[speaker001:] Well, Stephanie, what's your position on gun control?
[speaker002:] Well, on a scale of one to ten, uh, being ten, no, kind of legislation and zero being, uh, total ban, I probably would lean more towards six or seven. Um, I feel like a total ban on guns is just going to put the guns in the hands the criminals.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Um, I lived in Massachusetts for two years and they have a total ban on guns and I saw that, it didn't stop crime in that state.
[speaker001:] Now was that just on handguns or was that on rifles?
[speaker002:] Any, any kind of firearms.
[speaker001:] Really?
[speaker002:] Yeah. Uh, it's, there's was a mandatory jail sentence if you were caught, um, with a firearm and also I think there was a fine.
[speaker001:] And that didn't help at all?
[speaker002:] No, I don't, the, the crime is not any better or any worse, I mean it's,
[speaker001:] Huh.
[speaker002:] I, I shouldn't say I don't know if it was any worse, but it certainly didn't get any better.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. I usually just, I'm trying to think of, I guess I would tend myself to be more towards the, the, like three,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] where I don't think you should necessarily ban guns any, by any means, but you should definitely have the character search and the seven day holding period and things along that nature, uh, you know, you shouldn't be able to go out there and just buy one and, you know, right off the shelf.
[speaker002:] Yeah, I, I, I agree with that.
[speaker001:] And but,
[speaker002:] I, I think that the, the law is on who can buy a gun are, are way too lax.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, exactly.
[speaker002:] I think that, I think that the,
[speaker001:] And, so, I think that kind of control is, would be good,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] but the, uh, I, you know, I'm trying to think of how many times you make the statement and, just to kind of exam it a little bit and I, I know that any statement in absoluteness is not necessarily true, uh, only the guns were in the hands of the criminals, but how many times, I guess I have never heard of a, a robbery being foiled or spoiled because the person who's being robbed had a gun.
[speaker002:] Um, I,
[speaker001:] And maybe they just don't report those or I'm not sure or, you know, I can't think of ever hearing on the news or whatnot or hearing or knowing anybody who was being robbed but good thing they had their gun on them and they, they thwarted the robbery attempt.
[speaker002:] Yeah, I, I'm, I'm not really sure, I don't, personally I don't own a gun,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] um, and I don't think I probably ever would, um, although I would like to know how to handle one, and I think it's good that everyb-, and I think everybody should learn how to handle one.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Um, you just never know when you might come into contact with one.
[speaker001:] True.
[speaker002:] Um,
[speaker001:] Did, did you, were you brought up in a family that hunted or,
[speaker002:] No. Uh, nobody in my family hunted, uh, my father had, had guns when I was in high school because he got them from a friend who lived in Massachusetts [LAUGHTER]. We lived in New Hampshire at the time.
[speaker001:] How about that.
[speaker002:] And he lived in Massachusetts and had to get rid of all his guns,
[speaker001:] Huh.
[speaker002:] so we ended up, uh, with these guns,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and my, really my only experience with a gun was shooting a pistol and not knowing how to hold it right and the hammer came back and hit me in the thumb and blood squirted everywhere.
[speaker001:] Oh, jeez.
[speaker002:] And so that was really the only experience that I've had with guns and it,
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] it kind of scared me.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] But I think that if I learn how to use one, I would, I would feel better.
[speaker001:] Right. I've also always thought about the idea, you know, most sports, you know, which are the N R A and people have their thing, you know, if you ban guns, you're just banning the, the recreation, the sport of hunting, things of that nature. Most of that's done with rifles and such. Uh, though there's, you know, probably I'm sure some sector that does it with handguns. But just by the mere fact of outlawing handguns, would make it so that it would be not as conspicuous, you couldn't be inconspicuous,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] when you walked into a store stuff like that, you could see someone coming or dressed inappropriately, you know, you-, if they had to have a rifle or was, you know, made it more difficult to get a, a, uh, a handgun. Now of course, you know, in this world anytime you've freedom you can be able to get anything you want.
[speaker002:] Yeah, that's true.
[speaker001:] But I guess to make it more difficult for the person who's just so irate and upset and, you know, temporarily a little bit, uh, offset or off keel, I don't know if that's a large percentage of, uh, crime or not but I guess it would be some. But I, I think definitely, like today they just introduced the, what's called the Brady bill. The seven day mandatory waiting period,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] on getting any guns. And I think that,
[speaker002:] I would definitely support that.
[speaker001:] Shoot that's a good idea.
[speaker002:] Yeah. I, I, I agree the thing that scares me, uh, though about where I would, I would wa-, definitely want some sort of legislation and coming from the north east, I'm just not used to seeing, um, these, and I, I know this may sound kind of stereo typical but [pause] the cowboys with the gun racks in the back of their trucks.
[speaker001:] Oh, sure.
[speaker002:] That's kind of scary to me that kind of, to me it is more like vigilantism.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] You know, and it kind of scares me especially with all the shootings that have been going on,
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] in L A, on the freeways,
[speaker001:] Yeah, that's crazy.
[speaker002:] and then you come here in, in the Dallas area, um, I don't, I don't believe that people should be allowed to carry guns in their vehicles.
[speaker001:] Yeah, that's kind of, kind of wild.
[speaker002:] Um, especially not in the back window,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] for everybody to see.
[speaker001:] That is kind of wild. Well, that's all very interesting [throat clearing]. Well, thanks for talking.
[speaker002:] Sure you're welcome.
[speaker001:] Good-bye.
[speaker002:] Okay, bye-bye.