Poll: Your Thoughts on Guns

[interspark]

Firearms are a danger in the wrong hands, and a blessing in the right ones. I'm alright with civilians having them, as long as they are sane, functioning members of society.

im sorry, not trying to be rude but in what scenario would guns be a blessing?

 

[Legend of J]

Guns go bang .

But nah the whole subject on it depends how many guns you own and depends why you need them. Say if you have them for the whole scarface reason "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!".

Or the otherwise hunting i guess there fine for hunting.

 

[blue_lame93@hotmail.com]

Firearms are a danger in the wrong hands, and a blessing in the right ones. I'm alright with civilians having them, as long as they are sane, functioning members of society.

One massive problem, the majority of morons that buy guns should not even be able to look at them. And plus functioning society members are the general mass of dicks that believe they are capable of bending bullets becasue they've seen it on T.V. AKA. people who should be locked in rubber rooms=]

 

[Crystal Cuckoo]

I don't like guns because the people who buy them are often the last ones who I'd trust to have a firearm in their hands.

 

[caprisun]

Yes of course guns cant do anything by themselves, but having a society where there are guns lying freely around is asking for trouble. As you see in America contsantly,people loose their minds and end up going on a killing spree, all because there was a gun lying there waiting for them to use.

Also think it puts barriers between people and their neighbours, by saying that i dont trust anybody and i need this gun to protect myself.

 

[blue_lame93@hotmail.com]

i hate guns, theres no just reason for owning one much less using it, i mean, dont get me wrong, ive got nothing against target shooting and stuff but i just hate places like america where everyone over the age of 6 has one in their pocket like its perfectly normal

guns are like armies and lawyers, if no-one had them, no-one would need them

I have a question for you, have you ever used a weapon of any form to save yourself or another person? i'm guessing no. majority of people who have weapons, have them as a last resort or scare tactic, wether you live in a shitty part of america or just happen to know that there will be scumbags where your going your gonna feel a hell of alot less likely to be injured with said weapon

 

[fix-the-spade]

Very specific, very destructive tool, handle with care.

To be honest I have no specific or consistent opinion when it comes to guns, they're machines, they have no inherent bias towards good or evil. My opinion largely revolves around whether I think the person who is/wants to be in charge of one is trustworthy with such a specific piece of machinery.

Although I do think anyone who sees a gun as a status symbol should never be allowed within a hundred feet of one.

 

[Woodsey]

I don't see them as at all necessary for self-defense, unless of course you're already staring down the barrel of another gun. And that's more likely to happen if guns are permitted for civilians in the country in the first place.

From Wikipedia (I know, I know, not the most reliable source but we all still use it):

"The United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) has low levels of gun ownership and generally one of the lowest rates of intentional gun deaths."

From the same page (concerning America):

"About 10,000 murders are committed using firearms annually."

"The American Journal of Public Health conducted a study that concluded "the United States has higher rates of firearm ownership than do other developed nations, and higher rates of homicide. Of the 233,251 people who were homicide victims in the United States between 1988 and 1997, 68% were killed with guns, of which the large majority were handguns." "

(Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics#United_Kingdom )

From another page I just Googled (dunno how reliable it is I admit):

"Children and Gun Violence
In a single year, 3,012 children and teens were killed by gunfire in the United States, according to the latest national data released in 2002. That is one child every three hours; eight children every day; and more than 50 children every week. And every year, at least 4 to 5 times as many kids and teens suffer from non-fatal firearm injuries. (Children's Defense Fund and National Center for Health Statistics)"

"America and Gun Violence
American children are more at risk from firearms than the children of any other industrialized nation. In one year, firearms killed no children in Japan, 19 in Great Britain, 57 in Germany, 109 in France, 153 in Canada, and 5,285 in the United States. (Centers for Disease Control)"

Now look at school shootings figures at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting#Notable_school_shootings .

Look at the American list, then look at the European list. Far smaller, and taken from many more countries.

