Another devistating crime in the US!!!

[Elie]

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/US/Midwest/08/27/chicago.shooting/index.html

Can't believe it!

Sheesh

[Paddy]

Right to bear arms????

Sorry ... a sad day...

Do you hear of this sort of thing in Canada?

[gt40]

It's happened.
It just doesn't happen as often (we're about 1/10th the population).

[RibsteakRon]

I wonder how that pretentious ****sucker Charleton Heston feels when he reads stories like this, we have the right to masturbate too except we do not do that in public. I think there would have been stronger gun control had Gore been elected President.

[Byock]

*sigh* Not again.
Since I recall an article not so long ago, about a person pulled over and arrested because the pedestrian he hit, was still stuck in his windshield.

Should we outlaw the car as well?

[Paddy]

Sorry guys... i dont want to sound like an old record...

Its just that we dont hear about this sort of thing over here.... at least not in this context.

[Dr Mordrid]

Originally posted by Paddy
Right to bear arms????

Sorry ... a sad day...

Do you hear of this sort of thing in Canada?

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/cruz07.shtml

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/132143_missingwomen24.html

And when it comes to mass homocide the US has nothing on Europe over the last 100 years....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/370077.stm

http://english.gfh.org.il/new_page_39.htm

Any bets that these don't get figured into the European homocide stats when comparisons to the US are made? Didn't think so....

Dr. Mordrid

[Paddy]

yes will do

[paulcs]

Originally posted by Paddy
Right to bear arms????

Sorry ... a sad day...

Do you hear of this sort of thing in Canada?

In Canada, they have the right to arm bears. All the bears in British Columbia are packing heat. Two or three times a month, a Canadian Grizzly slips across the border into Washington State and shoots a Microsoft employee right in the ass.

And they never miss. Not surprisingly, shooting a Microsoft employee in the ass pretty much involves the same skill level as hitting the broad side of a barn.

Paul

[Jon P. Inghram]

Oh noooooo, someone got mad and shot some people with... OMG... A GUN! Oh the horror! I'd feel so much safer if they had used a knife or something simpler to kill them instead.

[Paddy]

Hey... look... I ammoving to the edge of a really shitty area... Gun crime is not an issure there... I am not trying to start any argument... Knifes over six inches long are illeagal here too.

Sorry guys... They say America has the best and worst in everything. I guess it all depens on how you define freedom.

I am not trying to start a discussion on the already heated debate.

night night

[Jon P. Inghram]

The only reason people use guns to commit more violent crimes is because they're easier to use... basicly just point and click. If you were to magicly rid the world of guns, it's not like violent criminals would become gentle, peace loving citizens just because they can't shoot anyone anymore.

[Fat Tone]

Here's a question:

Just exactly what would it take to convince the majority of Americans that widespread gun ownership (or "right to bear arms" etc) is a bad thing?

T.

[bsdgeek]

Originally posted by Paddy
Knifes over six inches long are illeagal here too.

PFFT! How can you compensate with only a 6-inch knife?

[Dr Mordrid]

First some info for perspective;

Causes of death in the US;

Heart disease: 710,000
Cancer: 553,091
Stroke: 167,661
Chronic respiratory disease: 122,009
Accidents: 97,900
Diabetes: 69,301
Pneumonia/flu: 65,313
Alzheimers: 49,558
Kidney disease: 37,251
Septicemia: 31,224

In 1997, 1,060 children aged 0 to 14 drowned and 138 died in accidental shootings. Should we ban swimming pools?

In 1997 for children up to 16 years 319 were murdered with hands or feet, 69 with blunt objects, 83 with knives, and 287 with other weapons for a total of 758. By contrast, firearms were used in the murders of 473 children. Firearms were therefore used in 38% of the 1231 murders, showing that a person intent committing murder will do so with or without a gun. (Figures from UN Handbook)

52% of all U.S. gun-related deaths are suicides. However, if the "proliferation" of guns actually led to more suicide countries without guns should have lower suicide rates. The opposite is true.

Japan, with strict gun control and virtually no firearms, has a suicide rate of 16.7 per 100,000. Canada, which also has strict gun control, has a rate of 13.4. By contrast, in the U.S., "awash with guns," the rate is 11.1. This proves that eliminating firearms does not reduce the suicide rate. (figures: UN Demographic yearbook)

Americans use firearms to thwart 2.5 million violent crimes annually. However, while violent criminals ignore gun control laws their law-abiding victims don’t. Thus, if these would-be victims were disarmed thousands of the 2.5 million rapes, robberies and murders which are currently prevented because the victim is armed would be completed each year. (Florida State Univ. study).

Other studies show that the vast majority of our "excess" gun deaths occur in very limited geographic areas and among those predisposed to violent crime (gang menbers etc.). Wouldn't it make more sense to target them instead of the non-criminal populace?

This approach has only recently been re-started after sucesses in the early 90's and was totally ignored by "that 90's President" who talked the talk but didn't walk the walk; Federal gun crime prosecutions under Clinton actually went DOWN by a huge percentage.

Dr. Mordrid