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Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
Here's another one, about the ban on assault weapons:
Charlie Reese
Dumb Legislation
The ban on assault weapons had no effect on crime, and ending the ban will have no effect on crime.
If ever there was a stupid piece of legislation, the so-called assault-weapons ban was it. All it did was ban cosmetic features like flash suppressors, bayonet lugs and high-capacity magazines.
True, assault weapons were already carefully controlled before this dumb legislation was enacted. A semiautomatic rifle, no matter how you gussy it up with cosmetic features, is not an assault weapon. An assault weapon is a submachine gun or a rifle with a selector switch that allows it to fire either semiautomatically or automatically.
Since 1934, any weapon capable of firing automatically could only be purchased from specially licensed dealers and by someone who obtained a special license to buy it from the U.S. Treasury Department. About the only people who bothered were collectors. The cost of ammunition is such that few hobbyists can afford to shoot two bits at the rate of 400 to 600 a minute.
A semiautomatic rifle fires the same way a revolver fires — one shot per one pull of the trigger. Whether it's an AK-47 or an Uzi, as long as it was made to fire semiautomatic only, it has been legal, as it should be. A semiautomatic is a semiautomatic is a semiautomatic. A weapon that can fire automatically keeps firing as long as you hold the trigger down or until your ammo runs out.
By the way, all during this so-called assault-weapons ban, the U.S. government has been selling semiautomatic rifles with bayonet lugs on them to the general public through the Office of Civilian Marksmanship.
All rifles are the same. Whether they are single-shot, bolt-action, lever-action, pump, semiautomatic or fully automatic refers to the mechanics of ejecting the fired case, putting a new cartridge in the chamber and cocking the firing pin. This is done manually in a single shot and mechanically in bolt-actions, lever-actions and pumps. A semiautomatic rifle or pistol diverts some of the hot gases to a mechanism that operates the bolt, ejects the fired case, puts a new cartridge in place and cocks the firing mechanism.
As for the high-capacity magazines, if some guy is shooting at me, it makes no difference whether he has a 15-shot magazine or two 10-shot magazines, which the assault-weapons ban said were legal. You can change magazines in about one second.
I never got excited about the assault-weapons ban because it really didn't ban any weapons. All the manufacturers did was remove the forbidden cosmetic features and continue to sell the exact same rifle. Furthermore, I've never favored semiautos anyway, as they present a temptation to spray and pray. In a gunfight, only the bullets that hit the target count. The one exception to my druthers is the semiauto .45, a fine pistol.
Of course, one should always point out in any discussion of any gun-control measure that, by definition, criminals who don't obey the laws against murder and robbery are not going to obey any gun-control laws. Nor do inanimate objects cause crime. Most criminals use automobiles, but I never heard any politician suggest that cars be banned or limited to 90-horsepower engines.
I noticed that one ignorant person pointed out that the Washington, D.C., snipers used a semiautomatic rifle. Yes, they did, but it could have been a muzzleloader, because they only fired one shot per victim. True sniper rifles, by the way, are usually bolt-action. Still another dumb statement is that the military-style weapons were designed only for killing people. Of course. All firearms are designed for killing people. Do you think you would be any less dead if you were shot with a bullet from a bolt-action rifle?
What you don't want is anybody shooting at you with a shotgun or a rifle, regardless of how it is loaded or what it looks like. If you have got to get shot at, pray to God it's with a cheap .25-caliber pistol wielded by a nearsighted drunk.
Crime is a human behavior problem, not a mechanical problem. Furthermore, if firearms were not very useful for self-defense, then police wouldn't carry them. In a free country, if the government can go armed, so should the citizens, if they so choose.
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
Why not disarm the police then? Then there would be no requirement for anyone else to be armed.
Works in the UK.
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
seems to me that all these guns are just making up for having a small penis.
The bigger and more deadly the gun...the smaller the gunmans penis.
It's called over compensating
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
Quote:
Originally Posted by vidcc
seems to me that all these guns are just making up for having a small penis.
The bigger and more deadly the gun...the smaller the gunmans penis.
It's called over compensating
Did you say the bigger the mouth, the smaller the penis????? Oh....sorry, was not paying attention.
Will try to do better.;)
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by Everose
Did you say the bigger the mouth, the smaller the penis????? Oh....sorry, was not paying attention.
Will try to do better.;)
Depends on how hard you bite i suppose :o
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by Everose
Did you say the bigger the mouth, the smaller the penis????? Oh....sorry, was not paying attention.
Will try to do better.;)
Uh, Vid, uh.....I was going to say I disagreed with your assessment. But I was afraid you would ask me if I had done some research on the matter.:P
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by vidcc
Depends on how hard you bite i suppose :o
:lol: Now that was good. Damnit. :D
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
Quote:
Originally Posted by Biggles
Why not disarm the police then? Then there would be no requirement for anyone else to be armed.
