Continuation of the Detox thread. What're all of your opinions on the gun laws of your country and how they compare to America?

Personally I reckon if you own a firearm and don't use it it's a stupid thing to own. But if you're using it you might be endangering lives. So I see no point in owning them. I also see no point in engaging in a process of using them to kill off the population of any country in order to get your point of view across (there'll be nobody to accept your point of view if they're all dead)/take their land (which will have been a warzone for so long it'll probably be uninhabitable)/claim ownership of their oil (when you'll merely be burning fossil fuels which'll run out anyway. Just biding time til you've to use renewable energy).

laws on firearms are pretty strict in germany, you have to make a test and get a license to own one, and as far as i know, that's expensive and takes some time.
so in consequence, the only people with firearms are hunters, cops and maybe some eccentric collectors (besides the shady corners of society where they'll always have guns).

i think it's cool that way, and it surely helps keeping the killing rate low.
we did have 2 massacres at schools, tho. both of the killers were totally into guns and got their first ones as soon as they could.

so, i wouldn't mind if they made the rules a bit stricter.

a machine you can kill a human with by just moving your finger should not be easily available. that's my opinion. and it also includes: the u.s. should finally change their laws on the topic. wild west times are over, and guns DO kill people.

I have to say I'm glad to live in a country with quite strict laws on firearms and guns not very easily available. U.S. gun culture seems kinda scary and freaky to many people here.

guns = bad.

I live in a pretty rough part of London at the moment, and some of the kids on the estate have guns (my friend got mugged at gunpoint by a group of 14 year olds in the first month i moved here!) - it scares the shit out of me!

[EphelDuath666]

I agree with what Ike said...I'm glad laws are strict here when it comes to that. I myself have never touched a gun and I'm quite proud of that...and I have no plans to ever change that. Like Ike said, there have been school incidents here too but once in a while someone does freak out, nothing you can do about that...but I do think it is still on a somewhat acceptable level here. I also would have no problem with gun laws getting even stricter here. Of course that is the European type of view and I'm trying to understand and accept and respect that many in the US have a different take on that issue, just as it is with the Death Penalty. And I think it's a cultural issue more than anything else. But still, I think it is a fact that the gun crime rate in the US in relation is much, much higher than in most other Western countries, if not all...but correct me if I'm wrong. And it would not be fair to just exclusively blame it on 'foreign' nationals, etc. There are mixed cultures everywhere. Do guns kill people? No I don't think so. People kill people. Is it easier to kill someone with a gun? I would say so...definitely. And that is reason enough for me not to ever possess one.

guns = bad.

period.

Well like, they're so stupid. People who use them barely even understand their mechanism, and a lot of people have been known to blow their own brains out with them as a result..

There should be a test if you're to own one, as well as a very very in-depth look into your own history, and a mental assessment. Basically make it take as much time as possible so people are definitely who they say they are. And things that take time are less appealling. Some people might be deterred from buying one.

Yeah man. Australia is good with it's guns (or lack there of) and I'm glad. Seems like guns are merely a waste of metal unless you are using them to hunt. I just find it intreguing that the US is FAR worse than Canada when it comes to gun-related deaths when Canada has as many guns as America...

How can people claim they feel safe when anyone around them could have a gun? If people could buy guns as easilly here I would be way too scared to go outside my home at night. I'm glad I don't live in the U.S.

There are a lot of things that kill more people in a year than guns. So what? You don't have to worry about that drunk truck driver on the next table having a car in his pocket to run over you with.

Do guns kill people? No. People kill people. Do guns make people fear? Yes. Name one country that has lived in fear lately. Yeah...

I am in America and will gladly explain my viewpoint:

I am neither for or against them, personally. I don't own any and really see no reason to. They're expensive, and I'm too lazy to put up with their upkeep and care/cleaning/etc.

However, I see no reason not to allow others to have them. Now, I do not enjoy the idea of people going around with semi automatic machine guns or whatever. However, personal handguns and hunting rifles I see little problem with.

When you get down to it, banning guns is only punishing those who are law-abiding anyways. Those who want to get guns for illegal purposes will get them. There is always a market somewhere, and people will find ways to buy them. Essentially, you are simply taking away defense from those who underwent legal processes and handing that power directly to those who would thieve, murder, etc.

That's the logic of it, anyway. As I said, I don't agree or disagree with the use of guns on a personal level, but extreme gun control does not make much sense. It would be one thing if punishment and bans actually had a record of preventing crime, but that is rarely the case in this country.

Some very good points there Weszor. There will always be people who'll get guns and no laws are going to change that. However:

Essentially, you are simply taking away defense from those who underwent legal processes and handing that power directly to those who would thieve, murder, etc.

I'll have to disagree with you here a bit. Don't you think that if everyone can buy guns legally (yes, those illegal weapons cost something too) there will be more murderers, thieves, etc. with guns out there.

I'm not 100% sure about what the laws are here but is a shopkeeper allowed to carry a gun in Europe? How about an extreme gun control that would let those who are likely to get robbed, attacked, etc. like for an example shopkeepers to carry guns?

As you said it yourself. There is no reason to everyone have a gun.

My dad actually owns a gunshop in Winchester here in the UK. So I've kinda grown up around them. I think the laws here a rightfully strict but if they get any stricter my dads goin to be out the job! I mean come on clay pigeon shooting is fun....although Im not into the killing animals for fun aspect of gun sports ... but yeh guns don't kill people, people kill people.

My dad actually owns a gunshop in Winchester here in the UK.

That's all rifles and shotguns, isn't it? Nothing easily concealable.

There are literally hundreds of laws regulating firearms in the United States. Not only are there Federal laws but also local, regional and state laws also. Though I understand both sides of the issue the one thing that people don't seem to understand is this:

If someone is determined to acquire a gun and then use then they are going to. No amount of legislation is going to prevent that. It's kind of like the so-called war on drugs. Everything from Heroin down to Marijuana is illegal in this country. Yet anyone and everyone can find someone to sell it to you if you are determined enough to get it.

An all out gun ban will end up just punishing the law abiding citizen who would only use such a weapon as originally intended.

My dad actually owns a gunshop in Winchester here in the UK.

That's all rifles and shotguns, isn't it? Nothing easily concealable.

Yeh it is...unless you count BB/Pellet pistols.