Of course America is bigger and so on and so forth, but the numbers are ridiculous. Politicians blame bloody video games for school shootings, yet plenty of them (mostly Republicans) think the level of gun control is just fine.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

While I myself don't like firearms, I would certainly not take away the rights of others to own a firearm.

 

[WolfThomas]

Where's food, recreation and protecting the environment?

In Australia we have the unique opportunity to shoot things like deer, pigs, rabbits and foxes completely guilt free. Why? Because they're introduced pests and destroying the environment. It might be hard to validate shooting deer in America (even for food) if their numbers are low, but in Australia 40,000 deer get shot a year and their numbers are still out of control.

Some hippie girl chewed out my mate for being a fox hunter, which is ridiculous as he's saving the environment and Australian marsupials with every fox he's shot, more than she'd ever done.

I have a .223 pump action carbine, I use it for hunting responsibly and I also slept a lot easier earlier this week when I was camping in an area known for it's wild dog/dingo hybrids.

I'm also planning to start applying for a sporting handgun license, I've got to do a certain number of shoots at a range. This is going to be mainly recreation, though I do admit if a zombie apocalypse happens I'd be glad to have a handgun on my belt.

My biggest decision is whether to get a revolver in .38 or a semi-automatic in 9mm, to get something like .45 requires more bureaucracy, while those two calibres are the only ones you can do "kill houses" with. I'm torn, I'd prefer a semi, but they're restricted to 10round magazines which for some unexplained reason makes me feel apprehensive like the guns are "crippled" or something.

As for defense a gun is furthermost from my mind, I'll never carry one or a knife concealed when I go out, because I don't want to be arrested. I'd rather my innocuous handful of change to throw and a high power LED strobe light (it's a min-searchlight) which works quite well. As for defending my home, as I live in rural areas, I just rely on locking my doors, but when I do own my own property (hopefully in the countryside) I will probably possess a shotgun for defense, but for everything not just home intruders, stuff like snakes and wild dogs as well.

Yeah pretty much this. I'm glad that in Australia you can't just go down to a store and buy a gun. (If I'm wrong, correct me)

Technically you can, while there's a three day waiting period (28 for your first), a lot of stores will lease or let you borrow the gun for a "trigger test" in the gap period if they know you are trustworthy.

Being a fourteen year old Aussie and therefore in a country where civilian guns are pretty uncommon, I am interested by firearms. I study how they operate, all the little components of both the weapon and the ammunition, and I write about them in great detail, or at least more detail than the idiots who play Modern Warfare 2 and think they are now experts on guns and the military.

Have you considered getting your junior license? It's pretty easy and will easily roll over into an adult once you're 18. If you've got a license people at ranges and clubs will generally be pretty nice, show you their guns, maybe let you have a shot or give you advice. Everyone wants to get new blood into hunting and sport shooting.

 

[Hoplon]

I don't see them as at all necessary for self-defense, unless of course you're already staring down the barrel of another gun. And that's more likely to happen if guns are permitted for civilians in the country in the first place.

From Wikipedia (I know, I know, not the most reliable source but we all still use it):

"The United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) has low levels of gun ownership and generally one of the lowest rates of intentional gun deaths."

From the same page (concerning America):

"About 10,000 murders are committed using firearms annually."

"The American Journal of Public Health conducted a study that concluded "the United States has higher rates of firearm ownership than do other developed nations, and higher rates of homicide. Of the 233,251 people who were homicide victims in the United States between 1988 and 1997, 68% were killed with guns, of which the large majority were handguns." "

(Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics#United_Kingdom )

From another page I just Googled (dunno how reliable it is I admit):

"Children and Gun Violence
In a single year, 3,012 children and teens were killed by gunfire in the United States, according to the latest national data released in 2002. That is one child every three hours; eight children every day; and more than 50 children every week. And every year, at least 4 to 5 times as many kids and teens suffer from non-fatal firearm injuries. (Children's Defense Fund and National Center for Health Statistics)"

"America and Gun Violence
American children are more at risk from firearms than the children of any other industrialized nation. In one year, firearms killed no children in Japan, 19 in Great Britain, 57 in Germany, 109 in France, 153 in Canada, and 5,285 in the United States. (Centers for Disease Control)"

Now look at school shootings figures at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting#Notable_school_shootings .

