thranx said:
disolitude said:
insomniac17 said:
disolitude said:
I can understand having weapons for self defense in your house, for home defense purposes. Hell I grew up in a house which had a hunting rifle and a shotgun that belonged to my grandfather and my dad... However where I live, I absolutely dont see a reason why a civilians need to carry guns on them.
I dont live in USA, and am not saying you are wrong or dont know better... you do what you need to do to protect yourself where you live.
Here is a video which argues my point that civilians and guns do not mix, even for "self denfense"...especially when an argument occurs and people lose their cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ87CGV9Wkg
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But there are plenty of times where the mere presence of a firearm carried by a civilian prevents a crime from being committed. And it's not like crime shoots way up when people carry. If anything, there is a weak correlation towards the opposite. Also, cops accidentally shoot more people than people who carry concealed firearms. The cops can get away with it. The civilian will go through hell and will probably face some very serious punishments.
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Its possible that some crimes may be prevented but if you look at the overall stats and yearly deaths by firearms, USA tends have 10000+ per year while a neighbouring country Canada has around 150. Even when you adjust the population difference, you still get to a 7:1 higher death ratio involving firearms in USA.
Having a gun on you at all times can protect you in grave danger. But it can also lead to irrational decisions, escalated arguments and remove the likelyhood for civilized and non violent resolutions for fights and arguments. After all, youre packing heat...why would you not charge in to a potential altercation head first? Push comes to shove, its self defense...
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how many of those gun deaths are concetrated in inner cities with massive gangs. Heck, how many have come out of detroit and chicago alone this year?
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I wouldnt know exactly butI do remember watching a Michael Moore movie where he compares Detroit to Windsor which are right next to each on different sides of the border and the firearms death rate difference was staggering. And I did drive through Chicago once while going to Ozzfest and honestly, I was downright scared for my life while passing some of the suburbs...
I do understand what youre saying though and am not arguing against protecting yourself or that people in USA are not doing the right thing by carying guns. Ive lived in 3 different countries for an extensive period of time during my life, one of which had an armed conflict for many years while I was a kid. I understand the different needs that have to be taken for protection...
But I do find it a little strange that a country with the might and power that USA has isn't able to come up with a better solution to the problem of gangs and self defense which you are describing, other than to essentiially force its citizens to carry firearms for self defense.
Ron Paul keeps saying to bring the troops home... That may have some merit.
