1. Gun crime is falling in the US a lot.
US DOJ website. and
again. Interesting reading.
Quote:
Firearm-related crime has plummeted since 1993.
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* From 1993 through 2001 the number of murders declined
36% while the number of murders by firearms dropped 41%.
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2.
http://www.connected.gov.uk/facts/statistics/index.html
Quote:
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There has overall been an increase in the level of gun crime by less than one percent. The number of offences has risen each year since 1997-98, but the 2003-04 rise is the smallest.
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3. As Scastle has already said the vast majority of gun crime is commited by gangs. The same gangs that deal in drugs despite being them being banned as well. When you ban gun only the criminals have them. Peaceful law abiding citizens who use guns don't influence the stats enough, only criminal activity as a whole. You have banned guns, now what? Gangs are still using them, and getting them with suprising ease.
4. Can you imagine someone saying this? "If only I had a gun, he'd be so dead right now. All I have are these lousy knives, baseball bats, swords, and cars around. But if I had a gun i'd kill him."
5. If you were hoenstly trying to keep the debate civil, and meant no disrespect then I appologize. I felt a distinct tone of animostiy in your post, wether it was real or imagined. In that respect I think this will be my last post on it, so it doesn't go the way of others.
6. Are you calling me a troll Bifta?. I was hoping that (especially looking at my reputation) that people would think I wasn't trolling but voicing my opinions in a respectful manner and engaging in a fair and decent debate, even if my opinions do go against the vast majority here. I have always tried to moderate my posts heavily, not to try and inflame people.
But to answer your question, shooting guns is fun (IMO), hunting (other people think) is fun (and a really big industry), and of course self defence. Like the quote I mentioned before: Gun control: the theory that a 100lb woman should have to fistfight with a 250lb rapist. Even if I didn't shoot I would still support the right for responsible people to own and use guns. It is the same with hunting, and I will never hunt. It is as much a civil rights issue as well as a self-intrest one.
Noone has the answer. If anyone knew how to fix gun crime, then it wouldn't exist? And if someone knows something the governments of the world don't, then please share with us and pick up your Nobel Peace Prize. There will always be crime, always be murders, and always be people illegally using guns, importing and distributing them regardless of wether they are illegal or not.