how are gun control laws fairing in britain and australia?how's it fairing in the U.S?

Question

should the government decide whether or not law-abiding individuals should be allowed to own guns?
does the argument that taking away gun ownership will bring better security to the public have a validity??
apparently in britain those who represent the country in gun shooting events have to practice outside of the country?

i'm just trying to get objective arguments for both sides.i'm personally neutral on this issue.

Answer 1

Well people can oppose gun ownership all they want. Thanks to the 2nd amendment, their opinion really doesn't matter. The government has no place in deciding whether or not law-abiding citizens should be allowed to own guns, but they should be allowed to determine which guns can be owned, and to have a process in place to prove you are worthy of owning a gun (in terms of knowledge & mental capacity).

The 2nd amendment was of course written at a time when fully automatic weapons were not even imaginable. Speculating on what our founding fathers may or may not have meant regarding the weapons of today is a waste of time - there's simply no way to know.

What we need to do is draw a line in the sand - weapons in pile A are for fun and sport, and therefore eligible to be owned by private citizens. Weapons in pile B are for military/police use only, although we could make them available for rental at gun ranges.

I would argue that fully automatic weapons, hand cannons, etc. belong in group B, and all other pistols & rifles belong in group A.

We also need to make allowances for future weapons. In 30 years we may have hand carried laser weapons or hand carried nuclear weapons. Does the 2nd amendment apply to those? Most reasonable people would say no.

As far as who can buy the guns in pile A? I like the idea of having the NRA in charge of testing & issuing licenses. In order to buy a gun, you have to have a license from them, just like a driver's license. They test you for knowledge of how to safely use the weapon and do a psychological profile. They should also ensure you are not on any medication for mental health issues. You would have to renew your license every few years just like a driver's, and get retested every once and a while also.

Anyone who wants to own a gun for sport or protection should have the opportunity. That's essentially the spirit of the 2nd amendment, and we can apply logic, common sense, and "control" and not violate the spirit of it.

Answer 2

i am a firm believer in gun control
( being able to hit what your shooting at )
besides that i herd a report on he radio the other day that there is 1 gun for every 7 American out there some where


in the towns where they passed laws requiring people to carry concealed weapons crime has almost disappeared
at the same time communities with strict gun laws crime goes up
so far i haven't herd of any concealed carry people going nuts with there Gun

i do here about criminals and mentally nuts people doing it all the time
we need to do a better job of getting the guns from the criminals and mental people and getting more to decent people who are or would be willing to come to others defense

newt Gingrich said it good ....we need to make sure a tragedy like what happened in Virginia doesn't happen again by insuring that there will never be an instance where only 1 person has a gun

Answer 3

In every European country you can easily own guns if you have a permit. You can also shoot them if you want, especially at approved places. This last statistic sounds like something somebody made up. I'm very sure marksmen have a normal place to practice.
The idea that there is no gun ownership in Europe is just not true. Many of my friends are hunters in Germany for wild boor and other things. I also personally knew marksmen in Germany who competed internationally.
What they are trying to avoid is having hillbillies and gangbangers selling or buying illegal weapons out of people's car trunks and at swap meets!
PS: I see in the link that the ban is only on training certain types of rapid-fire pistols, not all guns. Thanks.

Answer 4

The government should have no say in wether citizens can have firearms. Taking them away will not make a safer place .It would mean a safer place for the criminals. The criminals would still have them, they always seem able to get what firearms they want. Remember the second admendment which states that citizens have the right to bear arms. I vote for the NRA.

Answer 5

Well, Britain just released their report, and turns out they have six times as much per capita gun murders as they did before they banned guns...

Answer 6

I don't believe that you will get balanced responses here-

most are pro-gun...

insofar as David's comment, please see the link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/4162498.stm

the Olympic team can't practice in their own country.

As for hunting for boor's in Germany- maybe they could hunt for them here in the USA.