(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Living in England I've grown up in a country where you quite simply by and large aren't allowed guns, so gun crime itself is as far as I'm aware a comparative rarity to say in America. At the very least that's the impression I get. And I like that, because I feel like far too often with everybody owning a gun somebody would do something stupid in the midst of an argument or at the lowest of lows in depression.

On the other hand, I have an enormous distrust for 'big government' and looking at various things I think owning a gun would be a nice security to perhaps allay those fears.

I shan't go beyond that in the OP. Reply away(but preferably don't threaten me with your legally owned pistol).

Even if you was to successfully ban guns here in the U.S... people will still continue to murder. You have people who will tell you that "Guns need to be kept out of the wrong hands".. and while that is true, it won't drop the murder-rate. If a person is crazy enough, he will attempt to kill you with a plastic fork - Perhaps a ban on those as well?

Legal guns make mass-murder sprees a whole lot easier though. A serious criminal can obtain guns when they're outlawed but not some kid who suddenly snaps.

In the ideal world a full ban on guns in the USA along with increases on mental health care spending.
That's unlikely to happen so.

A ban on all ARs/Semi ARs just handguns allowed small cartridge size with limits on mag size.
Harsher rules on who can own guns you need a mental health background check etc.

Harsh gun laws mean less deaths won't remove the problem but helps. Along with increases to mental health spending , and making it harder to get hold of guns.
At the same time the idea that guns make the world safer has to die. If you think that during the panic you can, pull off a shot without military training I like to know how.
Wild west idea "I need a gun to protect myself from the government" if the government was taken over , you would be easy pickings.
Fact is if the whole room has guns that increases the risk people would die , as people would in the panic fire on each other over the original shooter.
People to come back to reality on this subject and stop living in a fantasy world.

Hope this marks a new stage in the US you face, your problems and fix the key issues over letting a lobby group force your hand.
View from a Brit.

I like some guns but not so much other guns. It's all about the good guns you know??

As a former/always Marine Corps Scout Sniper I can say I completely respect your opinion and absolutely disagree. I have worked hand in hand with your very own British Royal Marines(who I couldn't have more respect for} and I can ensure you that most trained personnel would disagree with you, which in itself may be a problem. Most people are not trained professionals but singling out guns as the primary concern is the equivalent of blaming #2 pencils for poor performance in grades.

And before someone comes back at me with the differences between the "pencil" and guns, please understand that the pen is responsible for far more deaths than any military weapon in history.

My friend you may very well be right but at this time I just don't agree ....."I may completely disagree with what you have said but I would fight to the death for your right to say it"....Cheers!

The problem with the pencil analogy is purpose. A pencil is simply a way to express one's thoughts or wills. Guns, correct me if I'm wrong, only have 2 purposes: 1) To protect oneself, 2) To hurt/kill other things.

That being said guns definitely are not the only cause of the problem. If they were then there would be no stories of slashes or anything else terrible. From my understanding, a larger dilemma is the lack of mental treatment.

In your favor you could argue that protecting one's self is essentially hurting/killing other things but show of force is actually what keeps us more safe than any laws could possibly......which of course leads to other problems. There is a huge following of target shooting as a sport as well but the "pencil is simply a way to express one's thoughts or wills' is fundamentally flawed to put it mildly.

Again I greatly appreciate you thoughts on this as you seem to be a logical person to say the least.

Yeah, I understand target shooting is popular, but regardless. As for the pencil comment, I think it's pretty fair. When someone signs off an order they are expressing their will, which may or may not be destructive, negative, positive, or constructive.

Like I said, the problem still lies with both that if you get rid of guns entirely, which just isn't going to happen in many countries, it doesn't deal with the root of the problem.

Couldn't agree more my friend