Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

The design purpose of a gun may have been to kill things. But I know a lot of gun owners who target practice-competition with no interest in killing anything.

The design purpose of a machete is what? To slice things

A friend of mine, whom returned to his home city in India returned at a time when there was a mass slaying wth a machete-style blade.

All I am saying, take away the gun, there will be something else to use. It is the mindset of the PERSON
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

I've already pointed out in similar discussions here on MAP air guns can kill. Air guns powerful enough to take down some fairly big game have been around for quite awhile now.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Not soft-air guns. They are not designed to be able to kill, they shoot small plastic BBs, the same with paintball guns. This is a big difference from conventional air guns which I do agree can be rather powerful.

Heck, even in a country that has very strict gun control like Japan allows the sale of soft-air guns.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Both true.

Both ignore the obvious fact that neither weapon is as good at killing large numbers of people as the kind of weaponry we are discussing. This cannot be in dispute.

The only arguments with any merit that I can see are that they are necessary for self defence or that the majority of people want to own weapons capable of killing multiple people quickly and easily from distance.

I doubt the former, many countries get away quite happily without them after all. As a result it is surely down to the latter.

Nothing wrong with that. We live in democracies after all. The obvious answer is that those who object to widespread gun-ownership should campaign against it and get legislation put in place, or not live in a society they are so at odds with. I know I did once seriously consider a move to the US for my family and I, at least for a couple of years. I decided against it for many reasons, but the gun-culture was one of them.

Mitch
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Well maybe I should take your word for it. When searching for soft-air guns I only get results for airsoft guns. Which don't seem all that different to traditional air guns. They come in spring loaded and compressed gas verities and are easily modified. The biggest difference seems to be the ammo and the construction materials of the cheaper models.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Not everybody is in a position to devote the time needed to campaign or move. Some people really are stuck with the hand life has dealt them.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

"Campaign" can mean many things and does not necessarily involve money or position. Many campaigns have been started by those at grass roots level.

That's not meant to sound uncharitable or ignoring reality, just avoiding defeatism.

Politicians represent public opinion. If there was a poll tomorrow that showed that gun control was a vote winner in the US then every party from Montana Mountains of Madness Militia to the Extreme Liberals of Liberalville would be on it like me on a mince pie.

Mitch
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Really? Because raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans is massively popular, even among Republicans, yet it looks like the US is heading over the fiscal cliff.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Is there a poll showing taxing the wealthiest is popular? Not doubting you, just haven't personally seen it. Certainly not one broken down to the stats specifically for Republicans.

As for Gun Control, again I wouldn't claim to be fully clued up by any means, but the recent polls I've seen seemed to suggest the majority of Americans were still against it. Have you seen others?

Mitch
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

From the (far)right-leaning Rasmussen poll http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/november_2012/53_favor_bush_tax_cuts_for_all_but_the_wealthy
but not broken down by political views

I can't find a recent poll broken down, but I've seen them reported with Republicans favouring the $250k limit.

I've seen them where the assault weapon ban is basically split 50/50, with majority support for increased background checks and closing loopholes.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

A different thing though depending on the wording, would love to see a link if you have one.

Mitch
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Just looking at the Rasmussen Poll, are there any others supporting that conclusion? Even so, it's not raising taxes on the rich as such (though maybe I'm playing semantic there), nor is it linked to the fiscal cliff?

I take your point, I'm in agreement myself, but I'm not an American and I'm looking for broad statistical analysis.

Mitch
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Overview here, details linked in article
http://www.nationalmemo.com/poll-majority-oppose-reinstating-assault-weapons-ban/
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Every one I've seen reported shows it being very popular across the board. Most of those were before the election.

Republican or Democrat, they still hate rich people.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

And the velocity. I live in one of the strictest gun control states, New Jersey, and you can go in almost any sporting goods store and buy them without any checks or anything. Could you hurt someone with them, you bet but the chances of it being a serious injury are pretty small. NJ even requires a gun permit for BB guns and slingshots but not these.

I have fired them at cardboard targets and have seen the pellets bounce off.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Again, that's not quite what I was envisioning, but thanks

Mitch
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

Depends on what you mean by gun control. The majority of Americans favor a ban on large-capacity magazines and the vast majority favor increased background checks. The majority of Americans oppose a ban on so-called "assault weapons" and the vast majority oppose a ban on handguns.

Gallup poll data found here: http://www.guns.com/2012/12/28/gallup-poll-americans-oppose-assault-weapons-ban-but-support-universal-background-checks/

You have to remember that Americans draw a big line between regulation and prohibition. Most people I know are okay with more firearm regulation, from more stringent background checks to mandatory training. Prohibition is not popular. Prohibition with alcohol was a disaster in this country--it led to increased crime (particularly organized crime) instead of decreased problems related to alcohol abuse. The UK is different in many respects. Maybe prohibition works in such circumstances. It's been an abject failure in the US with both alcohol in the 20s and other drugs in recent years; why think gun prohibition would be any different?

Someone previously asked how may crimes are committed with illegal firearms besides Columbine. A very substantial portion of gun crime in the US, particularly gang gun crime, involve people who don't lawfully own the weapon used and generally couldn't lawfully obtain it (in part because of the ban on selling to felons).
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

I wanted to know about mass shootings rather than average gun crime.
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

I'm looking at my house, which is fairly typical, and there are not a whole lot of places in there where a shotgun blast or 2 won't hit most of the attackers at once.

I knowe the next argument is what if they have already spread out and you have to go room to room? Well, what if they're carrying a nerve agent? Do I need to put a BNC suit everytime I hear a noise in my house?
 
Man arrested for 2x4 labeled "High Powered Rifle"

There we go, from several sources; Americans want to be able to own weapons capable of killing lots of people quickly and from range.

Democracy in action.

Mitch
 
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