Should gun ownership be legalised in the UK?

[kai]

i think arming the public for their own safety , would be admitting that the government has totally failed in its duty to protect its citizens ,fortunately we in the UK havnt reached that point.

 

[Poisonshady313]

i think arming the public for their own safety , would be admitting that the government has totally failed in its duty to protect its citizens ,fortunately we in the UK havnt reached that point.

in America, the right to bear arms is in the bill of rights of our constitution.

Protecting a citizen's right to protect themselves is part of what it means for the government to protect its citizens.

 

[kai]

in America, the right to bear arms is in the bill of rights of our constitution.

Protecting a citizen's right to protect themselves is part of what it means for the government to protect its citizens.

yes! we find that very strange. do you think its because the US kind of grew up with firearms, cowboys, six shooters, gunfights, bounty hunters,etc , That Americans are accustomed to lethal weapons in their midst.

 

[Poisonshady313]

yes! we find that very strange. do you think its because the US kind of grew up with firearms, cowboys, six shooters, gunfights, bounty hunters,etc , That Americans are accustomed to lethal weapons in their midst.

No. We are accustomed to lethal weapons in our midst because America was born of British men with muskets, fighting against British men with rifles and cannons.

Did you know that American Samuel Colt, inventor of the Colt Revolver, first patented his firearm in England?

 

[kai]

No. We are accustomed to lethal weapons in our midst because America was born of British men with muskets, fighting against British men with rifles and cannons.

and how did you get to where you are today? because all those British men have been dead for a long time,we have had plenty of wars but we never strapped on a side arm in case someone crawfished a bet or called me liar.

Did you know that American Samuel Colt, inventor of the Colt Revolver, first patented his firearm in England?

Yes .

 

[Aquitaine]

In my eyes, the "right" to bear arms as a Civilian is just one attempt to "accept" crime, and to unload the entire responsbility onto Joe Public to "deal" with it. It's also an attempt to establish a deterrent.

However, I don't think the UK should have to resort to it's own members of the public to provide a deterrent to crime, atleast in the context of "oh, well he's got a gun so........".

The way I see it, there are two types of deterrent needed in the UK:

A more "physical" one, and a more "social/psychological" one.

Yes, arming the public would act as both, because they'd see the person has a gun (physcial), or presume he's carrying a gun(Psychological). However, I just think it's really not an affective idea, especially with no real long-term benefits. My reason for saying that is, because arming Civilian's would only work in a crime-infested area.
They're both dependent on one-another, without the constant reality/threat of crime, no-one would bother buying a gun. So it's like saying that owning guns is not a long-term "cure" for crime, but a very short-term unreliable "quick-fix" that would only work in some scenarios (like the guy on the Subway you mentioned).

I think the goal should be for the UK to work towards reducing crime dramatically (this includes major Social, Economic, Justice, Education changes etc), rather than provide a method for Civilians to "deal" with ongoing crime.

To me, the physical deterrent should be a highly-trained, comprehensive, well-equipped Police Force - who're everywhere and anywhere. Who take no sh*t from no-one, and if you commit a crime - you will (not 100% though of course, because that would be impossible) be caught. Not only that but appalling jail conditions and very long sentences will help set our society straight. Purify the scum from our society, and leave only the decent left.

The Social/Psychological deterrent should be things like discipline, from Home, School and at Work/in general. Being brought up properly, and we should also have what Japan has - a "shame" culture, where children are brought up on discipline and with intent not to "shame" their families and society.
However, it wouldn't be like in the Muslim World, where a Woman going outside with an unrelated Man means "shame", and the solution is "honour" killing, no not at all - not to that extreme of course lol.

