Guns need to go...or do they?

[GenericAmerican]

I love guns. And the criminals will always be able to find them, so if citizens aren't allowed to own them...well only the criminals have them now.

Guns/fireamrs, are the greatest things on God's green Earth; if you don't think so, you probably have never fired one before...either that or you are a hippy-liberal-communist-#*@&@*%#^-who deserves to burn in hell.

A thought. If 100 percent of people in a town owned guns, if I was a criminal I would never ever ever want to try anything there. Since every time I committed a crime, there is and incredibly large chance you would get shot or shot at.

If there was a town where not a single person owned a gun, and I was a criminal, its like Christmas; Im a criminal, I can find a way to get a weapon. Now I am in a place where I have the only weapon(besides the police force). It's basically rob whoever you want, its 'unarmed them' against 'armed you'.

 

[Macgyvercas]

I love my guns, and I love the Second Amendment. As Charlton Heston once said, "I'll give up my gun when they pry it from my cold dead hands"

When you take away guns, only criminals will have them. I'm a total gun nut, and my life would be empty without guns.

Spoiler: 2nd Amendment Baby!

I like NRA (National Rifle Association) supporters. We should start a group here on the Escapist for us Gun Nuts.

Great idea! I'll get right on that!

How about "The Escapist Gun Owner's Club"?

EDIT: Made it. Here. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/invite_member.php?g=The-Escapist-Gun-Owners-Club]

 

[Altorin]

Are you for or against gun?

Now as you may or may not know the uk has been de-guned you can own a gun but only after jumping a huge hurdle, and even then you can only get a few certain types of guns.

Now are you for or against this sort of thing, I have been thinking. You reduce the amount of guns so there is less gun crime that makes sence less guns less crime.
In the perfect world that is the case, but If those who do gun crime get guns though the black market or get them in other ways by-passing the laws then what happens when regular people with good intentions can no longer have guns...Who has the guns.

If you were going to rob a bookies at gun point would you be more questionable about doing so if the bookie had a gun itself to defend the store?

Does that sound about right to you or are guns still a bad thing.

if you could reasonably get rid of every gun on earth at the exact same time, then yeah, they can go.

but in the real world, no, we need guns to protect us from morons and evil people who won't think twice about using a gun against us.

 

[Cheery Lunatic]

Guns are a deterrent for crime. Would you go rob a house where you know they own a gun? Of course not. You'll go two houses down where you know they don't.

Gun laws really, in the end, only hurt honest citizens.

Think about it. Criminals break the law. If they want a gun, you better believe they'll find a way to get one.

The great thing about conceal carry laws is that a criminal now has no idea who may have a gun on their person.

This to a T.

Seriously. Criminals will just continue to smuggle guns if you ban 'em.
We'd be having another Prohibition on our hands except way more deadly.

 

[cocoadog]

People don't kill people with giant boulders! They will if you take away their assault rifles.

 

[emeraldrafael]

I think they should go, but then again, i've always been one to be up close and personal. Swords, knives, spears, all my weapons of choice. A gun just feels like cheating. Besides, if someone is going to rob me, and i'm forced to fight, then when they get a limb chopped off, i'm pretty sure they're not going to try that again, against anyone. Nothing serves as a reminder better then a stub limb.

That, and when you kill something, its always nice that you're the last thing its sees before it dies. So it can go into that great beyond knowing who sent it there.

and no, i havent murdered anyone. or killed anything (unless you want to count bugs). however, i'm just old school like that.

 

[lostzombies.com]

Well in the UK there is basically no gun crime, there is nowhere I wouldn't feel safe walking at night and the only gang culture you run across is a badly dressed teens so yes it works.

 

[deadxero]

Beliefe that gun laws prevent crime is baseless. In order for this to be true, criminals would have to obey the gun laws... see the problem there?

 

[WanderingFool]

In a perfect world, we wouldnt need guns... so we need guns, cause this isnt a perfect fucking world. And as it has been said by many other people, many other times, gun laws are useless when the criminal doesnt need a permit to buy a street piece.

 

[Wadders]

I hate the fact I can't get a gun here in the UK.

Guns are not alive. Do not add human qualities to them. i.e. being evil or killing people. They're a tool. A bloody drill can be used to kill someone. Should we make them illegal?

I like the aesthetics of guns. Smith & Wesson magnums are a piece of art as far as I'm concerned. I respect the engineering and design behind them and love the power.

Problem is I can't own one because my country is a *****.

It's done nothing for our crime levels.

I will not rest untill I have informed every member of this damn forum who is a Brit and wants a gun, that they can buy guns legally in the UK!

Guns have not been banned here!

Anyways, I will now leave this thread. Gun control debates/ arguments are a waste of time. Suffice to say that I like using guns, I own guns, but I think tight gun control is a good idea. Perhaps not as tight as we have in the UK, but it's there for a reason.

It would be nigh impossible for me to get a licence for a gun.

Not everyone is lucky enough to live on a farm or near a gun range.

As long as you have a gun safe or security cord to secure the gun, and are of sound mental health, there is no real reason why the Police should deny an application for a shotgun certificate as far as I'm aware.

Admittedly Firearms certificate (for rifles) are harder to obtain, and thats where the elitist side of UK gun law comes into play. It is (as you said) a lot easier for richer people or landowners to get a FAC that it is for commoners such as you or I. Shotguns shouldnt be a problem though

You forgot to factor in intent.

I would have to convince my local police station that I have a genuine reason to own a gun. i.e. pest control or clay pigeon shooting. I live no where near a range and I live on a street with no safe place to shoot. I have an air rifle and that is probably pushing it.

