Your opinion of guns

[Frogger]

So yeah, I did this thread a couple of minutes ago but my mum was like "I need to check my bank and then rob you for some money" so I left it for a while, then I had to sign in again when I submitted, then it was gone. So Emma is angry indeed and cannot be bothered writing a lot, so I'll just feast off some of your replies.

What's your opinion of guns? Whether they be for hun'n, self protection or whatever other use you can think of for a seemingly useless and dangerous object.

So here's what I think, I'm completely against the use of guns unless you can be licensed, not like America where basically anyone can get hold of a gun, but the procedure the UK goes through. Which is like:

positive verification of identity, two referees of verifiably good character who have known the applicant for at least two years (and who may themselves be interviewed and/or investigated as part of the certification), approval of the application by the applicant's own family doctor, an inspection of the premises and cabinet where guns will be kept and a face-to-face interview by a Firearms Enquiry Officer (FEO) also known as a Firearms Liaison Officer (FLO). A thorough background check of the applicant is then made by Special Branch on behalf of the firearms licensing department. Only when all these stages have been satisfactorily completed will a licence be issued.

Difficult, eh, well I should only see them used for reasons such as farming and whatnot, I don't really see the point in using them for fun, especially if you're going to pop a poor little bunny's head in with one. It's not like there's a shortage of fresh meat in your supermarket or anything, buy some and save yourself the hassle.

I don't know how people can bring themselves to shooting something either, even if it's an animal, I'd still think of it as shooting my dog, and I'm not too keen on Ellie either, but I still couldn't kill anything.

Then there's self defense, which I'm also against the use of. :thumbsup:

If you're defending yourself in any situation I would rather run, grab something sharp or use my vocal chords like God intended me to do and squeal the hell like a woman. I think it's more likely that the other guy will be stronger than you, and have more experience using guns, and you guys who think it's good for using as protection, you're men, they hardly ever get jumped as much as women, and I'm weak and feeble.

Anthony and I were talking about this as well, he asked me if I was being raped and some guy pinned me to the ground and a gun happened to be within reach, would I or would I not hesitate to shoot him? No, I wouldn't shoot the guy, one thing, my hands wouldn't be free, another being that he's obviously going to get there quicker aaannnd again, I couldn't kill someone living with guilt. They're probably disturbed or something, but it's no reason to shoot the guy. D:

You can't use firearms as self defense here, it's not a good enough reason, and we've coped perfectly fine without them for the use of self protection for a good 60 odd years.

Anyway, "it's not the guns that kill people, it's the people" yeah, so. Then governments shouldn't give these things out to the people so easily, restricting them is much more effective:

In 2005/06 there were 766 offences initially recorded as homicide by the police in England and Wales (including the 52 victims of the 7 July 2005 London bombings),[18] a rate of 1.4 per 100,000 of population. Only 50 (6.6%) were committed with firearms, one being with an air weapon.[19] The homicide rate for London was 2.4 per 100,000 in the same year (1.7 when excluding the 7 July bombings).[20]

By comparison, 5.5 murders per 100,000 of population were reported by police in the United States in 2000, of which 70% involved the use of firearms.[21] New York City, with a population size similar to London (over 8 million residents), reported 6.9 murders per 100,000 people in 2004.[22]

Ne? Pretty sure guns do kill people.

Okay, I'm expecting blueovalboy to get here, I'm looking forward to it. We need more debates threads, damnit.

 

[ROB64]

A city near where I live has made it so that everyone (of age) has to own a gun. The crime is low in that area.

http://www.rense.com/general9/gunlaw.htm

 

[Foxy]

When I'm feeling better I'll probably get involved...

For now I'll leave it at US needs new gun laws, a.s.a.p

 

[Frogger]

A city near where I live has made it so that everyone (of age) has to own a gun. The crime is low in that area.

http://www.rense.com/general9/gunlaw.htm

So why in the world would you need one? xD

 

[ROB64]

So why in the world would you need one? xD

The crime rate dropped bacause of the law that was passed that made it where everyone has to own guns.

That's the point of the law. Everyone has a gun in their house so nobody will try to break in without knowing they might be shot. The crime rate dropped 89% in 9 years (after the law was passed in 1982) and has stayed at at that level ever since then.

 

[Gikoku Harakami]

Eh, I'm not a gun person. I feel that anyone who needs a gun to get any job done in their life, is rather pathetic.

If there were any weapon I would be interested in, it would be a Katana.. for collecting purposes only.

