Americans – Please Give Up Guns!

To those of us who live in Europe, it is a mystery to us that Americans insist on being a gun-slinging nation obsessed with firearms.

Mass shootings in schools and shopping malls are now very commonplace there.

Any Tom, Dick or Harry can have a gun and get himself full of drink and drugs and leap around killing people. And they do.

Americans defend their right to do that under the bizarre “Right to Bear Arms” stuff that is in their Second Amendment.

The same Second Amendment that was written hundreds of years ago, for a different age, and has little relevance today. But they cling to it as might a child with a worn out toy.

To those of us outside looking in, the US does need to drag itself into the current century. It looks like after the Sandy Hook mass shooting, parts of the political machine are finally starting to wake up.

A new assault weapons ban could be introduced any day now in the United States and includes a new $200 TAX on each weapon you already own. Congress went back to work on January 22nd and here is an encouraging quote from Senator Dianne Feinstein about a new assault weapons ban:

“On the first day of the new Congress, I intend to introduce a bill stopping the sale, transfer, importation and manufacturing of assault weapons as well as large ammunition magazines, strips and drums that hold more than 10 rounds.”

Of course the all powerful NRA (National Rifle Association) in America will do its best to quash any and all legislation on guns. They have a lot of cash, which in America buys political influence.

Eventually guns will be less commonplace in the US. It might not be in my lifetime, because it will take a monumental change in social attitudes, which takes time to engineer. But it will come.

The US is slowly going to be dragged [kicking and screaming] in line with the rest of the first world. It will be a long process.

Just think, in twenty or thirty years, they might be a civilised nation. One where blokes don’t go to the local 7-11 packing heat and the state doesn’t murder people willy nilly as in Death Row. Later, Guantanamo will vanish and unreported torture of foreign nationals will stop. They are taking baby steps right now……

Europeans should remember that the US is only a few hundred years old. Like we Brits were when the Romans were here a thousand or so years ago.

In a few years, the US might be a safe place to visit with family and kids because all the rednecks have had their guns taken away.

One day, maybe their policemen wont need to carry guns and can all wear pointy hats instead.

As the guns are withdrawn, in will come human rights, speed cameras, regulation of anything and everything else EU-style that the fuzzy thinking leftists dream about. Now they have Obama for another few years, and maybe yet another term, he will do to the US what Blair/Brown did to GB. Remove its balls!

Those things are not things I personally celebrate, as I don’t agree with much of that stuff. But those of us outside can see it coming.

If I were the US President, I would hold a referendum on guns and let the people decide. If the people chose guns, and accepted mass shootings every few months as a fact of life – so be it. Each time thereafter it happens you simply shrug and say “you voted for this”. One day they will vote against it.

The main issue with the gun problem in the United States is the attitude of gun owners. Below are some quotes from Americans. Most speak for themselves. Make your own mind up.

Asking Americans to give up a constitutional right is worse than asking a Roman Centurion or a Samurai to give up their swords.

So once in a while a psycho madman goes amok – we lose over 40,000 People a year in highway fatalities – why are you not asking us to give up our cars and trucks too???

What you FAIL to consider is all of the crimes prevented because someone is accosted who is constitutionally armed and able to defend themselves against the drugs addled career criminals our liberal courts molly coddle.  I would rather see us shut down our southern border to stop the horrendous flow of drugs before I give up my right to keep and bear arms.

If the students – most over 18 and old enough to fight for their country – were armed they could have defended themselves.

We had some goth walk into the local Cigar Sports TV lounge and ask the behind the counter what would happen if some one tried to rob the place – the Goth was quite dodgy and the guy behind the counter (Lethal Force Advance Tactics Trained at the local Sig Sauer Academy) called out to the guys watching the game over a good cigar – how many carrying show you arms – 6 handguns were held up in the air and then holstered – the very dodgy Goth left never to return – clearly the consensus was he had no good in mind.  Ironically I was one of the few not carrying that evening.

Robbery averted and shop rep for being a former military and current police and fire hangout enhanced to the point where i do not need a weapon on me in our little border city with anti-gun Massachusetts where most of our hardened criminals come from due to their liberal drugs policies.  Criminals run amok with Guns there and have little worries if they use a weapon to commit crimes – just the opposite in Florida, Texas and “Live Free or Die” New Hampshire.

It gets better…….

There is nothing about gun ownership per se (in the absence of other complicating factors) that will make a person to be more likely to commit a crime.
There is nothing about crime per se (in the absence of other complicating factors) that requires the use of a gun.

