Should Guns be Outlawed in the U.S.A?

This is exactly what I’m trying to highlight - the view of many Americans of their fellow citizens - that they’re so violent and murderous that they just want to kill, kill, kill. That its not guns that count for the high level of murders but the murderous nature of Americans, that the same amount of carnage would go on because Americans are so bloodthirsty that they would use anything to kill, kill, kill.

When you think your fellow citizens are like that it is no wonder that so many Americans are so frightened.

But why do they think that is it true?

Are Americans truly that different than other people, so much more violent and murderous?

Now if things are looked at in those terms (that Americans are murderous savages that are just waiting to kill people) then when crime figures are looked at they seem to back up that view.

For example

I live in London it has a population of around 7.5 million and it only had 175 homicides between Apr-2005 to Apr-2006. In fact in 2009 there were only 651 murders in the whole of England and Wales with a population of around 55 million.

But let us take an American city - Philadelphia – it I believe has a population of around 6.1 million yet it had 406 homicides in that same year. So two Philadelphia’s with only 12.2 million people would create 812 murders, more than what is produced by 55 million Brits.

But if you take out gun related homicides from the US crime figures they are not that much different from those of many European countries that have gun restrictions (although it is incredible difficult to compare any crime statistics other than homicide).

So the question is are Americans more murderous or is it just that Americans have easier access to much more lethal weapons.

 

the various posts in this and similar threads along the lines of 'i have no fear with a gun' and 'with my gun i am ten feet tall' suggest an unpleasant brain chemistry change may be occurring

 

This.

 

also the 'you can kill somebody with a pencil' arguments . . .

i have no fear with a pencil

with my pencil i am ten feet tall

YEAH!

 

Okay I’ll take my chances.

First a man who can not defend his freedom is no longer free.

A person who abdicates his right to defend himself to others is no longer free because he now depends on that group to decide which of his rights he really needs defending, if any.

As to fear as a reason for owning a gun, first there are many reasons for owning guns and yes, fear could be one of them but not the only one. So to imply that fear is the only reason is over simplifying the matter.

Next, implying that owning a gun out fear is wrong and that because someone owns a gun out fear they no longer will attempt to change societal reasons for that fear is simply ignoring reality.

As has been said if some one is breaking into our home, while a gun may or may not deter or stop a break in, it cannot tackle the reasons as to why the person is breaking in. In other words the gun can only tackle the symptoms not the causes.

Duh but when someone is breaking into your home is not the time to address the symptoms of the break in and owning a gun may allow one to continue to address the symptoms long after the attempted break in is a distant memory.

It has been intimated that Americans are frightened, implying that they are unique in this. I would say that Americans are no more frightened than most people in the world and probably less frightened than most. Of course this is just personal observation on my part but I live in the US and drive bus and talk with people all day every day and people do not express fear as part of the daily lives.

As for the best defense against tyranny is a balanced political system, it would interesting to know where such a “balanced political system” exists. The thing is that in reality such a thing does not exist.

Face it we live in a real world where there are real things to defend ourselves from and no matter how hard we work to change the world, the world will remain a dangerous place to live for many years into the future.

So what gives anyone the right to take the right of owning a gun away from a law abiding individual who wishes to own one to protect and defend his family from the very real dangers that exist.

PS As a disclaimer; I'm not a gun owner and other than owning a BB gun as a youth I have never owned one. I only defend gun ownership because I feel it is a right of the free individual to bear arms if he chooses to do so. I have contemplated owning a .22 lately for hunting rabbits, since I do "fear" the collapse of the world wide economic system and thus the unavailability of food in local food stores and the high prices of the food that is available but have not done so.

 

Thank you for making my point, but let's just leave it with guns, as thats the only inanimate object being discussed.

 

i think anything that you'd kill a person to keep is not worth much

 

Well it would be nice but we don't live in that world and in the world we do live in its not a bad idea to have the means of protecting yourself. Its not just from people either what about wild animals n shit. its just in my opinion a good idea, maybe I am afraid I don't think I am, but if I am I'm fine with that.you think saying that I'm afraid makes my point any less valid? Such an idea is childish. People have been owning guns or some form of weapon since the neolithic revolution. Man is a violent being by nature and the biggest threat to man is man.

 

So you think that your life, the life of your wife or the life of your children is not worth much?

 

thats a great question, i couldnt give an answer

 

no more than anyone else's

 

Well that explains a lot.

 

It does, on your part. That's the kind of attitude that leads to wars, that certain people are more important than others.

 

Does mean that mass murderers are okay in you book? Does it mean that you would allow your wife and children to raped and tortured before your very eyes.

 

Life is dangerous. It's better to come prepared. Besides, we can take guns away from everyone but those guns will always exist. Just like how outlawing drugs doesn't mean no one will own drugs. It's just not realistic and I don't say that to me pessimistic. If there was a cure I would be one of the first to support it, but is there a cure?

Anyway, even if there was a cure to prevent the symptoms, would that cure work for everyone? I don't mean to be morbid but cures aren't enforced because people have autonomy.

 

In the progressive spirit, yes. In the American spirit, no.

My opinion is...If humanity was to die, and celestial beings marked our lands with a giant gravestone, it should read the phrase 'From my cold dead hands' with a picture of a Colt 45. semi automatic pistol in a black outline.

 

No, why should it? If someone is going to rape my wife, I would stop him.

 

What if to stop him you had to kill him?

In an "either or" situation where you have to choose, sometimes people are not equal, sometimes by their choices people will make themselves less equal than others.

A person who for evil purpose kills another has, by his own hand, forfeited his own life.

 

Now, the question is - if your wife was going to shoot an innocent person, would you kill her?

You see we can play these games all day .. what if this situation happens, what if that happens... and it doesn't really help.

 

^^

And it still all goes back to a fear that someone at any time will bust in and try to rape and kill one's family.