[hackerspaces] Firearms in Hackerspaces?

[Phillip Rhodes]

Because there is, in general, absolutely ZERO reason to think that
said single-use tool
would be directed at you, or even used at all.   The truth is, at
least in the US, far less than
one half of one percent of civilian firearms are ever used in the
commission of a crime, much
less a homicide.  And while everybody rants about the "gun violence"
problem, people conveniently
overlook two facts:  1. mass shootings are statistically rare to the
point of being nothing more than
noise in the signal.  You're approximately as likely to be killed by a
lightning strike as to be killed in
a mass shooting.  2. Of the firearms deaths that *do* happen a
significant percentage are suicide, or involve
gang members / drug users killing / robbing each other.   So, unless
you routinely have drug deals going down
in your space, or you invite the local Crips or Bloods chapter into
visit, it's absolutely ridiculous to be deathly
afraid of a firearm carried by a run-of-the-mill, law-abiding citizen.
 Even more so if they have a concealed
carry permit, because the people who go to the effort to get their CCW
permits are even less likely to use their
firearms to commit a crime.


Phil


On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 3:33 PM, Michel Gallant <sfxman at gmail.com> wrote:
> I was addressing Pete's equivocation of guns with other tools. A gun is a
> tool for ending lives. Why is it insane to be afraid of having that
> dangerous, single-use tool at a hackerspace?
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 3:30 PM, Phillip Rhodes <motley.crue.fan at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> If that were true, then how could anyone ever use a drill press, band
>> saw, lathe, etc.
>> I think having a healthy-respect for tools is one thing, but being
>> *afraid* of them is quite
>> something else.  But maybe we're just debating semantics?
>>
>> At any rate, all tools can be dangerous and deserve to be used with care
>> and
>> the proper precautions.  In that regard, how is a pistol any different
>> from a band-saw?
>>
>>
>> Phil
>>
>> On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 3:24 PM, Michel Gallant <sfxman at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > Being afraid of tools that can rip your fingers off isn't insane, it's
>> > healthy. You are insane to claim otherwise.
>> >
>> >
>> > On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 2:47 PM, Mark Atwood <me at mark.atwood.name>
>> > wrote:
>> >>
>> >> On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 9:16 AM, Pete Prodoehl <raster at gmail.com>
>> >> wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> > Here's a quick question for US-based hacker/makerspaces... Do you
>> >> > have a
>> >> > firearms ban at your space, and if so, what are some of the reasons
>> >> > behind
>> >> > the decision?
>> >>
>> >> We don't have a rule at our space.  Our space is a member-oriented
>> >> space, no "general public" except as guests of members or as visitors
>> >> to specific private events.
>> >>
>> >> If such a rule was proposed, I would argue strongly against it.  If
>> >> someone is a legal owner/carrier of a firearm, if we can't trust them
>> >> with their gun, we can't trust them with all the tools *either*.
>> >>
>> >> More generally, if someone in a makerspace is "afraid" of guns, that's
>> >> insane.  They should be afraid of all the other tools too.
>> >>
>> >> ..m
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>> >
>> >
>> >
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