What amazes me is all the weapons that are destroyed! The government could save so much money if they would just re-use these weapons. The Military is a big example of this. They will just collect weapons from suspected terrorist while deployed and everntually they just get destroyed, unless they can give them a good reason that they need them.

Arms Dealers make big money selling guns! I know you usually only see it in the movies, but you get the feeling that guns will never be illegal in America. A president may hint at it to make certain sides happy with him, but at the end of the day Special Interest groups and others would never allow that to happen. Political Posturing!

@bold

I agree. Most of these things are already being done in America. Other than the Fully automatic weapon part.

I like the gun club idea to an extent, but Americans should be able to go hunting or do some recreational gun firing whenever they want to without having to drive to a club to get their weapon. Albeit, the gun club is probably the firing range as well.

Well they must be doing something right in scandinavian countries since they tend to have some of the lowest crime rates, best healthcare, best education, highest quality of life, and be among the most peaceful and least corrupt. 

http://nationranking.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/2011-qli2.png

And about the suicide rates...

This is from the Edinburgh university library online resources:

"The myth of Swedish suicide” has its roots in the late-1950s when the American President Dwight D. Eisenhower referred to it in a speech which had been based on an inaccurate briefing. The President had tried to paint a negative picture of Sweden, a nation which - with its cradle-to-grave socialism - had set itself on a post-war neutral stance outside the then embryonic-NATO and American influence. Ever since many people have accepted the picture as fact and perpetuate the myth."

Norway actually ranks lower than USA and Canada among male suicides.

Keep in mind that these countries have very long dark winters, this also atributes to suicides.

scottie said:
I'm not convinced a 100% ban on civilian ownership is needed. Many countries, similar to the US, have tightly regulated gun ownership, and have a tiny fraction of the gun deaths that the USA does.

For example, guns owned, and kept in a secure locker at a registered gun club are not dangerous.

I think the changes needed are.

Failing to take sufficient steps to ensure that children cannot access your gun, and its ammunition, should legally be classed as murder.

For the most part, it already is in the US. If a gun is not properly secured and a child uses it for negligent purposes, the parents are usually charged with the crime.

Carrying both a gun and ammunition that will work for that gun in public should legally be classed as attempted murder. The government needs to promote maces and tasers as personal protection (and also to explain that tasers are still lethal weapons, and should only be used in defence of life)

Doesn't work as well as you believe they do. People build up aversions to mace and tasers. Firearms generally are the supreme equalizer. Its why you see crime go down in states where CCW permits are issued vs. states with just tasers/mace.

Failure to report the theft of a gun within a reasonable amount of time will lead to you being considered accessory to any crimes committed with it.

I assume this must also go for cars as well, correct?

The government needs to undertake an education campaign explaining, in very simple terms, that a weapon kept in the home is more likely to kill your family members than it is to save them.

Generally, they already do this via hunting licenses.

Any criminal record more serious than minor traffic/parking violations or marijuana possession will lead to you be unable to own firearms.
and then add a complete ban on fully automatic weapons - they have no purpose for self defence or hunting.

...Why? You are adding undue restrictions on owning something. If I made the same statement that you shouldn't be able to own a car if you've had more than a minor violation, would it be alright? Don't get me wrong, in the US, a felony pretty much bars you from firearm ownership. As for full autos, they are so controlled in the US, they might as well be banned. A class-3 license costs a LOT of money, and you more or less have to have a dealership license to own one.

Perhaps, this was once true, but it is an anachronism. Even armed citizens would stand no chance against the might of the U.S. military. A rebellion of force would simply be crushed by superior force. The only way to "take care" of government is to inform/educate people. An all out assault on the government with the small arms that Americans are permitted to carry would just be a bloodbath for the rebels.

I still believe we should have guns for other reasons though ... basic right to protect one's life/property for instance.

Perhaps, this was once true, but it is an anachronism. Even armed citizens would stand no chance against the might of the U.S. military. A rebellion of force would simply be crushed by superior force. The only way to "take care" of government is to inform/educate people. An all out assault on the government with the small arms that Americans are permitted to carry would just be a bloodbath for the rebels.

I still believe we should have guns for other reasons though ... basic right to protect one's life/property for instance.

It's a little late, but imma reply to this.

Lower crime rates?

Yes, but that's a cultural thing that has very little to do with the form of government. And the crime rates are rising, especially in Sweden; over there, reported violent crime rose 200% between 1976 and 2006.

However, there is one way in which the whole developed world is better than the US when it comes to law and order policy: they don't have the US's ridiculous stance on drugs. If the US was a little more lenient in that area, crime would plummet.

Best healthcare?

Maybe, if you're poor.

Best education?

At secondary level, Scandinavian countries are good, but rank lower than their Finnish neighbours and East Asian countries.

At university level, it's a joke. Every single one of the world's top ten universities is in Britain or the US.

Highest quality of life?

By what measure? The HDI is the most commonly accepted, and according to that, only Norway ranks higher than the US, even though the HDI is biased in favour of socialist countries on account of disregarding taxes and looking at quantity rather than quality of higher education.

Most peaceful?

There's been quite a lot of terrorism in Scandinavia recently. I hear that Swedish Jews are fleeing the country out of fear (and that Malmo's mayor thinks the hate crimes are their fault). And in response to all of this, membership of neo-Nazi groups has been on this rise.

But I think it was Anders Breivik who finally put to bed this myth of the glorious, peaceful Scandinavian utopia.

Least corrupt?

That just means that Scandinavians are more naive.

The suicide thing is a myth?

No it isn't. It's exaggerated, but Sweden in particular has a much higher suicide rate than you'd expect from a country where everyone is supposed to be happy and looked after.

 ---------------------------

Ya know, it's funny. Everyone always talks about how Americans are so arrogant and think they're number 1 at everything, but in my experience, this attitude is far more common amongst north-western continental Europeans.

And of course, Americans who are critical of their own country (a breed of person that only exists on the far-right in Scandinavia) latch onto these myths and don't let go.