- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Before I start getting abuse, i'm not some crazy, racist anti-gun nut! Read the post before you start the putdowns.
I've often marvelled in the forums how many people have actual experieces of weapons and/or actual combat. Coming from Britain guns of any type are a rarity, our police aren't armed, with only a few exceptions (airport police, SWAT etc). However until fairly recently guns were legal in my country. They were outlawed after several highprofile incidents shocked the nation. At a small town called hungerford a mentally ill man killed 16 people and injured many more after a rampage involving a AK47. It led to the banning of automatic weapons. This was followed by the Dunblane Massacre where a man burst into infant school classroom and opened up at the kids. Now all firearms are illegal for the general populace.
However in the US there have been many, many similar incidents yet there seems to be no real national movement to outlaw weapons, i believe the right to bear arms is enshrined within your constitution. Please understand this isn't derogatory (the UK doesn't even have a constitution) but is puzzling. Why do Americans feel the need to maintain weapons, Canada and Mexico aren't exactly renonwed for the aggressive attitude towards other nations and the indians don't really pose a threat to settlers any more. I could understand if it were for recreational purposes, hell i'd like to try hunting myself, but why do you need a fully automatic assualt rifle for deer. Could some one give me an answer without swearing, patronising or death threats...