 

[Deanis]

I'm glad in Australia guns are pretty much restricted to videogames.

Theyre basically only used by the police as the biggest sign of "I'm boss, do as I say", but theyre hardly fired.

There are hardly any reports of gun attacks here and its a good thing.

So in conclusion, guns are good in videogames.... a way to beat your friends non-physically, in the most physically represented way. And are bad in real life, no one REALLY needs them.... if you get held up, you get insurance, if someone steals your car, you get insurance, if someone breaks into your house, you get insurance... you dont shoot them! Let the cops deal with them the next day...

Ppl that use guns for recreational use are fine, as long as they got the gun through a very strict licensing procedure, and are in a club of some sort, and know self-control etc. But it is a fine line.

 

[Frogger]

The crime rate dropped bacause of the law that was passed that made it where everyone has to own guns.

That's the point of the law. Everyone has a gun in their house so nobody will try to break in without knowing they might be shot. The crime rate dropped 89% in 9 years (after the law was passed in 1982) and has stayed at at that level ever since then.

I'm sure that'd scare the hell out of me being at home with kids and having a gun in my house, and if someone does try and break in, they will also have a gun, and they will have immediate access to it, and I will not. You either keep it in a place away from kids, which is difficult to reach or risk the wrong people getting ahold of it.

I'd like a choice if I want a weapon in my house or not. Places like Devon have a low crime rate because there aren't that many people in the rural areas, so they can leave their cars unlocked and the good will of people won't do anything about it. I think that that's just your area, a city, and God that would go horribly wrong.

Deaniis, Australia's just like us, and I like the way you think, it's actually logical. Police are never allowed to walk around the streets armed, they can only be called upon in situations if they ever need to use guns, sometimes this is too late, but I'm sure the police are trained to do other things to restrain people, and have backup.

 

[TacosTacos]

I have never been comfortable around guns. They have always kinda freaked me out. Now, I live with someone who owns many guns. Before I moved in with him, I had almost no experience with guns. He hunts a lot, which I have come to respect. He eats almost everything he hunts. I think this is a right that everyone should have.

I agree that there should be stricter policies in place when someone is obtaining a gun.

I do not do it myself, but I can see why someone would have fun shooting guns at a range or something of the sort. Target practice, skeet shooting....sounds a lot of video games.....Duck Hunt.

The self defense thing is a really tough one. Why would you assume that a man has more experience with a gun? The gun doesn't know who is holding it....it just shoots. There are many situations where lives could have been saved if there was a responsible gun carrying citizen present. Look at all of these mall shootings that go down. Some nut goes into a mall with a bunch of guns and starts shooting the place up. If there was someone with a gun to stop that person after they took the first shot, many innocent lives would be saved.

As for your rape example, the same applies. Okay, so maybe you, being a woman who sees herself as hopeless and weak, could not access the gun and shoot the rapist. But, if you were using those womanly vocal chords like baby jesus intended you to, and someone showed up......say that person had a gun.....should they shoot the guy on top of you with a gun in his hand, or next to him? Say he reaches for the gun when your rescuer comes in.....do you want the rapist dead, or the both of you?

 

[Frogger]

I have never been comfortable around guns. They have always kinda freaked me out. Now, I live with someone who owns many guns. Before I moved in with him, I had almost no experience with guns. He hunts a lot, which I have come to respect. He eats almost everything he hunts. I think this is a right that everyone should have.

I agree that there should be stricter policies in place when someone is obtaining a gun.

I do not do it myself, but I can see why someone would have fun shooting guns at a range or something of the sort. Target practice, skeet shooting....sounds a lot of video games.....Duck Hunt.

The self defense thing is a really tough one. Why would you assume that a man has more experience with a gun? The gun doesn't know who is holding it....it just shoots. There are many situations where lives could have been saved if there was a responsible gun carrying citizen present. Look at all of these mall shootings that go down. Some nut goes into a mall with a bunch of guns and starts shooting the place up. If there was someone with a gun to stop that person after they took the first shot, many innocent lives would be saved.

As for your rape example, the same applies. Okay, so maybe you, being a woman who sees herself as hopeless and weak, could not access the gun and shoot the rapist. But, if you were using those womanly vocal chords like baby jesus intended you to, and someone showed up......say that person had a gun.....should they shoot the guy on top of you with a gun in his hand, or next to him? Say he reaches for the gun when your rescuer comes in.....do you want the rapist dead, or the both of you?