So, it would seem to me that we would all be a lot happier if we worked to reduce crime. If we can really do that, then the question of gun ownership becomes irrelevant.

And, for the record, I own no guns.

I do, however, own several swords.
Unlike most guns, a sword is a tool designed specifically to kill another human being. There are some guns that meet that specification, but there are no swords that are are not at least based upon that original design concept. Nonetheless, I am aware of no significant crime statistics associated with the incidence of sword ownership.

Here is another……

It all boils down to the fact that guns don’t kill people – people kill people.  Law abiding gun owners should not be punished for the actions of non-law abiding gun owners.  Of course, liberals like you always believe more laws and more regulations are the answer to everything.  (Proud owner of two pistols that have never been anywhere except at a firing range or in my home)

Another view……..

The vast majority of gun deaths in the USA is bad guys killing bad guys and to be quite honest, I’m not losing much sleep over that.  As a former USMC officer I’m reasonably proficient with a pistol and wouldn’t hesitate one second to use it in my own home in defense of my family and loved ones.  Just what our law intended.

Are there fewer gun deaths in countries that ban guns?

The United States is so much higher than other countries, it’s amazing. In 2004 there were 5 gun deaths in New Zealand, 37 in Sweden, 56 in Australia, 73 in England, 184 in Canada and 11,344 murders in the United States. It’s more than any other industrialised country.

Yet they are not inclined to ban guns yet. Here are more quotes:

The main reason why bordering mass I love NH’s open carry law – yes sir ree you can strap on a big old hog leg (Long barrel Colt 45) and tool around on your Harley to your hearts content – much less apt to get cut off by some snot nose puke  – though not allowed to carry into into a post office, federal building or court building.  They will check them for you though but best to leave it locked with a trigger lock in you vehicle where no one will see it.  Do need a concealed carry permit though about $15 iirc for the entire state.

Hmm. Here is a more moderate Americans view……..

While I completely believe in our right to bear arms, and not only for self-defense or hunting, I have some issues with the “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” mantra.
Of course, it’s true, in a sense, but it isn’t the full picture.

If all guns, legal and illegal, were removed, would the number of killings/murders/violent crimes decline?  I believe so, but the flip side is people have always found a way to kill each other and to commit crimes long before firepowder, and it’s also possible that with that threat removed, whether by knife or other “legal” items, it’s entirely possible crime rates could go up, without the fear/wonder if the next “victim” is armed.

Those with concealed carry permits along with registered guns are far below  the population’s likelihood of committing a crime with a firearm, or in most cases, any crime.  Removing guns from the hands of generally law abiding citizens while criminals (possibly including the government, i.e Fast and Furious) retain illegal, unregistered guns – is not a solution.

Perhaps if we could stop the government from illegal gun deals, and focus on the criminal element, we would no longer see a reason for concealed carry in the first place.

You should  not carry if you believe you are incapable of drawing your firearm, and if drawn, you had best intend to use it.  It may sound “nice” to say “I’ll aim for a knee,” but  factoring in the distances in which most concealed weapons are drawn and used, as well as the stress of the situation, you are unlikely to be doing much “precision aiming” – aim for the body mass, and stop the threat.  That does not mean unloading your weapon into someone long after they stop moving, it means “stop the threat.”

For those of you thinking the above is cold, or that anyone looks forward to the idea of following the above, it generally isn’t so; most people hope to never have to shoot or kill another person.  However, as war is Hell, the same thing can be said if you find yourself in a parking lot at night, with your wife and kids, and in a situation that is on the verge of turning hostile with a group of gang-bangers through no fault of your own.  If  you can put yourself in that situation, which a close friend (who carries) was in, and it were to escalate, I’m sure most people would later wish they had been able to defend their families, if not themselves.  Martial arts are great, but numbers of people and conditions change.  Regardless of the method, many people would choose the life of their family over “I don’t like guns.”  I sincerely hope none of you have to make that choice, either.

Needless to say, our news in Europe is often filled with the latest gun tragedy in the USA.

A comment that was on news recently: You are 15 times more likely to die by gunshot in  the US than Australia — it is a simple way of expressing it.

Australia and the US are not that different in many respects — so it is a relevant comparison.

The US is going to have this debate it seems. There are enough people with the inclination to take on the argument right now.

For the sake of America, I hope that some of you guys can see the logic of reforming the gun laws, and work to a rational outcome that can make America a safer place for it’s citizens and especially so for little children. 

All comments are welcome using the box below. Lets discuss this. 

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