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Originally Posted by MikeJ  I live in a country where lots of people own guns, and where it's relatively easy to get a licence for a gun if you don't have a criminal history. Yet, there's not that much gun-related crime or accidents. Mind you, most of the weapons are for hunting (rifles, shotguns) and it is illegal to carry a (licenced) gun in public without a valid reason, and "personal safety" normally isn't one. All firearms have to be stored in a safe, or disassembled and the parts stored in at least two different locations. |
This is interesting, many places in the US are like this, but at the beginning of the year my hometown made it legal (public voted on it and it passed by more than 70%) to carried a concealed weapon in public. They have laws like this in many places through out the country though, and for the most part the reasoning behind it is A) It'll prevent crime if criminals know that anyone could be packing heat and B) it is our right to own and carry a gun.
What's interesting now though is the gun crime has risen significantly in the past few months predominatly in the low-income/poverty area of the city, a predominatly black neighborhood. There was something like 3 gun homicides in the past month alone.
So it seems pretty apparent that the two can be connected.
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Originally Posted by Zonda But my impression of America for example seems to be totally different. Alot of people seem to have the attitude "this is a free country so I can shoot whoever I want", I know that's exagerated but you get the point? And with that attitude, I think gun control should be reinforced.
Remember, I've never been to America but that's the impression me and many other Swedes have. |
I think that is a shame if thats the impression you get. Most gun owners in this country are responsible and most probably hunt. The attitude is definately not "I can shoot whatever I want," if anything its "I can own and carry a gun because its my constitutional right."
Personally I feel people should be able to carry, own, buy firearms, because it is our constitutional right. I think we have plenty of gun laws, and I believe that current ones should be better enforced.