"if someone was spending a lot of time at the pub then they should pay extra for car insurance"
Are you kidding me? Just because someone drinks regularly doesn't mean they should pay more for car insurance than someone who doesn't. Provided they aren't an alcoholic, getting drunk once a week makes you no more likely to get in a car accident if you don't drive. Most people aren't idiots; they don't drink and drive. You can't charge someone more for something that WOULD cause increased risk IF they did drive after doing it. That's like raising premiums because someone MIGHT drive over the speed limit regularly, even if there's no evidence (in the form of speeding tickets) that they do. You can't punish someone for something they haven't done yet.
I can understand raising premiums for buying a Ferrari; most people don't have the necessary driving skills to handle such a car. It's a lot easier to make a mistake when you've got 500 horsepower just a few inches of accelerator pressure away.
You're right. But the majority of LEGAL gun owners are responsible. The ones you should worry about are criminals who have weapons that are not traceable. A legal pistol owner who's bought a new pistol in the last 10 years or so would be an idiot to commit a crime with his or her pistol. Why? All new pistols (and maybe rifles, I'm not sure) have one round fired and kept by the manufacturer for tracing purposes. So, if you DID shoot someone with your pistol and try to get away with it, law enforcement needs only to scan a database and the ballistics of your gun will match any slugs they find.
Anyways, my point is, criminals will continue to be violent whether they've got guns or not. Knives, crowbars, or just metal piping can be used if you REALLY want to hurt someone with more than your bare hands.
If you looked at a ratio of legal gun owners to gun-related crimes committed by legally owned guns, you'd see that the number of crimes committed is very low compared to the overall number of legal gun owners.
So don't get too worried about your co-worker or friend who owns a rifle and a shotgun and likes to hunt, or owns a pistol and likes to go to the range.
I'll assume you're talking about Canadians. Gun owners account for a helluva lot more than 2% in the US.
Logic would dictate that an inanimate object does not cause problems, unless it's something like a ticking bomb. A loaded gun with the safety off won't hurt anyone if nobody touches it.
Anyone who thinks responsible gun owners are violent catastrophes waiting to happen are just ignorant.
Violent catastrophes waiting to happen are unstable or desperate people. And they'll do plenty of damage whether they've got guns or not.
"Guns don't solve any problem when in the hands of the general public, they cause problems like these."
Correction: Guns don't cause problems, people do. Crazy-person-with-gun would've lashed out violently by other means if guns weren't available.
Being a responsible, law-abiding gun owner, I'd like to let you know that I would never use my guns in an offensive manner. They are strictly for hunting, target shooting, and self-defense. Any upstanding citizen who owns a gun will echo this.
I've officially lost all faith in our "justice" system. It seems the government and big business are so intertwined now that the people have lost their fundamental rights. I refuse to buy any music from music companies that are part of the RIAA. We don't need Superman, we need the Punisher. Times 1,000,000. In the meantime I'll be prepping for the next civil war.
Slashdot Mirror
I find it a little ironic that German companies produces some of the finest firearms in the world.
Right on. Real gamers build their own PCs. :)
I wouldn't put it past the MPAA to try something like this.
"if someone was spending a lot of time at the pub then they should pay extra for car insurance" Are you kidding me? Just because someone drinks regularly doesn't mean they should pay more for car insurance than someone who doesn't. Provided they aren't an alcoholic, getting drunk once a week makes you no more likely to get in a car accident if you don't drive. Most people aren't idiots; they don't drink and drive. You can't charge someone more for something that WOULD cause increased risk IF they did drive after doing it. That's like raising premiums because someone MIGHT drive over the speed limit regularly, even if there's no evidence (in the form of speeding tickets) that they do. You can't punish someone for something they haven't done yet. I can understand raising premiums for buying a Ferrari; most people don't have the necessary driving skills to handle such a car. It's a lot easier to make a mistake when you've got 500 horsepower just a few inches of accelerator pressure away.
You're right. But the majority of LEGAL gun owners are responsible. The ones you should worry about are criminals who have weapons that are not traceable. A legal pistol owner who's bought a new pistol in the last 10 years or so would be an idiot to commit a crime with his or her pistol. Why? All new pistols (and maybe rifles, I'm not sure) have one round fired and kept by the manufacturer for tracing purposes. So, if you DID shoot someone with your pistol and try to get away with it, law enforcement needs only to scan a database and the ballistics of your gun will match any slugs they find. Anyways, my point is, criminals will continue to be violent whether they've got guns or not. Knives, crowbars, or just metal piping can be used if you REALLY want to hurt someone with more than your bare hands. If you looked at a ratio of legal gun owners to gun-related crimes committed by legally owned guns, you'd see that the number of crimes committed is very low compared to the overall number of legal gun owners. So don't get too worried about your co-worker or friend who owns a rifle and a shotgun and likes to hunt, or owns a pistol and likes to go to the range.
I'll assume you're talking about Canadians. Gun owners account for a helluva lot more than 2% in the US. Logic would dictate that an inanimate object does not cause problems, unless it's something like a ticking bomb. A loaded gun with the safety off won't hurt anyone if nobody touches it. Anyone who thinks responsible gun owners are violent catastrophes waiting to happen are just ignorant. Violent catastrophes waiting to happen are unstable or desperate people. And they'll do plenty of damage whether they've got guns or not.
"Guns don't solve any problem when in the hands of the general public, they cause problems like these." Correction: Guns don't cause problems, people do. Crazy-person-with-gun would've lashed out violently by other means if guns weren't available. Being a responsible, law-abiding gun owner, I'd like to let you know that I would never use my guns in an offensive manner. They are strictly for hunting, target shooting, and self-defense. Any upstanding citizen who owns a gun will echo this.
I've officially lost all faith in our "justice" system. It seems the government and big business are so intertwined now that the people have lost their fundamental rights. I refuse to buy any music from music companies that are part of the RIAA. We don't need Superman, we need the Punisher. Times 1,000,000. In the meantime I'll be prepping for the next civil war.