this talk about not wanting to sell a gun to someone who wants it for protection.... PLEASE! That is simply poppycock. Sure, guns can be used for sporting, hunting, general (and safe) fun and practice. They are also intended to be used for protection of self, loved ones, and the innocent as well as the prevention of a tyrannical, oppressive, and illegitimate power born from the outside of this Republic as well as from the inside.

Of course, someone that purchases a firearm for protection is thinking about the next confrontation; that is the confrontation in which they may end up maimed, raped, or murdered if they don't try to fight back. There is a cancerous belief in this country that if you don't resist, your chances of being hurt or killed are lower. I call bull on that foolishness. Criminals are bold they have always been bold. Some are willing to do the evil deeds and some are not. I choose not to take the risk and find out. I don't want to end up a sad statistic without having the chance to not be one.

Oh, and bodyguards? I shouldn't have to waste precious bits of data on that but if we were all rich enough to have a damn bodyguard, we wouldn't have people trying to hurt us to take what belongs to us. That is a perfect world and there never has and there never will be such a thing.

To Hell With Not Being Armed
 
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