Gun laws in the USA,pros and cons.

[Punisher136]

I'm curious as to where you got your stats from RE Australian gun violence Lyle.

http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/shared...sNav=nr&id=570

Gun Laws do Not Reduce Criminal Violence According to New Study
Contact(s):
Gary Mauser, Professor
Simon Fraser University, Tel (604) 291-3652
Email: mauser@sfu.ca

Click here for the complete publication.

Release Date: November 27, 2003

Vancouver, BC - Restrictive firearm legislation has failed to reduce gun violence in Australia, Canada, or Great Britain. The policy of confiscating guns has been an expensive failure, according to a new paper The Failed Experiment: Gun Control and Public Safety in Canada, Australia, England and Wales, released today by The Fraser Institute.

“What makes gun control so compelling for many is the belief that violent crime is driven by the availability of guns, and more importantly, that criminal violence in general may be reduced by limiting access to firearms,” says Gary Mauser, author of the paper and professor of business at Simon Fraser University.

This new study examines crime trends in Commonwealth countries that have recently introduced firearm regulations. Mauser notes that the widely ignored key to evaluating firearm regulations is to examine trends in total violent crime, not just firearm crime.

The United States provides a valuable point of comparison for assessing crime rates as that country has witnessed a dramatic drop in criminal violence over the past decade – for example, the homicide rate in the US has fallen 42 percent since 1991. This is particularly significant when compared with the rest of the world – in 18 of the 25 countries surveyed by the British Home Office, violent crime increased during the 1990s.

The justice system in the U.S. differs in many ways from those in the Commonwealth but perhaps the most striking difference is that qualified citizens in the United States can carry concealed handguns for self-defence. During the past few decades, more than 25 states in the U.S. have passed laws allowing responsible citizens to carry concealed handguns. In 2003, there are 35 states where citizens can get such a permit.

Disarming the public has not reduced criminal violence in any country examined in this study. In all these cases, disarming the public has been ineffective, expensive, and often counter productive. In all cases, the effort meant setting up expensive bureaucracies that produce no noticeable improvement to public safety or have made the situation worse. Mauser points to these trends in the countries he examined:

England and Wales

Both Conservative and Labour governments have introduced restrictive firearms laws over the past 20 years; all handguns were banned in 1997.

Yet in the 1990s alone, the homicide rate jumped 50 percent, going from 10 per million in 1990 to 15 per million in 2000. While not yet as high as the US, in 2002 gun crime in England and Wales increased by 35 percent. This is the fourth consecutive year that gun crime has increased.

Police statistics show that violent crime in general has increased since the late 1980s and since 1996 has been more serious than in the United States.

Australia

The Australian government made sweeping changes to the firearms legislation in 1997. However, the total homicide rate, after having remained basically flat from 1995 to 2001, has now begun climbing again. While violent crime is decreasing in the United States, it is increasing in Australia. Over the past six years, the overall rate of violent crime in Australia has been on the rise – for example, armed robberies have jumped 166 percent nationwide.

The confiscation and destruction of legally owned firearms has cost Australian taxpayers at least $500 million. The cost of the police services bureaucracy, including the costly infrastructure of the gun registration system, has increased by $200 million since 1997.

“And for what?” asks Mauser. “There has been no visible impact on violent crime. It is impossible to justify such a massive amount of the taxpayers’ money for no decrease in crime. For that kind of tax money, the police could have had more patrol cars, shorter shifts, or better equipment.”

Canada

The contrast between the criminal violence rates in the United States and in Canada is dramatic. Over the past decade, the rate of violent crime in Canada has increased while in the United States the violent crime rate has plummeted. The homicide rate is dropping faster in the US than in Canada.

The Canadian experiment with firearm registration is becoming a farce says Mauser. The effort to register all firearms, which was originally claimed to cost only $2 million, has now been estimated by the Auditor General to top $1 billion. The final costs are unknown but, if the costs of enforcement are included, the total could easily reach $3 billion.

