16 November 2006

Pratt takes a chunk out of Jorian

| johnboy
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Having had the pleasure on being on the receiving end of a Jorian Gardner spray it’s interesting to see in CityNews that he’s copped a savaging from Steve Pratt that required Brendan Smyth to respond to the screams and separate the theatre promoter from the MLA.

“Mr Pratt had earlier forcefully indicated a need to talk to me,” said Gardner. “I was waiting to interview Mr Stefaniak when Mr Pratt came in shouting and led me to an advisor’s office. He then began screaming abuse at me to the point that fellow MLA Brendan Smyth rushed in between us and physically restrained him by pushing him by his shoulders away from me”

In a second article Gardner has Bill Stefaniak’s thoughts on future dark days ahead for the Canberra Liberals.

(It’s stuff like this that makes me avoid the Legislative Assembly like the plague.)

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Ahh the tranquility of living ‘rural-residential’ – hows the serenity folks, just listen to the serenity…

The less guns around the better.
If I had one, I would be tempted to use it on my neighbour when she starts up with ACDC at the crack of dawn.

Guns are an inanimate object. They are also dangerous as hell. I know. I used to own one.

Simbo – you can kill someone with a knife, a rope or a packet of rat poison. However it takes a lot more doing (knife) or some pretty serious malice aforethought (rope or rat poison). If you have a gun, all it takes is for you to lose your temper and someone has a sucking chest wound. You might not have “meant it” – but it’s very easy to kill someone.

Crims will always find a way to get guns, but on the whole, I’d say that crims use guns to kill other crims; rather than law-abiding people. If you start a culture of gun ownership (especially handguns for “self-defence”) crims start to use guns on the law-abiding people (they’re thinking of self-defence). It doesn’t make crims more careful about breaking and entering or assaults. They’ll just go in more heavily armed. It turns into an arms race. That’s a thought I’m very uncomfortable with.

There’s no need to ban guns – but going open slather is a vey bad idea IMO.

Anyway, guns don’t kill people. Ammunition projected at great speed kills people!

With ACT politics, what we have is a classic case of incompetence. It can be likened to times of war where the privates get made up to officers due to there being no one else available. Which is the case in Canberra. Its such a small irrelevant little govt that nobody of any standing can be bothered running so what were left with is these clowns.

Yes, *you* as a responsible car owner may use it for an acceptable and non lethal purpose. How would you feel if cars were banned or severly restricted for personal ownership due to the actions of a criminally minded minority?

Now change the word car to gun in the above sentence. If you’ve ever driven in Canberra you will have noticed that many idiots use their cars like weapons.
The practical function of a handgun is the same as the practical function of a longarm. Criminals prefer them for concealment purposes. Banning handguns has actually been followed by an increase in handgun crime in many places (such as Britian after the dunblane massacre).
If you think criminal dickheads don’t have ready access to guns then drive around Canberra and have a look at the road signs. Full of bullet holes.
Criminals don;t care about gun laws, or other laws: that’s why they’re called criminals.
Current gun laws have had a profoundly negative effect on police, army, farmers and sporting shooters (check out the debacle when the army imported a bunch of bang sticks and wasn’t allowed to take possession of them) – but bugger all effect on crims. No surprise there.

Incidentally, people *are* carrying guns around as ‘protection’ when out on the town. And knives, bats, clubs, swords, tonfa, nunchucks, knuckledusters etc. the law concerning such things makes no difference to crims. It only punishes the law abiding, responsible people.

All people that need guns for a practical function have them. Farmers, police, sporting people etc. No problem with that.

Whats the practical function of a handgun? A gun designed to do nothing else than shoot people.

Secondly, I drive a car to get places, not kill things or “protect” myself.

I too miss the real democrats

Practical function = Shooting things. You know, targets, feral animals, livestock you’re going to eat, stuff like that.
Liberals are bad, Labour is far worse due to its preference deals with Greens. Thanks to that bunch, the trees in my back yard have more rights than I do. Did you know you need a *licence* to swat a fly on ACT public land, and can be fined for doing so without said licence. I found this out when trying to get permission to collect bugs from Environment ACT. Only a 14-month runaround so far…

“Sure they are only as dangerous as the person wielding it, but why permit people to own an item that can so easily take life?”

Brilliant argument. You could use it to ban cars, which kill more people than firearms.
Firearms laws have nothing to do with reducing crime, and were never intended for that purpose.

wow, be more dumb!

All of the items you have mentioned have a practical function. What practical function to firearms have?

We allow people to have kitchen knives, ratpoison and rope, all of which can be used to take a life.

So why not guns?

I feel much safer knowing that people aren’t carrying guns around as “protection” when they are out on the town, and little emo kids aren’t going to take out their hatred of life at school using the gun out of his dad’s gun cabinet.

Sure they are only as dangerous as the person wielding it, but why permit people to own an item that can so easily take life?

I wouldn’t lose any sleep at night over more liberal gun laws. If crims want guns (and they do), they will get them regardless of any anti gun laws.

the desire to deprive others of an inanimate object seems like an odd thing to be the sole determinant of your vote…

guns are just tools.

Makes a change to digging up the Rock spiders ala NSW ALP.

There is nothing sensible about more guns.

id vote ldp at the next assembly election.

the gun laws make sense to me. im a responsible adult though.

i miss the real democrats.

Minor parties are never a wasted vote as long as you keep up your preferences.

Anyone who says different is lying on behalf of the big boys.

Like The Sands Through The Hour Glass – These Are The Days Of Our Lives!

barking toad3:05 pm 16 Nov 06

anyone with the name “Jorian” should expect to be yelled at

Absent Diane2:58 pm 16 Nov 06

thats one of the things that put me off LDP… I found some of there ideas interesting.. but the gun laws irked me. But from their point of view if are you going about preaching civil liberties you can’t exactly say civil liberties for all.. except for you gun lovers.

I wouldn’t waste my vote on a minor party. If the Liberal haters out there did vote for the LDP you might be disappointed to find them backing the Liberals more often than Labor in parliament.

… that and they want to have similar firearm laws to those in America …

My issue is that I’m not entirely sure who I dislike more, Pratt or Gardner.

Although I am amused by Jorian’s attempt to reassert his masculinity in the link: “I tried to give as good as I got”. Considering that Jorian’s a bit of a lardass, I think I’d be laying odds on Pratt in that one…

the problem is that there are too few assembly members for proper factions to emerge. if they had 30 members, then solid factions woudl emeerge and more stability would ensue.

do i want to see 30 members ?

id like to see 1.

a benevolent dictator, and i know a bloke who can do the job.

The more I read about this mob the more I’m drawn to the site recommended by a poster named Ralph in a previous topic – namely the Liberal Democrats. Big Bill and his cohorts are not fit to be in opposition let alone Government and the prospect of another term for Sonic & Co is an awful one.

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