Gun Control

Because they aren't going to get guns regardless. I've never seen anyone with a gun. I've never heard a shootout. I've never known anyone that has been shot. Guns are clearly quite rare in England. Most violent crime and robberies seem to involve knives. I definately feel a lot safer knowing that I can be almost certain that no one on the street or breaking into my home is holding a gun.
 
What about the 2 and a half million people who use guns to defend themselves every year?




I agree it should be tougher to buy a gun legally, however they should be available to every adult who can prove they are good citizens(felons, criminals etc excluded) and do not have any known psychological problems(hard to do but it should be done)...

You can never keep guns out of the hands of criminals, people will still be able to get guns to shoot up schools, as to them being easier to track what difference does that make when they are have already been used?



Exactly, if a criminal wants a gun he will get one...so should I not be able to arm myself or would you prefer limiting guns only to those who are willing to get them illegally?



It absolutely is, a government will treat an armed population different than it will treat an unarmed population..

Armed citizens act as pretty good deterrents to governments that try to take power away from each citizen..
 
I see nobody has addressed the few statistics I posted showing more concealed weapons as well as more guns in general cause less crime in the US. Surprise, surprise.
 
Well, I don't have the energy to really get into a debate on the subject, but for what it's worth I'll throw my two cents in the pot.

Personally, I think that we should scrap many of the laws we have on the books regarding gun control and start over with something more along the lines of how we manage automobiles and motorcycles. If you want to drive a car you have to insure your car for liability, and you have to be licensed to operate the car. You also have to register your car with the state.

I don't think that any laws will prevent crazy people from getting weapons of some kind, although it would have helped in this case, because the kid DID purchase the weapons legally. I do think that managing things like the above will help in hunting accidents, in accidents in homes regarding children, and in many other situations. And when they don't, the person's insurance will help defray the cost.

I'm sure that there are holes in my idea, but I'm also confident that they can be worked out. The thing I can't wrap my head around is that we have cars and no one minds licensing them, no one minds registering them, and insurance is accepted as a matter of course. Why not guns?
 
Guns already are licensed. Carrying a concealed weapon requires additional licensing in all states except two, and most of those states require some sort of training course in order to get said license. And over 3 times as many children die each year from drowning in bathtubs as accidental gun deaths. It is tragic each time a child dies from an gun accident, but it is the owner's fault, not the gun's fault. It is already mandatory that trigger/cable locks are provided with each gun purchase. If the owner doesn't use them or properly store his weapons, that's on him.
 
Just a genral statement......

Tougher gun laws are needed, idiots with guns are the problem, sure, but we don't do a great job at keeping guns out of the hands of those idiots. We need a better system. With that said, I don't think an all out ban will work or would be excepted by the people of america.
 
IQ test? Morality test? I'm all for keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, but even idiots have a right to defend themselves. If someone can come up with a better system than state/federal background checks, I'm all ears.
 
No, what I said was the question you countered with was not relevant to the question you were asked. Granted you may have less B&E involving firearms but how often do hot burglaries occur? I've heard stories on this very board from folks in the UK that would not happen here, because anyone that brazen during a robbery would get their arse shot off in the states.

Paranoia is an excessive anxiety or fear concerning one's own well-being which is considered irrational and excessive. In the last month in addition to numerous property and miscellaneous crimes there have been five violent assaults within a two mile radius of my house; of those, two were violent sexual assaults and one was an aggravated assault (this implies a deadly weapon was used). That is all happening in a nice suburb, go a few miles south and what happens here in a month occurs there every day. I used to live in that area, one day I awoke to find gang graffiti on the side of my house. That night I heard a noise and went to call the police but the line was dead, after a very tense night I discovered the phone line had been cut. I had weapons in the house but didn't have any ammunition, hadn't seen the need for it. I went out and purchased ammunition and made a trip to an indoor shooting range the very next day. If you want to call me paranoid, fine. After living for five years in that cesspool I'm still alive to be called paranoid.

