Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Gun

2012-02-11T14:18:38Z

Joshua134: /* See also */

[[Image:Glock30.jpg|right|200px]]

The '''gun''' is a mechanical [[weapon]] which uses expanding gas or some other propulsion method to fire a [[bullet]], [[dart]] or other projectile through a hollow tube called a barrel.

The four main types of modern [[firearm]]s today are bolt-operated, pump action, semi-automatic, and automatic weapons. In a bolt-action weapon, each new round must be loaded manually, by moving the breech to eject the empty casing. In pump action guns (usually shotguns) a new round must be manually loaded by pulling back on pump of the gun, located underneath the barrel.

In semi-automatic weapons, each pull of the trigger fires a bullet, each shot ejecting spent brass and loading new ammunition until the magazine is depleted. In fully automatic weapons, bullets will be fired as long as the trigger is depressed. Fully automatic fire will cause the gun to heat up very quickly, which can become dangerous as it can burn exposed flesh and because rounds may "cook off" or fire unexpectedly due to the chamber becoming hot enough to ignite the propellant.

==History==

[[Gunpowder]] was invented around the 800s AD. Firearms appeared after 1200, and became military weapons around 1600. The musket could not hit a small target, so armies fired them in volleys, giving a shotgun effect. Rifles were indeed accurate but were very slow to reload until the 1850s, when an expanding-base bullet was invented. Rifles were the main weapon on both sides of the [[American Civil War]].

The right to own a firearm and use it to defend oneself from threats has been a fundamental part of the system of human rights since the Feudal Era. In the United States, widespread gun ownership allowed settlers to quickly tame the entire continent and paved the way for entrepreneurs who drove the economic engine behind America's superpower status. Today, gun ownership is not only a tool for self protection, but for sport and for environmental protection. Hunters have been the most effective voice behind the movement to preserve America's natural abundance of fish, game and majestic forest. By helping to manage animal populations, funding conservation efforts through permit fees and taxes, and advocating for the responsible use of America's resources, hunters have been able to preserve a tradition of uniquely American self-reliance and ruggedness that stands as an ideal for others to follow.

==Gun control==
[[Gun control]] consists of limitations on the ownership of firearms, and by extension restricts the fundamental right of self-defense.

[[Conservative]]s usually emphasize the individual [[the right to self-defense]] through the use of guns. [[Liberal]]s more often stress the dangers of unrestricted ownership. They are, however, much more likely than conservatives to oppose measures to educate the public about proper gun use and safety. Conservative gun safety measures in several states are currently languishing in liberal-dominated legistlative committees due to obstructionist political maneuvering by Democrats.

Guns are said to be effective at deterring crime and protecting the gun owner. Scientific studies point to dramatic drops in crime as non-criminal gun ownership rises as proof that universal gun ownership is a deterrent to violence. Police officers often use guns to enforce the law, except in some countries where the police are not armed. The mere presence of a gun often discourages criminals from attempting to resist arrest or harm an officer. The lack of armed police can actually increase violence towards officers, who must rely on less-effective means of controlling criminals. England, where police are famous for not being armed, recently suffered a breakdown in police effectiveness when a liberal riot mob managed to shut down parts of London for several days and cause massive amounts of damage to local businesses and homes.

===Ireland===
In the Republic of Ireland, the Garda Síochána has since its foundation held that uniformed officers do not carry guns - "The Garda Síochána will succeed not by force of arms or numbers, but on their moral authority as servants of the people", as the first Commissioner said<ref>http://www.garda.ie/faq.html#G4</ref>. The current Commissioner of the Gardaí has stated that "we do not live in a 'gun culture'", despite a recent rash of armed crime. In Iceland, there are no armed forces, including the Police, and all Police only carry a baton on duty.<ref>http://www.specialoperations.com/Foreign/Iceland/Default.htm</ref> In addition, the regular Police forces of the UK<ref>http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=535071&in_page_id=1770</ref> and the Police Force of New Zealand do not carry firearms while on normal patrol, or in the latter case describe themselves as "generally unarmed"<ref>http://www.police.govt.nz/about/history.html</ref>. However, each of these Police forces also has highly trained specialist teams of armed Police, who are brought into play at time of need.

Studies have repeatedly shown that law-abiding citizens carrying guns are an effective deterrent against crime<ref>http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/467988</ref><ref>http://saf.org/kleck1998.pdf</ref><ref>http://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/8926.html</ref>. Further comparison between different states by [[John Lott]] indicates that states that have more conservative gun laws have lower crime rates, violent crime rates, and firearms [[homicide]]s than states with more liberal gun laws.

== Science Fiction ==

[[Science fiction]], such as [[Star Trek]], has postulated many different types of directed energy weapons. These are guns that fire beams, waves, or packets of energy. Some energy guns can be set to stun, not to wound or kill. Most firearms legislation would not classify these as firearms, so their ownership would be unrestricted.