“It is an illusion that gun bans protect the public. No law, no matter how restrictive, can protect us from people who decide to commit violent crimes. Maybe we should crack down on criminals rather than hunters and target shooters?” says Mauser.
- 30 -

The Fraser Institute is an independent research and educational organization based in Canada. Its mission is to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government intervention on the welfare of individuals. To protect the Institute’s independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research.


Hope that helps

for you and :P to everybody else

Here's an interesting point for you.

In the 1940's and 50's gun ownership was more prevalent. People actually left them inside their vehicles with doors unlocked. There weren't school shootings, lower rape, lower violent crime, lower std's. The difference isn't how many laws about guns. It is how people were raised. People that are raised to fear God feel they are accountable for all their actions, people that are taught there is no God have nothing to fear and no respect for anything other than their own lives and wants and needs.

Do the research yourself, and you will find that every statistic from violence,to drug abuse, suicide, etc.... Has skyrocketed since removing prayer and the mention of a Creator from schools. The stats are undeniable.

The guns aren't the problem. It's the belief of the person holding the gun.

exactly

[Lords Gym]

Here's an interesting point for you.

In the 1940's and 50's gun ownership was more prevalent. People actually left them inside their vehicles with doors unlocked. There weren't school shootings, lower rape, lower violent crime, lower std's. The difference isn't how many laws about guns. It is how people were raised. People that are raised to fear God feel they are accountable for all their actions, people that are taught there is no God have nothing to fear and no respect for anything other than their own lives and wants and needs.

Do the research yourself, and you will find that every statistic from violence,to drug abuse, suicide, etc.... Has skyrocketed since removing prayer and the mention of a Creator from schools. The stats are undeniable.

The guns aren't the problem. It's the belief of the person holding the gun.

you make a solid point !

[El Kabong]

US gun laws were introduced when Guns were still Muskets, they were never meant to apply to the guns of today

Problem is you can never change the law now, because only law obiding people surrender their guns, leaving them defenceless against the scrotes that keep hold of them

Guns are guns.....you can kill people with a musket just as much as you can kill them with a handgun.....but now people are LICENSED and REGISTERED gun owners.

The people I know that own guns are the last people that would ever commit a crime as bad as what happened at VaTech

[Lords Gym]

Glad its America's problem not ours.

It must be great to live in the land of the free where your schools get shot up every so offten by the students.


Peolpe get killed every day by guns in the US but a large minority of the US population just stick there head in the sand and think that guns are not the problem.

Its everyones problem mate.. !

Scotland, March 1996: Gun enthusiast Thomas Hamilton shoots 16 children and their teacher dead at their primary school in Dunblane, Scotland before killing himself.

Yemen, March 1997: A man with an assault rifle attacked hundreds of pupils at two schools in Sanaa, Yemen, killing six children and two others. He was sentenced to death the next day.

Germany, November 1999: A 15-year-old student in Meissen, eastern Germany, stabbed his teacher to death after taking bets from classmates he would dare commit the crime.

Germany, March 2000: A 16-year-old pupil at a private boarding school in the Bavarian town of Branneburg, shot a 57-year-old teacher, who later died from injuries.

The teenager - who also shot himself - was facing expulsion from school after failing a cannabis test.

Germany, February 2002: A former pupil killed his headmaster and set off pipe bombs in the technical school he had recently been expelled from in Freising near Munich.

The man also shot dead his boss and a foreman at the company he worked for before turning the gun on himself. Another teacher was shot in the face, but survived.

Germany, April 2002: Seventeen people killed after a gunman - a former pupil - opens fire in a school in Erfurt, eastern Germany. He then turned the gun on himself.

[boozeboxer]

I would have bet a million dollars that Lyle would have made at least one comment on this subject of gun laws. I just opened this to confirm my guess.

[BoxingGorilla]

I don't think the gun laws in America should be changed.

However, I don't agree with people that say guns are for defense. Bullet proof vests are for defense. Guns are for offense.

[El Kabong]

....the best defense is a good offense

[El Kabong]

I would have bet a million dollars that Lyle would have made at least one comment on this subject of gun laws. I just opened this to confirm my guess.

