The credible statistics I’ve seen were more like 30%, although this number has changed in recent years, thanks to internet sales.
I disagree with this premise. We have severely limited the scope of the Second Amendment, which is why you can’t own nuclear warheads or anti-aircraft missiles or even hand grenades in most cases.
The Second Amendment doesn’t even mention the word “guns” or “firearms,” it simply says “arms.” Precisely where we draw the line on which arms are protected and which are not is an ongoing and multi-generational discussion.
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You missed the part where you can mail order firearms in Canada (with no background check or anything) that require a 9-12 month waiting period, redundant background checks, etc. in the US.
In Canada, you can mail order short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns and have them arrive on your doorstep the next day. These are the very weapons that are used by mass-murderers only made much more concealable and maneuverable.
So, why doesn’t Canada have a horrible mass-murder problem?
Because the problem is societal. Period.
Why don’t you look at the common linking factors of almost all mass-murderers instead of saying “oh, it’s a gun!”. The two biggest mass-murders in the US are still a bombing and an arson, so there’s that.
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I think that it was @mister44 who came up with this image the last time that I suggested showing up with something akin to the dildo gun:
I was surprised to find that there are many adapters available on Amazon to create such tools…
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[quote=“Shuck, post:140, topic:34180, full:true”]
Facts? 40% of guns are sold without background checks, and gun shows provide about a third of the illegal trade in guns (most of the rest coming from straight-up illegal sales by dealers).[/quote]I do not believe this number for one second. I have been to gun shows (have you ever been to one)? I have purchased a couple of guns there, and always had to go through a background check.
Now, if you include person-to-person transfers, that might go higher, but lots of people-to-people transfers are between friends or relatives. Should you really have to get a background check to sell a gun to your brother? Maybe he spent 10 years in prison without you knowing about it?
I would suspect that the percentage of people buying guns without either a background check or knowing the seller for years is ridiculously low.
Apparently they were talking about guns like these… [kisses each bicep]
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So you’d like to compare our gun regulations with Canada’s?
There is no legal right to possess arms in Canada. It takes sixty days to buy a gun there, and there is mandatory licensing for gun owners. Gun owners pursuing a license must have third-party references, take a safety training course and pass a background check with a focus on mental, criminal and addiction histories.
Licensing agents are required to advise an applicant’s spouse or next-of-kin prior to granting a license, and licenses are denied to applicants with any past history of domestic violence. Buyers in private sales of weapons must pass official background checks.
Canadian civilians aren’t allowed to possess automatic weapons, handguns with a barrel shorter than 10.5 cm or any modified handgun, rifle or shotgun. Most semi-automatic assault weapons are also banned. As a result of exemptions, several kinds of assault weapons are still legal in Canada, although this has been the source of some controversy.
Read more: These Laws Are the Reason Canada, Australia, Japan and the UK Have Such Low Gun Homicide Rates [1]: These Laws Are the Reason Canada, Australia, Japan and the UK Have Such Low Gun Homicide Rates
And also: Gun laws in Canada help counter U.S.-style massacres | CBC News
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Brainspore, you are not only using logic and facts in your arguments, you are also employing EMPATHY. This is something that gun fanatics lack, and are wholly incapable of comprehending on ANY level, and it is empathy that allows human beings to prioritize the life of other people’s children over their own insecurities and egos. Empathy puts facts into CONTEXT, it is the difference between having mere knowledge vs. having actual understanding. People who do not have empathy cannot be made to understand it any more than they can grow a third leg out of their forehead. There is absolutely no point in rebutting any of the gun lovers’ talking points, EVER, because they cannot and will not concede ANYthing, ever, because to do so would derail their precariously constructed alternate reality.
Imagine every online conversation with a gun lover as if it were a physical encounter with one of the “open carry” lot, and then do the smart thing: DO NOT ENGAGE.
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Remember: nobody can make you wear sleeves if you don’t want to. That’s what the right to bare arms is all about.
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I… don’t think that was me…
One can have empathy and emotions and not have it over ride their rational thought process.
I have empathy for people who died in 9/11 or who died from terror attacks. I can’t support things done in the name of combating it such as the TSA or mass surveillance.
Just because someone doesn’t agree with your solution, doesn’t mean they lack empathy. They probably just don’t agree with your solution. But I guess it’s easier to attack them as being incapable of an emotion than defend the merits of your solution.
Thugs/gang members are anyone you find threatening, especially if they’re of a different ethnicity, culture, or religion than you.
“Normal people” are any persons you, at a glance, think are just like you.
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Mike, I love this response so much that I created an account on this site just so I could log in and tell you so. I especially love the distinction about “covet that power,” which is, of course, the entire appeal for the “open carry” types in the first place.
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You’ve heard of Rule 34, yes? We need one that says “If a dildo can be attached to it, it will be”.
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If knives are so damn lethal, then why don’t you get rid of your guns, buy a bunch of knives and use it them to fight the government, protect yourself from home invaders or hunt game ( or whatever you do with them) . Stop being disingenuous, the reasons for owning guns rather than relying on knives are the same reasons why they are used by anyone (sans the strict target/skeet shooter) because they hold the promise (or threat) of nearly effortless lethality.
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Source? Mine was from 1997 and I believe from the FBI. I’ll go look it up later. 30% is way off.
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It is categorically false that it takes 60 days to buy a gun here. If you have your PAL (gun license), you can walk into a store and walk out with a gun. The “background check” run is “do you have a PAL?” “Yes” “OK, what’s the number.” “####.” “OK, here’s your gun.”
Semi-automatic guns are NOT banned, for the most part. There are several exceptions. AR-15 and variants require a Restricted PAL, and can only be used at approved ranges. Handguns are under the same restrictions. AK-47 and variants are prohibited. Anything even close to being full-auto is prohibited. I’m fine with all of this.
I am also fine with the Government of Canada asking my wife if she is OK with me being able to purchase these weapons before I buy them.
I believe the US could stand to gain a lot from a little more sanity around their firearms regulation. I am, however, tired of the situation in Canada being misrepresented in order to win political points.
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Joined BB today, I see. Just for this post?
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I’d be happy if gun nuts didn’t make brand new accounts here simply to talk about guns. Is there a troll notice somewhere saying “Boing Boing is talking shit about guns, let’s all go there?”
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Maybe not in the 70’s, but we were a little less than 100 years ago.
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