anotherlimey

Probably because criminals will always get guns anyway.

Piccolo

Cannot believe what I am reading. Sorry to come in on this thread but it appears that gun crime ie the killing of fellow human beings has now become acceptable. It should never be acceptable and if you start to take it all for granted where will it end?

(Having read quite a number of novels, based in the future in the US where marauding gangs roam it would appear it is not such fictional idea)

Heaven help our great grandchildren)

anotherlimey

I think you're not far from the truth. Running Man isn't too far off.

Dant3

Hold on a mo there, missus, who's saying it's okay to kill people (other than Il Presidente of course, but he doesn't count). The media sensationalise it and the public is horrified by it, but nobody's 'accepting' it. What would you have people do? Grab their kids out of school and lock themselves in the basement just because a drug dealer across town got shot.

ImHere

And they just love anti-gun laws. When will people get it that criminals are not law abiding folks? All the anti-this and anti that laws in the world will not prevent criminals from doing what they do. They just make it easier for them.

Dant3

I agree up to the last point. How do they make it easier for criminals?

Piccolo

you said it yourself 'just because a drug dealer got shot' does he not matter?

ImHere

Ok, say you are some shitbag with a stolen or home made weapon (not neccesarily a gun, could be a knife, cosh, whatever) and you wander downtown in the evening intent on lightening some innnocent people of their cash. Are you going to feel safer doing this knowing:

A) All the innocent and law abiding people are unarmed and have no way of defending themselves.

B)Theres a bloody good chance that at least one of the innocent citizens you hold up is carrying a gun and you may just end up shot trying to mug them.

anotherlimey

I guess you're talking about the anti-gun lobby. Those people are just as stupid as the pro-gun lobby.

Dant3

I’ll be the first to agree that every life is important. Unfortunately, my sympathy is not infinite. Several thousand wholly innocent people die painful and unnecessary deaths each day, and I’m afraid the gang-related murder of a local drug dealer isn't qualification enough to jump the sympathy queue.

ImHere

Yes and no. Yes it would be a lovely world if there were no weapons. But its not and never will be, so why make laws to only disarm law abiding people?

anotherlimey

The trouble is, even with a gun you haven't got a hope anyway once the mugger had pulled the gun. The criminal has the upper hand 99% of the time because they know exactly what they are going to do.

What's needed is a way to address the wider issues related to people mugging each other.

ImHere

I detect the hint of someone who's never had to deal with these people on a day to day basis.

anotherlimey

Because you're assuming everyone obeys the law. How many of the gun related homicides were with legal weapons?

Dant3

So I'm presuming then that those small midwestern towns in the 19th century, where every man had a gun hanging from his belt, never experienced violence.