the UK has a higher rate of violent crime of all types than the us, EXCEPT homicides and suicides. I already posted this and you can check the data

Perhaps everyone needs to watch the movie "Higher Learning".

Singleton made a poignant movie that time.

the second amendment is NOT about self defense. I agree.
however, regardless f the reason for the granting of us the right to have arms, the granting is still what is important. the reason change. we have a standing army now, an abomination to the founding fathers, who knew a nation with a standing army has to have somethinbg for the army to do, leading down the slippery slope of tyranny.

i never said ti was an easy topic or an easy decision.

yes but as i stated above i'd rather have my wallet taken than my life. i'd rather lose $100 than be shot.

and if someone burglarizes my car, the insurance loses. i only get a rental for a while.

what about the other 2 questions?

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edit: sorry, you are answering the other 2 questions. damn asynchronous internet...

hm no, the federalists were in favor of the standing army as outlined in the constitution. it was the anti-federalist southern states that opposed it.

my request then is that in this debate about SELF DEFENSE we leave the 2nd amendment out, because that just confuses the issues.

i'm in favor of licensed guns for self defense.

So, what are we left with?

In my mind, we're left with legitimate hunters and homeowners, for professionals like security guards or bounty hunters, and in some cases, guns for personal self-defense for taxpaying head of households. and I agree that their should be mandatory training. The gun licenses should be a relatively uniform procedure in every state and require training and periodic license renewal. The database should be concurrent with NCIC and all mental health data available from various other sources. I'd give the plan about five years of statistical analysis.

If the above didn't solve much of the problem, I advocate that the Federal Government establish a month-long waiting period in which the potential gun owner surrenders their Fourth Amendment search and seizure rights over to allow the police to search their residence and private property at random at any time during the waiting period.
The intention would be to provide the most accurate possible psychologicial profile of the potential gun owner via on-site inspection of their residence and property.

We must stiffen the penalties and make the laws against illegal sale of fireams airtight against loopholes. The required amount of money to actively enforce the tougher laws should be paid for by taxing gun manufacturers and importers. In addition, there should be a ceiling placed on gun manufacturer's prices, to insure that the black market not necessarily increase due to the new legislation, and to guarantee that it will force the gun makers to really pay for their crimes against humanity.

As for capital crimes involving first degree homicides, perhaps we are nearing the day where speedy executions for violators that are convicted based on RFLP DNA evidence are indicated. The policy would be subject to state review every five years and the hope would be that individual states could possibly one day implement a more civilized policy and ultimately abolish the death penalty if the deterrent were successful enough.

why is everyone ignoring Tesla69's comments???

Because he's Tesla69.

Why is this i wonder?

Sgt. Alvin C. York was the most decorated individual US Soldier in WWI. Subject of the top grossing movie of 1941, He was credited with capturing 138 German soldiers nearly single handedly by flanking a Machine gun nest, and killing its occupants. The Machine gun in question may be destroyed because the library that owns it does not have a proper license.
posted by Gungho

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ridiculous

An average of 81 people die of gunshot wounds in the US each day. Most of them aren't who you'd expect.
posted by alms

graphic from today's The New York Times

Holy crap, I'm in the biggest suicide by bullet group!

^Is that per day atari?
Hmm. The caucasian suicide rate rises sharply as the years go by.
I wonder what the european statistics are. We don't have easy access to guns in Europe, but we have quite a high rate of suicides by jumping in front of a trains. Holland alone has something like 30 per year.

It's estimated that somewere around one million people in the world commit suicide every year.
read more...

I got "ignored" by Atari so I think that means he doesn't see my comments. He's such a Stalinist these days anyway, who cares...much of the rest of the board just hates me for whatever reason. Maybe because I'm so good looking and virile. well, I've been fighting dumbies all my life. nothing new.

Thetre is some really interesting disucssion at this blog. I have to look again buit someone in the comments mention a third mass shooting in the area in the past years..

http://dreamsend.wordpress.com/2007/...secret-school/
However, I do think it is quite reasonable to assume that Cho had experienced some fairly serious abuse. His writings and statements, disjointed as they are, focus very much on this abuse. For some reason, no one is asking many questions about that. Nor does anyone seem to be asking questions about why Cho’s high school has produced TWO psychotic young adults who went on gun rampages within one year of each other. Last May, Michael Kennedy, a student at Westfield High School in Chantilly, Virginia, went on a shooting rampage at a police station, killing two police officers before being fatally shot himself. Authorities consider this just a “horrible coincidence”. Adding to the coincidence is that Michael’s father, Brian Kennedy, was just recently released from jail in charges related to that killing. In fact, he was due in court the day after the Cho killings.

coincidence my ass.

apparently 4 parents of the victims at VT all worked at the same hospital as well.

Wow I don't fit that suicide thing. One is a minority.