I am so tired of all the people in this country who are blaming this countries woes on handguns. There are so many people who want firearms banned because they blame the loss of life on the weapon. In actuality, the weapon is merely a scapegoat.

A handgun is a tool, just like a tire iron. A pistol or rifle is useless without someone in control. I can put my tire iron on a wheel and wait, but the tool will not loosen the lug nut without someone controlling it. By the same standard a fully loaded gun can not injure anyone without someone exerting force and pulling the trigger. The weapon is only a threat when it is in the wrong hands.

I believe it is total folly for anyone to think that we will ever be rid of firearms. First off there are so many guns in this country already that it would be futile for the government to try to collect them all. Not only would many be hidden, but I would be ready to bet that some sort of civil upheaval would come of it.

Also, so much of the economy is based on the sale and manufacturing of these weapons. If you remove just pistols from the American economy save for police and military, there would be many millions of dollars in lost revenue and thousands of people out of work.

People buy guns, replacement parts, powder, reloaders, and primers every day. People have their guns serviced daily. People take their weapons to ranges daily. People sell guns to pawn shops daily and people come into pawn shops and buy guns daily.

People hire trainers to learn how to properly use their weapons, people buy holsters, books, cleaning solutions, ammo boxes, targets, protective cases, and locks. All this and more generates revenue which helps the economy.

It is not the fault of the gun that it is used in a robbery or gang slaying. But it is total and complete hypocrisy for a government official to try to ban guns when he is protected by the guns his bodyguards are packing.

Or by an actor who’s movie career consists of movies where the starring character uses guns throughout the movie. Stallone has made more movies using the pistols he wants this nation to be rid of then not.

The simple and honest fact is that this nation needs guns. And we not only need them for self defense but as a large part of this countries revenue.

I know I mentioned just banning pistols, but why would the government stop there? Let’s now assume rifles are banned as well. Now this country’s population is in a tail spin because of millions in lost revenue, the citizens have no way to protect themselves and now we add another problem, game.

If the government bans pistols and rifles then we are going to have a deer problem. We will have a huge rabbit problem and pheasant, duck, and goose to name a few. I suspect that every type of game currently being hunted will experience a population explosion if not hunted to a certain degree. And hunting these animals with a bow will not be as effective.

Hunting not only provides food and revenue, it also controls the population of certain animals. Hunting keeps the ecosystem balanced. No hunting? there goes the delicate balance of things.

Of course the military will probably use deer, duck, pheasant, goose, and quail hunting as training.

However, it is irresponsible for this nation to try to ban guns to control violent behavior. That is like trying to cure bronchitis by taking the patients lungs out. Guns do not kill, people kill. And people do not use just guns to kill. They use their hands to strangle. People beat people with any sort of club, including the tire iron. A garrote is a strangling device made of piano wire, are we gonna ban broom handles and piano wire also?

What about knives, clubs, bricks, lumber, rocks, poisons, and etc? Is the USA going to try and ban everything that man uses to deprive someone of their life?

And as far as this comment from Stallone: “It's not 200 years ago, we don't need this any more, and the rest of the world doesn't have it. Why should we?” I think Dolf Lundgren hit him a few too many times making Rocky 4.

We are a democratic nation and this democratic nation was built on weapons usage, especially the gun. Russia, Germany, Asia, and Britain, are not Democratic nations and do not have a Constitution guaranteeing their people the right to keep and bear arms. I do not live over there so why be concerned with how they run things?

As a matter of fact, most of the signers of the Declaration and the Constitution came here to escape their own King and help the peoples over here establish a more democratic type of government then they had. And that system of government guaranteed the peoples of this nation that they had the right to keep and bear arms. "No Free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." (Thomas Jefferson.) Notice the quote says “free man.” Not a soldier, but a free man.

Immigrants came from all over the world to forge this great nation and it could not have been accomplished without the firearm. And as I said earlier, removing firearms will not make the violence in this nation cease. As a matter of fact, the criminals who do not surrender their weapons and shells will be far better off in their pursuits with little or no resistance from the people they are terrorizing.

Maybe if the judicial system would enact the death penalty in all 50 states then the crime rate would drop. It sure could not hurt the economy to not build a new super max prison for convicted killers. It would not hurt the economy to not have to feed thousands of killers currently being housed in jail. It would certainly not hurt the economy if thieves and murderers currently thought twice about robbing a “quickie mart” and killing the clerk.

Keep the guns. Ice the killers on death row who are literally feeding off the economy like the pariah they are. Give it a few years then see where we are.

As far as Stallone, his quote, and the people in this nation who share in his opinion, they can say what they want because of the men and women who fought for the freedoms we enjoy, by using guns.

James Madison said it best. "Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." Stallone’s quote came when he was living in England. One of the other countries whose government is afraid to trust it’s people with arms.

George Mason: "To disarm the people is the most effectual way to enslave them."

George Orwell: "That rifle on the wall of the laborer’s cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there.

Noah Webster: "Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States."