tisonlyi

This, more or less, comes from a British TV comedy called "The Thin Blue Line". THe background to this is that, at the time - and still I think - anyone who wants to own a gun in the uk has to get permission from the local police.

This particular character, a police chief, had never issued a licence for a handgun during his tenure.

His reason?

"It is my duty to ensure that only those people who _should_ be in posession of a handgun _are_ in possession of a handgun, in doing this I must judge their character. With this duty in mind I have but two questions for anyone who comes asking such a licence; Would you like to own a Gun? and, If I were to issue this licence, will you then take that licence and use it to procure said weapon?

If the applicant answers to both in the affirmative, then I deem that they are not really the sort of person who I feel should be in posession of a Gun."

Funny, but in all seriousness it's damned accurate.

Guns are tools which serve a grave and serious purpose, if you merely "want" or "would like" a gun then really, you need your head feeling more than a little.

Can you REALLY justify liberal gun ownership laws in any way?

I, for one, have never heard one arguement that holds water and am wondering where the american fascination with all things weaponry stems from?

__________________
"I do not agree that the dog in a manger has the final right to the manger even though he may have lain there for a very long time. I do not admit that right. I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place." - Winston Churchill, 1937 --{ORLY?}--