Re: Sorry Ev - and aren't you Canadian?

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: Hello Ronnie, : You're right about us saying y'all but I don't type it because lots of people would probably wonder what I was talking about. :) : I also agree with the notion that it would be a good thing if there weren't quite so many guns floating around in the States. But, there are, and this is the reality we must live with. Open access to guns *and* an agressive, violence prone culture make for an interesting mix. : There are many, many reasons why Americans tend to be such a violent group. A great many of these reasons aren't applicable to many of the European nations. The breakdown of the family, a lowering of acceptable standards of behavior, political correctness which stops us from calling into question many of the bad aspects of our society, wide divergence in ethnic makeup, violence in the media, and yes, too many guns in the wrong hands. We also have the priviledge of exercizing a great deal of freedom which some people choose to abuse. But, just because there are abuses, we, as a people, aren't ready to give up our freedom. : Geting back to the gun issue, each year there are approx. 2.5 million times when a gun is used by a potential victim to thwart a criminal. When you contrast that with the # of times when guns are used to kill people they no longer look so bad. The more interesting question for we Americans to ponder is why we went for 200 years with liberal firearms laws *before* these mass shootings/bombings started occurring? : Ev : : : : If you all are interested I'll go into more detail. If not, we'll leave this subject alone for now. :) : : : Ev : : I thought it was "y'all" but hey. A Texas born friend types it "yall". : : Anyways, the gun issue is a difficult one, otherwise there wouldn't be an : : issue. From a european point of view the situation in the US is just perverted. : : A French peacekeeper in Kosovo said "It's like Texas, everyone has a gun : : and no way to control them!" : : A fact is that the concealed carry laws reduced crime. Another fact is that : : if there hadn't been such free laws concerning guns in the first place, there : : would be no need for concealed carry. : : Another thing that personally disturbs me is that how lightly some people : : think about using a firearm as a method of self-defense. I've been in military : : service and the only way I really was taught to use one is to shoot to kill. : : If you shoot, say, a 15 year old kid who happens to attack you, how tightly : : you sleep your nights afterwards? : : If I'm not too misinformed, at the moment it's virtually impossible to legally : : buy (own) a hand-held firearm (anything short of a rifle or a shotgun) in Britain : : if you're not affiliated with the military, police or other such institution. The : : reason? (Correct me if I'm wrong, Tiggy) There was a shooting similar to those : : in the US. The british government took action and banned all hand-held firearms. : : At the same time, in the state of Oregon (or Washington, I never remember which : : way it was, I talked with a guy who lived in either and he said "in the neighboring : : state ...") you can legal own a goddamn functional mortar--and I know other : : states have similar laws. Of course each grenade has to be individually licensed, : : but stll. Who needs a mortar or a grenade rifle? For self-defense? In most : : countries such an idea would be considered ridiculous, but not in those states. : : I guess that my final point is that more there are gun around, more likely : : it is that people get shot by accident, there are shootings, otherwise rather : : harmless fights might end up living dead bodies behind, people who shouldn't : : be let anywhere near a gun can own one. It doesn't nullify the fact : : that allowing concealed carry reduces crime, but at what price is it done? : : Ronnie

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