| radishhead said: http://www.kctv5.com/story/19071381/shooting-at-theater-during-batman-premiere-in-colorado I just turned on the news and I saw this incident - apparently it's the worst in the USA since a school shooting many years ago (I think), so it's extremely saddening. Aside from just reporting the story however (which I assume American users know about already), I wondered what your opinions were regarding gun laws. It's impossible to deny that the chances of such a tragedy happening would be reduced if ownership of a gun is illegal without a license (assuming these licenses were very difficult to get, and wouldn't allow a civilian to carry one in public). Is the idea of possessing a gun an outdated idea, or is it still significant in the modern world? |
No its not impossibe to to deny your assertion that the chances of such a tragedy would be reduced if ownership of a gun is illegal. I'll break it down for you pont by point.
1. Here are some incidents from around the world (many of teh countries have much strciter gun laws than the US):
2011 Anders Breivik went on a rampage that left 77 dead in Norway (some of the toughest gun laws anywhere)
2011 Nordine Amrani murdered seven in Belgium.
2011 Slovakian man killed 7 in a Netherlands shopping mall.
2010 52-year-old British taxi driver named Derrick Bird butchered 12 and injured 11 others.
2009 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer walked into a German elementary school and killed 15 people
2009 Ibrahim Shkupolli stabbed and killed his ex-girlfriend, then went on to a shopping mall in Finland to kill four others.
2008 A 22-year old culinary arts student walked into a school and killed 10 people in Finland.
2001 Swiss kid slaughtered 14 at the parliament in Zug.
2000 Birmingham, England man who killed three.
1996 23-year-old Australian surfer named Martin Bryant, shot 35 people "just because he felt like it."
...... there are many, many more.
2. This guy's apartment was wired with homemade grenades and mortar like explosives. Had he not had access to guns he could have just as easily exploded himself (happens all the time in the middle east) or tossed those grenades into the crowd doing just as much damage. We would have to ban any and every substance known that could be used to create these explosives. It is already illegal to build, own or use most explosives without a license and the proper oversight etc. So it didn't stop him anymore than gun laws would have stopped the shootings.
3. There was only one person in that theater who had a gun.... James Holmes. Had another legitimate movie goer had a gun or a few had guns someone could have shot him and stop him from killing as many as he had. When seconds count the police (who carry guns) are just minutes away. And even if it is true the police showed up in 90 or so seconds somone could have stopped him in less than 30. Think of the lives that could have been saved.
4. Even if we went with making it tough to get guns by ovrerly restrictive licensing (many cities here already have very restrictive gun laws) it would not have served as a deterent in this case at all. The guy was by all accounts a law abiding citizen with an advanced degree (and working on his PHD) so he would have most likely been allowed to purchase a gun on his merits alone. Also making it illegal to carry guns in public will not deter anyone who is willing to break the law (especially by commiting mass murder) from taking his/her weapon out into the public space.
The idea of possessing a gun will never be outdated. The idea of banning guns is outdated. We are always so busy trying to ban inatimate objects that we forget about the human aspect of the problem. All banning guns will do (and has done) is make the average citizen prey to criminals who care nothing for their rights to be safe and secure in their person and propety.
