Man shot by police in Iceland, for the first time in Iceland's history
http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-12-03/iceland-grieves-after-police-kill-man-first-time-its-history
Iceland apparently ranks 15th in the world in terms of gun ownership per capita, but gun violence is almost non-existent because their gun culture is different than ours.
Re: Man shot by police in Iceland, for the first time in Iceland's history
Originally posted by Omega Vision
http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-12-03/iceland-grieves-after-police-kill-man-first-time-its-historyIceland apparently ranks 15th in the world in terms of gun ownership per capita, but gun violence is almost non-existent because their gun culture is different than ours.
Really your Op should say
"Man shoots at police, and was shot by police."
Re: Re: Man shot by police in Iceland, for the first time in Iceland's history
Originally posted by Time-Immemorial
Really your Op should say"Man shoots at police, and was shot by police."
You might argue that that's simply a result of Iceland's culture, and you'd be right, but then cultures can change, and I see no reason why America can't change. We need to start by disabusing ourselves of this idea that owning and using guns are a quintessential part of being an American.
Originally posted by Omega Vision
No, because that's not the story. The story is that there are some countries in the world where gun violence isn't a problem, even if those countries do have guns.You might argue that that's simply a result of Iceland's culture, and you'd be right, but then cultures can change, and I see no reason why America can't change. We need to start by disabusing ourselves of this idea that owning and using guns are a quintessential part of being an American.
Good luck with this. There's entire swaths of this country which teach their kids from infancy to murder rather helpless animals for some token meat/fur and to feel good about themselves as 'hunters'. Then you have your war hawks and armchair generals, who are easily scared by everything Fox News tells them to be scared by, and people who identify as wanting guns because they think others want to take them. I've seen people who legally can't own guns post pro-gun memes on their FB.
This country has a serious mental issue and it's split down the middle. We need more than dialogue to change it.
For reference, gun laws on Iceland are, only licensed individuals may own guns, background checks are mandatory, 3-month courses to in gun ownership are required, minimum age of ownership is 18 or 20 years of age (two sources I checked had different numbers), and they maintain records of every citizen licensed to acquire, possess, sell or transfer a firearm or ammunition. A unique identification mark is required by law on all guns as well.
Also, while gun possession is high, it's almost entirely shotguns and hunting rifles, almost no handguns, and semi-automatic rifles are banned. You have to display a valid purpose of owning a gun, so 'hunting' is in, but only, like, target-shooters get licenses for handguns.
Originally posted by Surtur
This is the first time a person has been shot and killed by police. I'd be curious how many criminals have killed other people with guns that were not cops, but innocent civilians.Maybe people in Iceland just tend to use common sense, criminals here tend not to do so as often.
Or maybe the US has a problem with police violence.....