Gun Control Spin
POSTED BY: AnthonyT
UPDATED: Sunday, November 25, 2007 19:08
VIEWED: 6740
PAGE 8 of 8
Quote:
Originally posted by BrowncoatSandinista:
Ultimately, I think one possible solution that we've not considered is the Swiss Solution. Give everyone an assault rifle to keep at home, and train them on it.After a brief initial period of increased violence
, I suspect we will have a serious drop in gun violence, as no one would be stupid enough to try and invade someone's home or attack them otherwise knowing full-well that there is at least one, probably more, assault rifle in there and that someone there knows very well how to use it.
This is exactly the intent of the "militia" clause in the Second Amendment. It gives individuals, neighborhoods, communities and States the right to bear arms for self defence, but also implies that there is some responsibility to do so.
"Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, KU"
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Guess no one remembers the tale of two cities.
It's been done, you see.
Two towns - one banned guns, one made them mandatory.
At the time, the mainstream papers screamed a fit about how it would lead to horrific violence and make the place into the wild west, gunfights on every corner, panic in the streets yadda, yadda...
And then, when that *didn't* happen, it was like the place never even existed, cause it did not fit the view (of which no real evidence can seem to be found) that legal gun ownership of ordinary citizens leads to crime and chaos.
You have to go deep into the alternative media (admittedly not all of which is quality journalism) to hear even a peep about it.
And here we are, ever so much later...
"In March 1982, 25 years ago, the small town of Kennesaw – responding to a handgun ban in Morton Grove, Ill. – unanimously passed an ordinance requiring each head of household to own and maintain a gun. Since then, despite dire predictions of "Wild West" showdowns and increased violence and accidents, not a single resident has been involved in a fatal shooting – as a victim, attacker or defender.
The crime rate initially plummeted for several years after the passage of the ordinance, with the 2005 per capita crime rate actually significantly lower than it was in 1981, the year before passage of the law.
Prior to enactment of the law, Kennesaw had a population of just 5,242 but a crime rate significantly higher (4,332 per 100,000) than the national average (3,899 per 100,000). The latest statistics available – for the year 2005 – show the rate at 2,027 per 100,000. Meanwhile, the population has skyrocketed to 28,189.
By comparison, the population of Morton Grove, the first city in Illinois to adopt a gun ban for anyone other than police officers, has actually dropped slightly and stands at 22,202, according to 2005 statistics. More significantly, perhaps, the city's crime rate increased by 15.7 percent immediately after the gun ban, even though the overall crime rate in Cook County rose only 3 percent. Today, by comparison, the township's crime rate stands at 2,268 per 100,000.
This was not what some predicted."
Very little research on this topic ever gets done, even less by anything even remotely resembling a non-partisan source, so all one can do is observe for themself and make their own decision.
You can earnestly believe that words on paper will keep criminals from having or using guns.
Or you can choose not to believe that and level the playing field a bit.
A great part of it is the utter vilification of self-defense, something the police as a whole despise, because if folk start defending themselves, they might start wondering why we have them, and especially wonder why they're allowed to lord over us like a privledged elite...
Sure, they have their uses, but the idea of them protecting you, when they have no legal responsibility to protect any specific individual, plus a minimum response time of avg over 18 minutes under the best of circumstances - is a bit ridiculous.
As the old joke goes...
"Why do you carry a gun ?"
"Cause a whole cop's too heavy."
Same reason you have a fire extinguisher, or a first aid kit - to do what you can while awaiting the cavalry.
As political as police forces have become, do you really think they'll go for measures that would lead to a need for less police, smaller budgets and less toys ?
Or, look at it this way - automobiles are dangerous, and individual automobile use is wasteful, unnecessary and irresponsible, you should just give up your car and use public transportation, right ?
You can trust the Gov to run it efficiently, and get you where you need to be on time and safely, right ?
In the end, it's your choice what to believe, and it's your choice what to do.
And I believe in trusting you, fellow person, enough to make that decision.
All I ask is the same courtesy in return.
-Frem
LINKS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennesaw,_Georgia
http://archive.newsmax.com
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Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Guess no one remembers the tale of two cities.
A great part of it is the utter vilification of self-defense, something the police as a whole despise, because if folk start defending themselves, they might start wondering why we have them, and especially wonder why they're allowed to lord over us like a privledged elite...
I'm sure many of you have seen this video. When it comes to self-defense rocker Ted Nugent states my position much better than I could.
"Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, KU"
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Citizen, I agree with your analysis in theory, however, in the two instances I can find ((Granted, I won't be publishing this study in L'Année Sociologique any time soon)) the evidence seems to support the opposite.
I think that this is an issue best studied by sociologists and historians in a scientific and unbiased manner. That way we can base our legislation on scientific data rather than truthiness ((Which is a generally difficult thing to do in our increasingly partisan world, especially in an election year.))
Can we agree, however, based upon the evidence we have that it seems to point to the "Swiss-Solution" as I so dub it? The Scientist in me would like to see more evidence gathered, granted, but in its absence I'd have to conclude that this seems to work the best, but I refuse to make any hard and fast decisions without more evidence. ((Was that suitably 'cover my ass' enough ?))
I love that this forum seems to be a haven for intellectuals in addition to Browncoats. Y'all are an interesting bunch.
Edit: Just so you know, I meant I wouldn't be publishing this in L'Année Sociologique because it doesn't yet meet the standards for scientific research, not because this journal has been defunct since 1942.
"I'm not going to say Serenity is the greatest SciFi movie ever; oh wait yes I am." - Orson Scott Card
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Quote:I think America's problems with gun crime, are more to do with the attitude of many Americans to guns, rather than how those guns are distributed.
Originally posted by BrowncoatSandinista:
Can we agree, however, based upon the evidence we have that it seems to point to the "Swiss-Solution" as I so dub it? The Scientist in me would like to see more evidence gathered, granted, but in its absence I'd have to conclude that this seems to work the best, but I refuse to make any hard and fast decisions without more evidence. ((Was that suitably 'cover my ass' enough
More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.
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I'll agree to that. Both sides of the argument are becoming so polarized that they cannot possibly see the logic of the other side ((which both sides do have)).
"I'm not going to say Serenity is the greatest SciFi movie ever; oh wait yes I am." - Orson Scott Card
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