Am I the only person who doesn't particularly care about the gun issue?

I live in Michigan. Most people here - of both parties - have guns. I don't have any because I have no interest. But, honestly, I don't feel unsafe because other people have guns.

I'm much more concerned about lack of funding and lack of help for people who are mentally ill, and I think *that* is the big issue at VT rather than gun control. Yes, mentally ill people who are violent have potential to do more damage if they have guns, but is the issue the guns or the fact that they are mentally ill and haven't had the help they need and have become violent?

So I'm wondering if I'm in the minority at DU in my disinterest in guns and/or gun control. I'm not saying it *shouldn't* be a big issue, just that it isn't a big issue for me.

My issues are: Civil rights, abortion rights, getting the hell out of the middle east, poverty, that kind of thing. I know someone will say "gun ownership is a civil right" but I guess that isn't one of the things that pops into my mind when I hear the phrase "civil right".

and mental health test, all automatic weapons should be banned, anyone caught with a gun and unlicensed should go to jail for a mandatory five years. Dramatic? How dramatic are our statistics?

But, all this country does is talk about the issue. (Buy-backs are the exception.)

Citizens are better armed and protected than our soldiers in Iraq?

Any country that calls itself a democracy should not have to own automatics.

We are phony because of our support of movies, games, and cartoons that feature guns and blood.

The per cent of people who buy guns for the love of hunting ONLY are xxx?

The per cent of people who need guns for protection are xxx?

The per cent of people who need automatics for protection or hunting are xxx?

Automatics are meant for slaughter.

We are a sick country - exposing toddlers to killing, the love of war, guns in the hands of haters, the chemically and mentally imbalanced, and bigots.

That private ownership of automatic weapons is highly regulated and has been since 1934. You'll be further relieved to discover that it is already against the law to buy a gun if you have been adjudicated mentally defective or have been committed.

I know hundreds of gun owners and not one owns a full auto weapon, and no one I know has killed anyone either.

hoping for more responses