Gun Laws After Hours

[Jess]

I was watching an interview recently and one of the people being interviewed mentioned offhand that he owned a shotgun. This was a bunch of liberal Americans, living in California (I think) and the offhand manner which they mentioned their shotgun for home security, it was like me saying I have a house alarm.

It got me wondering, if for some bizarre reason the UK (or any other country) adopted some of the US laws re. gun ownership - would you own one? If so, why?

 

[Crabtree]

No.

I think having a gun can lead to the situation where it's reached for in a moment of anger, hot-headedness and guns can end badly.

I'd guess they would be responsible for more domestic deaths than intruder deaths.

 

[Cherub]

Outside of work related reasons ranging from farming, security forces or sport I just cannot think of one valid and logical reason to own a firearm.

 

[Snoops]

When is the last time you faced a threat that required you to shoot someone?

I bet never.

I'm glad to live in a country with restrictive gun laws.

Been seen far too often in the US. Sandy Hook is one of the saddest things I've ever seen and can never be justified.

 

[Birdman]

I don't know. I probably wouldn't but you just need to look at the number of stabbings down in London to realise that the streets aren't safe and people are losing their lives in mindless attacks.

 

[Deleted member 63]

I am generally in favour of gun control with reasonable access for those who have a clearly defined need for it (subsistence hunters, farmers, perhaps some others). I am fairly happy with Canada's gun laws, though some tweaking couldn't hurt.

That said, I wouldn't necessarily be averse to taking up pistol shooting or other target sports if I lived in an area where guns were part of the culture.

 

[Welshy]

Not sure. If I had to have a weapon, I'd rather have a legal taser. Firearms are just too dangerous and easy to have accidents with.

 

[Franco Pinion]

No, never.

Today is the 25th anniversary of the Dunblane tragedy where a gunman killed a teacher and 16 children at Dunblane Primary School - that alone should be enough to remind us that guns have no part in our society.

 

[Ray Gin]

I grew up on a farm around lots of lads with guns and was in the army reserve for a short time and came to the conclusion that the people most eager to have guns are the last people on earth who should have them.

 

[Max Taxable]

Firearms and more primarily, gunpowder, are both things we wish we could un-invent.

That said, humankind has been killing humans as long as humans have existed. And are constantly researching more efficient ways of doing so. It's not the tools, it's the operators of the tools.