Should we Ban Guns?

[mrstickball]

Michael-5 said:

What do you think?

This was inspired by this threads ending: http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=152358&page=5

Not to beat a dead Horse, but I was talking about guns recently with a co-worker of mine, and wow I can't believe I was blind to a few facts.

First of all, I find it insane that people are pro-gun at all in the USA. You need a gun for protect? How messed up is that? So are tourists from regions of the world who don't carry guns not safe to roam the streets of USA? If No one had guns, there would be less homicides, robberies and all forms of violent offences, simple as that. If old people need protection, they can get a taser gun, or mace, which has been shown to be just as effective to warn off individuals. I would even imagine it being more effective, because you can mace someone without feeling too guilty, but nothing brings back a soul from death.

Handguns => More Violence - This is why Canada has less violence (homicidal or just violent offences) then USA, by quite a bit too.

How do you say? In the other thread, a graph was shown which related countries with various homicide rates and ploted them against the number of gun owners, and it showed there was no significant difference right?

However what that graph did not include the ability to import weapons from other countries/states illegally.

You see while various countries in Europe and varous states within the USA have different gun ownership laws, there are no inspection boarders between states and countries within Europe. So people in California really have no trouble buying a gun in Texas, they might not be able to buy it themselves, but they can easily get a friend to buy it, or find a stollen one. Same with Europe. So even though neighbouring countries in Europe and states in USA have similar homicide rates despite different gun laws, this doesn't mean that there is no correlation between the two.

Canada however has an inspection boarder with USA. South Korea and Japan (two places with lower homicide rates in the world, and a gun ban) have heavy boarder security with their neighbours. So guns have trouble getting in illegally.

And what do we see? Societies with the same media, similar culture, similar qualities, lifestyles, etc, but a vastly different homicide rate.

Also no mass gun shootings...

Some Ideas:


-Ban Guns All Together

-Ban Guns, except at firing ranges. Where else do you need a gun?

-Ban Guns All Together, but make Hunting Rifles legal to carry in rural towns, near designated hunting grounds. You don't need to carry a gun in a major city, if you just need it for hunting, make it the law to have a gun stored at a shooting range, or police station, near the hunting range. Therefore no weapons should ever be in a major city unless it's a police Firearm.

-Ban Guns, except Rifles. Same as above, but you can take the rifle home (How many robberies or street muggings are done with a rifle?) You can still protect your house/car this way.

-Just Ban handguns. Really, Handguns are responsible for the majority of gun related homicides in the USA, they are easily conceilable, and serve no purpose except to kill others. If you need to carry a pistol into Wal-Mart to shop in safety, then something is seriously messed up.

-Just Ban Semi-Automatic Rifles. Does an elderly woman with a psychopathic son really need a semi-auto? This just brings trouble.

-Guns are fine, it's just the people who carry them. We need to make gun ownership more strict, and maybe add a longer wait time.

-Nothing wrong with guns. If I want to carry one, I should.

-I disagree with you, I think Guns makes no difference to the homicide rate

-(Not on poll) - Guns reduce violence, we should all have guns

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However, it is important to note that Drugs >>> Guns in homicide rates and violent crimes (And I always agreed to that). The most violent US states, European countries, and in fact, countries around the world, are those with the biggest drug problems. Nevada, Sierra Lione, Columbia, etc.





What are you're thoughts, I'm very curious.

Does anyone have a counter to this? Or should Americans have guns because "it's their right to" even though it imposes on the right to safety for others.

You really have done no research into the matter, and rely on emotions and ad-hominem attacks on gun owners to prove things, rather than look at any data that would refute your argument, and/or provide solid proofs on gun owners.

"If no one had guns, there'd be less homicides" - Why do you believe this? Where is your proof? Worldwide, there is a correlation between fewer guns and more crimes. The most violent nations in the world - Russia, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, and Colombia all have gun bans, and have very few gun owners.

What you fail to grasp is why people kill each other. It isn't caused by the tool. Its caused by the individual. There are alot of statistics out there that point to lack of education, economic inequality, and other such metrics that follow homicides in the world, and especially the US. The reality is that US homicide statistics vary from European levels in New Hampshire (which allows you to carry a concealed handgun with no permits), to Louisiana (New Orleans has a homicide rate that is about 20 times higher than the US average).

 

I don't understand the importation question or issue - the same argument applies to everyone. Look at Mexico. They have a gun ban, yet the cartels have more weapons than the military. It should show you how truly frivilous gun bans are in the face of criminals that want to commit crimes. You have to go afterthe source of crime, rather than the tools.

 

Finally, you still have mass murders in other countries. Look at Finland - the worst gun shooting in many years was perpetrated in Europe, rather than America. You also still have bombings that kill even more people than any mass shooting has, and those go on around the world as well.