I'm sick of people telling us we can not comment on the gun laws of the USA.

reply to post by boymonkey74


I respect your right to voice your opinion on how we do things here in the US even though you live outside of it. This is, after all a international forum.

However, there are certain things that will get many of us Americans riled up, especially if it is coming from a non US citizen.

It can be hard to explain to someone who was not born and raised as an American. There are many things that we hold very dear to our hearts. Many of us were taught to hold those things special too, not just in schools but from family, and even our media sends that message out over and over.

I know for a fact that each country does this with their citizens, and having lived all around the world, I can tell you that every country that I ever lived in or visited, the people that lived there were very proud of their heritage, and hold things about their country that are dear to them.

We Americans get taught that we are special. That we are a country made up of all peoples from all over the world. That our country is the only place where a person can be truly free. This should not surprise anyone, because every country will teach their citizens that.

Every country in the world has a rich culture and heritage. Ours is not as long as many other countries of course, but we do have a very rich heritage here.

To you, a British citizen, a gun is nothing more than a tool. One that kills or seriously wounds. And you are correct is calling it that.

However, to many of us Americans, a gun is much more than a tool. It's our heritage, and, for better or worse, it's a heritage that we are proud of, or at least for many of us.

For us, our Bill of Rights is almost as sacred as the bible is to many. It's more than just a piece of paper. The rights granted to us in that bill was an idea. One that we've held on to for over 200 years.

So when you say that we need to have one of those rights taken away, you need to understand why it upsets so many of us.

Think of something that is very British. Some part of your history that is a heritage that is very ingrained into your culture.
Then imagine how you, or at least how many other British citizens might react if I, and American citizen, started saying that it should be taken away from you.

If you can think of something like that, then you'l at least understand why some of us get so passionate about gun laws.

There is one other thing however.

You said this in your OP:

If you do not like our opinions try and teach us where we have got it wrong and help us understand things.

The problem is where you say "where we have got it wrong"

That may also be part of the problem. That you are trying to say with your opinion who does not live here are right, and we, who are living here, are wrong.

I'm sure that if I were to say something like that to British citizens, and were to comment on something about your country that you are very passionate about, most likely if I came off that way, would get you upset too.

I still respect your right to have an opinion. Just keep in mind that until you live some place for a length of time, you may not actually understand the people of that place. See, if the only place you ever lived in the US is say, New York city......it will give you a very one sided view of Americans.

For example, I live way down here in the South Eastern US, where it's very rural. I live 15 miles from the nearest city. It takes over 30 minutes for any emergency responders to get here. 40 feet from the back of my house is some woods that if I dropped you in it, you'd be lost. No car sounds, no city sounds. Just the wind and animals. We even have coyote running around here. I have white tail deer that wander around into my yard all the time.
And I've had to put down a few wild dogs.

If you were to visit here, you'd swear you were in a different country all together when comparing it to New York city.

So keep that in mind too. We Americans are just as diverse as the country we live in.

Oh.....and we're very stubborn too. Keep that in mind.

The problem lies not with non-Americans commenting about gun laws, but rather them doing so in a sanctimonious and self-serving manner all the while insulting the foundation of what America was built on. Just as Americans are ill suited to comment on British or Canadian politics, if you don't live in the US, you should keep your name calling and finger pointing to yourself. Guns, as provisioned in the Second amendment were and are designed to allow for the populace to protect itself from the government, and as such the 2nd amendment allows for the protection of all other laws and amendments.

The problem lies not with non-Americans commenting about gun laws, but rather them doing so in a sanctimonious and self-serving manner all the while insulting the foundation of what America was built on. Just as Americans are ill suited to comment on British or Canadian politics, if you don't live in the US, you should keep your name calling and finger pointing to yourself. Guns, as provisioned in the Second amendment were and are designed to allow for the populace to protect itself from the government, and as such the 2nd amendment allows for the protection of all other laws and amendments.

The problem lies not with non-Americans commenting about gun laws, but rather them doing so in a sanctimonious and self-serving manner all the while insulting the foundation of what America was built on. Just as Americans are ill suited to comment on British or Canadian politics, if you don't live in the US, you should keep your name calling and finger pointing to yourself. Guns, as provisioned in the Second amendment were and are designed to allow for the populace to protect itself from the government, and as such the 2nd amendment allows for the protection of all other laws and amendments.