Should There Be Tougher Gun Laws?

[McHaggis]

Banning firearms is retarded - prohibition never goes well. What matters is that only authorized, responsible parties should get their hands on firearms. You can only drive if you have a driving license - you should only be able to purchase firearms if you have a license as well. Thing is, license-related legislature cannot be too lenient - there are certain requirements for a driver's license, a gun-related license should have steep requirements as well.

Except in the UK where prohibition worked really well... so I guess some might argue that not banning firearms is retarded. Sure, I can agree that guns are only dangerous in the wrong hands, but making it harder for them to fall into anyone's hands makes it harder for them to fall into the wrong hands. However, I would say that an immediate outright ban would probably not be a good idea.

I'm obviously not from the USA so their politics don't apply to me, but tragedies like this--the third major gun attack in the USA in 2012--affect us too. To all those people comparing guns to knives, what are you smoking? A gun can kill much easier from distance, a knife is easier to protect from. Someone with a knife can defend against someone else with a knife, they can't defend against someone with a gun. How often do you hear of major knife attacks? Is it more than 3 times in a year?

 

[Foxi4]

How often do you hear of major knife attacks? Is it more than 3 times in a year?

...in Cardiff? Every other night.

...seriously though, the UK gained sort of an infamy when it comes to late-night knifing, so not that great of an argument on your part.

 

[emigre]

...in Cardiff? Every other night.

...seriously though, the UK gained sort of an infamy when it comes to late-night knifing, so not that great of an argument on your part.

The knife crime malarky was subjected to hyperbole. There was a number of knifings in a relatively short time which made people and the media get all hysteric. In terms of statistical analysis the number wasn't all that concerning.

RE Cardiff: Cardif are still experiencing evolution so give them some time.

 

[Foxi4]

The knife crime malarky was subjected to hyperbole. There was a number of knifings in a relatively short time which made people and the media get all hysteric. In terms of statistical analysis the number wasn't all that concerning.

RE Cardiff: Cardif are still experiencing evolution so give them some time.

I know, my girlfriend lives near Cardiff and I often visit the area - it's charming, I love spending time in Wales. That said, it's not necessarily safe at night.

Hysteric or not, the media were indeed interested in the series of knifings in the UK, so the "infamy" post isn't exactly incorrect.

 

[emigre]

Hysteric or not, the media was indeed interested in the series of knifings in the UK, so the "infamy" post isn't exactly incorrect.

The same media which has proven itself to irresponsible and misleading with a Government inquiry stating there is a need for complete overhaul for media regulation?

 

[Foxi4]

The same media which has proven itself to irresponsible and misleading with a Government inquiry stating there is a need for complete overhaul for media regulation?

Oh blimey, I've opened the Pandora's Box! Let's not talk about the media, old chap!

That said, "media" that is far more interested in stalking a price while he's having fun with prostitutes rather than following the concurrent EuroCrisis situation is sort of dodgy. Honestly, who in the UK gives two f*cks about whom does Prince Harry chee-kee-wow-wah-bang-bang? I'm yet to meet a person that is.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

It wouldn't change much. For example, certain drugs are illegal. But what do you know, they're still there.

 

[NightsOwl]

I think they really should be a bit stricter. I understand the need of a firearm for self protection in case of a robbery... but any smart robber would have a gun anyway. So it's kind of redundant..

 

[ZAFDeltaForce]

In my country, possession of serviceable weapons with lethal capabilities are prohibited and you can get hanged, even if you do not possess appropriate ammunition for that weapon (Which would possibly render it useless).

The possession of live or blank ammunition, or empty casings of spent rounds, are also prohibited and you can spend a long part of your life in the slammer if you're caught. Or hanged. Or both.

Now I understand that correlation does not imply causation, but I'll just say that my country is one of the safest cities in the world to live in.

Should guns be banned? In my opinion, yes. But that's because I've been brought up in a gun-free city all my life so my opinion may be biased in that respect.

 

[McHaggis]

...in Cardiff? Every other night.

...seriously though, the UK gained sort of an infamy when it comes to late-night knifing, so not that great of an argument on your part.

Knifing someone outside a nightclub isn't the same thing, but fair enough I'll put it another way; a mad man has a knife and 5 people run away from him. How many die or are seriously injured? Replace the knife with a gun with a full clip... how many now? My point was that they can't really be compared.

I'm all for banning guns because limiting the number of accessible weapons in the world can only be a good thing.

 

[BlueStar]

You don't need guns to kill people. I.E some guy in China slashed 22 kids with a knife.
This isn't a problem with laws or restrictions, this is a problem with human nature. We can't fix it with regulations.

And all 22 survived, a very similar to the number lying dead when someone did the exact same thing with guns.

 

[air2004]

Gun laws wont stop a non law abiding citizen. Take the guns away from law abiding citizens and only 2 groups of people will have them. The criminals and the cops , and sometimes even the cops are criminals.

 

[BlueStar]

Well there aren't hundreds of criminals running around terrorising the unarmed populace with guns here.

It's not a particularly difficult equation to work out, the US is a country where guns are cheap and easily obtainable and mental health care is expensive and extremely difficult to obtain. The result can't come as a surprise to anyone.

