Gun Control

@ Alex; periphery.
Like I said, I'm not sure which country it is that I had heard about.

wohali:

@ Alex; periphery.
Like I said, I'm not sure which country it is that I had heard about.

You were right, it is Switzerland.

Here in Portugal, the crime rate is rather low (except maybe for the two main cities where there are street shootings sort of often) and most people don't even feel the need to own guns. Things like school shootings are pretty much unheard of around here (thank God) and although the financial crisis has increased the number of robberies, most of these robbers are only desperate for money/food and do not intend to harm people. The gun control here is tight, even pepper spray is illegal (unless you request an authorization) but the black market, like everywhere else, is always one step ahead. I just hope that, in such difficult times like these, people don't turn against each other.

“Guns kill people like how spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat.”

Yep it's the spoon fault...

I got this from a bumper sticker and I thought it was hilarious and true...

@ LOVE1516
I think it's really mean to Rosie O'Donnell . . .

All I know is that if a person holds their hand out like a gun and says 'pow' it doesn't work. The gun has to be there.

If you lay a gun on a table by itself and then have a man on the other side holding a gun. Both are pointed at you.. Which one will fire first?

@ LOVE1516
You need a person to pull the trigger, but you have to have a gun to kill them. If they pull their trigger on nothing, it doesn't kill them.

However, I do agree humans are involved. I mean, they are there. That's why I think people should have to have gun insurance, get background checks, and have required safety courses.

Interesting tidbit. Chicago has some of the strictest gun control laws in the US, but yet they have more crimes where a gun has been used.

That's partially why I think criminals will still get guns. You can compare our laws to the laws in other countries, but we're not other countries. It's as simple as that. We aren't Sweden, England, or anywhere else.

Like I've said before, I think gun control laws would do some good, but such as limiting high capacity magazines and background checks and safety courses.

@ countrygirl62696
In that case, we should never ever use a study when we're trying to pass a law ever because one situations will never be an exact clone of the study used to support it before. This would apply to passing laws about safe food, drugs, marriage, whether or not it's harmful to beat your kid, etc.

I think the thing with Chicago is its only one city. All you have to do is the leave the city to get a gun; you don't even have to leave the state. Whereas, leaving the country is more difficult.

@ dru's war paint.
All I'm saying is we're not the other countries. Sure, it might work, and then again, it might not. Just my opinion and thoughts on it.

Not unless you have things like smuggling and the black market.

Like I live in a semi-small town (26,000) and we're definitely pro-guns. Most houses I know of own at least one gun. I have 4, and 2 of them are pistols. The other 2 are a shotgun and 30-30. We tend to have less than 10 robberies a year, and about the same amount of murders. I personally think this is because if you live in a town where majority owns a gun, you might be worried to rob a house for fear of getting shot. At least my opinion.

Okay and if guns were banned say you're with your newborn baby all alone and you hear a robber coming in, so you dial 911 but, they might not be there in time, how would you protect yourself?

I agree gun have been used for evil purposes but, they also have saved many people's lives, taking away their protection isn't right...

@ countrygirl62696
You might also have less crime because you live in a smaller town. I come from the Midwest and grew up in a house with rifles, no pistols. There might have been a robbery or two in the years I grew up in that area. I don't think it's because a lot of people have guns. I think it's because most people don't steal.

You're inferring things without actual data to back it up. Perhaps there is a low crime rate in your area because there is a low unemployment rate and no need for it. Maybe there are good programs for the unemployed to help them develop job skills. (Most B&Es are crimes of opportunity, but a lot of people who steal are low-income, so that is why I'm talking about unemployment.)

@ dru's war paint.
I'm just saying. From the town's I've been in and around where people have a lot of guns, if it were me, I'd be worried about it.

Oh no, we have plenty of people who are unemployed, and we don't really have many programs. I can look up the exact number if you want, but that's still not gonna have me guaranteeing the reason people don't steal in my town. That's my guess, and that's what everyone else in my town believes too.

@ countrygirl62696
A lot of small towns in the Midwest don't have a lot of violent crime and have a lot of guns. I don't believe that the lack of violent crime has to do with the abundance of guns. I think it has to do with people being taught that killing people is wrong. (Midwest teachers are like Mormon nannies; everyone wants them because of this 'idea' of Midwestern morals.)

@ dru's war paint.
That might be for those towns, but we aren't like that around where I live. We don't have teachers like that. I'm not saying I'm right. I'm just saying my opinion.

But here's the stats for my town:
Population: 26, 255 (as of 2011)
From 1999 to 2011, we've had 7 murders.
As of 2011, 10.3 robberies.
As a city, we had an unemployment rate of 6.8%.
In 2009, the median house income was $43,977, which is below the state average.

Like I said, I'm not saying I'm right. I'm not saying I'm wrong. I'm just telling you my opinion as to why, because people around here don't really think much of killing people, bad or good. But, especially on the side of the town I'm on (the more rural part), you definitely have more gun owners. Again, not saying I'm right or wrong. I'm just saying.

Were I live, which is in a small town, and everybody own 5-15 guns, There hunters or they want to protect theirself, there is no harm in that. It's only harm if the human wanted to use the gun to kill people...The people here are the old fashioned, kind of the only screwy about them is their stereotyping pit bulls and killing innocent dog's left from right.. But we only had two murders in this town and everybody has lots of guns...

No one really cares about the towns where there isn't a lot of murder. Let's be honest. They aren't the problem. No one is suggesting that we take guns away from citizens who haven't done anything wrong and already own them.

So the points don't really matter--your town isn't where crime is prevalent. The places where crime is prevalent . . . might want to look at the weapon involved in all the crime.

@ katiex1516
You do know that killing animals is considered by some psychologists to be a precursor killing humans? If people are killing innocent animals eventually they might kill innocent people.

@ dru's war paint.
See, I live in a town where people hunt a lot, but they wouldn't want to kill humans. My dad has hunted before and he doesn't want to kill humans. There is a difference between hunting and killing an animal for shits and giggles.

@ countrygirl62696
Yeah, the other user was talking about killing dogs though. That's not hunting anywhere I know about.