Gun control; saving lives...

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

...in the US since 19 April 1775.

Seems like a good idea.

[bowens43]

1. gun control has saved countless lives in this country and in every civilized nation around the world

unfortunately, since the bastardization of the 2cnd amendment by the activist supreme court, our nation is no longer a civilized nation. we are working desperately to become another Afghanistan

actually a great idea would be a total ban on hand guns and very strict limitations on the purchase of any and all ammunition.

[rrneck]

2. You're funny. nt

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

3. Are you sure...

...you're not a member of the House of Hanover?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. Any other civil rights or basic liberties you oppose?

[gejohnston]

6. no it hasn't

BTW, define civilized. Does that mean only countries that have lower murder rates than we do? All countries that have stricter gun laws?
The latter includes Somalia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Costa Rica, and many others. Check out the murder rates of those places.

[DonP]

7. Well, when you ignore the millions killed by their own governments - he might have a point

The gun control fans keep pointing out how "civilized" and "safe" many European countries are with their "restrictive" gun laws, But they seem to overlook the millions of their own citizens they've killed in Pogroms, the Holocaust and other "ethnic cleansing" events that took place at least up until the '90's.

I guess the millions there don't count, since it was so last century, well except the deaths in Serbo/Croatia that Clinton tried to end. But other than that, it was a "long time ago" so that doesn't count, or so I've been told.

But other than millions of their own citizens every decade or so, they are much more civilized than our gun crazed lives here.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

8. The "civilized" among us...

...learned a long time ago that it's better to pay for 30,000 deaths every year with 500,000 every 10. Where you been???

[safeinOhio]

12. A better example might be Switzerland.

Lots and lots of firearms in private homes including full autos. Very strict laws on the use, registration and purchase. Low crime rate. Because they are a good example of a civilian militia that works, there is little history the government attacking it's citizens.

[gejohnston]

14. Are you saying

that we should dismantle the empire and MIC to replace it with a Swiss style militia? I could get behind that. I don't know about very strict, maybe strict. Certainly more reasonable than some places in the US like NYC.
Granted it is not the US or Czech Republic, but not Denmark either.

[safeinOhio]

17. I wouldn't mind a large part of it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Switzerland

I would limit registration to hand guns and military style long guns. Target and hunting rifles would not need any drastic restrictions in this country. I don't think anyone would need 30 rounds for hunting. If so, they might think about taking up fishing.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

19. 30 rounds???

WUWT?

[oneshooter]

29. "military style long guns" does this include the M1Garand, Springfield rifles, Trapdoor rifles

Mauser rifles, Mosin Nagants, Arisika rifles, or SMLE rifles?

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

[krispos42]

24. Well, in the period between wars and ethnic cleansing...

...the European countries are quite civilized.

[rl6214]

9. Sounds like shares

"ly a great idea would be a total ban on hand guns and very strict limitations on the purchase of any and all ammunition."

[Common Sense Party]

13. What would happen to my hand gun under your enlightened solution?

[spin]

21. Please explain why the violent crime rate has fallen dramatically ...

in recent years if allowing more citizens to own and carry firearms is turning our nation into another Afganistan.

Violent Crime

***snip***

Overview

In 2010, an estimated 1,246,248 violent crimes occurred nationwide, a decrease of 6.0 percent from the 2009 estimate.
When considering 5- and 10-year trends, the 2010 estimated violent crime total was 13.2 percent below the 2006 level and 13.4 percent below the 2001 level.
There were an estimated 403.6 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants in 2010.
Aggravated assaults accounted for the highest number of violent crimes reported to law enforcement at 62.5 percent. Robbery comprised 29.5 percent of violent crimes, forcible rape accounted for 6.8 percent, and murder accounted for 1.2 percent of estimated violent crimes in 2010.




http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/violent-crime

Crime in the United States

Crime statistics for the United States are published annually by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Uniform Crime Reports which represents crimes reported to the police. The Bureau of Justice Statistics conducts the annual National Crime Victimization Survey which captures crimes not reported to the police.

In 2009 America's crime rate was roughly the same as in 1968, with the homicide rate being at its lowest level since 1964. Overall, the national crime rate was 3466 crimes per 100,000 residents, down from 3680 crimes per 100,000 residents forty years earlier in 1969 (-9.4%).emphasis added


Violent crime rates in the United states per 100,000 population beginning in 1960. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistic


Property crime rates in the United states per 100,000 population beginning in 1960. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States

[Lizzie Poppet]

22. It's done nothing of the sort.

Gun related crime in the US was statistically similar to that of European countries for the first five decades of the 20th Century. During this time, the US had minimal gun control while most European countries had more (ranging from slightly more stringent to complete prohibition of civilian possession). Violent crime in general (and gun-related in specific) spiked radically in the US in the 1960's. More stringent US gun controls weren't enacted until 1968, and there was no significant drop in violent crime rates following these enactments. We didn't begin to see a drop for several decades after (despite more stringent controls arising in some states and during the inane assault weapons ban era).


You have no idea what you're talking about.

[krispos42]

25. The crime rate began dropping a generation after Roe v. Wade.

The US and a lot of western Europe legalized abortion at about the same time, but the Europeans didn't have to deal with an entire generation of PTSD-stricken military vets during the 70's, 80's and 90's, so they probably didn't have that big spike in violence in the late 70's and 80's.

[krispos42]

26. The prison-industrial complex backs your position 100%. n/t

[Common Sense Party]

27. Why is it that you never engage in debate?

You enter a thread, give your emotion-driven and fact-deficient OPINION that all guns are bad and that EVERYONE should be stripped of their Constitutional right to bear arms, and then you disappear.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

28. re: "...should be stripped of their Constitutional right to bear arms, and then you disappear."

I do appreciate that last part.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

4. They can control My Guns when I get to control Their Guns. Fair is Fair.

They want to wage wars with my Tax Dollars. All I want is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

15. They want to wage wars with my Tax Dollars.

Your tax dollars (and others today) may be paying off Vietnam or some other old war. Today's wars will be paid for by our grandchildren.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

16. theoretically, yes. fact is, they are waging war in my lifetime and I am paying taxes

ergo same difference.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

18. You're making me nervous.

That sounds like the Ken Lay School of Accounting to me.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

20. oh lord!

[ileus]

10. Why don't we already have a total ban on firearms.

Everyone knows guns kill people...

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

11. We do...

...in "civilized" towns.

[Lizzie Poppet]

23. Because it would result in massive civil unrest, for one thing.

Even if a total ban on civilian possession were a good idea (and it's not), it's completely unworkable. Unless vigorously enforced, it would be ignored by millions of gun owners, accomplishing nothing (except for creating an adversarial relationship between millions of otherwise largely law-abiding citizens and law enforcement). If vigorously enforced, it would be forcibly resisted, resulting in a chaotic level of civil unrest. Terrible idea...