Works in the UK.
Would this be why the government recently reported that gun crime in England and Wales nearly doubled in the four years from 1998-99 to 2002-03?
Crime was not supposed to rise after handguns were banned in 1997. Yet, since 1996 the serious violent crime rate has soared by 69%: robbery is up by 45% and murders up by 54%. Before the law, armed robberies had fallen by 50% from 1993 to 1997, but as soon as handguns were banned the robbery rate shot back up, almost back to their 1993 levels.
The 2000 International Crime Victimization Survey, the last survey done, shows the violent-crime rate in England and Wales was twice the rate in the U.S. When the new survey for 2004 comes out, that gap will undoubtedly have widened even further as crimes reported to British police have since soared by 35%, while declining 6% in the U.S.
And what is with the current attempts to ban toy guns?
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
Dumb legislation. Hmmmm.
Why not still leave the ban in effect?
Why allow flash suppressors, bayonet lugs and high-capacity magazines?
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by Busyman
Dumb legislation. Hmmmm.
Why not still leave the ban in effect?
Why allow flash suppressors, bayonet lugs and high-capacity magazines?
I think the article is stating "why ban it?"
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by spinningfreemanny
I think the article is stating "why ban it?"
Right and I'm saying why not?
Then keep going....
This is a step backwards to appease the NRA uh 'ers.
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
Actually i feel that the point made about the expired law makes sense..it wasn't in reality a ban....... So why didn't they close the loop holes and make it a proper piece of legislation?
I'll tell you why... because there is an election comming up
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
There are states in the U.S. with laws on the books that ALL households not inhabited by a convicted felon MUST posess a firearm. The crime rates in these states have dropped to less than half. After all what stupid criminal is going to enter a house where they know the owner has a gun, and probably knows how to use it. On the other hand if a criminal knows there are no guns in the house, why not go on in and do whatever they want to without fear?
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
Gun control is only bad if it's us being controlled:dry:
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
Quote:
Originally Posted by CloudSeeder
There are states in the U.S. with laws on the books that ALL households not inhabited by a convicted felon MUST posess a firearm. The crime rates in these states have dropped to less than half. After all what stupid criminal is going to enter a house where they know the owner has a gun, and probably knows how to use it. On the other hand if a criminal knows there are no guns in the house, why not go on in and do whatever they want to without fear?
This is precisely the reason I have a gun on every floor of my house.
I plan to have one on each side as well for a total of six.
I remember a home invasion in DC where there were 7 people having a get together and 2 guys ran in and killed everyone and robbed them.
I will not be huddled in a back room waiting to die.
I will not have my kids waiting to die.
They run up in my house, I'll having something waiting for them.
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
Quote:
Originally Posted by CloudSeeder
There are states in the U.S. with laws on the books that ALL households not inhabited by a convicted felon MUST posess a firearm. The crime rates in these states have dropped to less than half. After all what stupid criminal is going to enter a house where they know the owner has a gun, and probably knows how to use it. On the other hand if a criminal knows there are no guns in the house, why not go on in and do whatever they want to without fear?
Care to give a source for which?
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by j2k4
A semiautomatic rifle, no matter how you gussy it up with cosmetic features, is not an assault weapon. An assault weapon is a submachine gun or a rifle with a selector switch that allows it to fire either semiautomatically or automatically.
So is it an assault weapon or not?
Quote:
Originally Posted by j2k4
I've never favored semiautos anyway, as they present a temptation to spray and pray. In a gunfight, only the bullets that hit the target count.
A fine argument for gun control, well said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by j2k4
If you have got to get shot at, pray to God it's with a cheap .25-caliber pistol wielded by a nearsighted drunk.
Why not make it a rule that all nearsighted drunks have to carry firearms. Oh, wait...
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by vidcc
Care to give a source for which?
I'm leaving town for the rest of the week and won't have computer access, but will send links at a later date. A good source is the FBI website though
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by Comic_Peddler
Would this be why the government recently reported that gun crime in England and Wales nearly doubled in the four years from 1998-99 to 2002-03?
Crime was not supposed to rise after handguns were banned in 1997. Yet, since 1996 the serious violent crime rate has soared by 69%: robbery is up by 45% and murders up by 54%. Before the law, armed robberies had fallen by 50% from 1993 to 1997, but as soon as handguns were banned the robbery rate shot back up, almost back to their 1993 levels.
The 2000 International Crime Victimization Survey, the last survey done, shows the violent-crime rate in England and Wales was twice the rate in the U.S. When the new survey for 2004 comes out, that gap will undoubtedly have widened even further as crimes reported to British police have since soared by 35%, while declining 6% in the U.S.
And what is with the current attempts to ban toy guns?
