I don't understand guns...
Discuss issues that have a social and cultural impact, including but not limited to issues such as racism, teenage pregnancies, the social impact of religion, and the state of the education system.
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Re: I don't understand guns...My point is that an amendment is a change.(Original post by Mysteries)
The only time an amendment was repealed was when people finally realized that prohibition was retarded.
If you tried to repeal the second amendment you'd have a bunch of rednecks shooting cops and govt officials. -
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Re: I don't understand guns...There are other ways to fight back - most people would just kill the attackers/criminals if given a gun.(Original post by hevlar.kelmet)
So? There are plenty of awful countries where guns are illegal.
Have you considered that law abiding citizens are totally unable to defend themselves should someone attack them? Someone said just call the police, but by the time the police get there the crime will be long over.
I myself have been in several violent encounters and in none of them did the police arrive until well afterwards. What if they had a knife? How should I defend myself?
Should I just let myself get stabbed/beaten/strangled while I wait for the police? -
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Re: I don't understand guns...People often fear what they don't understand.(Original post by Vazzyb)
I don't understand guns... -
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Re: I don't understand guns...I don't think many people are keen on shooting people if they can help. If you had a robber at gunpoint with him at your mercy, would you shoot? Or would you wait for the police to get there since the robber can't do anything?(Original post by mevidek)
There are other ways to fight back - most people would just kill the attackers/criminals if given a gun.
Also I am very interested in these other ways of fighting back, would you mind telling me about them? And are they applicable to the elderly or disabled members of society? -
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Re: I don't understand guns...1. I'd shoot them in the knees so that they'd be incapable of doing any damage to me or my property. I doubt that people wouldn't use the gun if they had one (most people would kill them if possible)(Original post by hevlar.kelmet)
I don't think many people are keen on shooting people if they can help. If you had a robber at gunpoint with him at your mercy, would you shoot? Or would you wait for the police to get there since the robber can't do anything?
Also I am very interested in these other ways of fighting back, would you mind telling me about them? And are they applicable to the elderly or disabled members of society?
2. I'm not going to tell you how to use self-defence; a quick google search would do that for you. -
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Re: I don't understand guns...I shoot regularly as a sport, but all of the rifles are locked up and in a pretty damn resistant container. I wouldn't feel safe in Britain if guns were as readily available like I believe they are in America. Surely people would get shot more.
If people have the gun, they would be more inclined to use it, and they can't use what they don't have. -
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Re: I don't understand guns...sorry i saw a typo.(Original post by Battenberg)
It's their country, if they want the right to shoot each other that's their choice, it's not like wecouldwouldstop them anyway. -
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Re: I don't understand guns...we also legalize carrying guns here in the uk by the way its just america legalize everyone where as we like to pretend we don't legalize it so nobody will come looking for a license(Original post by Vazzyb)
This is more about a question I had, rather than a debate as such.
So the number of deaths by shootings in the United States is around 40 times higher than in the UK (USA: 4.1 per 100,000 compared to UK: 0.07 per 100,000) and the total murder rate is also 4 times higher (USA: 4.8 per 100,000 compared to UK: 1.2 per 100,000)...
So how the hell can countries like the USA continue to legalise carrying firearms?! It just seems completely absurd to me.
Forgive me if my thinking is over-simplistic; that guns lead to murders. Clearly if you don't have to access to a gun, you'd use another method and that's reflected in the statistics...but surely the fact that there are 4 times as many murders in the USA is, at least, partly attributable to guns?
Is it just political pressure from gun companies that keeps them legalised?
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Re: I don't understand guns...Is this meant to be a bad thing?(Original post by mevidek)
There are other ways to fight back - most people would just kill the attackers/criminals if given a gun. -
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Re: I don't understand guns...I don't see the value of opening this can of worms. Making them widely available is likely to precipitate a corresponding rise in gun-related crime. The socioeconomic causes of crime will still be there, but superinducing this will be guns amongst these criminal agents.
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Re: I don't understand guns...Alcohol kills thousands every year and yet it's still legal. Not saying you're wrong, it's just there is more to it.(Original post by Vazzyb)
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Re: I don't understand guns...(Original post by Vazzyb)
This is more about a question I had, rather than a debate as such.
So the number of deaths by shootings in the United States is around 40 times higher than in the UK (USA: 4.1 per 100,000 compared to UK: 0.07 per 100,000) and the total murder rate is also 4 times higher (USA: 4.8 per 100,000 compared to UK: 1.2 per 100,000)...
So how the hell can countries like the USA continue to legalise carrying firearms?! It just seems completely absurd to me.
Forgive me if my thinking is over-simplistic; that guns lead to murders. Clearly if you don't have to access to a gun, you'd use another method and that's reflected in the statistics...but surely the fact that there are 4 times as many murders in the USA is, at least, partly attributable to guns?
Is it just political pressure from gun companies that keeps them legalised?
Vb
That's true , although they also have a different culture to us which is maybe why there are more murders. Also the ownership of a gun is deeply embedded in American culture, so i'm pretty sure it'd be hard to get rid off, never mind the ever present pressure of the gun lobbys -
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Re: I don't understand guns...The logic behind the constitutional right to bear arms is sound, especially given historical context. It would be impossible for a foreign military to occupy a country where every citizen was a potential threat. More importantly an armed populace exercises a powerful restraining factor on the ability of governments to tyrannize their subjects.
Last edited by Beneb; 19-02-2012 at 22:50. -
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Re: I don't understand guns...Of course it's a bad thing - killing someone is almost always bad.(Original post by DynamicSyngery)
Is this meant to be a bad thing? -
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Re: I don't understand guns...Was it bad to kill Nazi German soldiers in WWII? The justification would seem to be the same.(Original post by mevidek)
Of course it's a bad thing - killing someone is almost always bad.