Also, a proud and hard-working ethos mentality should be exposed to our society, especially children as they grow older, to develope an attitude where people want to serve their country in any way, and take pride in being a good, upstanding citizen. Unlike in the UK now, where you are actually encouraged to be a Criminal, and I am not joking with you here.
Whilst we're at it, we need to give our children real aspirations and role-models. Unlike nowadays in the UK where every girl wants to be a Jordan/WAG, and every boy wants to be a footballer or some "original" celebrity. Let's have our children recognise the honour of serving as a Fireman, Nurse, Doctor, Soldier, Teacher, Police Officer, Builder, Engineer etc. Let's give our children aspirations to remember all the education/healthcare and safety they recieved as children, and instill them with dreams of being able to return the favour, to give back to others what they had been given, and to want to see the country grow and prosper. Rather than now where the only "hope" for people is to catch a plane and get the Hell out of this country, but to be fair - can we really blame them, since the UK is a sinking ship, and boy is it sinking fast!

Since I've clearly switched on and entered Rant Mode, let's demolish all religious buildings and dismantle all religious authority, it's really about time we grew out of these fairytales.

Also, we wouldn't neccessarily have to "ban" or "restrict" the right for our people to have guns, you'd just have to bring them up so that they don't want to have guns. In a sense, we're like that anyways in the UK, unlike say in the US where it's an intergral part of their Culture.

Sorry, I do tend to drag on a bit, but I really do have an issue with the UK's problems, crime being one of the main ones.

 

[sandandfoam]

No. We are accustomed to lethal weapons in our midst because America was born of British men with muskets, fighting against British men with rifles and cannons.

Sorry. That sounds like complete nonsense to me.

 

[Poisonshady313]

Sorry. That sounds like complete nonsense to me.

Um... the colonists were mainly British people who revolted against the rule of a king 3000 miles away... and the revolutionary war was fought with muskets, rifles, and cannons.... and guns have never been absent from this society, and the first congress of the United States, shortly after this nation became independent, wrote the right to bear arms right into the constitution.

Cowboys and sixshooters didn't accustom us to guns. We were already accustomed to them.

 

[sandandfoam]

Um... the colonists were mainly British people who revolted against the rule of a king 3000 miles away... and the revolutionary war was fought with muskets, rifles, and cannons.... and guns have never been absent from this society, and the first congress of the United States, shortly after this nation became independent, wrote the right to bear arms right into the constitution.

Cowboys and sixshooters didn't accustom us to guns. We were already accustomed to them.

90 odd years ago there was a war of Independence against the British here. Why aren't we hung up on bearing arms?
I don't believe it has anything to do with it.

 

[kai]

Um... the colonists were mainly British people who revolted against the rule of a king 3000 miles away... and the revolutionary war was fought with muskets, rifles, and cannons.... and guns have never been absent from this society, and the first congress of the United States, shortly after this nation became independent, wrote the right to bear arms right into the constitution.

Cowboys and sixshooters didn't accustom us to guns. We were already accustomed to them.

well i have news for you the revolution is over, Dodge has some law and order, so maybe its time to take a look at this Gun thing of yours and wonder why you are still accustomed to them in the 21st century.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

No. We are accustomed to lethal weapons in our midst because America was born of British men with muskets, fighting against British men with rifles and cannons.

Not only has England existed for much longer than America, they have been involved with many more wars. From sword and shield, bow and arrows, muskets and guns. By that logic, people in England should be armed with a wide arsenal of Medival weapons up to modern weapons.

 

[Sunstone]

Many people believe the Founders built the right to bear arms into the Constitution as a final safeguard against tyranny. An armed citizenry would presumably be in a position to depose a tyrant.

 

[kai]

Many people believe the Founders built the right to bear arms into the Constitution as a final safeguard against tyranny. An armed citizenry would presumably be in a position to depose a tyrant.

but do Americans still think this is necessary? is this argument still viable to protect you from a tyrant.An armed citizenry could also be in a position to install a tyrant.

 

[Gharib]

i'd say no, cos english men aren't that good with weapons.

 

[kai]

i'd say no, cos english men aren't that good with weapons.

name your source!

 

[Gharib]

name your source!

Um......:no: thats clasified.

 

[McBell]

Um......:no: thats clasified.

In what paper?

 

[Gharib]

In what paper?

the one that we wright on. you know made from wood.

ok back to topic everyone.

 

[McBell]

the one that we wright on. you know made from wood.

ok back to topic everyone.

oh..
So the New York Times then...

 

[Gharib]

oh..
So the New York Times then...

nah, i think BBC.