STILL not enough gun control?

[ditchdj]

All right there's this Canadian guy on another board I frequent and he just loves to mix it up with the regulars on there about our "lax" gun laws. He complains that some guy in a Home Depot that he went to when he went to Florida was wearing a gun on his hip and was NOT a cop and hates that. But it seems like the entire British Crown has become obsessed with banning guns and it has NOT resulted in an elimination of gun violence. Now, the Canadian guy rationalizes it by claiming that most of the illegal guns are coming from the United States and being sneaked across the border. NOT unlikely to explain the gun violence that's becoming more of a problem in the UK.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070215/...n_gun_violence

[rahmota]

I hate tards like that. banning or prohibiting something does not remove that object from people's desires. look at drugs, look at prohibition of alkie during the 20s look at the way cuban cigars are in america. if a person desires something bad enough and has the measn to get it and the willingness to break the law they will get it.

Also it is not the firearm that causes the crime. it is just a tool. A lump of metal and plastic that cannot think, cannot force someone to point it at someone else and pull the trigger. It is the person handling the firearm that is the problem. the way they think and act and feel is the problem. Controlling the way society sees a firearm is what is required. i bet the guy in that Home depot is a lot more trustworthy and responsible than some of the people running around unarmed.

[Banrion]

If you ban guns, then only the criminals will have them. People like me will not be able to protect ourselves should someone try to invade my person and property. I am in the process of obtaining my Concealed Carry Permit, and you can bet that I will be visibly wearing my firearm as well. Not to stuff like the movies or grocery store, but when I am walking through the alley to the bank with money in my purse I will have it, and I know how to use it!

[AFPheonix]

My cousins in Canada are very unhappy with the gun controls being put into place up there. They are in an extremely rural area, and between my 3 cousins and their wives, there's a lot of kids running around up there with the cows and the horses.
There's a lot of critters up there too. They had a bear wander into their yard not that long ago, and it came pretty close to some of the girls. They need guns in the lifestyle they live.

My husband has a few weapons, too. I have one rifle but I rarely if ever shoot it. I'm a bad shot and I don't care for the noise.

[HYHYBT]

Seems to me the border between the US and the UK is a bit wide to sneak across....

[Puckishone]

I disagree with the "when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns" argument because currently the outlaws are doing just fine in that department, thanks very much. I also question the wisdom of most (not all) who choose to purchase a firearm for personal protection in blatant disregard of decades of creditable research showing an alarmingly higher propensity for such guns to be used against their owner rather than by him or her.

With that said, I am an avid target shooter and advocate for gun safety and education. I am not against hunting, nor do I believe that private ownership of guns should be banned outright. There is nothing that would prevent a law-abiding citizen from legally obtaining a firearm if the current system of background checks was strengthened and gun shops/dealers who circumvent the law prosecuted consistently and fully. Also, despite what the NRA lobbyists maintain, banning certain types of weapons (such as fully automatic rifles and similar military-grade weaponry) will weaken nothing but the supply available for criminals to get their hands on. After all, you don't hunt deer (or bear, for that matter) with an Uzi or a Kalashnikov.

For years I have despaired at the "all or nothing" stance of the NRA lobby on this issue, but the truth is that the answers lie somewhere in the middle. This isn't free speech we're talking about here; it's not necessary to have free-for-all access to anything and everything that can put a bullet in the air in order to preserve the right of private citizens to bear arms.

[Boozy]

My cousins in Canada are very unhappy with the gun controls being put into place up there. They are in an extremely rural area, and between my 3 cousins and their wives, there's a lot of kids running around up there with the cows and the horses.
There's a lot of critters up there too. They had a bear wander into their yard not that long ago, and it came pretty close to some of the girls. They need guns in the lifestyle they live.

I know of no area in Canada where you're not allowed to keep rifles for hunting and protection from wildlife. Your cousins may be putting you on.
When you factor in rifles, Canadians own more guns per capita than Americans. We just have a problem with handguns.

[rahmota]

Puckishone: Well I'll disagree with you about the need to ban any firearms. Just because law abiding citizens may not have access to one does not mean that criminals will not be able to get them as well. Its not just illegal aliens that come across the borders as well.

Basically I've already pointed out what firearms are there for.

[AFPheonix]

I know of no area in Canada where you're not allowed to keep rifles for hunting and protection from wildlife. Your cousins may be putting you on.
When you factor in rifles, Canadians own more guns per capita than Americans. We just have a problem with handguns.

They were uncomfortable with having to register every gun they had, including old antique rifles.

These guys are pretty conservative, and they're concerned that this could be the start of having weapons taken away.
I'm not overly familiar with Canadian gun laws, and what I do hear is filtered through them, so I imagine it's rather colored.

[Boozy]

They were uncomfortable with having to register every gun they had, including old antique rifles.

The gun registry up here was a clusterfuck from day one. I personally liked the idea, but bad execution made it difficult and expensive.

A lot of people were worried that once they registered and the government found out about their guns, they'd take them all away by force.

I choose to worry about things more likely to happen than a military coup occurring in Canada, of all places.

[AFPheonix]

I haven't heard much more about it from them since it was enacted, so probably they aren't as worried about it now. I just remember they were all pissed when it first came about.

But then they're your standard prairie hicks, they hate Montreal and the government there. (Oh, and the gays. Heaven help you if you're gay.)