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Forums - General Discussion - Should guns be outlawed in America?

Americans should always have the right to own a gun.



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I'm not American so I have no right to say what Americans should do, but I'll give my opinion if anyone is interested.

I don't think owning guns is a good idea, I know some people believe it's part of the right to decide by oneself, freedom, etc., but in that case everyone could have the right to own a nuke, for instance. Actually, doesn't the US constitution state that people have the right to bear 'arms'? (and not specifically guns). Obviously some limitations are in place anyway. Even if you think you need a gun to defend yourself, you wouldn't need one if other people weren't armed with guns, right? I don't know, practically no-one dies of gunfire in Europe compared to the thousands of deaths a year in the US, so I don't think safety is a good reason. I don't think the pros outweigh the cons in this case personally.

But this comes from a guy who lives in a country were it's almost impossible to see an actual gun bar some members of the police force or security. And as I said, it's up to Americans to decide what they want, I don't know how popular the idea of gun ownership is over there.



No troll is too much for me to handle. I rehabilitate trolls, I train people. I am the Troll Whisperer.

Troll_Whisperer said:
I'm not American so I have no right to say what Americans should do, but I'll give my opinion if anyone is interested.

I don't think owning guns is a good idea, I know some people believe it's part of the right to decide by oneself, freedom, etc., but in that case everyone could have the right to own a nuke, for instance. Actually, doesn't the US constitution state that people have the right to bear 'arms'? (and not specifically guns). Obviously some limitations are in place anyway. Even if you think you need a gun to defend yourself, you wouldn't need one if other people weren't armed with guns, right? I don't know, practically no-one dies of gunfire in Europe compared to the thousands of deaths a year in the US, so I don't think safety is a good reason. I don't think the pros outweigh the cons in this case personally.

But this comes from a guy who lives in a country were it's almost impossible to see an actual gun bar some members of the police force or security. And as I said, it's up to Americans to decide what they want, I don't know how popular the idea of gun ownership is over there.

I agree with you about guns where we are, in Europe, but I don't think outlawing guns is a good idea in a country like America, where there are more guns than people; only the law-abiding citizens will hand in their illegal weapons, leaving the criminals with way more firepower. We don't get this problem is western europe because there simply aren't many guns to go around, so it's harder for criminals to get them; that's why our police don't need them, that's why we don't need them. Total opposite for America. Not saying it's a good thing, but I'm saying banning firearms just won't work in a country like America, crime rates would go even higher than they already are. 

If you want an example of a country with a massive gun culture and a very small crime rate, Switzerland. Almost every adult owns at least 1 gun, and gun crime is almost non-existant. But I guess you could say that it's a much smaller and mature (for lack of better word) population so maybe Switzerland isn't the best example.



DarthVolod said:
leatherhat said:
Its not about home defense or hunting. Its about making sure the people can always "take care" of the government if they overstep their bounds, which America has apparently forgotten.


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.


That's what the government wants you to think and not even close to true.  Americans are the most well armed people in the history of the planet.  Our military has approximately 1.5 million soldiers.  There are 9 guns for every 10 people in this country and almost everyone at least knows where to get a gun if they want one.  If the American people truly revolted, the US Military wouldn't stand a glimpse of a chance.  That is of course unless they started nuking their own country. 



Andrespetmonkey said:
Troll_Whisperer said:
I'm not American so I have no right to say what Americans should do, but I'll give my opinion if anyone is interested.

I don't think owning guns is a good idea, I know some people believe it's part of the right to decide by oneself, freedom, etc., but in that case everyone could have the right to own a nuke, for instance. Actually, doesn't the US constitution state that people have the right to bear 'arms'? (and not specifically guns). Obviously some limitations are in place anyway. Even if you think you need a gun to defend yourself, you wouldn't need one if other people weren't armed with guns, right? I don't know, practically no-one dies of gunfire in Europe compared to the thousands of deaths a year in the US, so I don't think safety is a good reason. I don't think the pros outweigh the cons in this case personally.

But this comes from a guy who lives in a country were it's almost impossible to see an actual gun bar some members of the police force or security. And as I said, it's up to Americans to decide what they want, I don't know how popular the idea of gun ownership is over there.