== Miniguns ==

One unusual type of gun is a minigun. Despite what you would think from the name, a minigun is the biggest of all small-arms. A minigun has multiple barrels which are driven by a loud electric motor. This allows it to have a very high rate of fire, and is a major difference from the systems of operation described at the top of the article.

Miniguns are commonly seen in the movies, notable examples being [[Terminator 2]] and [[Predator]], where miniguns can be seen exploding multiple police cars or cutting down whole areas of forest. In reality miniguns probably cannot actually cut down trees, and standard 7.62mm ball ammunition would not cause a car to explode, although a [[tracer]] round might if it hit the gas tank.

==See also==
*[[Gun control]]
*[[Sarah Palin]]

==Further reading==
* Hess, Earl J. ''The Rifle Musket in Civil War Combat: Reality and Myth.'' (2008) 288 pages, ISBN 978-0-7006-1607-7

==References==
<references/>

==External Links==
*[http://www.nra.org The National Rifle Association] Everything firearm related. Includes information on Second Amendment rights, NRA Training and Education, Politics and Legislation pertaining to gun rights.
*[http://www.a-human-right.com/ A Human Right] Discussion of the human right to self defense with a firearm.
*[http://www.learnaboutguns.com/ Learn About Guns] Firearm information and politics from a pro-firearms perspective.
*[http://www.gunowners.org/ Gun Owners of America] A no-compromise pro-gun lobby in Washington, D.C.

[[Category:Guns]]

Women

2012-02-11T14:12:18Z

Joshua134: /* Women in history */

'''Women''' are the female of the [[human]] [[species]], with the biological role of bearing offspring ([[pregnancy]] and [[childbirth]]). In preparation for this role, women's [[breasts]] begin to grow at puberty, forming the most obvious physical difference between women and men other than the reproductive organs. Other differences include a layer of subcutaneous [[fat]] under the skin which hides the underlying musculature, and a wider pelvis to facilitate carrying the [[baby]] and allowing it to be born. Women also have a greater proportion of fine vellus hair over certain areas of their skin (such as their face and legs) than the coarse terminal hair which appears on men. {{fact}}

Men have typically two times more upper body strength than women, and around 50% more leg strength. <ref>College women have 50 to 60 percent of the arm and shoulder strength and 70 percent of the leg strength of their male counterparts. [http://www.humankinetics.com/products/showexcerpt.cfm?excerpt_id=4171 Human Kinetics] </ref> Women have slightly longer average lifespans than men, which results in women overtaking men in population by middle age despite a 1.05:1 boy to girl ratio at birth in the United States. This rate varies among countries. {{fact}}

== Women in history ==
Compared to men, fewer women have had impact on history as leaders in diverse fields, but large numbers of women have still had enormous impact. Historians usually attribute this lack of impact to the centuries-old oppression women faced.{{fact}}

Such examples include
*Queen [[Ferdinand and Isabella|Isabella I]] of [[Spain]]
*[[French]] heroine St. [[Joan of Arc]]
*[[Queen Esther]]
*[[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary of Gailele]]
*[[Mary Magdelene]]
*Judge [[Deborah]]
*[[Judith]]
*[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] [[Margaret Thatcher]]
*[[Queen]] [[Elizabeth I]] of [[England]]
*Warrior Celtic Queen [[Boudicca]] of the Iceni tribe
*Empress Tsarina [[Catherine the Great]] of [[Russia]]
*Pharoah [[Cleopatra]] of [[Egypt]]
*[[Nobel Pize]]-winning physicist and chemist [[Marie Curie]]
*[[Prime Minister of Pakistan]] [[Benazir Bhutto]], the first woman to lead an [[Islam|Islamic state]]
*[[Prime Minister of Israel]] [[Golda Meir]]
*[[Prime Minister of India]] [[Indira Gandhi]]
*United States [[women's rights]] activist [[Lucretia Mott]]
*United States [[women's rights]] activist [[Susan B. Anthony]]
*[[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner, activist and Prime Minister-elect [[Aung San Suu Kyi]] of Burma
*[[Mother Theresa]]
*[[United States Supreme Court Justice]] [[Sandra Day O'Connor]]
*United States Supreme Court Justice [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]]
*Queen [[Catherine de Medici]] of France
*Queen [[Olympias]] of Greece
*[[Queen Gorgo of Sparta]]
*[[Condoleezza Rice]], [[United States Secretary of State]]
*[[Madonna (entertainer )|Madonna Ciccone]], entertainer
*[[Lady Gaga]], entertainer
*[[Madeleine Albright|Madeleine Korbel Albright]], U.S. Secretary of State
*[[Eleanor Roosevelt]], United Nations Representative, [[First Lady]], and human rights, civil rights, women's right, and equal rights activist
*[[Harriet Tubman]], [[Underground Railroad]] conductor
*[[Eva Peron]], [[Argentina|Argentine]] leader
*[[Sarah Palin]], [[Alaska]] [[governor]]

