A question for our European and Aussie friends...Do you regret giving up your right to own firearms?

Call me naive if you want but the humane part of me still sees a scenario where the police, military or whatever in the US actually fights with Joe Public against the mercenary and paid forces based in America. No one can be brainwashed enought to kill their own citizens when all they are doing is standing up for their rights.

With a world full of bad news and bad karma I think looking and thinking positively is a must.

Respects

Im from Australia and personally, no, i dont think so.

Im 21 years old, and for as long as i've known, firearms have been illegal. I remember stories that my dad told me when he was a boy about how he used to have a shotgun but had to hand it in sometime in the 70's or 80's (im not 100% sure on this). He did hand his in willingly, but he did also say that there were people that weren't so co-operative.

But anyway, back to the question in hand..
These days i do not see a need for a firearm to be in the household. Where i live there can be some trouble on Friday and Saturday night's, but its never so bad that you need a gun to deal with it, and normally the police are fairly good help.

The one reason i could see a gun being useful, would be if we were being invaded by another country, or possibly an alien force ...

Also, i hear that its not to hard to find a gun on the streets in Australia, and i have known a few people to have police issue 9mm pistols in their houses (this generally leads to trouble with the police as a friend of a friend found out, but that could have been due to the influence of ice and his stupidity).

So in conclusion, I think the banning of firearms would probably be a good for countries like the U.S.. But that is just MY 2c worth...

dillie

My people didnt have guns. Oh, have you forgot who introduced them to americia. I myself like a good long bow. Mind you I do own guns, for hunting and protection. I have been to the point of death and I'm going to be ready at anytime for anything.

To pass jugdement on americians for owning guns , is like kicking your boby gaurd. but thats just my opion. Is not are fault for makeing guns. The award for that goes to someone else.

Originally posted by checkmate
My people didnt have guns. Oh, have you forgot who introduced them to americia. I myself like a good long bow. Mind you I do own guns, for hunting and protection. I have been to the point of death and I'm going to be ready at anytime for anything.

No, you're missing my point. I'm aware that Native Americans didn't really have guns before the arrival of the Dutch, English, Spanish &c

My point is about superior fire power versus having 'the numbers'. The American population now don't have planes, tanks, artillery either but, apparently, it doesn't matter because many people claim that although American population have less superior weaponry - handguns and rifles - what they do have, as well having the numbers, is enough stop any possible military takeover.

Similarly, the American Natives had a variety of weapons and were said to have been very skilled with them too. They were efficient hunters and were able to wage inter-tribal wars so, obviously, these weapons could kill humans as well as wildlife. There was a also a lot more of them than the Europeans.

However, obviously it wasn't enough was it?

I find the American notion of using their own guns to fight the government just sad. People can't stand against a government on their own without becoming martyrs. And your martyrdom will do no good, because you'll be labeled a fat drug-crazed unamerican black Jewish Muslim illegal disease-carrying lefty terrorist unwed mother, and the survivors will thank the government for saving them from you.

If the government wanted to kill you, they could just up the amount of passivity-producing poison they dump in the water supply. The rat poison they call fluoride could kill of a large city in a day, or be added to individual supplies.And when the water supplies were first poisoned, who used their guns to prevent it?

When the traitors combined forces with Mossad, killing over 3000 people to con Americans into stealing Iraq's oil and preventing Iraq selling oil for Euros; writing off your freedom under the guise of the "Patriot Act", who used their guns to protect the country?

When America invaded Iraq, Iraqi's were more in love with their guns than Americans are. They were trained to defend their country and prepared to give their lives if need be. How much did that help them?



Sorry, but if you think the government could turn against its citizens, you need to be acting now to prevent it. If such a thing ever does happen even Crysis-style nuclear rocket launchers would not protect you for long.

here where I am we can have a firearm like a shot gun for hunting, if then you use it for other purpose its up to you.

i´m in a western european country.

reply to post by BlackOps719


good question. i'm from Ireland, and I actually don't regret not having easy access to guns. I totally sympathise with the libertarian standpoint on this, but when I see wackos walk into schools etc. in other countries with firearms and start blasting away, I'm content with the situation here, whereby it's pretty tricky to get a gun without a license. At least for regular folks -- the criminals and gangland scumbags, and (not so much nowadays) terrorists manage to get them easily enough.

Still though, I'm glad that some random fruitcake with murderous intentions can't easily get a gun.

This is a interesting topic, not for the original question but for the responses and wide and passionate views on it.
I ask this question to all who read my post: Hasn't the American Government taken away many rights from the American public over the last forty to fifty years without pointing a gun at us ? We the people while gripping our second amendment rights allowed the government to tell us how to raise our children. Guess what happened to that generation ? they walk around with their pants hanging down past their bums, one hand holding up their pants and the other holding on to their illegal hand gun, all the while without a moral thought or a ounce of discipline rolling around in their heads. Our government told them they didn't have to listen to their parents now the young blue collar generation that was suppose to take the reins are either dead, sitting in prison/jail or hooked on drugs. In any case they are uneducated and the kicker have no idea that they have been jacked from birth.

