An interesting idea about gun control is that by banning guns, the only way to guns is on the black market, and the black market is usually run by organized crime....
Too many guns in the US?
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Brazil and Russia both have some of the toughest gun control laws in the world, and yet they also have some of the highest murder rates in the world. This SHOULD answer your question for you.
I'm sure this is going to become a thread with thousands of posts, but lets start it off with a little factual info. High gun ownership per capita is not correlated with gun crime. Check out Europe and Canada! Also, deterring crime is not about the severity of the punishment, but the consistency. Lastly, banning guns should never be treated as a simple solution...it is absolutely NOT the case that "you ban guns and they all disappear". It was very sad to see YET AGAIN what happened in the US. I hope that whatever the heck is causing all this starts to change in the future.
I don't know if taking away the right to bear arms is the best solution. Homicide rates can be curbed through less fascist means than restricting freedoms. In Canada, at least, the rate of gun ownership is fairly high, while the homicide rate is reasonably low (especially gun-related homicide). Meanwhile, the homicide rate in the UK is pretty much the same as Canada's, even though England has basically outlawed gun ownership.
Also, keep in mind that the homicide rate in the USA is not really all that high when compared to, say, their neighbor to the south, Mexico. The USA has the most guns per capita, but they aren't the most violent by a long shot. Homicide is what needs to be dealt with, not guns. I know it is in vogue to hate the US, but their homicide rate is a symptom of greater problems rather than gun ownership.
As for these people who go on "killing sprees"... Statistically they are almost irrelevant, they represent an increbily slim slice of the human population. These people should not be considered part of the same category as the great majority of homicide cases as they represent a sort of rare, imbalanced human event. And do you really think these extreme cases would be stopped by restricting gun ownership, or would they simply build bombs or come by their firearms through illegal means? These are people who think they have something to prove to the world, mind you, rather than poverty-sticken thugs looking for money.
JuliusH wrote: I'm sure this is going to become a thread with thousands of posts, but lets start it off with a little factual info. High gun ownership per capita is not correlated with gun crime. Check out Europe and Canada! Also, deterring crime is not about the severity of the punishment, but the consistency. Lastly, banning guns should never be treated as a simple solution...it is absolutely NOT the case that "you ban guns and they all disappear". It was very sad to see YET AGAIN what happened in the US. I hope that whatever the heck is causing all this starts to change in the future.
I am not saying that banning gun would rid men from killing. But this IS the point, that men kill with whatever they have at their disposal. They will use their fists and feet, kitchen knives and curtain hangers... anything really. Guns are extra weapons to kill - and how deadly they are too. True they might get it on the black market but they do that already. Those who are not licenced owners. Having guns freely at HAND is the extra card that topples the house.
"Gun Control" is the Key to Genocide documents how gun control (and confiscation) has preceded the slaughter and genocide of millions of people in Turkey, the Soviet Union, Germany, China, Cambodia and others.
Good point Spair75, I agree. My grandfather used to joke "until the police carry a sausage instead of a billy club, there will be no peace". In my eyes (and I live in Texas of all places!) I see the gun crime thing as a symptom of some odd, unnameable problem in the society. People will of course commit crime (if they don't own a gun) but I wonder if it would be as "easy" you know? I am all for curbing ownership of things like automatic rifles, over powered scopes, etc... There is NO REASON for certain people to own certain types of weapons yeah? It's apparently illegal to make a bomb, but you can own something that'll spit out a million rounds second? Contradiction! BTW here is an interesing (and succinct) article on Reuters from Aug 2007.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2834893820070828
Automatic weapons are already illegal in the US and have been for decades, perhaps you mean semi-automatic? Do you know the difference?
WHEN A GOVERNMENT ELIMINATES THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP & BEAR ARMS...ESSENTIALLY LEAVING HONEST, LAW ABIDING CITIZENS DEFENSELESS...WE AS A SOCIETY ARE DOOMED! WE WILL BE A SOCIETY OF SLAVES TO THE GOVERNMENT.
