SpiceMan Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 I'm so delighted to hear that the UK no longer has any shootings, now that most firearms are banned. In 2006/2007 the US had 28000 fire-arm related homicides. The UK had 59. The evidence is clear, gun control saves lives. The argument that people need guns to protect themselves from crazies is totally fallacious. It is the people with guns who are the crazies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 << The evidence is clear, gun control saves lives. >> How many times do I have to say it. [color:red]THE COURT DIDN'T SAY THERE CAN'T BE GUN CONTROL.[/color] It said ownership cannot be banned. People own and operate cars, but there are many rules and regulations on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogueyam Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Certainly didn't go on about our divine right to own one. The whole "endowed by our Creator" thing came with the lease. We're just holding to the original terms. Ain't broke, don't fix, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 << U.S. policy aims to maintain the right of legitimate users to own most types of firearms, while restricting access to firearms by those individuals in high risk groups. Gun dealers in the United States are prohibited from selling handguns to those under the age of 21, and long guns to those under the age of 18. There are also restrictions on selling guns to out-of-state residents. >> << Among juveniles (i.e., minors under the age of 16, 17, or 18, depending on legal jurisdiction) serving in correctional facilities, 86% owned a gun at some point, with 66% acquiring their first gun by age 14. There is also a tendency for juvenile offenders to own many firearms, with 65% owning three or more. Juveniles most often acquire guns from family, friends, drug dealers, and street contacts. Inner-city youths cite "self-protection from enemies" as the top reason for carrying a gun. In Rochester, New York, 22% of young males have carried an illegal gun, though most for only a short period of time. [color:red]There is little overlap between legal gun ownership and illegal gun carrying among youths.[/color] >> Wkikpedia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogueyam Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Not at all. Congressmen make the laws, not the courts. It's even more clear-cut than that. The Constitution is ratified by a 3/4 majority of State Legislatures so if the Second Amendment is to be modified it will take an Act of Congress plus most of the States getting on board. That is unlikely to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 << The whole "endowed by our Creator" thing came with the lease. >> Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ... So what's everybody jumping on the ex-guv of Noo Yawk for? All he did was pursue happiness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Hoy Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 How many times do I have to say it. [color:red]THE COURT DIDN'T SAY THERE CAN'T BE GUN CONTROL.[/color] It said ownership cannot be banned. I just finished reading a long dissertation comparing the right to bear arms in Britain beginning since...700 AD to present; and a corresponding, but shorter history, of same in the U.S. Took me almost an hour to get through it. Though the essay used firearms control as an example, it was really a lesson describing "a slippery slope" where rights once assumed can be gradually chipped away. For instance, in Britain (I was amazed to read) possession of a small knife can land you in the slammer...and even people who had to defend themselves from great bodily harm with such instruments ended up being imprisoned ! The thesis of the essay is this: once the government asserts an "authority" and the public is willing to allow the government to assert it's authority, you can get fucked over. I am really puzzled how liberals are willing to get worked up over gun controls (giving up a right) while bemoaning government interceptions of telephone/internet communications which they deem are covered by a "right to privacy" (which, incidentally, is not a "constitutional right"). BTW, I've read that there are at least 60,000 cases per year of citizens in the U.S. defending themselves against criminals with firearms. Seems awfully high, but don't have any info to the contrary. Anyway, here is the link to the essay I read. Worth reading if interested in the overall thesis whether or not you are in favor or against gun control. http://www.guncite.com/journals/okslip.html#fnb168 HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 << BTW, I've read that there are at least 60,000 cases per year of citizens in the U.S. defending themselves against criminals with firearms. >> I saw that on line too. But it said the figure included policemen who drew their weapons in the line of duty. In my hometown you can only use "lethal force" in self defence - i.e. if you are being attacked or threatened with attack. You cannot shoot someone who is fleeing, even if caught committing a crime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Not being American I tend to shy away from debates about US Politics and Laws etc, I have lived and worked over there didn't like it and left. One question I keep asking myself is why in todays modern society would anyone feel the need to carry a gun. When the American constitution was drawn up over 200 years ago frontiersmen were going out into the unknown it was understandable, but in todays modern society I cannot comprehend the need to own a firearm. I am not trying to start an argument just merely asking the question of the American pro-gun members of this board what is their justification for owning a firearm, it's a concept I have never really understood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simie Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Mekong, as you say its very difficult at times for people in the UK to fathom out why many Americans are so pro having guns in the house for defence. But the UK has never been as devoid of firearms as many people would think. Up untill the firearms act of 1920 there where virtually no restrictions on firearm ownership in the UK. Other than perhaps that of class as firearms where relatively expensive and most working class people could'nt afford them. In Victorian times it was quite normal for a "gentleman" to carry a revolver or some other sort of weapon if going out at night in one of the dodgier parts of London. Prior to the changes in the UK that prohibited the ownership of handguns in 1997 I used to legally own various guns including handguns, rifles and shotguns. Which where used for sporting purposes and competition shooting (against police teams as well at times). These would have been useless for the American concept of home defence as apart from the fact I'd have almost certainly ended up in court myself if I had shot an intruder, they where all locked in a steel cabin in my attic with the ammunition in a seperate cabinet. Simie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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