Originally posted by Merriman Weir

"Expect some guff how, 200 years ago, American civilians managed to defeat 'the best military in the world' and how they can do it again.

I've already tried pointing out how the difference between a trained soldier and an untrained militia was pretty marginal then. However, some people are adamant that a nation renowned for its levels of obesity is going to be able to repel a fit, trained army with superior weaponry using mainly handguns and rifles."




Want to know how? 300,000,000 of us, that is how. You ever see what 300,000,000 citizens armed with rifles and handguns can do when threatened? I guess not, considering that your own country has rendered you all but defenseless should they decide to make an example of you.

And the cheap shot against "obese Americans" is rather sad considering England certainly has more than its fair share of chubby asses tea toddling about the place. You aint far behind us sweety, and people in glass houses...well...Im sure you know the rest





[edit on 10/30/08 by BlackOps719]

reply to post by outrageousfortune


Wise words indeed. If everyone felt this way there would be no problem and very little crime. Its too bad people don't learn from history... those whom fail to educate themselves are doomed to learn histories hard lessons the hard way I guess.

Good luck to those whom entrust others with their safety and security... You can be sure the hero's you are counting on will make a nice looking official report of your robbery/as*-kicking/theft/kidnapping/disappearance/death that's sure to make your day so much better than if you had a .45 and got arrested for shooting a criminal/possession of a illegal gun/defending yourself.

Like opps said, isnt going to be that easy this time is it.

Midnight gen-X isnt down and out yet.

I think here in Europe we understand the purpose of guns and the differentiation between types of gun.
There is a difference between a hunting rifle or a shotgun and an automatic or semi-automatic rifle or handgun.
We don't feel the need to stock up on military hardware to challenge our government, because we have elected representatives, that we have some degree of faith and trust in. As well as a system of government that allows us to express any dissatisfaction (If you believe you have that why would you need to stockpile personal weapons?).
We do not have the delusion that owning such hardware will make us any safer, statistically in the U.S., I understand you are most likely to be shot by your own gun.
We do allow weapons for sport and for hunting, but again, are not deluded enough to believe that ANY deer will need a .50 caliber slug from a desert eagle to be put out of it's misery, nor that a military rifle is suitable for hunting.
By eliminating the vast majority of weapons, it is easier to distinguish between the acceptable and unacceptable. It allows us to have a police force that in the majority are armed with nothing more lethal than a stick, who very rarely face armed criminals. It reduces the pool of potential illegal firearms, allows for easier tracing and control of firearms, and reduces the potential for firearm related crimes.
It return however, I ask you, why are Americans so reluctant to give up their guns?
You claim to live in a democracy and conversely claim you need them to protect yourself from your own government.
You claim to need them for self-protection, when I understand something like 60% of gun related deaths in the U.S. involve weapons owned by family members.
You claim it is your 'right' to own guns, but you do not seem to understand the responsibilities that all rights have associated, nor do you expand upon why you need the right to own items specifically engineered to kill other beings.
So, why do you in the U.S., almost alone among the western nations, insist you need the right to bear arms?

Originally posted by BlackOps719
Originally posted by Merriman Weir

Want to know how? 300,000,000 of us, that is how. You ever see what 300,000,000 citizens armed with rifles and handguns can do when threatened? I guess not, considering that your own country has rendered you all but defenseless should they decide to make an example of you.

I see what 300.000,000 of you can do when threatened every day. You do nothing. How much of your constitutional rights have to be eaten away for you to class it, in your own words, a "threat" ?


Respects

reply to post by meihem


Because we dont have to.

reply to post by captiva


Some of us are not blind to whats been going on.We were just to young to fix it until now.

Mayde the U.N should tell evry nation to give up there guns............. NWO

[edit on 30-10-2008 by checkmate]

reply to post by captiva


People are still comfortable, they are still able to shelter and feed themselves. As far as I know no governmental agencies have started going door to door and taking peoples weapons.

Martial law hasnt yet been declared, there are no Americans wasting away inside FEMA camps, things arent bad enough yet for average Americans to revolt.

Let the government start trying to round up American citizens and you will see what happens.

Isoroku Yamamoto was a Fleet Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II.

He was made famous for the following quote: "You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass. "


His words still ring true to this day, and it applies not only to foreign enemies but domestic as well.

Originally posted by BlackOps719
Originally posted by Merriman Weir


And the cheap shot against "obese Americans" is rather sad considering England certainly has more than its fair share of chubby asses tea toddling about the place. You aint far behind us sweety, and people in glass houses...well...Im sure you know the rest

If you want to take it as a cheap shot, then fine, it's your prerogative. However, I was merely pointing out the reality of the massive difference between the average guy on the street and trained soldiers. If you want to ignore that aspect, then fine.

As for the 'glass houses' remark, you might have noticed I'm not the one who believes I can take on an army.

[edit on 30-10-2008 by Merriman Weir]