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Originally posted by tisonlyi
Jesus H Christ.
You really think you need guns to defend yourselves from the government or criminals? Honestly?
When was the last _armed_ uprising of _civilians_ that actually succeeded in overthrowing or radically overhauling it's government?
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Russia, Romania, Serbia, need more?
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Has it every happened in a modern state?
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See above.
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When you're attacked by a criminal, how are you going to get your gun from it's concealed position when there's a knife or gun in your back?
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Ask the over 800,000 people a year who use a gun defensively in the US (
http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcdguse.html ). The point is not how it is used, though. It is the deterence factor. A criminal is by nature lazy and self-interested. He will be far less likely to attack/rob a person if he knows there is the possibility that the victim will defend themselves with a weapon.
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The conservation/hunting thing. Well, for one, It isn't hunting. It's slaughter. If you want to go out into the woods with just a knife, whittle your own bow and arrow, make traps, turn ferral, learn how to track, etc. then i'll reckon you're hunting. With a rifle, the odds are stacked too far in your favour. Out of earshot, downwind and invisible but for the flash.
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You obviously speak from a position of complete ignorance on the subject. First off, it takes a great deal of skill, you must still learn the skills of tracking, moving silently, and outwitting the animal in its own habitat. Deer (just as an example) can hear you moving far further than you can shoot at them.
But your petty predjudice aside, hunting still provides almost all the conservancy dollars in this country, without which we would no longer have wooded places at all. You seemed to ignore that point.
Also, hunting culls populations that are otherwise out of control due to the removal of natural predators. In the county I live in, more insurance claims and more deaths a year are caused by dear being hit by cars than by all other road related causes combined.
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And in any event, for hunting purposes you need a basic rifle, not a handgun. Completely different arguement, more moral then practical.
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Some people hunt with handguns, it takes alot more skill than with a rifle or bow (see your comments above). Both uses of both different kinds of weapons are very practicle, should you find yourself in one of the above situations (hunting and everyday life).
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You point to rises in violent crime in the UK and Australia. The reason for the rise in gun crime there is the same as the rise in gun crime everywhere.
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I did not say it was "gun crime", I said
violent crime. Since guns have been banned,
violent crime has sky-rocketed. The reason is that criminals no longer fear getting shot while breaking into houses or mugging people.
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Prohibition of substances for which there is a substantial demand.
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Like guns in the US?
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Blah, blah, blah
STUPID drug laws
blah, blah, blah...
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I thought we were talking about guns...
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I ain't covered every base because i'd like more posts. I'm really fascinated with what Bill Hicks aptly described as the "tingly feeling" that americans seem to get when guns are even mentioned...
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Guns are a charged issue in American life, as are many issues in which a minority of the people want to curtail the rights of the majority.