== Women in the Bible ==

=== Genesis ===
The Bible says that women, like men, were created by God on the 6th day of [[Creation]], as told in The Book of [[Genesis]]:
{{Bible quote|So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.|book=Genesis|chap=1|verses=27|version=KJV}}
{{Bible quote|But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.|book=Mark|chap=10|verses=6|version=KJV}}
[[Genesis]] further elaborates that [[God]] took a [[rib cage|rib]] from [[Adam]], the first man, and from it created [[Eve]], the first woman, as a helper for [[Adam]] when the [[animal]]s, which had been created for that purpose, proved unsuitable:
{{Bible quote|And the LORD God said, [It is] not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought [them] unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that [was] the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.|book=Genesis|chap=2|verses=18-22|version=KJV}}
According to some biblical literalists, Eve caused sin and suffering to come into the world when she convinced Adam to eat from The Tree of Knowledge, an act directly forbidden by God Himself. As punishment for this, God declared that women shall experience great pain in childbirth.<ref>Genesis 3:16</ref>

=== New Testament statements on the role of women ===
Saint Paul also has much to say on the status of women in society, most memorably that women should submit to their husbands just as the church submits to Christ.
<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians%205:22-24&version=9 Ephesians 5:22-24 ]</ref>
<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20Corinthians%2011:8-9;&version=9; I Corinthians 11:8-9]</ref>
<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20Corinthians%2011:4-7;&version=9; I Corinthians 11:4-7]</ref>
<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20Corinthians%2014:34-35;&version=9; I Corinthians 14:34-35]</ref> Most of these things are not believed by even the [[Biblical inerrancy|strictest Christians]], and such views are considered extreme by even the most conservative Christians.

The [[New Testament]] contains several instructions regarding the role of women:
# Women are to dress modestly and not wear "broided hair, or [[gold]], or [[pearl]]s, or costly array."<ref>1 Timothy 2:9</ref><ref>Peter 3:2-6</ref>
# Women may learn in silence, but may not be permitted to teach men<ref>1 Timothy 2:11-12</ref>. Some interpretations limit this rule to the teaching of doctrine.
# Women are not permitted to speak in church.<ref>1 Corinthians 14:34-37></ref>
# Women are to be subservient to and follow the instructions of their husbands.<ref>Ephesians 5:22-24</ref><ref>Colossians 3:18</ref><ref>Titus 2:4-5</ref><ref>1 Peter 3:1-7</ref>
# Women "shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety."<ref>I Timothy 2:15</ref>

These viewpoints are not widely accepted in secular, first-world nations, although some believers still adhere to them. However, Christians do not always agree on how literal or universal these directives are intended to be. For example, dressing modestly is interpreted by some [[Anabaptist]]s to mean that women should only wear black or dull colors and that dresses should cover the entire arms and legs, whereas most non-Anabaptist Christians consider the directive to modesty as simply meaning that garments should not be wrongly provocative. The directive that women should not speak in church is regarded by some as being literal for all situations, but due to other New Testament passages which indicate that women were allowed to publicly testify in the early church<ref>1 Corinthians 11:5></ref>, the most common Christian interpretation{{fact}} of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 is that women in the Corinthian church were in the habit of conversing casually and gossiping during the church service, and that the apostle Paul was telling them not to do that. However, that interpretation is at odds with the following Scripture passage:

{{Bible quote|Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.|book=1Timothy|chap=2|verses=11-15|version=KJV}}

Another interpretation sees the silence of women being limited to the immediate context of the passage, namely the authoritative judgment of prophecy.

{{Bible quote|Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.|book=1Corinthians|chap=14|verses=29|version=KJV}}

Some Protestants{{who}} believe these verses can be taken out of context and applied too legalistically. They believe that the church can conform legitimately to modern [[egalitarian]] ideals without sacrificing the literal meaning of these passages.

===Strong and important women in the Bible===

Among the Bible's several strong and empowered women are [[Deborah]], the only female judge and ruler of [[Israel]]; [[Judith]]; and [[Queen Esther]], heroine of the [[Book of Esther]]. In the New Testemant, [[Mary Magdalene]] and other women are disciples of Christ with whom He seems to have close friendships. The [[Virgin Mary]] is heavily revered in the [[Roman Catholicism|Catholic]] and [[Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] churches.

=== Old Testament statements on women ===

The [[Old Testament]] law states that if a man sells his daughter into slavery there are specific conditions protecting her status.<ref>Exodus 21:7-11</ref>

==References==
<references />

== Related Topics ==
*[[Men]]
*[[Egalitarian]] and [[complementarian]] theology

[[Category: Human Beings]]