- Gottalovec4
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- Noble Legendary Member
About me: I am a vicious wolf of a man.
But really am sweet at heart. =)
Posted by: Flaming Skullz
Now let me get this straight before I begin. I am not trying to start a flame war! I am simply trying to see the opinions and reactions on this topic, mostly from American citizens.
Now here's the topic; guns. Yes, I know what your thinking, but hear me out. Guns are a dangerous thing, right? They're designed to kill people. Now, I suppose you could say the same for cigarettes, a pack of cigarettes lying in a draw doesn't kill anyone. Neither does a gun lying in a draw. The point here is that a gun left untouched, is much safer than a gun being touched.
Now, I'm going to tell you a very interesting fact. I'm Australian, and the last mass shooting in Australia occured 15 years ago, after which semi-automatic and automatic rifles in Australia were banned. The last mass shooting in america was less than a week ago, and the one before that was 6 months ago. Now, I don't believe firearms in America should be totally banned, because they're not in Australia. I just think there should be a limit on what kind of weapons can be sold, and who can buy them.
Here is some comparrison on American and Australian gun laws.
Australia
-Only bolt-action rifles may be sold (yes, that means no handguns)
-These weapons must be sold to the buyer on government property
-Buyers must have a valid reason to own the weapon (farming, hunting, ect)
-12 month police background check must be completed
-No citizen may own more than 2 firearms
America
-All kinds of weapons may be sold
-Weapons don't have to be sold on government property
-Buyer doesn't need valid reason (Anyone can say "to protect myself")
-Shorter background check (I'm not sure about exact length)
-Citizens can own many firearms
Now, most Americans usually say "Even if gun laws are changed, criminals can still buy it off the black market". That is very true, but Australia has a black market too, you know. Yet, we don't have mass shootings every 6 months. Also, guns are legal in America so they can apparently 'overthrow the government.' How exactly would that work? I doubt an angry mob can take on the US Army, even if they did have guns.
Now, as I said, I'm not trying to start a flame war. I just hope I can open the eyes of at least one of you. What are your thoughts on this topic, and how I've approached it.
1. All kinds of weapons may be sold
Incorrect. Long rifles sold in the US must be over a certain barrel length, and there is a very very strict licensing system for purchasing any weapon that is automatic, additionally, high capacity magazines are also banned.
2. We don't have school shootings every six months
True, but Australia also has a fraction of the population of the US, and much less built up urban centers, additionally being in the middle of -blam!- nowhere in the world you aren't exactly a massive target for organized crime or cartels. Obviously, in a nation that spans an entire continent that ISN'T 80% desert, we will have a much higher crime rate.
3. Weapons don't have to be sold on government property
No but firearms SELLERS need to pass a huge background check and licensing process.
4. Shorter background checks
This varies state by state, in Minnesota it is a 2 week process. A 12 month process is hopelessly unrealistic and moronic. 12 weeks? What if you're a farmer or herder and your herd is being attacked by predators so you need to shoot them? What if a woman is buying a gun to defend herself from an abusive boyfriend, or just because she is afraid of getting mugged? How long does it take do do a background check when all of our info is computerized and accessable from ONE Social Security number?
5. Citizens can own many fire arms
Yeah...because not all guns do the same thing obviously. I'm not going to go trap shooting with my .22LR target shooting rifle, just like I'm not going to go hunting with my Browning Citori trap gun. Just like I won't be using my .30-06 deer rifle for home defense. Saying this is the same as this is just dumb.
6.Also, guns are legal in America so they can apparently 'overthrow the government.' I wouldn't expect a subject of the Empire we kicked out to understand the idea of liberty.
The Second Amendment was a safe guard against the federal government gaining too much power and subjegating it's people, it is a final defense against tyranny. If the government were to say, start torturing US prisoners, or start putting people in "safety" camps to combat "terrorism" is would give the people the ability to fight back.
The Second Amendment gives the power back to the people, because no dictator in history has ever been successful when dealing with an armed and educated population. Hitler, Stalin, Castro, Minh, and every other dictator banned guns first. And while it would require more organizing than an "angry mob" yes, an armed population, dissatisfied with the government, could overthrow it. Most of the armed forces are actually deployed outside the country.
Look at it this way. From 1775-1781 a group of largely untrained farmers defeated the British Army.
It doesn't give free reign to shoot people because you hate the government, but it's in our Bill of Rights, and if they take away the 2nd Amendment, what's to say they won't take away the First if it suits their needs?
Back on topic. Banning guns would be impossible anyway because there are 3 guns for every person in the US. What would we do when we had all of them anyway? Additionally, we don't have NEARLY enough cops to do the job of protecting rural communities who won't be able to defend themselves. Case in point here in Minnesota, a relatively populated state, we have 3 police officers on duty every night for a city of 25,000+ people. The city next to us of 91,000 people has about a dozen cops on duty at any time. The logistics dont work. When seconds count, police are minutes away.
The gun is the only weapon that can put a 140lb old lady on the same playing field as a 230lb muscled mugger. Unless you want to try to solve the mathematical impossibility of doubling or tripling the size of all the police forces in the US, lighting up every single dark alley of every city, and arresting every bad person who will do something illegal ever, then shut up and let me keep my guns.