How's this: Five guys with knives bust into your place, you're alone, what do you do? Assuming they block the only way out, what now? You just have to have faith that these criminals are going to take pity on you and let you live because we know that criminals are known for showing so much compassion?
 
(Do idiots have the right to put others in danger because of their own short comings? Maybe we should teach drunks how to drive better while drinking? Or, maybe we could give gang members shooting lessons so there are fewer stray bullets??? Those would be the kind of idiots I referred to in my post...)

How about doing something other than insisting we are doing all we can? I'm from Ohio, check out these oh so powerful gun laws. If your suggesting that your above statement is the best we can do, maybe guns should be band.

I mean come on, the number of unaccounted for guns in this country is absurd. It would be nice to see that not every crackhead with 40$ and a smille could buy one on the street at any givin time.
 
If its rhetoric to you thats not my problem TKDjoe. I think with the way I answered it should be pretty clear what my points where.
 
Some of us here have supported laws to reduce gun crime. Such as making it a mandatory 10 years in prison for a convicted felon caught with a gun and 25 years for the 2nd convection. Also 10 additional years for use of a firearm in the commission of any crime of violence. The funny thing is a lot of the same people who want more gun control will not support any of these types of laws.
 
This is the best post I have read. I totally agree as my state has the 10/20/Life law! The only people screaming about these type of mandatory sentences are the Defense attorneys. Who else would be crying about mandatory sentences besides defense attorneys?

I support responsible gun laws, responsible gun ownership, complete background checks for ALL gun purchases. Heck, run a background check of anyone walking into a Gun shop! I support that. I also support cops jumping out of their cars and doing pat down searches. But, nooooooo! That violates civil rights.
 
Excuse me bcullen, but whos being paranoid here now ? And sorry, this kind of situation won't happen here in europe. One reason it won't happen here in europe is that we don't have to be afraid that the person enterering the house is going to carry a gun. And also, your example is overexaggerated and just stems of the exact paranoia I was talking about. You are aware the person that could enter your house could carry a gun, you are aware you could get killed because of it so you want to have a gun to defend yourself from it.

Does anyone realize that by giving anyone the ability to carry a gun you are giving the very power to the criminals ? Not one will enter your home but five (as in becullens example), they won't just carry a knife but maybe a shotgun or equivalent to what you carry. And no, they won't have no pity for you in the process. They see you having a potential weapon to kill them, why should they have pity ? But to be honest, this discussion is going around in circles. And frankly its pointless.

My conclusion: People in the US will always carry guns, whoever they are and always insist on carrying them and gun violence will always continue in the same breath. We will probably have this very same discussion in 10-20 yrs. from now. It probably will have to happen another 100 times before anyone reacts to it or realizes the problem. Like I said, here in europe this same paranoia doesn't exist. If anyone burgles your flat they will likely carry a knife, if anything at all. And most likely they will burgle your flat when you aren't around.

"Violence breeds violence" If you carry a gun, your opposite will most likely want to have one too. And this vicious circle will just carry on. I'm just going to wait a few years until I hear about the next college shoot-out.
 
I doubt the U.S.A. will ever stop being gun crazy, their country was founded in bloody revolution and then they had another one. It seems to me that their just gona go killing each other and any one else that bugs them much. It is a country where Lockheed Martian runs most of the welfare system and I don't think they've ever gone 10 years with out having a small war somewere. I fear that guns and war are such a deep a part of U.S. culture that they know now other way, I hope I'm wrong because I live in Canada and the thought of having a warmongering nation nextdoor is rather distubing.

I think if there were video cameras everywhere and signs telling you so fewer crimes would be comitted, and folks wouldn't need some god and the fear of hell to regulate what they do!
 
Its definitley alot less dangerous than a person having a shotgun in his hands, medi. In order to hurt you with the knife the burglar will have to get close to you, in order to shoot you with the shotgun he simply needs to pull the trigger.
 
The point being that the argument is a worthless one. It has continued unchanged on hundreds of threads on several forums with neither side doing anymore but spew the same useless information over and over. I can't believe I am even looking at this again.
 
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