First, I'm getting through the raping situation, if someone was there, I'd want them to hit them, and then target the eyes, because they are in fact the weakest part of the body, and without sight then they're left to nothing. Nothing that will totally puncture through their corneas or anything, but I'd rather someone be blind and people get away safely than someone be shot and potentially killed.

Obviously if self defense is the case then that person should just be left to die, in theory, you intended to kill them, and they were doing something so problematic to you that you just had to shoot them, so why should people fight to save their life? It's what you do, it's human rights, everyone deserves as much chance of living as the next guy.

Target practice, eh, that actually seems fun, but I'd feel uneasy around people who were there as well, there's just so much trust you could have in people, and anyone could just go whack... And, I wouldn't trust myself with a gun either because I am so docile. I even fear when I'm cutting up my own oranges with a knife, if I was ever going to use a gun, I'd have to have like 1000 practice shots in the bag before I could fire anything confidently. D:

You know, that mall shooting thing, I doubt anyone would have used a gun if they had one on them. There's people who would rather get the hell out than potentially save lives, and I believe that with adrenaline, I wouldn't risk my life shooting a lunatic. It's just like if someone's being beaten up, I've been sat on a bus many times watching fights start outside by the traffic lights, but I don't do anything about it, I guess it's just the way people are, not risk takers at all.

Goinginthebathnowokay.

 

[King Wiired]

Since a young age, I've loved everything gun related for whatever strange reason, though I'm yet to shoot a proper gun. Toy guns, paintball guns, the lot. My mate is really good at paintballing, and invited me along one time, and said himself that my aim is great - possibly then then his.
When I'm older, I'll probably get involved in some sort of gun related hobby (like drive-bys or something).

But nah, my thought on Guns and Gun Crimes are completly different.

 

[Gikoku Harakami]

A friend of mine owns a couple of guns, but he never uses them for stuff like killing people or other creatures. He just collects them for decorations and just for target practicing (like on cans and rocks). Which I have no problem with, since it's no different than taking a sword or nunchaku, and just freely practicing with them in the backyard or **** like that.

Other than that, I don't carry any respect for those who just use guns for the sake of killing others because it's just "fun", or killing some animal because they want a nice new rug or headpiece for their naked wall. I have to say the same for those who even use them for self-defense. If you knew how to properly move & defend yourself, you wouldn't ever need one in the first place.

Learn how to fight and defend yourself, carrying a gun doesn't make you any stronger than you were before.

 

[DBloke]

People that think guns are cool are useualy the wrong type of person
Whats wrong with setlein things the good way
By beatin some body to a pulp with your own fists

I have more respect for some body that can fight than some body that carrys a gun for safety

There only real good is in the army where there only rly nessaesary because the other side has them

 

[[DT]]

If I have time I'll deconstruct some of the comments already posted.

Briefly:

All of the granular assessment about "this form of defending yourself vs. a gun" - not based on anything that vaguely represents one of those situations.

In the US there are background checks to purchase a handgun (plus a waiting period). It varies by state and I agree needs to be enforced and applied to all Firearms (ie., include longs: Rifles, Shotguns, Compacts, etc.)

Florida for instance has a 3-Day wait period, a check through NCIS and a State level check via local CODBMS.

In the US, you can acquire a firearm illegally in *minutes* in some areas (many of these are brought into the US through illegal mechanisms). The point being you could prevent purchase through all legal channels and the criminal contingent would still be able to easily acquire one.

 

[blueovalboy7]

So I will be getting back to you on this, but for now I'm just going to leave it at, the US does not need new gun laws, they just need to enforce the ones already in place, and make sure they're enforced everywhere. I know for a fact that it is a hell of a lot harder to purchase a firearm here in California versus that of Texas or Arizona, because for the most part the liberals have a vice grip on this state. As for obtaining a firearm illegally, well you're not going to be able to stop that. People have been black-marketing/under the table selling firearms for decades and there are so many of them out there now, there is no way you would ever be able to do completely resolve that issue.

Commenting on DT's remark about waiting 3 days in Florida, I believe it is 10 days here in California, a friend of mine purchased a shotgun not too long ago, and if my memory serves me correctly it was 10, might be longer for handguns, I'd have to look into it.

Like I said I'll be back, that's all I have for now, I'm up 3 hours earlier than normal so the brain isn't running at full capacity yet.

(I'm going to have to assume that 90% of the people in the UK are against firearms.)