Doubled from what to what? How does this compare to gun deaths in the US?
Just like when a person earning a dollar a day has been told he has a 50% wage rise has finished going :01: he realises that it really doesn't amount to much.
On top of this you have a change in Government in 1997 when substantial changes in accounting for crime also took place. The previous crowd were supposedly tough on crime (or at least tough on crime statistics)
As to being the more violent society, perhaps we are. We can get the occasional (well perhaps more than occasional) Wild West bar room brawl precisely because no one is going to pull a gun out and shoot everyone. Which is worse? A black eye soon heals, a hole in the head takes longer.
The majority of gun crime in Scotland (can't speak for our neighbours) is between drug dealers fighting turf wars. The Police, it has to be said, don't seem to lose a lot of sleep over this. It is very rare for an ordinary person to be a victim of gun crime here. I certainly do not lose a second of sleep over not having a gun in the house. Busyman's house sounds like Fort Knox - I think his neighbourhood must be scarier than Baghdad.
Most (something like 85%) house robberies are carried out by junkies who simply want your DVD player to sell in the pub so they can get their next fix. If they had a gun they would sell it to get their next fix. Personally, I would agree with a recently retired Metropolitan Police Chief and cut crime at a stroke by giving junkies free heroin and needles - it would put the gun-toting drug dealers out of business too. Most would then either stay at home or perhaps even lead normal productive lives.
No idea about the toy gun ban. My kids were never into toy guns so I can't recall if they were available or not when they were younger. I cannot remember the last time I saw kids play with toy guns - I think they are classed as gay (which appears to be one of those multi-use words at the moment). It is either Playstation/X-Boxs inside or skateboards and bikes outside - although the occasional football can still be seen.
In short, would I like our police and population armed and have a gun death rate like the US - :blink: This is what I believe is called a no-brainer - which is why there is a broad consensus on both left and right to leave things as they are in the UK.
GUNS DONT KILL - PEOPLE DO - SO BAN PEOPLE.
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by CloudSeeder
I'm leaving town for the rest of the week and won't have computer access, but will send links at a later date. A good source is the FBI website though
Ok just make sure you come back with a source pointing to compulsory gun ownership.... I patiently await your reply
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
You know what's very curious?
Are King George's men going to come marching into your chambers and demand billeting?
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by MagicNakor
You know what's very curious?
Are King George's men going to come marching into your chambers and demand billeting?
Well if he's talking about old laws unrepealed he hasn't stated so very well
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
You get 10 beer stiens of vodka and gin in you and we'll see how well you state. ;)
It's an archaic law, and it ought to be amended. Hell, if they'll ammend barring gays from marrying, they can ammend their "right to bear arms."
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by MagicNakor
You get 10 beer stiens of vodka and gin in you and we'll see how well you state. ;)
It's an archaic law, and it ought to be amended. Hell, if they'll ammend barring gays from marrying, they can ammend their "right to bear arms."
Thought you were banning yourself for the binge
I was talking about CloudSeeder when i said "he"
If it's just an old unrepealed law dating to colonial times then it won't be enforced and therefore his statement about thoses states having lower crimerates wouldn't be because of these unrepealed laws.
I doubt very much that such a law could be enforced today.
As far as i am aware the "right to bear arms" is a right and not an order and no amount of local bylaws would or could make me have a firearm in my house
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by Busyman
Right and I'm saying why not?
Then keep going....
This is a step backwards to appease the NRA uh 'ers.
Because it's a government encroachment on it's citizens for no apparent reason; if your going to ban anything; you better have a better reason then "why not?"
How Come I'm a "newcomer"? :angry:
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by vidcc
seems to me that all these guns are just making up for having a small penis.
The bigger and more deadly the gun...the smaller the gunmans penis.
It's called over compensating
Only people with small penises believe that.
Biggles-
Criminals here have been known to disregard gun-laws.
What do you make of this?
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by j2k4
Only people with small penises believe that.
must have hit a bullseye :lol:
Quote:
Criminals here have been known to disregard gun-laws.
What do you make of this?
Criminals have been known to disregard ALL laws.... :huh:
How about we ban laws...with no laws to break that will bring the criminal population down a bit:rolleyes:
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by spinningfreemanny
Because it's a government encroachment on it's citizens for no apparent reason; if your going to ban anything; you better have a better reason then "why not?"
There are many solid reasons...just because you disagree with those reasons doesn't mean that there are none
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
Quote:
Originally Posted by j2k4
Only people with small penises believe that.
Biggles-
Criminals here have been known to disregard gun-laws.
What do you make of this?
