Gun control

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Jim
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Re: Gun control

Post by Jim »

So we now have the technology for "smart" guns that would only fire for the registered owner. This means someone can't take away your gun and shoot you. It would seem valuable for those who want to use the gun for law enforcement or self defense. I'm sure there would be a way to hack it, but it would reduce the motivation to steal guns. It would cut down on suicides and accidents from children getting hold of guns. But the NRA is strongly against such an option. Why should people not have the choice for a safer gun? This would be gun control by the owner of the gun.
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Re: Gun control

Post by dillon »

Jim wrote:So we now have the technology for "smart" guns that would only fire for the registered owner. This means someone can't take away your gun and shoot you. It would seem valuable for those who want to use the gun for law enforcement or self defense. I'm sure there would be a way to hack it, but it would reduce the motivation to steal guns. It would cut down on suicides and accidents from children getting hold of guns. But the NRA is strongly against such an option. Why should people not have the choice for a safer gun? This would be gun control by the owner of the gun.
Like self-driving cars, the technology isn't there yet to make them both reliable and foolproof. There was a notable demonstration of a smart gun that failed; it was designed for police and it didn't work in the hand for which it was meant to be compatible. That fear of needing a weapon and it failing is what is holding the projects back. No gun company will dare touch it again. Only the military is researching it now, and if the Republicans win in November, they will assuredly nix that effort as well.
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Sinned
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Re: Gun control

Post by Sinned »

Jim, "Depression often can be treated, and is often not long-lived." A bit of a throw-away comment but true depression is not treated, there is no treatment - it is managed. It is not short-lived either and is often a battle that goes right through a person's life. Look at the comedian and manic depressive Spike Milligan, among many others in the entertainment industry, who battled it all his life. He said, "I'm the only sane person here! I have the certificates to prove it."

Judge Dredd and the other Judges had those guns that only worked for the owner.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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denimini
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Re: Gun control

Post by denimini »

I grew up in a rural area and developed an interest in firearms, owning 3 when I was 13, only sighting them at targets and safety was paramount. At that time I did not need to register them and I remember taking one into the city on the train to get a new part fitted when I was 17. Also at that time there was less population, less cults and no computer games that engaged violence (no games at all).
It only takes one mentally unstable person to get hold of a semi-auto firearm to cause much death and injury in a very short period of time; one could not achieve that with a knife, club or anything else. This happened at Port Arthur and the government of the day bought in some regulation so that it is not so easy for such a person to get hold of such a firearm.
I had to register mine, get a firearms licence to own them and buy a gun safe to keep them in. No big deal. I never owned any semi-autos so I wasn't caught up with the buy-back. I rarely use any now that feral goats have become valuable and rabbits have almost been wiped out. A couple still have sentimental value (a 1910 Remington I bought when I was 13). It is nice to know that I wouldn't starve if things got tough. I wouldn't own one if I lived in a city.
There is nothing wrong with some regulation; it is no silver bullet (sorry) but is an improvement in reducing death and injury and I don't think it is too onerous.
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: Gun control

Post by Fred in Skirts »

Here is my favorite gun control...

Fred :kiltdance:
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Re: Gun control

Post by Gordon »

Gun control is using two hands.
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Ray
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Re: Gun control

Post by Ray »

Sad to see that the US obsession with guns has resulted in the innocent death of a driver in Minnesota, while five police officers lose their lives in Dallas.

In a civilised country, an individual does not need to carry a gun, or indeed any weapon. You just don't.
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Re: Gun control

Post by crfriend »

Ray wrote:In a civilised country, an individual does not need to carry a gun, or indeed any weapon. You just don't.
I'll concur with this to a point, and the point is where one draws the line regarding "civilised".

The last time I had any desire to carry a weapon was back when I was in school and was the recipient of a heck of a lot of fairly violent bullying -- largely condoned by school officials (by lack of action) -- and I felt the need to even the odds a little bit. I haven't had even the slightest inclination since and rely on my wits to see trouble coming before it get s to me. Getting out into the real world was an entirely welcome change from the insanity that is public school in the USA.

However, an argument may be had that things are not going in the direction of civility but rather the other way. But that's a completely different can of worms altogether.
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Re: Gun control

Post by Judah14 »

Ray wrote:Sad to see that the US obsession with guns has resulted in the innocent death of a driver in Minnesota, while five police officers lose their lives in Dallas.

In a civilised country, an individual does not need to carry a gun, or indeed any weapon. You just don't.
Instead of carrying (real) firearms, carry an airsoft gun instead. Airsoft is a fun sport and is popular in places where real firearms are restricted, such as Japan.

And as for the shootings of policemen, I sympathize with their loss, however such shootings are common here in the Philippines, and are committed by rebel groups with guns that are illegal for civilians to own here. Only worse incidents such as the Mamasapano Incident where 44 elite Special Action Force policemen of the Philippine National Police were killed, get increased media attention.
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rick401r
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Re: Gun control

Post by rick401r »

I think I've said before that I do own a few guns that were all given to me over the years. The long guns hang on the wall (with trigger locks in place). The hand gun stays in the nightstand drawer for things that go bump in the night.
I've only had one occasion to carry the handgun. That was when a deranged person had taken a dislike to me. He actually attacked me once and stalked me for several days until the police caught him. I carried a small caliber revolver in my sporran and a hunting knife on my belt.
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Pdxfashionpioneer
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Re: Gun control

Post by Pdxfashionpioneer »

Hello Carl,

I stand by my statements about the effect of bullets on human flesh: those effects were explained to me by an Emergency Room Doctor who practiced in a trauma center in the heart of as much of a "hood" as we have in the fair city of Roses. She had seen and dealt with the effects of more gunshot wounds than you will ever encounter, so please don't try to reason your way out of that one.

