There's more to gun violence then just the availability of guns. Making them illegal wouldn't necessarily halt shootings, cut them down, yes, but people will always be able to get them illegally, and probably pretty easily, in which case you'd have a society where the only people who have guns, besides cops, are criminals, which is not an uplifting thought.
Or Canada and America. Consider their proximity to one another; the lifestyle and the media that one gets, the other gets at the same time. The video games, movies, television shows, music... all are targeted towards the same age group, and yet Canada hasn't had nearly as many shootings as America.
And yet parents in America claim that heavy rock music and the video game Doom are to blame.
If all Gun sales, and mass production was halted, there would still be gun crime. And what about all those people who are in possession of Guns at this moment. Would the government just go knocking on their door asking for any firearms that they may posses? I don't think so. But just for the concept, If No guns existed, there would still be crimes done with knives, and the bare fist. Just not with Firearms.
Last edited by Dusty on Dec 15th, 2005 at 11:53 PM
Fact is, no one really knows why gun violence is so bad in America. But it's obvious that it's rooted deeper then just having guns available. Canada has just as large a gun/people ratio and has a fraction of the shootings America has. There's no simple reason for the problem, as such, there is no simple answer.
Indeed. I'd prefer to be able to defend myself from criminals armed with guns than not becasue some moron's managed to get them banned for law-abiding citizens.
But when you have people like Michael Moore who use the Columbine tragedy for their political ends, the WORST is going to come out. And I for one, am tired of this ****ing movie being held over every gun owner's heads. It's like trying to hold modern day Germans resp. for the Holocaust. The actions of a few do NOT speak for the actions of an entire group.
have any of you here ever herad of the NICS system? Startred in 1998.
The Brady Campaign worked with the NRA to implement the NICS (National Instant Check System). It's simple: Before you buy a
gun, you fill out a form. They ask you about many facets of your criminal\mental\physical background.
The dealer then calls the State police of your specific state, and gives them your SSN. ANY and ALL info on your criminal\mental\physical background is there for their review. ANY smallest deviation in info between the database and the form is grounds for withholding or
denial of the sale. And if you have ever been convicted of something
as simple as pushing or shoving someone in ar argument, you are automatically IN-eligible for a gun because it denotes the tendecy for domestic violence.
Years ago, no background check, nothing. They filled out the form for sale and that was it. NOW, we have a more definite model of who should and shouldn't have a gun.
NICS stopped almost 1,000,000 sales last year. That's 1,000,000 LESS, so see it that way and it's a definite victory.
Did Michael Moore ever tell anyone about the NICS system or it's somewhat sounding success? NO. because HIS aim (no pun intended) is to derail the NRA because his real probelm is that they are Republican-based. SO as you can see his info was biased from the start.
Pretty strong words from a Texan considering in your state, no state license is needed for ANY sort of gun, but yet you need permits to carry concealed.
Every Citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in thelawful defense of himself, or the State, but the legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime."
Article 1, Section 23.
Yeah not to mention the illeagls who jump your fence every day and their own little black market ops along unguarded areas of the border.
You're missing the point: Legally obtained guns, in the hands of law abiding citizens, are not the problem. If you are criminally, mentally, and physically clear of any defect prohibiting you, then you should not be barred from owning.
But just handing them to everyone as you hypothesized, is a bad deal because you can't trust EVERYONE, but that said, this does not mean that decent people should be barred because of idiots.
More guns can reduce crime: Look at Kennesaw Georgia. It's required that everyone own a gun. This article speaks about Israel and their dropped rate of crime as a result of everyone packin' a piece. And to date,Kennesaw's crime rate is STILL low.
KMC Community Forums
Dec 15th, 2005 11:36 PM
It's people that use ANY tool that becomes the problem.