So even if I could convince my local police station to give me a licence. What would I do with it?

If there was a gun range within reasonable driving distance from me I would have applied for a licence in a heartbeat.

Ahh yeah fair point. I was asked what I'd be using mine for, but it's only really with rifles you have to provide an actual reason for ownership. With shotguns the question is more of a formality but I can see how in your case it would be difficult. Where I live the police grant shotgun certificates without any real problems as it's very rural.

 

[Dark Knifer]

I can understand that it's a good idea for people to be armed, but for everyone who succesfully defends themselves with a weapon, there is a dozen cases of someone abusing this privallege. I generally don't like the idea to think that anyone can carry something that's sole purpose is to kill and maim. Ideally, ban guns and have a huge crackdown on the black market.

Also, you must remember that the majority of deaths caused by guns is suicide. So banning guns would stop, or at least incoveinience, someone who is trying to commit suicide.

 

[Timmaaaah]

I live in New Zealand and we have pretty strict gun control. I really think the US should have more regulation of firearms, but since they've been so accessible for so long there probably isn't a single criminal without a firearm and introducing a law to prevent people from owning handguns will never stop criminals. Since so many firearms have been sold to people without records being kept from gun sales and whatnot it's impossible to track. I really would like to own a handgun because I like the aesthetics and I'm fascinated by weapons although I'm not a violent person. Also I like the idea that if zombies ever attacked I'd have a firearm that I'm good with... I remember when I had my gas powered semi-auto BB handgun and I was hardcore as with targets... fast to change targets and could aim accurately. I'd like to practice with a gun with more recoil just to see how good I could get.

 

[WolfThomas]

This should be probably be in the politics section. I live in Australia and think our gun laws are perfect for now, we can get most guns with a little bit of effort and handguns/semi-automatics with a lot more effort (but still possible). I love hunting and we live in a unique nation where we can shoot pretty much everything (that's not native) guilt free. By shooting wild deer, pigs, rabbits, foxes, camels, buffalo, goats, cattle, horses, cats and dogs we save this county's enviroment.

 

[Timmaaaah]

Beliefe that gun laws prevent crime is baseless. In order for this to be true, criminals would have to obey the gun laws... see the problem there?

In a country when it's hard to get access to guns it makes it harder for criminals to get hold of them. I still think people should need a gun license. I saw some freakin idiot saying something about gun laws only hurting citizens and sounding like a total stereotypical republican dead-set in their ways which really pisses me off because I'm sick of people treating anybody who has right wing values as though they're stupid and ignorant and close minded (Sorry I'm venting on this quote I couldn't find his post to quote on). People like that give the right-wing people who actually see sense a terrible name.

 

[Timmaaaah]

Although if you US residents think your safe you are being disarmed...look at all the anti gun propaganda, a man in Texas i think his house was invaded by want he thought were one of the biggest toughest gangs in the area there is 20 of them, he and his family was threatened , the family were waiting for the police until they got too close he went and got his legally owned af45 and shot 3 warning shots into the ground. The Police that arrived soon after came cause of the gun shots detected by some special gismo the police had. After the issue was resolved the police saw his gun as an issue and even with all the proper info they still wanted to review the gun to insure it was legal.
And then numerous issues where people go on hunting trips neighbors see the guns squeel to the police and then proceed to confiscate the guns.
I am just saying look around you. You may think your safe just watch out when people try to take them.

See, that sounds like good gun use and good gun control, besides the confiscation of the guns because of hunting. That just sounds like some dumbass liberals who refuse to see anyone elses point of view besides their own. And before people start getting agro at me coz of this, just know that I'm a liberal. I just hate when people gobble up ideals without thinking twice about the other side

 

[sketch_zeppelin]

I like guns. I live in the United states, I don't consider myself one of those NRA nuts but i like that i can go out and buy a gun. Also you have to admit that even if the United States Military where to suddenly vanish, it would be difficult to invade a country when a good chunk of its citizens have guns to fight back with.

I do feel though that the right to bare arms doesn't mean that i should be allowed to go out and buy an AK-47 or a RPG.

 

[tigermilk]

If America gets rid if its guns the King of England can come in your house and start slapping you about (or words to such effect, paraphrasing Homer Simpson).

Speaking personally I can see the advantages to a world with no guns, but I know that would never happen.

 

[Dimitriov]

The thing to remember about gun control being used to help prevent violent crime is that the point isn't really to keep guns away from criminals but instead away from normal people.

Someone who is going to commit a violent crime is already probably not a terribly reasonable person, they may have a mental disorder or just a bad sense of judgement. Either way people like that exist and will inevitably sometimes cause harm.

However, if everyone has a gun that pretty much guarantees that when someone goes to commit any kind of crime with a gun there's a good chance that someone is gonna start shooting back, and when you have two or more people shooting at each other you can pretty much guarantee that someone is going to get hurt or killed whereas one person with a gun may well feel in control of the situation enough to not hurt anyone until they can be apprehended by the authorities.

Most violent crimes are so called "crimes of passion" anyway, spontaneous emotional outbursts. Having more guns more readily available just adds to the damage that can happen.

This being said I am actually personally in favour of guns being legal to own and buy within reason, and so long as there are controls.

 

[Lucifron]

I believe that a regulated* gun-market with nothing but licensed weapons is the way to go. As several people have pointed out already, criminals will get their guns no matter what the legal situation is.

*The UK seems much too regulated, the US regulation is a bit too weak in my opinion.

 

[Srdjan]

Well those zombies won't shoot themselves

I like guns, and like using them. They are important for self-defence.