(February 22, 2018 at 5:29 pm)JMT Wrote: If we could have a world without guns it would be great. But no, it wouldn't, we'd still have swords and knives and clubs, and if we got rid of those we'd still have pitchforks and arms and legs. So we have to do something that will deal with reality. Reality is there are guns and anyone that wants one bad enough can get one. So yes, education, but yes, also protection. It's not an either/or. They're addressing two different, but related issues. My .02c

In the UK we don't have the gun problem you have, neither does anywhere else in the world.
Nor do we have a sword or club problem.
At the moment the weapon of choice by criminal gangs is acid and even this is mainly limited to certain areas of London. Very hard to go on a killing spree when your most devastating weapon is a converted super soaker.

(February 23, 2018 at 2:05 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote:

(February 22, 2018 at 5:29 pm)JMT Wrote: If we could have a world without guns it would be great. But no, it wouldn't, we'd still have swords and knives and clubs, and if we got rid of those we'd still have pitchforks and arms and legs. So we have to do something that will deal with reality. Reality is there are guns and anyone that wants one bad enough can get one. So yes, education, but yes, also protection. It's not an either/or. They're addressing two different, but related issues. My .02c

In the UK we don't have the gun problem you have, neither does anywhere else in the world.
Nor do we have a sword or club problem.
At the moment the weapon of choice by criminal gangs is acid and even this is mainly limited to certain areas of London. Very hard to go on a killing spree when your most devastating weapon is a converted super soaker.

*my bold*

I lol'ed right out loud.

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(February 23, 2018 at 1:57 pm)A Theist Wrote:

(February 23, 2018 at 1:00 pm)Mathilda Wrote: When someone with an illegal gun gets arrested, or the gun is found. Take it off them and destroy it. This and restricting the number of guns that can be owned means that over time the problem is solved.

Works in every other fucking country in the world.

How about harsher punishments against those who use guns in a criminal act?

But wouldn't it take the fun out of it for all the good guys who've already spent good money on guns and bullets?  Why let the courts have all the fun?

(February 23, 2018 at 2:13 pm)Whateverist Wrote:

(February 23, 2018 at 2:05 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote: In the UK we don't have the gun problem you have, neither does anywhere else in the world.
Nor do we have a sword or club problem.
At the moment the weapon of choice by criminal gangs is acid and even this is mainly limited to certain areas of London. Very hard to go on a killing spree when your most devastating weapon is a converted super soaker.

*my bold*

I lol'ed right out loud.

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(February 23, 2018 at 1:57 pm)A Theist Wrote: How about harsher punishments against those who use guns in a criminal act?

But wouldn't it take the fun out of it for all the good guys who've already spent good money on guns and bullets?  Why let the courts have all the fun?

I'll pencil you down for a no, then.

(February 23, 2018 at 5:47 am)Cyberman Wrote:

(February 22, 2018 at 6:05 pm)JMT Wrote: But the usual way to repel a superior weapon is with an equal or superior weapon.

Yeah, because historically that's always worked so well.

Cold War, anyone?

I would argue that the Cold War is the perfect example. The threat of MAD could have been why there was neither Soviet expansion into Western Europe and /or use of nuclear weapons in any subsequent conflict. And ultimately the USSR, which Reagan correctly labeled an evil empire, collapsed. While US military might was not solely responsible for that collapse it was clearly a major contributor.

The wisdom of evolution:

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(February 23, 2018 at 2:05 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote: In the UK we don't have the gun problem you have, neither does anywhere else in the world. Nor do we have a sword or club problem.

I heard the weapon of choice in the UK was broken beer bottles.

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(February 23, 2018 at 1:16 pm)Whateverist Wrote: My personal preference would be to make sure we have enough jack boots to go around and then send the military in to confiscate every gun in America.  I've never balked at taking a gun out of a cold dead hand.  Hell that would just make the job easier.

Indeed, that will be the first step towards the Final Solution.

Quote:How about harsher punishments against those who use guns in a criminal act?

Won't work . We need to strike before they have a chance

(February 23, 2018 at 2:36 pm)Neo-Scholastic Wrote:

(February 23, 2018 at 5:47 am)Cyberman Wrote: Yeah, because historically that's always worked so well.

Cold War, anyone?

I would argue that the Cold War is the perfect example. The threat of MAD could have been why there was neither Soviet expansion into Western Europe and /or use of nuclear weapons in any subsequent conflict. And ultimately the USSR, which Reagan correctly labeled an evil empire, collapsed. While US military might was not solely responsible for that collapse it was clearly a major contributor.

The wisdom of evolution:

In the UK we had a school mass shooting in 1996. We banned the type of gun used and have not had one since.

We learnt the lesson, because for us the murder of children was too important to ignore.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_massacre

Americans want their guns and will do anything to keep them, even accepting the regular mass slaughter of children. The rest of the world thinks your mad.

In any war, cold or hot, against drugs or terror or just plain old people, a sizeable percentage of resources goes into developing bigger, better, badder weapons. In a war against personal weaponry, that would be A Bad Thing.

(February 23, 2018 at 2:47 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote: Americans want their guns and will do anything to keep them, even accepting the regular mass slaughter of children. The rest of the world thinks your mad.

We also have (at least for now) truly free speech and freedom of assembly. Most of the world seems to think that's a problem too. Just ask Mark Steyn or Geert Wilders.

Thing is, though, at the moment the freedoms of speech and assembly are not slaughtering people.

Countless other countries have both. And don't consider the possession of an assault rifle a right .