prophet@umcp-cs.UUCP (Dennis Gibbs) (03/01/85)
<> davidl@tekig5.UUCP (David Levadie) writes: >>... Why should I submit to the SLIGHTEST inconvenience >>because some two-bit jerk has a macho complex about guns and therefore >>abuses them? WHY??? WHY??? Nobody on this braindamaged net will even >>DISCUSS that question, even though SEVERAL people have asked it. It >>must be just too mentally taxing to contemplate - it's easier to just >>go about blathering statistics, and arguing fruitlessly about whether >>or not "guns cause crime", etc., etc, etc... >I can think of at least two reasons why. > >First, a considerable number of handguns later used in crimes have been >stolen from otherwise "responsible" owners. In fact, Professor Mark >Moore of Harvard University has estimated that as many as 225,000 >handguns are stolen *each year*. A 1979 study by the Bureau of >Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms found that 50% of criminally used >firearms were stolen. In fact, the odds that a handgun will be used >to deter an intruder are *lower* than the odds that the handgun will >be stolen. So this means that if we outlaw guns, then 100% of handguns used in crimes will be stolen, instead of 50%. Outlawing guns will have the effect of causing MORE crime, that is, the crimes committed to steal handguns. There is simply no way to completely recover all handguns, the criminals will always have them.... Dennis > -- Call-Me: Dennis Gibbs, Univ. of Md. Comp. Sci. Center. UUCP: {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!prophet CSNet: prophet@umcp-cs BITNET: GIBBS@UMDB ARPA: prophet@Maryland
mike@erix.UUCP (Mike Williams) (03/04/85)
In article <3745@umcp-cs.UUCP> prophet@umcp-cs.UUCP (Dennis Gibbs) writes: >So this means that if we outlaw guns, then 100% of handguns used in crimes >will be stolen, instead of 50%. Outlawing guns will have the effect of >causing MORE crime, that is, the crimes committed to steal handguns. There >is simply no way to completely recover all handguns, the criminals will >always have them.... > > Dennis So that's the real problem in a nutshell! There are so many guns in the US that it's too late to do anything about it. Why not then just ban the selling of amunition. Sooner or later it's bound to run out. Or even better, why not fill every 100th round with TNT so that it blows off the hand of the person firing? Should please all the gun collectors on the net too. They just collect guns and would never dream of using them! Moral for us in Europe: Let's make sure we never get into this mess. Stange isn't it that I've never heard of a European organisation promoting the free ownership of guns in Europe? Mike Williams
mikevp@proper.UUCP (Mike Van Pelt) (03/11/85)
In article <> mike@erix.UUCP (Mike Williams) writes: >Stange isn't it that I've never heard of a European organisation promoting >the free ownership of guns in Europe? What about Switzerland? According to everything I've seen about that country everyone is required to have guns. Not just handguns, either: automatic weapons. I've never heard Switzerland being described as a very dangerous place to be, either.
mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) (03/17/85)
>>Stange isn't it that I've never heard of a European organisation promoting >>the free ownership of guns in Europe? > >What about Switzerland? According to everything I've seen about that country >everyone is required to have guns. Not just handguns, either: automatic >weapons. I've never heard Switzerland being described as a very dangerous >place to be, either. Rifles, and only adult males, who are normally in the Army and go on some weeks of training each year. The ammunition is kept in a sealed box, which can be inspected at any time, and it is a serious matter if the seal is broken. -- Martin Taylor {allegra,linus,ihnp4,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt {uw-beaver,qucis,watmath}!utcsri!dciem!mmt