[speaker001:] well um I'm uh pretty pro gun control over all I um have had a lot of arguments with people about the issue of gun control and uh I must say that there are a couple of arguments against uh strong gun control which I find very compelling although most of the people who argue gun control with me I find um use sort of canned arguments you know sort of the NRA slogan arguments and um uh so I've been very frustrated when I do debate with people about it um I guess on a one a scale of one of ten I'm probably around a two in terms of fair restricting guns and I have to admit most of that is uh strong personal distaste I don't like the idea of people being able to kill me with very very little effort um and uh guns are very symbolic of them having that power over me
[speaker002:] well me being from Texas
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] I hope you're ready for this
[speaker001:] um I'll I'll give it a try I've got my Texan stereotypes in place
[speaker002:] well I'm not your stereotypical Texan I was raised around guns hunting
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] so I don't have a fear of fire arms in any respect I respect I respect them and what their capabilities are
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] and on top that spending a good portion of my earlier years in the military as a Green Beret I definitely respect the power of weaponry
[speaker001:] um-hum it's pretty powerful isn't it
[speaker002:] and here in Houston as well as just about any big city anywhere across this country and here here here you go here you this will be border line NRA which I am not a member of
[speaker001:] okay okay
[speaker002:] I mean you I know you've heard this this slogan um if you outlaw guns then only out laws will have guns
[speaker001:] um-hum that applies to anything as well as guns a gun
[speaker002:] well you've you've got well any of the big cities you've got the different rival gangs and they're having their little turf wars over their little drug kingdoms and such
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] they get out their little Mac ten's they get out there little Uzis and they're going to fight with them and it doesn't matter what restrictions you put on that type of weapon or a class three firearm if they want it they'll get it I don't care if if they've got to go down in New Mexico to get it they'll get it and they'll get across the border now my position although I have absolutely no use for fully automatic weapon anyway
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] since I am a law-abiding citizen and I have never had a felony if I wanted to buy one I don't think there should be that big of a restriction on it if they want to run a background check on me fine if they want to put a seven day waiting period fine again
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] if they want to have want me to present a letter from my county sheriff saying that I've got his permission to have an automatic weapon in his county that's fine too
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum what I don't gets dangerous in terms of civil liberties because pretty soon it's it wouldn't you don't want to have someone making a personal choice in that way I would hope I mean because that means someone the personal sheriff doesn't like doesn't get to have a gun and someone the personal sheriff
[speaker002:] well the only well the criteria the sheriff would have to follow has is this guy a convicted felon uh is he a habitual trouble maker are we picking him up every Saturday night for a drunk and disorderly and if he had an automatic weapon could he really be raising some problems
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] you know just proving that you're a basically a good citizen
[speaker001:] but if you're not a very if you're not a basically good citizen you just told me that you're going to get one of those guns anyway
[speaker002:] if if they want the firepower they can get it
[speaker001:] so why have
[speaker002:] it doesn't it doesn't matter how restrictive you're border control points are they'll get it across the border one way or the other
[speaker001:] so why have any restrictions at all
[speaker002:] uh okay now go back to that one to ten scale where one being total gun control ten being none I said about an eight
[speaker001:] uh-huh yeah um-hum um-hum well we could be
[speaker002:] I said the restrictions I would like to see on for anybody whether it being for handgun a rifle a shotgun I would like to see them go through either I'd like to see a law enforcement agency not NRA but whether it be the your state police or your county police for you to be able to purchase a handgun you got to go through their course and get certified that you know how to properly handle the weapon how to safely handle the weapon how to properly maintain it the three basics
[speaker001:] well that makes a lot of since to me I mean I certainly feel that if if we may disagree on when someone should own a fire arm but uh I certainly agree that if someone owns a fire arm they have as much responsibility to know how to do use it safely as someone learns how to drive if not more so
[speaker002:] well the hands in the hands of the wrong person the car can be just as deadly as a weapon as a as a pistol
