US Gun Laws

[MikeH]

Is that so?
instersting

Yes, I have literally never seen a gun in this country, other than in the hands of a specialist firearms officer on patrol at an airport or other transport terminal.

It was really odd when I was a teenager and I went to France for the first time and saw cops with guns, first time I'd ever seen a real gun.

[Docfeelgood]

There are tons of guns in Canada for this kind of reason. Canada's a manly, wildernessy, wild nation. We're less about crack & whores and more about mountains & forests.

The difference is the guns we have in Canada tend to be things like 0.22s. And this makes a huge difference.

Compare and contrast the Taber school shooting with Columbine. The Taber shooting was eight days after Columbine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._R._Myers_High_School_shooting

sad

[Docfeelgood]

Doesn't tell us anything about gun statistics, but it does tell us something about you.

sorry
I thought you knew that was no secret?

[Docfeelgood]

Yes, I have literally never seen a gun in this country, other than in the hands of a specialist firearms officer on patrol at an airport or other transport terminal.

It was really odd when I was a teenager and I went to France for the first time and saw cops with guns, first time I'd ever seen a real gun.

Wow!
being an American that is such are hard concept to understand.

[MikeH]

Well the US system is a massive head f*ck for us too, we can't understand why anyone would want to live in a culture with guns so prevalent.

[Cort Haus]

If we could get together I bet I could make you a gun lover.
Take you beer can hunting.

I like shooting - used to have an air rifle as a kid and shot at targets in the garden. I even shot at birds, squirrels and rabbits. Not the same as a person-shooting machine though.

[Docfeelgood]

Well the US system is a massive head f*ck for us too, we can't understand why anyone would want to live in a culture with guns so prevalent.

not just you, about the fcucked part........

[Cort Haus]

What Mike said about not having guns here: In the same way that a logical argument is made that that if the criminals have guns, the victims also need them, the flipside is that as the victims don't have them, the criminals don't need them. Less guns = less gun deaths.

[Docfeelgood]

It is hard for me to understand how British people can be so docile when those( muslimes ) are are calling for the overthrow of your government with a religion.
No offence.
Im just trying to show the compair in shock.

[Docfeelgood]

well, might have something to do with our history

[Arrian]

My father (a Brit) has made a similar argument to me. His assertion was that for a long time, police in Britain didn't carry guns and, therefore, the criminals didn't feel the need for them either. I'm not sure I buy that - the causation might be backwards.

Ultimately, it's a cultural thing. Seems to me the USA has always had a lot of guns and gun-related crime. I don't think it's something that we could easily legislate away, even if you were to pretend that the 2nd Amendment wasn't a big problem for said legislation.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Even if you look at this and say, hell, there's no militia anymore and hey why is ownership of a handgun or rifle a protected Right but ownership of, say, a fully-operational Tank or Fighter Jet not... the basic idea is quite clear. If you want strict gun control, you want a Constitutional Amendment (which isn't happening, absent a huge shift in public opinion).

The challenge is therefore to change the culture, which is difficult and slow (if successful at all).

-Arrian

[Docfeelgood]

My father (a Brit) has made a similar argument to me. His assertion was that for a long time, police in Britain didn't carry guns and, therefore, the criminals didn't feel the need for them either. I'm not sure I buy that - the causation might be backwards.

Ultimately, it's a cultural thing. Seems to me the USA has always had a lot of guns and gun-related crime. I don't think it's something that we could easily legislate away, even if you were to pretend that the 2nd Amendment wasn't a big problem for said legislation.



Even if you look at this and say, hell, there's no militia anymore and hey why is ownership of a handgun or rifle a protected Right but ownership of, say, a fully-operational Tank or Fighter Jet not... the basic idea is quite clear. If you want strict gun control, you want a Constitutional Amendment (which isn't happening, absent a huge shift in public opinion).

The challenge is therefore to change the culture, which is difficult and slow (if successful at all).

-Arrian

[Docfeelgood]

All you're controlling is law abiding citizens. That's the point.

True

[giblets]

What kind of militia uses handguns?

[Arrian]

The way I read the text, the militia bit isn't particularly important. I read it thus:

You shall not infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms, because, ya know, a Militia is useful for defense of a Free State.

Not: People shall have the right to keep & bear arms when they're part of a well-regulated Militia.

-Arrian

p.s. I think the framers, if shown 21st Century America might re-word the 2nd. That is, after they got done freaking out over black people voting, interracial marriage, women voting, birth control, abortion, the federal income tax, the overall size & scope of the federal government, etc.