Whatever the price in senseless deaths, we must keep as many people armed as possible, so that we are always able to re-write The Second Amendment, which is its point.
possibly so Dave. However, I think its a little more complex than the guns kill people/ people kill people bollocks.
There is certainly a case that in any environment if you tightly control firearms, the prevalence of them in death and injury stats drops. Dramatically. Japan is a case in point.
The corollary is that if you have a very liberal approach to firearms, you get high levels of firearm death and injury. If you place this liberal firearms policy into a society that has overwhelming levels of faith in individual rights you get... the USA.
Lets be honest, the USA is not Switzerland. The mindset of the populations are almost diametrically opposed. The really mindblowing comparison is with Canada and, to a lesser extent, Australia. Either of these countries has a population mindset and belief system more closely aligned with the USA (to the extent that you can make such sweeping generalisations). And yet they both have less than half the gun related injuries and death rates that USA has.
Its hard to change a populations mindset and outlook - and who would want to change the ethos of the USA? Its a wildly successful (over time) society that is admired widely for its industry, competence and capability. I certainly feel that way anyway.
But any society looking at the statistics and analysing them dispassionately could (I think) be convinced that the gun laws in the USA currently are not adding value....
There is certainly a case that in any environment if you tightly control firearms, the prevalence of them in death and injury stats drops. Dramatically. Japan is a case in point.
The corollary is that if you have a very liberal approach to firearms, you get high levels of firearm death and injury. If you place this liberal firearms policy into a society that has overwhelming levels of faith in individual rights you get... the USA.
Lets be honest, the USA is not Switzerland. The mindset of the populations are almost diametrically opposed. The really mindblowing comparison is with Canada and, to a lesser extent, Australia. Either of these countries has a population mindset and belief system more closely aligned with the USA (to the extent that you can make such sweeping generalisations). And yet they both have less than half the gun related injuries and death rates that USA has.
Its hard to change a populations mindset and outlook - and who would want to change the ethos of the USA? Its a wildly successful (over time) society that is admired widely for its industry, competence and capability. I certainly feel that way anyway.
But any society looking at the statistics and analysing them dispassionately could (I think) be convinced that the gun laws in the USA currently are not adding value....
The root of the problem is deeper, we live in a sick society.
Prohibiting alcohol does not reduce the number of drunks.
Prohibiting drugs does not reduce the number of addicts.
Prohibiting guns does not reduce the number of idiots.
Prohibiting alcohol does not reduce the number of drunks.
Prohibiting drugs does not reduce the number of addicts.
Prohibiting guns does not reduce the number of idiots.
The vast majority of gun violence in the USA, and Mexico, Central America... is drug related. The gun is just a tool of violence.
Until you address the drug issue, you can not address the violence and hence the gun issue.
We (USA) have had drug control laws for over 70 years and we still do no better job than we did 50 years ago.
We interdict 15% of the drugs entering the USA and call it a victory. and the violence continues both in the USA and the countries that supply us (not that the rest of the world is innocent).
I'm not sure what the solution is, but this sure is not working. Lets try something different.
Until you address the drug issue, you can not address the violence and hence the gun issue.
We (USA) have had drug control laws for over 70 years and we still do no better job than we did 50 years ago.
We interdict 15% of the drugs entering the USA and call it a victory. and the violence continues both in the USA and the countries that supply us (not that the rest of the world is innocent).
I'm not sure what the solution is, but this sure is not working. Lets try something different.
Sorry Gimp, but Europe has the same drug issues that the USA has, and doesn't have the levels of gun injuries and death the USA has. Drugs add to the problem to be sure, but they are not the sole or even main reason for your high levels of gun violence.
The drug issue I agree with - we have the same problem here. Vast amounts are spent prosecuting people who should actually be managed as health problems, not enough effort is put into figuring out why drug use is so prevalent in the first place.
The drug issue I agree with - we have the same problem here. Vast amounts are spent prosecuting people who should actually be managed as health problems, not enough effort is put into figuring out why drug use is so prevalent in the first place.
The numbers are less than .2% of total population how is that higher than others you describe especially when you consider the qty of gun owners ..
This thread is wrong on so many levels, and nothing good (defined as beneficial to diyAudio and its members and guests) can come of it. I barely made in through the first page. I implore the moderators to strictly adhere to forum rules. I'm amazed it hasn't been shut down already.
Personally I hate guns of all sorts and think that anyone who wishes to own one is mental.
Guns for sporting use should be only kept in licensed premises securely locked away and only accessed by tightly vetted individuals under intensely scrutinised conditions.
I do not trust anyone who carries a gun....period, in the same way as I do not trust anyone who carries a knife, of knuckle dusters, or baseball bats etc, etc.
The almost ubiquitous acceptance of guns makes me puke. The adoration of their power and recoil, and the damage that they can do; the frequency with which they appear in (especially) Hollywood Films as a seemingly essential piece of equipment; and as for the use of guns as a "hunting device"....... Some moron baits a pile of logs with a tasty snack for a Bear and then climbs a tree with his specialised shooting platform at some "safe" distance; the Bear comes along following the scent and then BOOM the big butch brave heroic huntsman blows the **** out of the Bear with a sense of thrill and satisfaction!?!?!?
It's not big and it's not clever. It's pathetic.
It's probably about their own disempowerment and some subconscious desire to regain some control over an aspect of their lives that they can grab hold of in an act of primal desperation.
Rant over and out
Guns for sporting use should be only kept in licensed premises securely locked away and only accessed by tightly vetted individuals under intensely scrutinised conditions.
I do not trust anyone who carries a gun....period, in the same way as I do not trust anyone who carries a knife, of knuckle dusters, or baseball bats etc, etc.
The almost ubiquitous acceptance of guns makes me puke. The adoration of their power and recoil, and the damage that they can do; the frequency with which they appear in (especially) Hollywood Films as a seemingly essential piece of equipment; and as for the use of guns as a "hunting device"....... Some moron baits a pile of logs with a tasty snack for a Bear and then climbs a tree with his specialised shooting platform at some "safe" distance; the Bear comes along following the scent and then BOOM the big butch brave heroic huntsman blows the **** out of the Bear with a sense of thrill and satisfaction!?!?!?
It's not big and it's not clever. It's pathetic.
It's probably about their own disempowerment and some subconscious desire to regain some control over an aspect of their lives that they can grab hold of in an act of primal desperation.
Rant over and out
My father was a NRA Life Member, was a competitive shooter with numerous awards and trophies (his range partner was an Olympic qualifier), and I've been around guns my entire life. Am I a hunter or "gun nut"? Not at all. But I own several... at least seven, I'm not even sure how many. If you aren't smart and responsible enough to own one (as evidenced by this thread), then don't.
I own a couple air guns, too, and since I live in the city limits, those are the ones I shoot around the house.
I own a couple air guns, too, and since I live in the city limits, those are the ones I shoot around the house.
OP, I would guess that your son is... uh... "known" to the local law enforcement officials. Would that be correct, and if so, why did you leave that IMO important fact out of the story?
PS If you think I'm not playing, you would be oh so correct.
PS If you think I'm not playing, you would be oh so correct.
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