Alright, I may not be an American but I don't think it's such a safe idea giving everyone in the country the right to bare arms. In the US it's so easy to get a gun. You can go into a Wal-Mart or a K-Mart and buy yourself some ammunition or a gun. The problem isn't the actual right itself but the way guns are being controlled.

What do you guys think?

Well, as an American (and a gun owner), I think the right to bear arms is a good idea. Guns are not the problem, it's the people who mis-use them. Why do you have a problem with this?

It's because guns are not essential. You don't need a gun to live safely in your house, if you feel unsafe then they are many alternatives.

Dog
Alarms
Baseball bat
Taser (however you spell it)
Mace/Pepper spray
Go to the gym


And heres something else, more gun inflicted murders are commited in your average American state per year than in the Western Europe.

You may have a lot of things I would consider non-essential, but I wouldn't try to tell you that you can't have them.

Also, there are many more people killed by automobiles than with guns, do you think we should get rid of all motorized vehicles also?

Guns may not be essential in our society now, but not one hundred years if you didn't have a gun you might have went without any meat. The only food you ate would be what you grew and you might have a piece of meat once a week after a trip of many miles to the nearest town. If you can't tell, I'm from a remote area in the Southern Appalachians. I just like the thought that if something happened to all commercially controlled electricity, water, etc. I could fend for myself and still eat some form of meat. There are also several examples of increases in crime in areas where guns are outlawed. Criminals will always have access to them and I see no reason why honest, innocent, hardworking citizens should not have access to them as well. Also remember why Americans were given that right. It was in order for us to protect ourselves from tyranny from our government. Now, most people probably think that threat is outdated, but I'm not so sure. The US has never had an attempt at a bloody coup by a dictator. I believe that the right for citizens to have guns is possibly part of the reason behind that. Countries that trust their government wholly will always wind up being oppressed by those governments. Personal opinion of course.

Perhaps we should get rid of alcohol instead?

Dog, check
Alarms, nope
BB bat, I don't want to get that close to the perp. Might get BB bat inserted into wrong guy, wrong end.
Taser, please tell me where I can legally buy one. Also takes far too long to reload. Works very well for the perp that won't calm down and is surrounded by cops, else cop will throw lead.
Mace, check, but would I really want to use it inside my home, with the kiddies upstairs?
Gym, sure but some people will only get SO big, and there's always someone bigger.

And what do any of these do when the perp is armed??

Also, they're darn fun for target practice and competition shooting.

__________________
"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."
Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)

The King of England had the same feelings you did back before the American Revolution. What if our founding fathers had given up their guns back then?

Also, it should be noted, that in my opinion, ANY FREE MAN should be able to just walk up and by any type of firearm, providing he can afford it. You all say, "What about those criminals that are too dangerous to be trusted?"

Why the heck are they not in jail, or dead? Don't infringe upon the rights of the innocent so that murderers, rapists, armed robbers & the like can walk our streets without fear of getting shot.

... I don't believe guns should be banned or unessesarily regulated. However, that doesn't mean that common sense should not prevail. The ATF and the manufacturers need to do away with the 3% of FFL holders that are responsible for selling nearly 40% of the guns used in felonies. As long as such obvious issues exist, and as long as the industry refuses to police it's own dealers, then it will be vulnerable to attack by anti-gun forces.

Further, anyone whose unlocked gun falls into the hands of a child and resulting in an accident or a crime should face criminal negligence charges. Gun owners want their rights, but they haven't shown much interest in taking responsibility. This happens thousands of times per year.

The child of a deputy in Vancouver, WA was recently in court after getting his father's loaded service revolver and killing a neighbor's kid. The kicker is that this same deputy had another son get his loaded gun several years back and seriously injured another kid. As far as I'm concerned, he should be barred for life from law enforcement work, and also from owning a gun, but he got away with a reprimand...

We have a self-financing concealed carry law in our state and, as a result, over 350,000 people have submitted to background checks and attended basic firearms training, which was excellent BTW. Gun violence has actually declined significantly in the years since this law was implemented, and the creeps have to ponder the fact that over 20% of the adult population may be carrying at any given moment. However, I think most of the credit to the lower gun violence rates has to do with the training, which covers owner responibility with some safe storage solutions, effective concealment methods, and safe handling. Failure to conceal which results in scaring others is punishable by felony menacing charges.

oc