And what if there were no guns? Does anyone think that the lack of a gun could have stopped this person from carrying out this mass killing? What's he going to say "oh can't get a gun guess I can't kill people" or is he going to build a fertilizer bomb and blow up the whole school? You can also kill 27 people with a knife or a car. It's been done but no one seems to be in favor of banning cooking knives

Would you like to give some examples of killings carried out on this scale with those items? Someone tried the same thing with a knife in China, attacked 22 of them, none dead. Someone went on a multiple hour rampage in a van in Wales, injuries but only 1 fatality. The Columbine killers attempted to blow up their school, resulting in 0 fatalities and if they didn't have guns that's where it would have ended.

These events happen because of extremists who insist mental health care isn't a right but owning guns is.

...Yeah, that's still pretty illegal, mate. I'm pretty sure that the registration becomes invalid once the owner dies - the next owner may get said weapons as inheritence, but still has to register them under his/her name - do correct me if I'm wrong, I'm to a great extent unfamiliar with the lenient U.S gun ownership laws.

no... registration happens at the purchase of a gun.... once its passed down its just that passed down.... the link is the serial number to the dead and their blood tie to the family... aside from that its open game sadly....

no... registration happens at the purchase of a gun.... once its passed down its just that passed down.... the link is the serial number to the dead and their blood tie to the family... aside from that its open game sadly....

much less correct me if im wrong.... but arnt guns of a certain age dont need registering? cause i know u can pawn old ass guns like civil war rifles without the registration......

 

[Clydefrosch]

More people are killed by the wheel every year than anything else. I think we should have more strict wheel laws. Maybe we should ban the wheel outright

i guess by wheel you mean car accidents, and yes, american drivers licence tests are a joke too.

 

[McHaggis]

It wouldn't change much. For example, certain drugs are illegal. But what do you know, they're still there.

What a weak, irrelevant argument. If those drugs were legal, their would be so many more people off their tits and overdosing. Laws are never going to stop something, but they do make a difference as a deterrent.

 

[retKHAAAN]

More people are killed by the wheel every year than anything else. I think we should have more strict wheel laws. Maybe we should ban the wheel outright

Except "the wheel" wasn't designed for the specific purpose of ending life(whether hunting, murder, or self-defense). When you upgrade your car, you get better gas mileage or more horsepower. When you upgrade your gun, it is more effective at killing.

 

[Foxi4]

Knifing someone outside a nightclub isn't the same thing, but fair enough I'll put it another way; a mad man has a knife and 5 people run away from him. How many die or are seriously injured? Replace the knife with a gun with a full clip... how many now? My point was that they can't really be compared.

I'm all for banning guns because limiting the number of accessible weapons in the world can only be a good thing.

Honestly, I was just pulling your chain and poking a hole in your argument for the sake of it. I think I already stated that guns are infinitely more dangerous in the hands of a maniac than knives - what I was saying was that banning them entirely doesn't make the problem go poof. In this day and age, anyone with access to everyday cleaning chemicals and the internet or even a library is capable of constructing home-made explosives, heck, an adamant psycho will kill someone with a spoon if needs be. Guns themselves are not the problem, but we have to work towards keeping those who could use them in a malicious fashion away from them.

 

[Wizerzak]

Honestly, I was just pulling your chain and poking a hole in your argument for the sake of it. I think I already stated that guns are infinitely more dangerous in the hands of a maniac than knives - what I was saying was that banning them entirely doesn't make the problem go poof. In this day and age, anyone with access to everyday cleaning chemicals and the internet or even a library is capable of constructing home-made explosives, heck, an adamant psycho will kill someone with a spoon if needs be. Guns themselves are not the problem, but we have to work towards keeping those who could use them in a malicious fashion away from them.

Which is exactly why I made my point. Very few of these gun attacks are 'adamant psychos' that actual plan in advance. You just have to have a bad day and think that there's nothing worth left living for and it becomes VERY easy in the US to just pick up your gun lying in your living room and go out and shoot people. No other weapon can you do this so easily with.

 

[gamefan5]

I definitely support strict rules for fire arms, but it wont solve the problem. Here in Canada, where we can't have guns, there are shootings that happen.

Yes but they are so less frequent.

 

[Foxi4]

Which is exactly why I made my point. Very few of these gun attacks are 'adamant psychos' that actual plan in advance. You just have to have a bad day and think that there's nothing worth left living for and it becomes VERY easy in the US to just pick up your gun lying in your living room and go out and shoot people. No other weapon can you do this so easily with.

People who are capable of "breaking down when they have a bad day" shouldn't be gun owners to begin with - that's why background checks and psychological tests are so important, and they should be performed in regular intervals. The psychological tests will separate the chaff from the grain and background checks will assert whether the gun owner lives with someone capable of seizing the weapon/s and if the weapons are securely stored. I know I'm repeating myself, but I can't stress it strongly enough - hanging a gun over your mantlepiece may be "cool", but it's certainly not "safe". If you want one hanging on the wall, make sure it's inoperable and the actual, working weapons are in safes where they belong or on your person at all times (when it comes to self-defense weapons).