[speaker001:] yeah well I'm a bicycler and that scares me too to tell you the truth because I've been run off the road and all sorts of things well I'm still I'm still puzzled though what is the argument how does the argument work if uh if the bad guys are going to have guns anyway what's the point of putting a restriction basically the restrictions are just to penalize the good guys because the bad guys are going to get the guns anyway they're not going to take those courses is it uh is it a way of raising the prices of illegal guns
[speaker002:] well there's
[speaker001:] if it's not going to cut the supply of illegal guns it must going to at least raise the prices is that uh main advantage
[speaker002:] uh not necessarily a price thing what is happening at least in this state and I expect to see it in other states very soon legislation's been introduced as that if a citizen of the state being myself
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] has not committed a felony and has completed a certified weapons course I can carry a weapon on me at all times concealed or unconcealed unconcealed
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] okay you you're you're from California right LA area
[speaker001:] um-hum uh no Bay area San Francisco Bay area
[speaker002:] okay okay you've been to the city all these people coming around
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] someone attempts to mug me I would just I would as it stands now if he pulls a blade on me we're equally matched because I can meet him blade for blade
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] now if this legislation comes through he pulls I'm out with my family we've gone shopping we're fixing to get in the car this guy comes out pulls a blade on me I'm going to pull a gun on him now
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] when you're looking and when you're looking down the barrel of a hand cannon things change real quick
[speaker001:] what if you're looking down the barrel of a hand cannon
[speaker002:] then it's still equally matched
[speaker001:] I
[speaker002:] having spent having spent time in combat I feel I feel it before they'll get the gun on me
[speaker001:] yeah well I'm I'm sure I'm sure given given all your training I'm sure that
[speaker002:] if I'm we'll draw at the same time
[speaker001:] you know you'd if I walk into a bad neighborhood I'm sure I'd want to walk through with you because I'm sure you have good you know u h far far above the average instinct for how to use guns and how to use them effectively and everything um I'm quite concerned that if you let everyone who hasn't yet used a gun in a felony uh haven't hasn't yet committed a felony if you let them all walk around carrying guns in this sort of wild west scenario you're going to get an awful lot of people shooting guns pretty quickly just given human nature you're going to start getting a lot of gunfire it's it's hard for me to imagine that a a situation of you know take it to it's logical extreme if everyone walking around carrying guns you're not going to have an increase in gunfire
[speaker002:] I actually it's not it's more of a police action in itself the fact that everybody's packing a piece is a deterrent is a deterrence to someone saying well I'm going to mug this guy right here but hey he carrying just as much firepower as I can and if there's if you got to go through a certification course to get to where to where you can carry it in public
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] then this individual also knows this guy's pretty good with it now whether this person is made the moral decision whether he can take another human life or not that's another trip but
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] in defense of myself defense of my family or defense of my friends I can blow somebody a way in a heart beat
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] even even more so when it comes to my my wife and son anybody tries anybody tries to hurt them I won't even blink
[speaker001:] yeah don't it no I I understand that what if uh what if you think someone's trying to hurt them and you make a mistake
[speaker002:] this this is where the question of gun control comes in what I consider gun control is being able to hit my target with the first shot
[speaker001:] yeah well uh that was the topic um-hum
[speaker002:] say a person uh starts uh uh get all of a sudden my combat antenna goes up and say I've got the vibes this guy's fixing to do something I go ahead and pull my piece
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and I make sure this persons sees it so he's got no doubt that I will use it on him and I will use it right then
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] if he doesn't back up that point he deserves what he gets because I have sent the clearest signal you mess with me you mess with my family I'm going to dust you as it stands now I've got to do that with a blade and the only reason I feel confident comfortable comfortable doing that is because of the training I've had
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum well as as someone who would would possibly be in the role of an independent bystander I feel more comfortable with people having blades because uh you're not going to get bullets flying around and killing people instantly and uh
[speaker002:] well if I'm the one doing the shooting I don't miss that's the kind of training I've had I mean it's