They do indeed tend to make a career out of disregarding most laws (although they tend to be quite keen on property laws if it is their property)
The thing is, how often do professional criminals gun down innocent home owners? I would suggest that out of the enormous tally of gun deaths in the US each year this is not a major feature in the statistics. I would also suggest that this is not because the firepower of (in Busyman's case) an entire aircraft carrier is behind the door. By and large an experienced gunman could kick one's door in and shoot all and sundry before you could say wtf!!??. UK criminals have guns - they shoot each other with them. They are rarely used on households which, because of our laws, are all unarmed. By the logic you are using we should all be raped and pillaged in our beds. We are not. Our problem is one of petty crime caused by a whole class of people who do not want to be criminals in the first place. Whilst some are undoubtedly violent most would either run for it if disturbed or actually stay to try and beg enough for a fix. In a case recently the old lady showed him her family album and he fell asleep. The police had an easy job removing him.
Unless your society is very different from ours I think it is unlikely you would see a rise in armed household robberies if you all threw your guns away.
However, there appears to be to me an irrational attachment to something 99% of you will never use. Tis a funny old world. At the end of the day, if you want guns you will have them - I just do not want my society to go down that route.
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by vidcc
Thought you were banning yourself for the binge
I was talking about CloudSeeder when i said "he"
If it's just an old unrepealed law dating to colonial times then it won't be enforced and therefore his statement about thoses states having lower crimerates wouldn't be because of these unrepealed laws.
I doubt very much that such a law could be enforced today.
As far as i am aware the "right to bear arms" is a right and not an order and no amount of local bylaws would or could make me have a firearm in my house
I did ban myself. But then, you see, I found my keyboard about halfway into it, and everything went tits up from there. ;)
I fully admit to not understanding the strange fascinating Americans have with guns. I've been in many a long argument about it with the resident American, and the only reasoning behind it that I've been "made aware" of is: guns are just a tool! They aren't evil!
Which makes me wonder what, exactly, you use a gun for, if not killing?
:shuriken:
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
Toy guns arent being banned, certain replica guns are.
This is because of a recent court case where certain individuals were buying them, taking them to a workshop, and turning them into real firearms... making a hefty profit for themselves and supplying upwards of 200 handguns to petty criminals and gangs in London.
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by spinningfreemanny
Because it's a government encroachment on it's citizens for no apparent reason; if your going to ban anything; you better have a better reason then "why not?"
Would that the gun nuts were as upset about the myriad other "government encroachments" perpetrated by our moronic current President.
But alas, this will probably never happen.
Give a man his AK-47 and he will sit enthralled by his newfound firepower whilst the values this power was meant to protect go up in smoke.
There is irony in that, but I'm too appalled to appreciate it right now.
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by j2k4
...Crime is a human behavior problem, not a mechanical problem...
Agreed.
And automatic assault weapons could be referred to as "human behavior problem accelerators".
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by B.Helto
Agreed.
And automatic assault weapons could be referred to as "human behavior problem accelerators".
so can beer...
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by spinningfreemanny
so can beer...
gosh put all 3 together.... yeah i feel safe
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by vidcc
Care to give a source for which?
sorry people, I read this info in either the National Rifle Association, or the Federal Bureau of Investigation web site not too long ago, but I haven't been able to find it since I got back. I will keep searching, and post a link when I find it. I have found where there have been ordinances passed in individual cities, but not the state laws.
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by CloudSeeder
sorry people, I read this info in either the National Rifle Association, or the Federal Bureau of Investigation web site not too long ago, but I haven't been able to find it since I got back. I will keep searching, and post a link when I find it. I have found where there have been ordinances passed in individual cities, but not the state laws.
Ok post individual cities.
Apart from an old colonial unrepealed law which wouldn't be enforced today i can't see how gun ownership could be compulsory.
I do fully understand that there are old laws still on the books but not enforced today...but those cases wouldn't stand with the case about those places being safer because of those laws.:)
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by vidcc
Ok post individual cities.
Apart from an old colonial unrepealed law which wouldn't be enforced today i can't see how gun ownership could be compulsory.
I do fully understand that there are old laws still on the books but not enforced today...but those cases wouldn't stand with the case about those places being safer because of those laws.:)
I agree.
In my city, there is a local Law (that has never been repealed) that all Gentlemen must wear a sword within the city limits... If i; or anyone else for that matter, ever tried to do that we would be arrested.
Another is the old Law that makes it mandatory to fire an arrow into the air every Sunday in salute of the Monarch..
There are thousands upon thousands of old Laws on the books that, for one reason or another just have never been repealed.
I think that Trial by Combat was only repealed fairly recently (within the last 100 years) in the UK, as another example...
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Re: Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth
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Originally Posted by Rat Faced
I agree.
In my city, there is a local Law (that has never been repealed) that all Gentlemen must wear a sword within the city limits... If i; or anyone else for that matter, ever tried to do that we would be arrested.
You would probably be arrested, But you would have a damn good defense, probably get the law repealed as well.:lol: