If the industry went away tomorrow there would still be at least 100 million firearms in the hands of career criminals. The "owner" of the firearm is the person who is holding it when it goes off, and if they can be found and captured they will be held totally responsible. You could reasonably consider you one as this really is none of your business. - - - Updated - - - I agree totally with the part I highlighted in your quote.
defeatism That is what really loses the war against criminality - - - Updated - - - I agree totally with the part I highlighted in your quote.[/QUOTE] I do agree with this but there seems to be other elements at work with this in the USA. I personally believe it has something to do with the "gun culture" as there seems to be a significant disparity between how nations view and consequently user
That is such an American response "Rights" are not universal - unfortunately and sadly, and if you think otherwise look at the many theocracies throughout the ages. In fact look at your own "rights" - does the right to free speech allow you to swear at a cop? Does the right to free speech allow you to indulge in hate speech? Does it give you the right to libel another? Codifying "rights" simply means that they get written on a piece of paper - big Whoop! The "Patriot Act" demonstrated how that can change
Please illustrate the specific figures provided (that claim Australia's "sexual assault" is higher than "sexual assault" in the US) have been normalized. Keeping in mind that in Australia, there is no standard definition for "sexual assault" between jurisdictions. In fact, the term “sexual assault” is not a legal term but generally (depending on jurisdiction) covers a range of unwanted sexual behaviours such as comments, touching, fondling, fingering or masturbation to oral, anal or vaginal sex. http://www.yarrowplace.sa.gov.au/booklet_law.html
What loses the war against criminality would be the act of giving up guns from law abiding gun owners leaving only criminals with guns. The US is a very large country when relating to its population (as is Australia). Our countries are similar size but even with 10 times the population, our people spread out across the whole of the space; unlike Australia which has its people generally around the edges. The Europeans who settled the US made many assumptions about the native population (some of my ancestors) which were obviously incorrect, but that is a different story. It took guns to tame our wilderness and fend off the native people. It took a "culture" willing to explore and used guns to survive. We have a very large hunter population even today. Actually the lower number of the spread of hunter population of 23 to 47 million hunters, based on a survey of hunting licenses issued, equals your total population. I use the lower number because some people buy licenses but are not very active in the sport. I am one of that 23 million. I hunt for deer, hog and occasionally dove. Depending on the type of hunt I use a different firearm. Fast forward to the 20th century: the experience in NAZI Germany (and a number of other dictatorships) the first step to creating such a despotic regime is to collect all the guns. I would have thought Australians would have been smart enough to pick up on that need. Anyway, one of the reasons the right to keep and bear arms was codified in the Bill of Rights was to ensure that a tyrannical government could never survive in the US. The difference between the USA and Australia is primarily that we had to fight a war with our colonial "bosses."
Rights are universal. That in some situation they are usurped by authority does not mean the rights do/did not exist. Rights being universal does not mean they do not have limits, and my right to free speech or expression ends (just prior to the tip of your nose.) at the point it detracts from the rights of others. Even the Patriot Act does not usurp the constitutional rights codified in our constitution. I agree with the intent of the Patriot act, just not the extent it has been interpreted to mean by some members of our government, and I believe it still does not infringe on my rights as much as the laws in Australia infringe on the rights of Australians.
Rights ARE universal. Just because you have decided Not to demand your full Rights doesn't mean others have automatically followed the rest of the lemmings. Speak for yourself, unless you have a note from your psychologist that allows you to speak for others.
Coming from China gives a person a reason be value the rights that so many Americans dont take seriously.
I would hope so. There are not to many countries in the world with the overall values we have in the US. As much as I liked Australia, there are things about Australia which would preclude my wanting to live there. One especially being Australia's point of view of firearms.
If I had not spent time in or living in various places in Europe, South Asia, SE Asia, Australia and having visited the other 4 continents (including Antarctica) I would agree with you. Like my wife said when she skied down the hill and took off her skis, "I'll try almost anything once, but if I don't like it I stop." There are some things in every place I've been which are great, to include the hot springs at the edge of the Antarctic sea in which to swim. In Germany the education is better, especially the two tier system which educates those who are either not college material or simply don't want to go. Japan, ditto, and those really big prawns. Spain has the food and the history which I enjoyed immensely. India had the food, history and variety of people with whom I learned tolerance. Australia had some great beaches, Manley and Bondi near Sydney, and friendly great people. I still find the home of the great PX (US) to have more for the most than any other place I have been.
Your choice mate - does not worry us It SUITS us and others to have these restrictions - what annoys us is when America spreads it's beliefs across the internet
I love Hong Kong but i found out that after 13 years in the US, I dont fit in anymore. I liked visiting Japan but once was enough and it is just the most amazingly unsuitable place for me to try to live! People dont always take it how its intended when I criticize certain things about the US, mostly along the lines of Wake Up!!! Fat and complacent is not going to be a good strategy for the long term!
American values have annoyed a lot of people, especially those holding power in governments that impose their restrictions on the populace, and, just when the people are starting to internalize all of it and say they like it. here come those damn americans and the chimes of freedom flashing. 'Course,looking at this from a Chinese perspective its a bit more obvious.
I tend to think that a lot of gun violence in America is caused by gang members in disputes over turf. We also have problems with Mexican drug gangs coming across the border. It seems we had a similar problem during Prohibition. So we made need to De-criminalize the most popular and least harmful drugs and cut off their money supply.
There were three Chinese people in my high school graduating class. 1 is currently our class secretary keeping us all in contact with each other. There were also 3 Germans, 4 Indians, 2 Thai, 1 Afghan, 2 Australians, 1 New Zealander, 4 Pakistanis, 1 Pole, 1 Canadian and 1 English. Of the 8 American's one was born in Shanghai, 2 in India, 2 in Pakistan and 5 in the US. In our class of 31 all but 1 went to higher education, 4 to PHDs, 1 Ed.S, and 4 Masters. The restrictions on citizens was highest in Pakistan and Afghanistan and it was before the Taliban. Yes.... And I like your signature line, "The truth is neither right or left...it is the truth." I particularly find disgust with the extremes of either side.
you have now come full circle. You can turn your TV off if you don't like what's on it. You have the Right (I think) to ignore what you don't like. Do not blame us for what international corporations advertise. That's real weak...Do you actually have NRA commercials airing on your TV stations or are you projecting.
Adhering to the concept that all points of view are inferior to your own is not an admirable trait as it is the very definition of closed-mindedness. Being annoyed that other points of view exist and/or choosing to ignore them entirely is the best way to ensure that no issue is ever resolved, and no situation ever improved.
Lighten up, dude! You dont want to go there. Incapacity to detect humour is the sign of a weak and feckless intellect. Getting pedantic about it only makes things worse.
Reading tone into text "is the sign of a weak and feckless intellect." Clearly post #75 illustrates that not everyone was being light hearted in their comments.
