We do NOT need more gun control

You don’t have to worry about all guns, that will not happen. Australia was lucky that we could do the Buyback scheme, but America has too many guns and not enough money to do that. But all guns are not the issue, you have to only clamp down on the military style weapons. Guns with high rates of fire, high calibre and easily reloadable.
Guns I would not worry about are typical hunting rifles, shotguns and low calibre revolvers. Any semi or fully automatic capable weapons are a problem. Pistols are a bit of a worry only because they are magazine reloadable, this makes them more efficient, higher calibre revolvers and pistols are also a worry, but all those can just wait.
You need to focus on these assault rifles, machine guns and SMG’s.

@alexishungry, If the penalties to an illegal gun dealer were much higher (atm they can get up to a $10,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison, but since when does anyone do full term?) if the penalties are much higher then gun dealers would either go out of business or significantly raise their black market prices to make the risk worthwhile. This all round makes illegal purchases difficult.

@alexishungry, Absolutely, but then they are not licensed to deal guns either so they run the same risk as any blackmarket dealer.

@chodebalm, But wouldn’t you agree that, seeing as how you obviously have a very good understanding of the need for a change in understanding in our society, if all gun owners were willing to give up control it would benefit society as a whole. Gun owners giving up the “right to bare arms”, regardless of whether or not they misuse their weapons, could be the first step in creating real change. I understand completely that you want to stay protected, but think, if there were no need for guns in the first place then what would you really need to protect yourself from?

I agree with a lot of the things you said in your original posting, and I also agree that too much government control is a bad thing, but if guns were made illegal, I think the issue of reducing excessive violence would be taking a huge step in the right direction. With time and through proper teaching, maybe the attitudes we have in our society would begin to change as a result. Because when it comes down to it, I don’t think we would really be giving up freedom. I think all we would really be giving up is the right to live a life of paranoia. One that is centered around the possibility that one day we may need to defend ourselves against the guy down the street with a gun collection who is mentally unstable and feels the need to release his inner pain on others in the form of a gunshot.

@savmot, Totally agree bro, the same here in Australia, I said before, I live in a rough part of Sydney but I can walk around the streets at any time, day or night and not fear anything. There is the chance some group of punks may want to rumble but generally they seek weak targets, so smaller set people than myself are better off with a few friends at night.
People who want to rob your house will not do it if they are not confident you will be out long enough, I’m sure they sit there shitting themselves praying you don’t come home. Most criminal (or would be criminal) types are cowards and the actual badass guys like Biker gangs are level headed and don’t like to draw attention, you just don’t cross them or don’t even try to talk to them and there is no trouble.

@alexishungry, Your link about higher crime rates has nothing to do with gun crime, and I don’t see how it’s relevant. I didn’t say that not having guns reduces crime, I said our criminals don’t have guns, and therefore I don’t need a gun for protection.

The second article you posted, well, I don’t get the point. Gun crime is increasing in the UK (in 2003) It’s still a rarity, and it would increase a hell of a lot more were guns as readily available to every one as they are in America.

We have 14 gun deaths to America’s 9369.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_wit_fir-crime-murders-with-firearms

@alexishungry, I think that you’d be hard pushed to prove that lack of guns is responsible for increases crime rate. I will take a look at that link later :)

@alexishungry, The thing is that these incidents are over within a few minutes, it is not just about having a response team, but a well educated team that can work with the community at large in prevention and preparation.
Civil rights come into play and you can’t just identify a potential threat and then arrest them or raid their homes. The idea is to watch them, anonymous tips are one way to find out if there are these kinds of weapons unregistered and owned by unlicensed people, that are easily accessable by disgruntled people, but tips are not evidence sufficient for arrest or search and seizure warrants.
Teachers and parents need to communicate their concerns with school counsellors, students who may have inside information about class mates that they are worried about, etc. The cost on anyones conscience should be so great if they could have done something but were not confident in their own judgement, or some notion of being a “snitch” and selling out friends is a cultural taboo.
The biggest issue in my opinion is that people do not respect the urgency of appropriate storage of weapons. The difference between being a gun owner and a gun handler is astronomical and people need to see that the people who love guns most and the people who are best with them are not just good at shooting, they are the best with every aspect of gun ownership, including safe handling and appropriate storage.
This is a cultuaral nessecity to instill in people, it is not about just having the right to have a gun, the ownership entails a huge comprehensive responsibility that if neglected could result in these mass incidents.

@alexishungry, The cost of having a gun does not end at the purchase price. Added costs come in with lock-down safes, you can’t just slide your gun under your bed or put it in a shoebox in your closet. So many of these shootings are because some kid has easy access to their parents arsenal. A big thing is keeping the gun and ammo together, they have to be seperate and both difficult to get to.
I don’t see the need to have the “superguns” taken off the gun club property, there should be storage lockers on grounds and an insistence that members use them. The cost of not doing that would mean you have to prove you have proper storage facilities, you have to submit regular psychological evaluations at your own cost, an increase in the cost of your licensing, huge penalties for if it is stolen or accessed by others and also there is the emphasis on the fact that if one of these incidents occur because of your irresponsibility then you are liable.

你说的很好