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Is It Time For the US To Change Its Gun Laws?
David In Indy:
I appreciate your comments Brokeplex and I was hoping you would chime in. :)
I keep think about other countries though, such as the European countries. They have very strict gun control laws and we rarely hear about these types of atrocities happening over there. Even here in North America - Canada has strict laws too, I believe. When was the last time we heard about a shooting up there? One comes to my mind, the incident in Alberta last summer.
I keep thinking about that. Something needs to change, somehow, because these shootings seem to be on the rise, and this little ol' Hoosier boy is getting kind of scared. :(
louisev:
the answer is not arming the populace: the answer is disarming it. And it was done in Canada by offering bounties for weapons: the more you turn in, the more money you get for turning them in. Strict gun control WORKS, and it has been proven in Britain, in Canada, and in Australia - but it took a massacre at Port Arthur to do it in Australia because the population felt they had a right 'to defend themselves.'
But I imagine strict gun control won't happen in the USA till long after gays are allowed to marry ... so, a very long time.
David In Indy:
Hi Del! It looks like we posted at the same time.
Regarding your comment about the European countries, I have been reading countless online European newspapers and other media, and one thing has become clear to me - Europe is quite porous. Ever since the Schengen Agreement (now observed by 25 countries I believe) there are many pockets and cubby holes for hoodlums to sneak through. Go read the BBC sometime. They have been having many "Have Your Say" conversations about it. Many Europeans are concerned about it. But I don't hear them discussing guns!
Somehow, I don't think guns are the answer and I really don't know what we can do about it. These shooting are awful though. We need to figure something out or it will continue to get worse around here.
delalluvia:
--- Quote from: louise van hine on February 15, 2008, 01:22:43 am ---the answer is not arming the populace: the answer is disarming it. And it was done in Canada by offering bounties for weapons: the more you turn in, the more money you get for turning them in. Strict gun control WORKS, and it has been proven in Britain, in Canada, and in Australia - but it took a massacre at Port Arthur to do it in Australia because the population felt they had a right 'to defend themselves.'
But I imagine strict gun control won't happen in the USA till long after gays are allowed to marry ... so, a very long time.
--- End quote ---
Well, that works for people who need money badly. I don't need the money badly - it certainly won't be what the gun is worth - so neither I nor my friends who own multiple guns and gun collections would be tempted by bounty offering. And of course the professional criminals might just like to turn theirs in, get money and turn right around and buy more illegally from across the border.
Hi Atreyu,
I'm sure European countries have pockets and cubbyholes for the criminal element to cross borders. The U.S. has thousands upon thousands of miles, completely uninhabited and unwatched and unguarded.
I put the gun control issue on the same level as back on 9-11 when people pointed out that Israel had very strict security on their aviation industry and why couldn't the U.S. be as safe?
The answer was - sheer volume.
Like air travel, the U.S.'s gun market is enormous and an extremely lucrative business. The U.S. has granted its population quite a bit of leeway in gun ownership for centuries. This is not something that can be brought under control easily or soon. As Louise said, it will likely be generations before it's brought under control, if it even can be.
brokeplex:
--- Quote from: Atreyu on February 15, 2008, 01:16:24 am ---I appreciate your comments Brokeplex and I was hoping you would chime in. :)
I keep think about other countries though, such as the European countries. They have very strict gun control laws and we rarely hear about these types of atrocities happening over there. Even here in North America - Canada has strict laws too, I believe. When was the last time we heard about a shooting up there? One comes to my mind, the incident in Alberta last summer.
I keep thinking about that. Something needs to change, somehow, because these shootings seem to be on the rise, and this little ol' Hoosier boy is getting kind of scared. :(
--- End quote ---
Well, we agree on the fear component in this discussion. I am also afraid of a future that will probably contain psycho killers and terrorists.
If I were convinced that confiscating all firearms, and that would have to include hunting rifles, the man in IL apparently killed with a shot gun, could be done in a timely and peaceful manner, and that such confiscation would eliminate incidents that we now see in IL, and earlier in WV, and VA, well then I would be all in favor of rapid confiscation. No exceptions, just law enforcement and the military would be allowed to carry firearms.
I am a conservative, but I am not a 2nd Amendment conservative. I think most of the NRA is a bit wacky in fact. I can't make an argument that 2nd amendment protections to the right to bear arms are viable in today's world. My opinion is that the 2nd amendment was written and approved by those at the constitutional convention who favored the arming of all state militias as an abettment to easy secession from the union, if that was ever needed. State militias were each states's defense against a tyrannical central government, go look at the debates over the 2nd amendment during the that time frame and you will see much discussion about whether the US was a voluntary association of sovereign states, to be broken up at will, or an integral union. This discussion was finally and completely answered in the Civil War, the Confederacy taking the right to secession and arming of state militia's seriously decided to secede. Pres Lincoln had other ideas, saying "The Constitution is not a suicide pact".
That should have been the end of 2nd Amendment discussions, it was a dead letter. Until the NRA, gave it new life.
I can't agree with gun free zones or gun control because that just won't work. We just can't get all the guns out of the hands of those who wish to kill. And, there will always be crazies who wish to kill some of us. I would rather have the option of defense other than my wit and charm. Also, schools need to be able to intervene in the lives of those who exhibit crazy behavior, the guy who shot up Virginia Tech was crying out for help. Over and over again we see behavioral patterns in these killers that alert us that they may be dangerous. I'd rather be safe than sorry and intervene in their lives.
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