Should guns be outlawed?

You know what, not allowing people to have guns will not solve anything, the people who are doing illegal things will still do illegal things, just with one more added illegal thing added to the list (owning a gun) then you take all the possible fear that they might have of doing something harmful to another away, they will actually be more likely to do it now, right? Also, if you look at it from a crime of passion point of view, you can just as easily kill someone with a fork.

 

My personal oppinion: Guns should be outlawed.
Why?
The way things are done(at least in the US) allows for irresponsable people to have the capacity to kill. You take like a 60 hour course on weapon training then some 2 week gun management class and then there you go, you are ready to responsably use a gun. See whats wrong with this idea? Some would argue that martial arts are also meant to kill, but by the time you reach the level when you are profient enough to kill you have already developed a sense of discipline that far exceeds anything you can learn in a 2 week course or 60 hours of training.

The idea of "if we outlaw guns criminals will still have them" doesnt quite hold up either, I lived in Cuba where guns are outlawed for the civilians and I saw all kinds of crime and rarely did I ever see someone with a gun, I think the only time it was an ex cop who was mad about something and came out of his house shooting at the sky. You were most likely to get your chain ripped out of your neck by someone going in a bicycle at high speed or get knocked out with a club by someone trying to steal your cloths than to have a gun pulled out on you.

 

Hi,

"Guns" refers to a very large category which encompasses, weapons, art, hunting aparatus, tools etc. I think the problem comes with the idea of escalation and where does the escalation of weapons types stop, for example, why stop at allowing automatic weapons, why not allow cannons, missiles, why not let your average citizen have access to nuclear weapons, it is everyone's right to bear arms after all, and how can we compete as ordinary citizens with a government and large powerfull army without having comperable weapons? The problem people have defending the gun issue is one of proportion. For home protection for example, there's no reason to have a handgun, a shotgun has maximum stopping power, and is a fearsome weapon to be starring down, is a handgun neccesary in this situation. A rifle can be used for both accuracy sport shooting, and for hunting, is an automatic weapon neccesary in this situation. The idea behind the 5th amendement for us american folk on here as it pertains to protection against the powers of a corrupt federal government or invading foreign power, were not put into place so you could have and carry an uzi at all times, but rather established towords the development of a proper militia/county/town/state guard which was trained, and had an armory availible to it. So their is a problem I think with this question as a whole, it asks for an opinion on 2 broad a category. A better question would be, should (insert type of gun here eg. handguns) be outlawed etc.

-ds

 

Outlawed ? No, but there shuld be limitations though.. Like in norway, you need to have permission from the police to own a gun.. And you must be qualified to use it correctly. It`s not like in USA where any average joe can go buy an bazooka for duck hunting! And if everyone should have a gun for self defence causes, think of how many triggerhappy people out there would shoot the postman every time he rang the doorbell.. ? I really think people who does not live in the USA has a other opinion on this. Allthough, USA makes ALOT of money selling guns..

 

It might of been like that in Cuba, but hear in Britain where virtuially all guns are illegal (some types of rifle and shotgun permited but you need to justify why you want one, and it's hard to do that - home defense is not allowed), the gun crime rate is increasing. We might not be at the level of some parts of the US, but it is increasing and has been for a long time. So no Gun control is not makeing Britain any safer, because any honest person who wants a gun is almost treated like a criminal, and the criminals just go and by cheeper, more effective weapons.

 

"Arms? For what?" Fidel Castro.

 

Any person claiming the right to have guns due to his right to defend himself indirectly states that it's OK to kill people. It is no way you can come around this fact. So all of you saying this should ask yourself this question: Is it OK to kill people in self defence, or is this somthing we should leave to the proes (I.E. police/army)?


If you think it's OK to kill people, I'm glad you don't live in Norway!

 

Stolenbjorn-
how about shooting them in the arm or leg, if you shoot someone then they dont nessecarily die. a gun is a way to inflict damage from a distance without putting yourself in range of the attacker. Just because you can kill them doesnt mean that you have to.

killing people unnesecarily and unprovoked is wrong. but if someone comes into my home and threatens me or my family i believe it is my right to neutralize that threat by whatever means nessecary and should that be (the extremely rare case) killing then that is what must be done. i would take very little pride in it but you have to remember that they attacked me and chose to place me in a position to defend myself and i did what was nessecary to SURVIVE.

as for automatic weapons-
they arent needed, you shouldnt need more than one shot and if you do then you arent proficient enough to be shooting at living things. the only reason i can think you could justify a semi-auto is duck hunting. beyond that there is no reason to fire more than 1 round.

handguns-
are utterly useless beyond target shooting and crime. sure they're a novelty when it comes to the revolvers and such in western movies but come on. does anyone shoot deer with a Glock 9mm. i havent seen anyone lately carrying a Magnum alongside their Beretta shotgun while shooting duck.