I agree with you about guns where we are, in Europe, but I don't think outlawing guns is a good idea in a country like America, where there are more guns than people; only the law-abiding citizens will hand in their illegal weapons, leaving the criminals with way more firepower. We don't get this problem is western europe because there simply aren't many guns to go around, so it's harder for criminals to get them; that's why our police don't need them, that's why we don't need them. Total opposite for America. Not saying it's a good thing, but I'm saying banning firearms just won't work in a country like America, crime rates would go even higher than they already are. 

If you want an example of a country with a massive gun culture and a very small crime rate, Switzerland. Almost every adult owns at least 1 gun, and gun crime is almost non-existant. But I guess you could say that it's a much smaller and mature (for lack of better word) population so maybe Switzerland isn't the best example.

Yeah, I can understand that banning guns would be extremely impractical at this point, because there are so many of them that there would just be a huge black market and the situation would become worse.



No troll is too much for me to handle. I rehabilitate trolls, I train people. I am the Troll Whisperer.

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maximus22 said:
DarthVolod said:
leatherhat said:
Its not about home defense or hunting. Its about making sure the people can always "take care" of the government if they overstep their bounds, which America has apparently forgotten.


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.


That's what the government wants you to think and not even close to true.  Americans are the most well armed people in the history of the planet.  Our military is approximately has 1.5 million soldiers.  There are 9 guns for every 10 people in this country and almost everyone at least knows where to get a gun if they wanted one.  If the American people truly revolted, the US Army wouldn't stand a glimpse of a chance.  That is of course unless they started nuking their own country. 

Maximus is right, and you've also got to remember that the US is a massive country, it's army would struggle to control a majority of it with unarmed citizens let alone the very well armed citizens of America.



Troll_Whisperer said:
Andrespetmonkey said:
Troll_Whisperer said:
I'm not American so I have no right to say what Americans should do, but I'll give my opinion if anyone is interested.

I don't think owning guns is a good idea, I know some people believe it's part of the right to decide by oneself, freedom, etc., but in that case everyone could have the right to own a nuke, for instance. Actually, doesn't the US constitution state that people have the right to bear 'arms'? (and not specifically guns). Obviously some limitations are in place anyway. Even if you think you need a gun to defend yourself, you wouldn't need one if other people weren't armed with guns, right? I don't know, practically no-one dies of gunfire in Europe compared to the thousands of deaths a year in the US, so I don't think safety is a good reason. I don't think the pros outweigh the cons in this case personally.

But this comes from a guy who lives in a country were it's almost impossible to see an actual gun bar some members of the police force or security. And as I said, it's up to Americans to decide what they want, I don't know how popular the idea of gun ownership is over there.

I agree with you about guns where we are, in Europe, but I don't think outlawing guns is a good idea in a country like America, where there are more guns than people; only the law-abiding citizens will hand in their illegal weapons, leaving the criminals with way more firepower. We don't get this problem is western europe because there simply aren't many guns to go around, so it's harder for criminals to get them; that's why our police don't need them, that's why we don't need them. Total opposite for America. Not saying it's a good thing, but I'm saying banning firearms just won't work in a country like America, crime rates would go even higher than they already are. 

If you want an example of a country with a massive gun culture and a very small crime rate, Switzerland. Almost every adult owns at least 1 gun, and gun crime is almost non-existant. But I guess you could say that it's a much smaller and mature (for lack of better word) population so maybe Switzerland isn't the best example.

Yeah, I can understand that banning guns would be extremely impractical at this point, because there are so many of them that there would just be a huge black market and the situation would become worse.

Oh yeah, I didn't even think of that.  America is definitely screwed when it comes to gun crime either way. Just less screwed with it being legal.



If you outlaw guns, then only outlaws will have guns. Why can't people understand that?



hell no,guns for life. I don't own a gun,but I've been thinking about getting one. love guns and the history of them.



DarthVolod said:
leatherhat said:
Its not about home defense or hunting. Its about making sure the people can always "take care" of the government if they overstep their bounds, which America has apparently forgotten.


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.

And if there were rebelion you think regular army soldiers would remain 100% loyal and shoot civil people without hesitation ?

How many units of southerners remained loyal to Washington during american civil war ?



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