Similarly, let me repeat the points that Dillon and I made. Statistics say that other modalities of suicide have a 5% chance of causing death, using a firearm on average brings it up to at least 87%. In other words, a gun is 18 or 19 times as likely to kill a person using it to attempt suicide than other methods and as you said yourself, the overwhelming majority of attempts aren't real efforts to but impulsive acts of desperation. According to statistics compiled by the FBI and reported in the Guardian (through the internet), at this point in time, 60% of gun deaths in the US are suicides. The number of times that armed citizens stop murders is negligible.

Finally, as to your point about whether or not we live in a civilized society, in the day common courtesies, public discourse etc., one has to wonder. If your metric is level violence with homicide, including war casualties, being the proxy, all over the planet over the course of history there is a clear trendline of less violence.
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Re: Gun control

Post by john62 »

Reading the news headlines here in Australia concerning recent events in the US, it appears that you guys are going more and more crazy. I am certainly thankful that Australia has reasonable gun controls even though here is becoming more violent as well. The world is changing and not for the better and appears to be happening everywhere.

John
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Re: Gun control

Post by dillon »

john62 wrote:Reading the news headlines here in Australia concerning recent events in the US, it appears that you guys are going more and more crazy. I am certainly thankful that Australia has reasonable gun controls even though here is becoming more violent as well. The world is changing and not for the better and appears to be happening everywhere.

John
Yes, Australia has been very successful in curbing gun violence with gun laws. Britain even moreso. About 13 or 14 years ago, we took the family to the Iguazu Falls during one of our family trips to Argentina. There I met a British trauma surgeon and his family, also vacationing. In discussing our homelands, I learned he was working in the US, in an inner city hospital in Washington, DC. He said "Its a residency paid for by the National Health; they sent me to learn how to treat gunshot wounds. Those are so rare in the UK that we have lost all the doctors who had any experience with them." I asked if he was gaining experience there, and he replied "Yes...we treat at least one per day, not counting the DOAs."
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Uncle Al
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Re: Gun control

Post by Uncle Al »

FYI - I'm not trying to 'stir the pot' but this 3 page article is quite concise, not holding back
any 'punches' to the various countries that have strict gun control.
Harvard University Study Reveals Astonishing Link Between Firearms, Crime and Gun Control
According to a study in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, which cites the Centers for
Disease Control, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the United Nations International
Study on Firearms Regulation, the more guns a nation has, the less criminal activity.

The state of California is headed into so much lawlessness and violence with their
new 'Gun Control Legislation', and the fact that the California government has
exempted themselves from this 'ban'. Full story HERE
The California state Senate voted 28-8 Wednesday to exempt itself from the pointless
gun-control laws that apply to the rest of the populace. Legislators apparently think
they alone are worthy to pack heat on the streets for personal protection, and the
masses ought to wait until the police arrive.
Is this history repeating itself :?:

My youngest son lives near Los Angeles. I'm now more fearful for him than ever before
with the extreme 'liberals' in the California Government. Sometimes I'ld like to place
one of their Senators on a Texas Fire Ant Den. :twisted:

The "Liberals" are making it hard for the rest of the 'worker-bees' to even protect
themselves from the garbage and tyranny that is over-flowing in California.

Now, before anyone posts a response to this, Please READ the articles.
Thanks to strict gun control in the U.K., it is winning the race for the highest
gun-related crimes in the world. The U.K. is way ahead of the U.S. in this
respect. I've wanted to visit the U.K. and see and/or play the Tower Ballroom
Wurlitzer in Blackpoole. Now I'm not so sure that will come to pass. I have
ancestors traced back to 1736 from S.E. of Edinburgh to Dublin, then to America.

I'm not 'Gun Crazy' as some of the members of the Cafe' claim all Americans are,
but I am for the ability to protect myself & family, by any means necessary, from
harm whether it be from a criminal act or governmental act.

As someone said - "A Civilized Society does not need guns."
To keep our society free, and civilized, our police force MUST be armed.
And when called upon, our armed citizenry will join forces with the police
to fend off any and all intruders.

If these statements rub some people the wrong way, as they say in the Old
Country, Toughshifsky :!:

Uncle Al
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Re: Gun control

Post by Pal »

I don't care whether you have guns or not but please do some proper research before quoting this NRA sponsored ******** about the UK.

Homicide by gun per 100,000 people in the USA is 3.63, in the UK it's around 0.05. In area where I live, which funnily enough includes Blackpool, with a population of 1.46 million there were 12 murders in 2015. This number includes manslaughter, infanticide and corporate murder, not just gun crime.

Last year there were 573 homicides in the UK, with a population of 65 million, which as I said includes all the above and knife crime as well as gun crime.

There was an increase in gun related crime last year, but from a very low figure. Also our gun crime statistics include anyone using a fake firearm, air pistol or even someone claiming to have a gun. Almost all deaths by gun will be gang related and not involve people outside that circle.

Crime statistics in general have decreased by more than 50% in the last 20 years so claims that our society is breaking down is somewhat exaggerated.

My statistics come from official police figures, not axe grinding journalists.

I know no one who has any concern over gun crime, which includes two friends who are ex police.
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