 

I think that guns should be outlawed even in wars. People should go back to fighting with katana's on horseback and bows and arrows and things like that. People who use guns are cheap fighters lol.

 

Its probably because control of arms in Britain isnt succesful due to the great ammount of arms in the country. To put it simply, in Cuba there is barely enough guns for the army and the cops, the goverment wishes to keep extreme control of the arms because there is a shortage of them. You get caught with a gun and you will either A) Not even make it to prision or B)Spend more than half your life in prision regardless of what the sentence says you are supposed to get.

 

To build on my previous points - Sure, there's a point to automatic weapons. Keep in mind that not all guns are intended for Home Defense or hunting. There are people (Like me) who just enjoy shooting/playing with/collecting guns. That includes (Especially) automatic ones. Needless to say, since I live in Canada, it's near impossible for me to get an automatic weapon, but I would sure love one, just because they're fun to shoot. In this case, there's just as much reason for someone to have an automatic weapon as there is someone to have a cricket bat. How often do you use a cricket bat in everyday use? Never, outside of cricket. How often should you use an automatic weapon in everyday use? Never, unless you're qualified, and use it in a safe manner in a safe location.

Personally, I think people should be able to buy pretty much any firearm they want, as long as they pass a background check, psych assessment, and keep them locked up safely.

I can't say I believe in using a firearm for home defense. Why not use a taser, pepper spray or mace? They're too lethal in my opinion. Use something nonlethal if possible. As far as handguns? Yes, they're legitimate hunting weapons. There is a pretty big following in wild boar hunting with handguns (Almost exclusively revolvers). They're also legitimate sporting weapons, with lots of target competitions centered around them.

 

Hey K_Coffin,
I think NUKES are pretty cool or how about a suped-up ebola virus, should I be allowed to have those too? Nukes don't kill people after all, If I keep my ebola locked up it will be safe as houses.
It all come down to what kind of world you want?

The Bear

 

Sure, but Nukes and the ebola virus aren't firearms, are they? My logic here isn't linear. It's applied on a sliding scale of control and legality. The more dangerous something is, the more it merits legal control. Once you hit a certain boundary, certain objects become too dangerous to be completely legal, and are withheld from the public. I personally think that anything more than a crew operated Machine Gun, over 7.62mm caliber is too dangerous for even qualified civilians to own, and should be controlled by the government. Below that, I don't see a problem as long as the person is qualified and stores it properly.

The kind of world I want is one where people are allowed to enjoy themselves in a safe and responsible manner. I don't see how the world is a more dangerous place because I (A qualified gun owner and marksman) own a few automatic weapons, and enjoy shooting them at the range and collecting them, if I lock them up well and make sure that the police and military know who I am, and where they are.

 

I hate guns

I think guns should be out lawed.
Their cheap.
With swords you have a fair fight.

 

K_Coffin, i think you have some good points but.

i wasnt intending that keeping a gun for the sole purpose of home defense is good. in fact i believe that is the worst reason.

as for handguns all i ever hear about them is their use down by 8mile and outer drive and such. there may have a safe legitimate following but i think it is far outweighed by criminals. i have seen the competitions on tv with speed shooting and stuff and its all pretty cool. i just see far too much bad done with them.(i stick to my crossbow)

automatics are fun and utilitarian for the military. i guess i dont think of them as a competition and sporting weapon because i dont have the money to spend on ammo for regular target shooting.

as far as background checks go i agree with them, also as in said earlier i am supportive of gun education and liceneseing. We need to make sure people know how to properly and safely use firearms.

Also everyone against guns should know that more people are hurt by unloaded guns than loaded ones.

 

K,
Sometimes the desires of the individual have to be weighted against the good of the collective. I like guns too but I care enough about my fellow citizens that I accept that they are too dangerous for people to have. I know that if I owned a gun and someone broke into my house, I would kill them, and that isn't acceptable. Criminals don't deserve to die. If you murder a murderer then you how can you condem murder because you have become the murderer.

The Bear.

 

I definitely agree with you on the whole self-defense thing. I couldn't use a gun on someone in my house unless they were from an invading army from Russia or something like that. I think it's even a bit of a stretch for me to use my Bokken on them, since I know how fragile the human body can be, and how hard my Bokken is.

I think we just disagree on the one fundamental issue - Where the danger outweighs the benefit. In my opinion - There are benefits as long as the weapons are sufficiently controlled. In your opinion - The risks outweigh the rewards. Fair enough. I think we both have valid points.

 

thats a very nice way of saying things K_coffin usualy whne peopple have opposing veiwpoints on this topic it devolves into flamingn and name calling.
I like shooting nd would like to own firearms, and woul have very little prolem using htem for selfdefence but only if it were a life or death situation ie some one pulled lethal weapon on me.

 

I think in the UK the dangers would outweight the rewards. Because people haven't been brought up to respect guns, and well half the country is chavscum.

 

chavscum? what be this new word i read of?


I think gun should be allowed because i've always wanted a glock