All good points and, like you said before, if people were more honest about their gun lust it would make more sense. I have to disagree with your last point though - unless we should all be into Sarin, cheering on nuclear war, and protecting our right to send Anthrax in the post. I had a firearm fascination when I was a teenager (I think it's something glandular ), so I get it, I just don't think it's healthy. I don't see any reason why a martial artist shouldn't think the world would be a better place without firearms. I train MA to conquer myself, physically and psychologically. When I have had to use my training, I've done so in a way that minimises harm to all involved. I don't watch or endorse violent sports. I don't think I'm being hypocritical.
On a more serious note, I think it's often a "guys and gadgets" thing if not for the sporting aspects. I know dudes who spends hours each week and a large % of their income on fixing up cars. They don't race competitively. Hell, they're barely competent drivers. But they love the process of modding cars and the look/feel/sound of the end product. Same applies to guns and there's nothing wrong with that.
Heh, fair point. Although I'd say there's varying degrees of human's condoning violence. I don't doubt there are those who get excited at the idea of nuclear war or wish chemical warfare was allowed, but I know they go beyond my views of war and violence. Without firearms as a whole, or without civilians owning them? I know I'd rather be conscripted into a WW3 type deal and face getting shot than getting a knife in the guts Fair point mate. I'm a sport artist through and through and I do tend to forget there's other martial arts in the world without the same approach and goals of what I do
Yeah, that's true. As collector's items of history and engineering I can understand it. But when it's used as a reason for millions of people to carry lethal weapons around in a developed industrial nation, I can't grasp the leap in logic.
Yeah, I'm talking about the U.S. allowing citizens to carry firearms in public. I don't care what volunteer armies use to kill each other, that's what they sign up for, though I'd rather face a knife than a firearm; at least my chances of survival would come more down to skill. For what it's worth, I have no problem with shooting clubs or farmers keeping a shotgun. It's when you never know who's strapped and arguments get settled with hypersonic chunks of lead that I start to think it's not a sign of a healthy society.
Unfortunately living across the border is like being in another classroom where we have to watch the angry kid with scissors keep stabbing people every so often while the teacher gives a sermon on his right to arts and crafts. We've had our own incidents here and there (some RCMP officers were very unfortunate in that regard) but not nearly to the same degree or frequency.
I agree with the right to use firearms for home defence. I agree with you that open and concealed carry permits are ludicrous. (Poor logic is what happens when we abandon a colony and let everyone breed with their cousins I suppose. )
I don't think they're entirely ludacrous but for the average civilian to claim that they have it at home or carry it for self defence when they don't have nearly the amount of regular training needed to retain, draw, make a fire/no fire decision, and shoot accurately or god forbid have to do room to room clearance in their home... I don't think that claim holds up.
Agreed. It's amazing how rapidly shooting skills deteriorate without regular training. I think a mandatory requirement of civilian firearm ownership should be at least an hour a month on the range with a certified instructor. Drop below an acceptable standard of weapons handling and you lose your licence (and your weapons). :topic: Anyone know reasons why Swiss citizens are armed but have fewer shooting incidents?
I'd feel less concerned if the reasoning behind concealed, and especially open, carry didn't seem to be some masturbatory fantasy of being a hero coupled with a complete misunderstanding of real violence. I'm being incredibly generalising here but its the widest impression I've got from forums, news and media. There are a few cases I can understand the desire to carry but the largest chunk seems to be "X shooting wouldn't have happened if I was there!" I'd also be less worried if there was mandatory training and some form of intelligence test. My biggest worry with the American obsession with guns is the number of complete morons who can apparently walk into a store and buy a gun "'cos the 2nd." Much fun as watching them crap themselves with accidental discharges on youtube is, its worrying these people own things that can kill.
Well as we've seen with police and the military accuracy on the range isn't enough. Simulations for likely encountered scenarios are vital. And as for the Swss it's because even though they all have guns due to the mandatory military requirement, ammunition is fairly strictly controlled.
Serious question? Off chance it is, civilian ownership is tied to military training which I assume gives them a respect for their weapon along with knowing how to handle it, the fact its an instrument of service takes away a lot of the hobbyist enthusiasm and coolness factor, and I gather while most homes would have a rifle the Swiss are incredibly tight on ammo control. That and a generally better educated population with less divisions, a better working government to deal with poverty leading to lower crime rates etc etc etc. Plus it seems they take out all their frustration by shooting their cheese instead of each other.
Actually Redcoat, the Swiss thing made me think. Although the UK has a less happy attitude towards guns, there's obviously people who like them and I'm going to assume a few of them end up in the forces. Did there end up being many over the top enthusiasts for guns that you saw, or did the fact you were all exposed to guns (presumably for the first time) as part of army training make it more of a service tool than the more American redneck Sons of Guns fanaticism? Like, I imagine infantry arms especially take an interest in guns and like them, but whereas in America people with an interest in them likely handle them from a young age and still end up with chunks of them being very scarily obsessed with them, we don't get to get it out of our system over here. I'm curious if Brits who like them and end up in the services end up happy they're finally getting to handle and shoot one, or if the fact they're learning about it as part of their career controls it more. If that made any sense at all. Basically why Brits can be gun enthusiasts but have people more like the Swiss than the Americans I guess.
Swiss culture is an entirely different culture that the Americans. A tiny country by comparison on top of that with a far less economic and racial disparity on top. Crime overall is lower in probably every single sector... including gun crime. Not that it's not worth looking at but as for a comparison it's apples to oranges.
and here's one from a source that I rather like to read/listen to... National Public Radio. Some of the comments in the comments section on the NPR site are also interesting. source:http://www.npr.org/2013/03/19/174758723/facing-switzerland-gun-culture
and here was an article where a reference to Steven Pinker came up (those of you who do you're homework on violence in society and culture will recognize the name)
I can't speak for infantry units but there are a few guys I work with who are pretty keen on guns/shooting. I think the 'work tool' nature of weaponry in the forces probably does stop some people from becoming gun nuts but there will always be a few people who like them more than most. I totaly get having a rifle/shotgun if you live in rural areas of the U.S. with bears and such or if your a farmer but I don't think thats the case for most people with obsessions. A weapon as a tool I think is fine (with appropriate training and security) but semi automatic handguns are not usefull for much apart from killing people. If you keep handguns etc for security reasons say living in an area where there is a high % of gun ownership then I think there are better things you could do to protect yourself then getting armed. I admit I wouldn't want to be the only guy without a gun in a firefight but I'd rather just choose to live where there are fewer guns. Correct me if I'm wrong but i think there are states in the U.S. Where guns are very tightly controlled.
The suicide point is interesting. Its weird that a country known here for one of the few places assisted suicide is legal is baulking at the knowledge the wide owning of guns means there's a lot of gun related suicides. Imagine the thought is that guns are a quick way of doing it so if those guns weren't there some fo those people might not have gone through with it, but its still interesting to me.