Look at the American list, then look at the European list. Far smaller, and taken from many more countries.

Of course America is bigger and so on and so forth, but the numbers are ridiculous. Politicians blame bloody video games for school shootings, yet plenty of them (mostly Republicans) think the level of gun control is just fine.

The only problem with those (and all) statistics is that they usually fail to discriminate between legal weapons used in crimes, and illegal ones.

Guns are tools, used for the correct purpose they are no more dangerous than any other complex tool.

Generally i think people don't have enough respect for the tools they use, and this always ends up with some one hurt.

 

[interspark]

i hate guns, theres no just reason for owning one much less using it, i mean, dont get me wrong, ive got nothing against target shooting and stuff but i just hate places like america where everyone over the age of 6 has one in their pocket like its perfectly normal

guns are like armies and lawyers, if no-one had them, no-one would need them

I have a question for you, have you ever used a weapon of any form to save yourself or another person? i'm guessing no. majority of people who have weapons, have them as a last resort or scare tactic, wether you live in a shitty part of america or just happen to know that there will be scumbags where your going your gonna feel a hell of alot less likely to be injured with said weapon

true, but then when youre walking down an empty street with said weapon for "protection" and you see someone coming in the opposite direction, whats to stop a less virtuous person seeing the opportunity to use their "protection" to help him/herself to the other persons wallet? i say leave your instruments of death at home and leave the "protecting" to the police

 

[gonzo20]

in a way, i kind of hate guns because there is hardly any protection from them and no sense of honor in battle (not saying that killing people is a nice thing to do) and i can understand the need for firearms because the armys of old were like "hmm there just like crossbows but they kill better! use them!"

 

[Mcupobob]

I see them as a sorce of recreation nothing more, had to go through alot before anyone in my famliy let me used a gun i.e lectures and lots of them, learning how to clean and mantain it, and range safty. There fun to shoot and they make your penis feel bigger sadly I have small one

 

[Knight of Cydonia]

I know how to use them due to being with these guys, don't worry its not actually like it says on the website. [http://www.armycadets.com/home/]

 

[Pyotr Romanov]

Well, In the UK, Most people dont have guns, As we all like to stab each other.

But if i lived in the US, i would have (And conceal) a firearm, Y'now, To stop me from getting shot.

I never did get that notion. To prevent yourself from getting shot, you'd have to shoot first, which would make you a criminal and/or killer, would it not?
Also, I doubt you're going to have the time to un-conceal your gun and shoot someone who is threatening you with a gun before he shoots you. Which brings me to this point:
Guns don't defend you, they just allow you to hurt the person who hurt you. Which is fine, I guess, just not my cup of tea.

 

[AvsJoe]

I despise and fear guns. I'm not going to be naive and say "guns are bad" but I never want to be on either side of a loaded gun.

 

[Jack_Uzi]

Guns are just (deadly) tools. When someone has the intention of killing anouther human being, all he/she needs is a good dose of willpower and circumstances to take another life.
I can't have an aversion towards weapons, but I could against the person wielding it. Allthough I would never want to have a gun because of it's main purpose.

 

[LostTimeLady]

I believe that a gun's job is to kill, that's what it was made for and if it doesn't kill it hasn't done it's job. They are designed to kill and kill they do, whether on a street, on a battle field, in a home, they are a tool of death. There's no two ways about it.

Personally they scare me to death (no pun intended at all there) and even the sight of one at an airport or something scares me. I wish never to be in a situation where I am on the reciving end of what a gun can do. Nor do I wish to be the one holding the gun.

I know they have their uses, lets not be black and white about this, such as killing vermin, shooting for food et al and that's fine but again, it's all about death, guns kill. You can't deny that fact. I know that in this world we will never not have guns but I personally wish to stay as far away from one as humanly possible.