Yes, I can.
I did.
And I'll stand by it.
50 odd murders in population of which nearly half have guns.
10000 in another popluation which has twice that many guns.
Do you not see it? Really?
Seriously, you people talking about gun control are like the Mindless Bugblatter Beast of Traal.
No, you should not stand by it because they are
two completely different animals. It is literally like comparing apples to oranges.
And people like you reacting to even a hint of some form of gun control are lazy. You don't like change. It forces you outside of your comfort zone and your pre-conceived notions and beliefs. I mean look at the Americans in this thread. They have just had a horrendous massacre, where small children were gunned down like animals by a mentally ill man who got hold of his weapons after he murdered his paranoid survivalist mother who was legally allowed to purchase all of these weapons and more.. And they still shift uncomfortably at even a hint of gun control against semi-automatic and automatic assault weapons.. Why does anyone need weapons that people in the army use in times of war? I'm serious.. Why do they need it?
We have seen time and again, people who arm themselves to the teeth in this fashion, have either themselves or members of their families using those weapons to commit mass murders. We saw it in Columbine and we saw it last week. We have also seen time and again, trigger happy buffoons who should not be allowed to operate a microwave oven, being given the legal right to purchase and own assault weapons who then go on to kill members of their own family by accident because they thought it was a burglar coming to the door. They aren't using those weapons to hunt. So why have them? Are they afraid, like Mrs Lanza was, that the world would end and they need their guns to keep their food stores safe?
In all of these threads, not a single gun advocate has been able to say why they need these weapons and why they seem to believe their rights or their lives will end if laws are enacted to prevent everyone from gaining such easy access to these weapons.
We have seen in Australia, the UK, for example, that stricter gun control laws reduces the rates of mass shootings.
So it is easy to be like you and wring our hands and say 'it's not the answer' and be lazy because it just isn't worth the hassle to do something better.. Or it may be better to fight for a solution.
What, so now you're claiming that there aren't more gun murders in Switzerland because they have no bullets for their guns? Not one? Not a single magazine?
I'll go another step. Is this the reason you think I can't compare Switzerland to the USA? This is the reason the USA has 200 times as many gun deaths?
I have explained to you why you cannot compare.
Men, in particular, were required to own their military rifles in Switzerland because there are no armed forces. No army. So the country is meant to be defended by the populace. So all males are required by law, to be conscripted and trained. They then take their assault rifles home upon finishing their training and they are not allowed to purchase bullets for said rifles and the Government only gives it to them during training or exercises or if it is required to (ie, by law).
However in recent years, the number of men electing to take their weapons home have dropped and yes, their laws
are probably much stricter than that in the US:
"Switzerland has gotten its gun control legislation more in line with European standards," explained Killias, in order to meet regulatory pre-requisites for joining the Schengen Zone, which allows for easier trade and travel between member countries.
"As a result, the number of Swiss households with guns has gone down substantially in recent years." Today, many soldiers elect not to keep the guns they are issued during their military service.
More background checks have been put into place, and it has been made illegal to carry guns in public. Furthermore, it was decided in 2007 that government-issued guns would not come with ammunition; that is now stored in centralized arsenals, outside the home, for emergency use.
So, as military spending goes down and personal firearm regulations intensify, guns in Switzerland are more frequently seen as tools for national -- not personal -- defense.
But hey, you keep comparing those apples and oranges..
The knee jerk, Bells, is not in seeing that something needs to be done, but rather what.
Then what do you suggest?
You balk at even back ground checks, it seems, as a form of gun control.. I find your argument on this subject lazy. You think something should be done, but you can't quite say what, so you prefer to just point the finger at everyone and tell them they are wrong without offering anything of substance in return.
Should there be a philosophical change in the US regarding it's attitudes on guns? I think that is desperately needed. But the first step that should be taken in the immediate is a discussion about what types of guns people should be allowed to purchase and why they feel they need it.
You're all also hung up on this "mental issues" thing.
Are you working from the assumption that everyone who goes on a killing spree is insane? Is it really that easy for you?
Have you failed to noticed that the shooter in this instance was actually mentally ill and lived with his mother who was a paranoid survivalist who was stockpiling weapons legally because she thought the world was going to end soon?
Is that hard for you to comprehend?
Or is that normal for you?
Actually, you've probably got more chance of being involved in a fatal car accident... even in the USA.
So how about we abolish cars?
All agreed?
Excellent.
You do realise it is harder to get a driver's license in the US than it is to purchase a gun, don't you?
I mean you have to know how to drive it, you have to take lessons, pass tests, your background checked, after you obtain your drivers license, you can be randomly and routinely stopped and your identity checked and your vehicle checked.
Yet any schmuck can walk off the street and purchase an assault weapon with many not even undergoing a background check or a psychological test...
What does that tell you?