Gun Control in the U.S.-The Truth

[Busyman]

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.

[vidcc]

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

[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?

[vidcc]

Gun control is only bad if it's us being controlled

[Busyman]

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.

[vidcc]

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?

[lynx]

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?

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.

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...

[CloudSeeder]

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

[Biggles]

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 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 - 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.

[vidcc]

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