what did you guys think AND how do you feel about the level of violence in america and why is it that way here?
does nobody care?
Oh i just got that movie after a friend recommended it to me, i’ll watch it sometime soon.
anyway, about the violence in the US:
i don’t think there’s any one reason why there’s violence in this country. I believe that most humans can be naturally violent at times. i really don’t know what else to say, violence happens and there are facilities where we keep those who do harm.
one factor is also the weapons. you’d wonder where all these people got their guns. the only people who should have guns are the police (and military, etc…). I believe that all gun shops should be closed, even if they do run background checks and stuff. you have a clear record before you commit your first offense right?
So I shouldn’t be allowed to hunt Thoriphes? Surely not all gun shops.
I’m for a trained malitia. I’m for putting together a group which has regulations. Regular meeting times, and area’s of proper usage (ie a shooting range at some reasonable distance from society), and in addition to that, education in the safe use of the weapon, responsability to the general welfare, and a strong understanding of law is a must.
If you want to own a gun, I think you have that right… I just want you to be as educated as you possibly can be.
personaly, I’ll stick to painball though. We’d do much better if our world leaders would just solve their problems over a good game of capture the flag.
I agree, but I think they should have to pay homage to our Native Americans and smoke the Peace Pipe first…
:beam:
Rev
lol… true. but no smoking and shooting. or drinking and shooting for that matter.
It’s got to be regulated.
but if they are going to be using paintballs… it would lessen the aggression…
Rev
I really enjoyed Bowling For Columbine, Michael Moore did a really good job with it but as an Australian I was shocked to see how easy it is to buy a gun in America…that’s insane…get rid of the guns and you will get rid of the deaths…
I havn’t seen the movie yet, but we have tighter laws concerning firearm ownership here in Australia, their not as easy to get here. People who are commiting armed roberies and the such don’t buy their guns from legit dealers anyways.
The government ran a buy back scheme a few years back and it made no difference at all, the only people that gave em back were law abiding citizens who would never have gone out and used them against other humans. Now instead of hearing about the local shopkeeper being shot for a couple of packets of smokes we hear a shopkeeper was stabbed for a couple packets of smokes.
Dave
rebuttle1: well the opposing view to removing the fire arms sites the apparently (to me) logical idea that criminals get guns illegaly. By removing the rights of a law abiding citizen from purchacing a gun you are elliminating a very small portion of gun related deaths. In general the vast majority of legal gun owners do not commit crimes with those weapons. How would you address that?
rebuttle2 - certainly they could smoke up on a little ganga before hitting a paintball match… but if they take off their mask to take a hit, and they loose an eye… that’s their own fault.
too true
In general the vast majority of legal gun owners do not commit crimes with those weapons.
How do you know that?
Sure criminals will no doubt be able to buy guns illegaly but at the moment they have the choice to buy them legaly…:-\
I didn’t say I knew that. I said, “this is what the opposition to the anti gun loby claims. How do you address that?”
obviously you think that they are lying. Sounds like a respectable answer to me. You may be right. I’ve seen some data which suggests that pro gun loby does have some very valid points. I’m sure that they do lie about some things. They, after all, have something to gain from the question of gun control. In general both Angels and Devils lie.
Believe me, I’m a pacifist through and through. I’d love nothing more than a world without weapons. Alas, weapons are removed from people by changing their desire to use them. History shows again and again the fundimental flaw in allowing yourself to be disarmed by your government. Disarming the citizens is tantamount to allowing the fascist’s to dictate.
I’m not saying that either side is “the answer” yet.
To address your point. The majority of the data I’ve seen supports an alarmingly large quantity of illegal weapons in this country. The legal weapons are in the minority.
And lets face it, the prices are low. 10 bucks in the city, no questions asked, and the serials already shaved off for you. What person who has the intent to comit a crime with his weapon is going to go through the hassle of legal channels to aquire his weapon. That’s not something that needs proving… that’s just common sense.
How about decriminalization of some illegal narcotics, regulate the stuff like tobacco and alcohol; in the process gain revenue off of taxes, and remove all purpose for crime on the streets?
This is where I’m an extremist. I’m usually middle of the road in most issues, but this is where my opinion is really off the chart. The second amendment is outmoded. We don’t need a militia, since we have a police force, and a reserve. The US is the country with the most gun deaths (and percentage of the population killed by a gun) in the world.
But yeah, as the NRA says - Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. But as Eddie Izzard says - the gun certainly helps.
I live in D.C, and I went through the fear of the sniper last october/november. A person got killed a mile away from where I live. And while the M16 that was used was a stolen one, it was incredibly easy for the snipers to get it. I really don’t see a point in allowing civilians to have guns.
I don’t really think you can blame guns for any violence in schools. The school I go to in the afternoon, a massive number of students topping out at 800, has fights constantly, as does every other school. On the other hand, in the morning I attend a magnet school for the area. We haven’t even had a fight in the two years that I have been here. I don’t think that you can legitly throw the data of “The US having the most number of gun related deaths in the world” until you put in it context. Japan doesn’t have many gun deaths at all (I believe that is because of restrictions or high prices), but their number one and two murder weapons are, repectively, a knife and a baseball bat.
I live in a small area of Virginia where hunting thrives and I can honestly not recall over 10 homicides with guns in the past year. A very large number of my friends hunt every season and are law abiding citizens. I think the answer has to be reform, but not removal. I agree with David.
I do play paintball as well and it is heavily regulated almost anywhere you go. The guns can be as deadly as a real gun if used outside of ther designated intent of use and I think that is how guns should be treated.
I think the level of violence is extremely low in America. Find another nation as diverse as America with lower violence. America has people of every race (except french, we kicked them out) and religion. This is bound to cause friction between people and in the end, violence.
Having a gun doesn’t mean someone is going to go on a killing spree. Heck, I have a gun 10 feet away from me right now. Many people use guns for recreational activities, like hunting, skeet shooting, or fishing (more of an Alabamian activity). The only guns I think should be outlawed to the public are automatic weapons. They serve no purpose except to kill other people. The problem with banning guns, is people can still get them. But I think it a gun is illegal, the prices will go up, so you’ll see a lot less of them, plus cops can then take the guns away from the gangs and such.
The gun manufacturers should be held responsible if anyone. I remember after doing a project last year on the topic of gun control that the manufacturers of the Tec-9 Automatic Macine Pistol ( :::found here::: ) would resist finger prints. I am not sure why that would be a plus unless someone trying to get their grubby paws on it was going to commit a crime.
So Louisiville Slugger should be held responsible if someone kills someone else with a bat? I agree that gun is wrong, but you can’t blame the industry for all murders with their product, unless they’re the tobacco/tomacco industry.
I don’t mean to blame companies that make the guns in all cases, but certain comanies live off of illegal activites. Stricter rules and penalties, along with better enforcement of them is the way to go. I was just stating that companies like the one who make the Tec-9 should be restricted if not shut down because there is no use of a Tec-9 that is constructive. Companies that make guns for hunting make the guns for just that, hunting. It would be quite difficult to do a drive by with a Single Shot .22.
It is the fault of the person for killing someone and that is clear. I think that more blame should be put on certain parts of the industry.
