Gun Control

Sender · Post by **Sender** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:10 pm

This topic of discussion should break down barriers we may otherwise have. I hope I am in the right forum.

What are your thoughts?

Chimp · Post by **Chimp** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:38 pm

In general, I am for some form of sane control.

I also happen to think the constitutional guarantees refer to the
right to bear arms in the context of a militia...as in

he bore arms for his country.

I generally support gun safety legislation also...trigger locks etc...

McCulloch · Post by **McCulloch** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:54 pm

Fortunately, I live in a country with no constitutional protection for bearing arms. In my city, guns used in crime generally come from two sources, our gun loving neighbours to the south and break-ins of registered gun owners and collecters. The solution is better protection at the border and to make privately held collections of handguns illegal.

ST88 · Post by **ST88** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:36 pm

I am all for a free market, everyone gets what they are able.

But I look at it this way. Do we let anyone who wants a nuclear device have one? No, that would be stupid. What about a rocket-propelled granade launcher? How about a Howitzer or a machine gun? We have to ask ourselves, why do we not let just anyone have these types of weapons? I would apply the same arguments to other weapons. Unlike other products, I think weapons should have a viable civic purpose before they can be distributed. In other words, they would have to prove their usefulness.

I would not oppose personal handguns for protection or hunting rifles with sufficient background checks, required education, and waiting periods.

I'm not sure what the second amendment actually says, because I have no idea what a "well-regulated militia" is, nor do I know if the wording of this phrase makes a definitive statement of who gets guns and who doesn't.

Sender · Post by **Sender** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:56 pm

Mac, reports I have read says Canada's crime has increased dramatically since everyone turned in their guns.

If the people fear the goverment you have tyranny, if the govermant fears the people you have democracy.

I feel if you take the guns from the good guys, only the bad guys will have them.

Vladd44 · Post by **Vladd44** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 9:54 am

I oppose all forms of gun control.

Here in my country, most of the gun related violence is linked to the black market economy created by prohibition.

We dont need gun control to stop the violence, we need legalization of Drugs for that.

Grumpy · Post by **Grumpy** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 5:08 pm

All

Good gun control leads to better accuracy.

Seriously, I see no reason for civilians to have ready access to automatic or extremely powerfull weapons but hunting is a passtime I myself enjoy(even though I haven't killed a single creature in years) and I especially enjoy sillouette rifle shooting and other target shooting as a sport. I also shoot handguns for fun and profit.

Having said that I would add that I support harsh registration enforcement, those found with unregistered guns should spend time in jail. By regestered I mean a test fired bullet on file for every barrel with my name on the document so if I use that gun in the commision of a crime they would know it was me just like a finger print!

Law abiding citizens would have nothing to worry about as long as they owned that weapon responsibly(locks, locked gun safes, immediate reporting of stolen weapons, etc) and I don't even have a problem with concealed carry for protection by competent private citizens(classes, training, insurance,etc.)

Grumpy 8)

CJK · Post by **CJK** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 6:18 pm

Humans have been killing, looting, and stealing from each other for thousands of years. The availability of guns are not going to make a dramatic difference.

Sender · Post by **Sender** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 7:22 pm

CJK wrote: The availability of guns are not going to make a dramatic difference.

...but the lack of guns would. If I was a crook, and there were ten homes I wanted to rob, if I knew there were no guns in any of those homes, it would be allot easier to go rob them.

Now if there were a possibility there might be guns in a number of those homes, and not usre which one, it would be a deterrence of sorts.

No guns for Joe public would be like a feeding frenzy for criminals IMO.

I am not talking having assault riffles and grenades and all that ridiculous stuff, but shotguns, hand guns and high powered riffles for protection, sports enthusiest and hobbiest.

McCulloch · Post by **McCulloch** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 8:21 am

CJK wrote: The availability of guns are not going to make a dramatic difference.

Sender wrote:...but the lack of guns would. If I was a crook, and there were ten homes I wanted to rob, if I knew there were no guns in any of those homes, it would be allot easier to go rob them.
Now if there were a possibility there might be guns in a number of those homes, and not usre which one, it would be a deterrence of sorts.
No guns for Joe public would be like a feeding frenzy for criminals IMO.
I am not talking having assault riffles and grenades and all that ridiculous stuff, but shotguns, hand guns and high powered riffles for protection, sports enthusiest and hobbiest.

This assumes that the guns are available and loaded. Yet most responsible gun owners advocate locking up the guns, leaving them unloaded and storing the ammo separately. Having loaded guns at the ready in private homes results in more accidental shootings than the number of robberies they might have prevented. Safely stored guns in a private home would not be a deterrent for any robber, in fact, they are demonstratably a highly prized target as was the case for Mike Hargreaves, a fugitive from Canadian justice, who is living in a modest, two-storey stucco home a few kilometres from Disney World.
Ever watch the old movie, The Desperate Hours with Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March? Most of us would not be able to shoot another person. I really don't think that hardened criminals have much to fear from legally safely stored guns in suburbia.