There Is No Gun Crime In The United States

[Sava]

Ever tried to get a gun?

Yes, I own 4.

What does 'untrained' mean?

somebody not trained

How is 'registration' the same as training?

Registration would require taking courses in firearms usage and safety.

And btw, if you licensed and registered ever gun and gun owner, you'd still have rampant ownership of guns. And, of course, this wouldn't stop kids who steal them from their fathers. So what does it actually accomplish? I think it'd be nice to go in an licence and register all guns, I'm just blanching at the immense cost of all that, and for how much gain?

It means less guns in the hands of stupid people. It won't eliminate gun crime, but rather, reduce it. And make it easier to track guns. I think the government should fund studies to find out where guns used in crimes come from and then try to eliminate the problem.

[Sprayber]

Originally posted by Agathon


Ever fired a proper target pistol? You'd be hard put to use one of those in a gunfight.

As a matter of fact I have. I'm not sure but I don't believe I was talking exclusivly about target pistols. Here is what I see as resonable when someone is about to purchase a handgun.

1. Make sure he or she is not a felon.
2. Make sure he or she knows how to use one
3. Require that person to register that firearm.

Some people may say that the person should provide secure places and devices such as lock boxs and safety locks. What would really be wrong with that. In some states a person is required to maintain their car in a safe condition before they can get tags.

Now if your a nice law abiding citizen who only wants to shoot paper targets then you should have no problem doing those things?


**wonders how in the hell he got on the side of those arguing for gun control...

[Sava]

As a matter of fact I have. I'm not sure but I don't believe I was talking exclusivly about target pistols. Here is what I see as resonable when someone is about to purchase a handgun.

1. Make sure he or she is not a felon.
2. Make sure he or she knows how to use one
3. Require that person to register that firearm.

Some people may say that the person should provide secure places and devices such as lock boxs and safety locks. What would really be wrong with that. In some states a person is required to maintain their car in a safe condition before they can get tags.

Now if your a nice law abiding citizen who only wants to shoot paper targets then you should have no problem doing those things?

**wonders how in the hell he got on the side of those arguing for gun control...

You're smart and have a lot of common sense.

[JCG]

In a better world/country, you'd have a strict schedule of regular checks on gun owners, to see if they are correctly using their guns (ie: not using them at all, except for hunting and the like) and keeping all the necessary safety measures (to prevent their derranged children from going on shooting sprees, for example)....

[rah]

The US doesn't have a monopoly on this type of thing.

From Last Week

By JOERG VOELKERLING
Associated Press Writer
Published July 2, 2003, 1:37 PM CDT

COBURG, Germany -- A 16-year-old student armed with a pistol and a revolver opened fire in his classroom Wednesday, wounding a school psychologist and fatally shooting himself.

Two students were slightly injured in the rush to flee the public school in this Bavarian town at about 9 a.m., state police said. One pupil jumped from a first-floor window but landed unhurt.

The teenager walked into the classroom and fired a first shot toward the chalkboard, which ricocheted into the ceiling, sending the teacher and her pupils fleeing, police said, revising earlier accounts that the classroom teacher was shot.

A second teacher who serves as school psychologist tried to enter the room to calm the student. He shot her in the thigh, said Bernhard Schmitt, a police officer at the scene. The 16-year-old then turned the revolver on himself, police said.

"We know nothing yet about the motives," police spokeswoman Ingrid Beyer said. "The teacher is getting medical attention."

Bavarian authorities said the boy was repeating eighth grade but was in no danger of being held back again. He was considered quiet and not a problem student, Schmitt said.

It was unclear where the student had obtained the weapons, although his grandfather belongs to a local shooting club.

According to the school's Web site, there were 34 pupils enrolled in the class and a total of 757 at the school, which prepares students for vocational training or apprenticeships.

Coburg is located about 145 miles north of Munich.

In April 2002, 17 people in the eastern city of Erfurt died in Germany's deadliest school shooting. Robert Steinhaeuser, a 19-year-old who had been expelled, shot and killed 13 teachers, a police officer and two students before fatally shooting himself.

Last October, a teen entered a school near the southwestern city of Stuttgart and took four students hostage at gunpoint, but the kidnapping ended after several hours without incident. The 17-year-old was recently sentenced to 3 1/2 years in jail.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

[*End Is Forever*]

It does happen elsewhere... but not as often. You're over 50 times more likely to be shot dead in the USA than you are in the UK. That's a shocking statistic and one for which there are no excuses.

[Japher]

1 out of every 20 statistics are inherently flawed...

Guns don't kill people, people do
Guns don't kill people, it is those little hard things that come out of them

Honestly, what are the comparisons for homicide rates in the US vs. UK? I think if someone wants to kill someone they will find away, gun or no gun.

[rah]

Sorry, I'll take my chances. It's worth a higher chance of dying by gun fire to not have to live in the UK.

[MikeH]

Originally posted by Japher
Honestly, what are the comparisons for homicide rates in the US vs. UK? I think if someone wants to kill someone they will find away, gun or no gun.

I don't have time to look for them now, got to go out but they are MUCH lower in the UK. I'll find them tomorrow if I remember (Ought to save them somewhere this comes up so often.) As people always point out here though it's normally the people in the poorer areas getting shot so most of the Apolyton posters who tend to live in nice areas aren't so bothered about it.

It's a lot easier to kill someone with a gun than, say, a knife, and a lot less messy.

[Imran Siddiqui]

We've had a gun licensing scheme in New Zealand for as long as anyone can remember. What happens is that you apply to the police and they ask your family and friends what they think about you owning a gun. If no one produces evidence that you are a nutter you get a license. You are expected to be paranoid about gun safety (and all the gun owners I have met are), but the fact is that you are basically left alone unless you do something stupid.

Sounds good .

somebody not trained

And what is 'trained'. How do you get 'trained'? A 4 hour state course? A private course on gun safety, what?

Registration would require taking courses in firearms usage and safety.

Would you have to pay for these courses or would the government provide them to you at no cost?

It means less guns in the hands of stupid people.

Perhaps, but perhaps not. There are many stupid people that can pass training.

[DanielXY]

Well you could also move to germany. As long as you are not in any sort of classroom you should be save

[Al B. Sure!]

how the hell would gun control prevent people from getting guns? if you determined to get a gun (which you would be if you a mugger for example), you can get one easily and you'll have a good time evading the cops cause they won't have the ballistics data nor a serial number nor a place of purchase from your illegal hand gun

[rah]

Yes, but it's a lot easier to get a gun when you're in a country that has more guns than people.

[Starchild]

Gun crime is so common in the USA that there would be something wrong when a day goes by without a fatal shooting. Stopping such things would be a cultural ruination seeing how it adds a certain sharp edge to the cheesecake of society.

[/joking]

[Al B. Sure!]

StarChild:

Gun crime is so common in the USA that there would be something wrong when a day goes by without a fatal shooting

did you know that Philly has had 142 murders between Jan 1 03 and June 10 and this is at about the lowest in philly's recent history apparently so yeah... one city alone got a homicide every day...