Piers Morgan on guns
 

Opinions of Piers Morgan aside, I thought this was a really good read.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

I read the first para on your liink

did not need to go further

i have watched piers and he is 100% bang on

but his fight is futile

americans are obsessed with guns

they have been since the 1800's, sherrifs, stagecoaches, wild wild west, and all that good stuff

i has a chance to go down and settle there in 1978

i didn't

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

He's very modest, isn't he?

He's too humble to tell us himself that he's brave, so luckily there are famous celebrities around to tell him, otherwise he'd never know, or be able to tell us in his book!

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

I don't think the fight is futile. They hung on to their slaves for a very long time, and now that's changed.

Probably what they need is an outsider, like Piers, that can build momentum for a change. In the video clip he made a quip that guns in America are like religion, and there are some definite parallels. Now that the US's relative power as a superpower is declining (China, globalisation, etc) some of the great American myths are starting to unwind. Guns can be one of them, but admittedly it will take decades. And the end result will be more like Canada than Britain.


http://www.theguardian.com/media/201...oting-straight

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

Does he mention anywhere that he is totally discredited in the UK for some of his journalistic antics ?

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

Crimwatch is on tonight (in the UK) its about Luton and Gun Crime, it'll be very interesting to watch!!

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

I've watched a number of Piers Morgan's debates with pro-gun lobbyists, the NRA etc. on YouTube. He calls them 'fair debates' - Piers usually sits there with stacks of paper with data, figures and statistics and then persists in continually bombarding the pro-gun speaker with individual stats that no-one has a hope in hell of knowing or remembering. Some debate...

At the subsequent 'debate', the pro-gun speaker got around Piers' debating technique by simply not letting Piers say anything, and attempting the make a mockery of Piers' accent, etc. Neither came out with the better argument to be honest.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

The statistic that is quite memorable is 30 gun deaths a year in Britain, 12,000 a year in the USA. If he repeats that enough times, the yanks might start to think about it.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

They think it is 'freedom', like having crap healthcare.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

I wouldn't hold your breath on that one ! The gun nuts, and there are too many of them, including the NRA and such like, will never allow common sense to prevail !

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

He does mention the petition to have him deported from the USA and the counter petition saying nobody in the UK wanted him back.

I thought that was nicely self deprecating as were his comments about wanting to punch the idiot and how that was unwise.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

I'm really glad he found his voice that night, I was getting a bit worried.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

Firearms are not evil,they are simply tools,its the retards that turn them on other people that give them a bad name.

There are plenty of us that own firearms that have NEVER considered turning firearms on other people.

Sick of all these anti's trying to peg firearms as evil instruments of death,cars kill more people than firearms,do you see a mass of twats trying to ban cars?

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

So how do you propose keeping these tools out of the hands of violent and psychotic people? Particularly those who have no history of wrongdoing.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

Why does a civilian require a multi shot automatic weapon?

In Canada, a magazine of 5 is the maximum permitted. What is wrong with that?

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

There are some loopholes that allow the use of 10 shot mags.
Automatic weapons are banned in Canada,instead we have multi shot semi-automatic,bolt action,lever action,and pump action rifles.
A semi-auto with a 1 shot mag would be pretty much pointless.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

Not to mention grenades.

I have no idea what those things are. Gun language is a mystery to me.

But why does a civilian need several guns of different types? Why the ability to fire off a bullet every second?

Why the grenades and other explosives that these lunatics also have when they create mayhem?

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

A mixture of paranoia and ego.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

They don't require it but surely in a free society one can choose to have such gun.

Because it is an unnecessary restriction.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

age or a piano

:rofl:

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

Because there are different disciplines of shooting. I enjoy clay (trap) shooting, which requires a shotgun, as well as target shooting and hunting, which requires a rifle.

I do not agree that civilians have the need for fully automatic weapons. I do agree that civilians should have the right to defend themselves using their licensed weapons if the need arises.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

Everyone agrees to that.

The issue on gun control is how to reduce crime and accidental deaths. Clay pigeon shooting, target practice, and even hunting is a non-issue.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

Is this an argument that there should be no restrictions on anyone? If it is, I completely disagree with you.

If one wishes to argue that a semi-automatic/automatic weapon is required for either personal safety or hunting, why is a magazine of more than 5 necessary? If one is a poor enough shot that 5 won't kill one's assailant, one shouldn't be permitted to have one; ditto for wishing to kill animals.

In light of the above, I fail to see how one can reasonably argue that it is an unnecessary restriction. Please explain why it is.

They are only useful in the military to cut down on the necessity to reload.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

Isn't that the essential difference between the US and Canada? In either country anyone who wants to have a firearm can do so, in the US it can be for self defense whereas, in Canada, you have to say it's for target practise or hunting or some such; it's not lawful to acquire a gun to shoot burglars.

I don't think these are non-issues. The purpose of the gun is to kill animals or people, if you don't want animals or people to be killed then don't allow the guns.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

I didn't know that (burglars). I think if one has a gun and is under threat, it should be allowed.