GUN CONTROL IS NOT CRIME CONTROL!
spair75 wrote:
Should guns be taken off private licence holders in the US? Another nine people killed at random this time in Omaha. The trouble with men ( all over the world mind ) is that they tend to get angry quite often - for no apparent reason sometimes. To expunge that anger they do all sorts of crazy things, boys beat up other boys at school/college, some men beat up their wives, and so on... simply because they can do so. That they are stronger. You give us men a gun in our hands - we are liable to use it too. Proof - these killing sprees in the US ( and sometimes elsewhere too ) are mostly done by men. Innocent families suffer, having seen their loved ones get killed simply for want of buying food at their local superstores. That is if the whole family is not wiped out entirely. Isn't it time therefore for the authorities to rid the citizens of their right to bear arms?
Don't forget the women who can be more volatile then the men trust me we have had a kid in my school killed because he said hello to another girl
Reb wrote: Automatic weapons are already illegal in the US and have been for decades, perhaps you mean semi-automatic? Do you know the difference?
Thanks for the clarification. I was generally referring to the outlandish things you see on the TV when the news covers a gun show. Anything that requires two hands to hold or has a strap...i onno...seems like a little overboard 
This is not necessarily true there are automatic guns on the street if you were to look at some of the teenagers on the street you would find a few guns that were not thought to be on the street. But I understand what you are saying about going overboard. I have gone overboard on a couple of things like this before.
It's such a weird recursive problem. More people own guns, let's say crime goes up. But then more people are implored to buy a gun to protect themselves. More people own guns, let's say crime goes up...and the snake nibbles away at it's tail...
An interesting example of unarmed cops is Norway. Actually, Norway is just an interesting example of everything and anything relating to government policies.
If even half of this video is true, I'm amazed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ0B2xDzSgg
Cops in Thailand are only allowed as stick to defend themselves and to disarm.
Julius H has hit the nail on the head that is the main problem. Where I live the police chief actually told people to go get a gun and not worry about anything that goes on outside, only worry if someone comes to your door with a weapon
JuliusH wrote: It's such a weird recursive problem. More people own guns, let's say crime goes up. But then more people are implored to buy a gun to protect themselves. More people own guns, let's say crime goes up...and the snake nibbles away at it's tail...
I was under the impression that states that had higher than average gun ownership rates usually had lower than average homicide rates, and much lower property crime rates. Crime in the USA isn't caused by guns, it is caused by ghettos.
Thanks for the post Sprite. Enjoyable video.
guarana wrote: JuliusH wrote: It's such a weird recursive problem. More people own guns, let's say crime goes up. But then more people are implored to buy a gun to protect themselves. More people own guns, let's say crime goes up...and the snake nibbles away at it's tail...
I was under the impression that states that had higher than average gun ownership rates usually had lower than average homicide rates, and much lower property crime rates. Crime in the USA isn't caused by guns, it is caused by ghettos.
I completely agree. As I posted way at the top of this page - there are countries like your home Canada that have very high ownership and low crime. I think low education, unemployment, not enough Americans on chess.com are major factors that lead to crime as opposed to simply ownership.
Should guns be taken off private licence holders in the US? Another nine people killed at random this time in Omaha. The trouble with men ( all over the world mind ) is that they tend to get angry quite often - for no apparent reason sometimes. To expunge that anger they do all sorts of crazy things, boys beat up other boys at school/college, some men beat up their wives, and so on... simply because they can do so. That they are stronger. You give us men a gun in our hands - we are liable to use it too. Proof - these killing sprees in the US ( and sometimes elsewhere too ) are mostly done by men. Innocent families suffer, having seen their loved ones get killed simply for want of buying food at their local superstores. That is if the whole family is not wiped out entirely. Isn't it time therefore for the authorities to rid the citizens of their right to bear arms?