Gun sales up since the electionFollow

Of course an armed populace could resist a trained military ... unless that trained military simply wanted to exterminate everyone else and was willing to use massive firepower or weapons of mass destruction to do it. Not win outright, but resist, hopefully long enough for the forces of oppression to come apart at the seams.

Would Canada and Mexico become the resistance's Pakistan?

Then there are always scenarios with foreign invaders, alien (ET) invaders, mutant giant spiders, genetically engineered dinosaurs, or zombies.

By the way the SCOTUS heard another gun law-related case Nov 10th, U.S. v. Hayes. The focus is on interpretation of the Lautenberg Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968. The decision should be interesting.

Oral arguments: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/07-608.pdf

Briefs:
http://www.abanet.org/publiced/preview/briefs/nov08.shtml

EDIT: Trying to fix the first link.


Edited, Nov 12th 2008 12:05pm by Ahkuraj

There are several studies available. The ones conducted by John Lott and Gary Kleck are by far the two most prominent and highly debated. Each suggests, by means of survey, an approximate 2 to 2.5 million DGU (defensive gun uses) per year. Even conservative critics of these reports admit the actual number is probably between 500,000 to a million. Google either one and do take a gander, if you wish.

As for gun related death statistics, I'll refer you to this post:
http://www.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=4;mid=122513275391957825;page=3;howmany=50#m122516726894951677

The 30,000 mark seems to hold relatively steady across the past decade. Now, to be fair, 60% of gun-related deaths are either suicide or accident, with a mere 39% recorded as homocide, but you're comparing the types of deaths. Mindel's comment has nothing to do with the suicide/accident vs homocide and instead relates to the number of times guns are used defensively vs the number of times guns are used offensively. Statistics overwhelmingly indicate that there are FAR more defensive gun uses per year than gun related deaths as a whole, regardless of intent.

Battleships are no longer in commission.

Battleship sunk.

Are the old ones for sale? I might need something in case the gummint starts getting all dictatorish.

If the entire US military decided to attack the ordinary citizens of the US the average Joe could have nothing but a butter knife and the civilians would defeat the military, quickly. I don't think you quite grasp the number of people you are talking about.

Would we have to share the butter knife?

It's the Brady effect.

When white people are alone and finally faced with the possibility of a black President, they will tend to buy more guns to try and shoot the President.

Um, the 2nd amendment only gives us the right to hang bear arms in our houses, so I don't know what all the arguing about gun rights is about.

As for the OP: People who large amounts of (more than say, three total) guns are by and large complete fucking morons living in constant abject fear.

Shocker.

I don't think you've ever tried to kill a man with a butter knife.

While I knew that Battleships were no longer in commission wholly to the technological superiority of aircraft carriers in every quantifiable way, the last one was decommissioned in 1992, but they saw action in Vietnam and Korean War.

The obvious, over 9000.