The original purpose of a gun may have been to kill, but gun owners have a valid argument in saying they want to use their guns to shoot inanimate objects (for sport). Nevertheless, given the potential for misuse (amply demonstrated in the US and Mexico) I would have no trouble in restricting gun use for the greater good of society. Britain has it right on this issue.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

I'm a reasonable and responsible citizen with no criminal record and as an enthusiast/collector and I should be able to own any gun with whatever size magazine I choose. I have no problem with there being restrictions on how I use a gun and even how it is transported but I think it is an infringement of my freedom to regulate what I use.

And a five round clip? Would you keep that gun in your purse? ;)

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

Guns kept at ranges might reasonably be claimed to be intended for use against inanimate objects, once the weapon is taken away the claim is implausible.

The supposition that guns are used differently in the US and Mexico then they are in Canada is one I find mystifying. People carry guns, they shoot each other or they shoot animals, that's what the guns are for. We may as well say that tractors or garden spades are used differently in different jurisdictions.

The case for having a device intended to kill should hinge on the possibilty of a deadly threat to one's person, if the device is claimed to be needed at home then the threat should exist at home; that's credible if one lives in the tundra amid the polar bears, or in Rexdale, amid the immigrant population. It's not credible to claim the need for a gun in most of Canada; people want them because they like to kill things, whether they're killing people or animals it is, at least, distasteful.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

If someone gave me a rifle, even a rapid fire one with a large capacity magazine, I believe I should be able bring it into Canada without them getting all menstrual about it, and I should be able to take it to a range or out in a quarry or some place and blast away for fun. As long as its properly stored at home and transported unloaded and not within immediate reach, I don't see a problem.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

They are certainly misused in Canada too. I suppose I was referring to the scale of misuse. In any case, I think we are broadly in agreement, even on Rexdale :)

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

I do do all of that. If one fails to blast away at London Pride cans, one lessens one's chances of being able to bring down the rampant bear or passing fast food seeker.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

Does the same logic apply to individuals possessing nuclear/chemical weapons? They are allowed to keep them, providing they don't use them?:p

I don't carry a purse. No do I feel the need to carry a weapon for "self protection" as I don't live in an area where I have ever felt the need to carry one.

I fail to see how a 5 round clip is any less restrictive to me than one with a 10 round clip. I certainly don't see the need for any one, outside of the military, to require a magazine that is capable of firing more than 5 rounds without reloading.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

America's experience seems to suggest your "there's no problem" mantra is somewhat flawed.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

+1

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

They need better enforcement of the laws rather than more restrictions but that's not my problem right now. My concern is bringing guns over the border without the hassle of namby pamby guards giving us grief. If you're legally allowed to own and possess then in the US then the Canadians should let us bring them up here with us while we're here and stop being so petty and sanctimonious about the whole thing.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

I thought this paragraph from the Comments section under that article was quite valid:

"I am anti guns. But Ameica is not dedicated to guns, America is dedicated to violence. The violence may be at home with guns, or overseas with drones or cruise missiles. A foreign policy at the barrel of a gun, and people at home sort out their difference at the barrel of a gun."

It's an attitude thing. Americans, on the whole (nice big generalisation coming up), can sort their differences with a gun - because they can. Because they always have. Because they are so easily accessible.

Feeling a bit on edge tonight? Buy a gun.
Don't want to walk down that street again? Buy a gun.
Don't like the look of that fella that's moved into No 42? Buy a gun.

This grows into more of the same:
Don't like the way that 11th grader looked at me - betta bring in my gun.
Don't like the way that shop assistant spoke to me - gonna take my gun next time.
Feeling a bit crap today - gonna take out my gun and shoot some people - they're all pissing me off anyway, it's their fault I'm having a crap day - they deserve it.

It's an unstable, paranoid and easy-to-violence society.
The ownership of some 300 million guns is absolutely bonkers. But we'll never change it. A few laws might manage to tweak it but will never do away with gun ownership altogether.

And besides, I can do a bit of paranoia too - ever watched those docu-dramas about when all the petrol runs out, or a terrorism attack on a power system? America will eat its own, society will crumble in a matter of weeks, and a shooting at a school or mall will be an everyday occurrence.

Oh happy times - I watch The Walking Dead - I'm gonna get me a gun.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

I rebut your generalisation with anecdote. I know an American who bought a gun for protection only when she moved to Canada!

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

I agree with this sentiment. You only need to look at the interminable supply of violent movies, usually predicated on a revenge theme, that America produces to get a glimpse of the national psyche.

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

I am confident your argument is tongue in cheek but why would anyone need a weapon that can fire more than 5 rounds without reloading?

Why would one need the type of weapon that is legal in the US but is not legal in Canada when in Canada? What type of weapon are you talking about?

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

am hoping so too!

Re: Piers Morgan on guns
 

What type of protection was she seeking?

She sounds like the American that felt threatened when some locals asked him a question when he was walking in a park during Stampede, as he didn't have his gun with him.