Bwoy I'm from the south....EVERYONE has a gun down here!!!

[BoxingGorilla]

If I was in school these days I would sit at the geek table during lunch and hang out with the outcasts during free time. All the goth boys would think I was one cool down to earth mofo.

Then when the shit popped off they'd spare my life.

[Kel]

US gun laws were introduced when Guns were still Muskets, they were never meant to apply to the guns of today

Problem is you can never change the law now, because only law obiding people surrender their guns, leaving them defenceless against the scrotes that keep hold of them

VERY good point there.

[Punisher136]

If I was in school these days I would sit at the geek table during lunch and hang out with the outcasts during free time. All the goth boys would think I was one cool down to earth mofo.

Then when the S*** popped off they'd spare my life.

that reminds me of a dane cook bit.

I don't think the gun laws in America should be changed.

However, I don't agree with people that say guns are for defense. Bullet proof vests are for defense. Guns are for offense.

with a good offense you dont need defense.

[Lords Gym]

There are two sides to every story .. No easy answers . .. If there were a law in place for Americans to turn in their firearms , only the law abiding citizen would do such. the criminal will keep his

I like a waiting period to purchase a handgun.. background check and all.. that’s a good a thing . There is no reason a kid with a history of mental problems should be able to walk into a store and purchase a hand gun , that being said it wont solve the problem .a psycho will use a car and run over people if has no gun. your not going to solve the problem of psycho behavior with gun control .. low moral values, bullying in schools and shit parenting play a bigger role in my opinion

i think to solve the problem you need to get into the mindset of the killer. I think people need to understand that its very easy to snap.. Bullying in schools needs to be dealt with . Say you’re a kid who everyone makes fun of, maybe your poor ? don't speak well , Have a learning disability or have a physical handicap everyone teases you and so on.. Thus you become suicidal. Only you think before I cash out, I ’m going to take down as many of the people who made my life hell, as possible ( the problem is everyone starts falling into that category while your in a rage. ).. its not hard to see how that could happen… the real issue in my opinion is not the gun , but rather focus on how to instill a sense of pride and worth into the less fortunate youth out there . and put a severe tax on bullying behavior right from the gate !

[bigragu]

Well what do you think?


I think gun laws in the US are crazy.


I know the counter argument is you need them to protect your home and so on but how many people have to die brfore they are at leas changed.

I personally think they should ban guns in the US....as long as they make it a death sentence for anyone committing a crime with a gun...and life if you're caught with a weapon......

[bigragu]

Also if guns are illegal then only criminals have them!

The US gun laws at least give us a fair chance


BTW special licenses are needed for conceal and carry, and to own fully automatic weapons. Many people disagree with me and say "Fully automatic firearms are illegal"....no they are not you just need a special license to own them and it's very difficult to get such a license, we're talking deep background checks and it's a FEDERAL process.

The US South, including Texas probably has the most firearms per capita in the US and very few LEGAL GUN OWNERS commit deadly crimes with their firearms

gotta disagfree with you on this one....think of all the people that had guns on the VT campus...boy, those guns did an awesome job in stopping the nut job...but if they were illegal in the first place...32 innocent people would still be alive.....

[bigragu]

Well what do you think?


I think gun laws in the US are crazy.


I know the counter argument is you need them to protect your home and so on but how many people have to die brfore they are at leas changed.

Guns are not inherently good or bad....they take on the qualities of the shooter.

I like the ability to own guns, it's for safety, protection, and defense of your constitutional rights.


I've shot fully automatic weapons and I know plenty of people with conceal and carry licenses and honestly they are the LAST people you need to worry about causing trouble.

I've noticed that most people that do have weapons always throw out the same ole rhetoric..."For safty"...right...these are the same people that live 25 miles from the "Hood"....besides..if someone breaks into your house the odds of you even remembering where the gun is is remote to begin with.....and like you're gonna make it down the hallway before the robber empties half a clip in your back...then kills the rest of the family because he now has nothing to lose....or you could just get robbed and the robber leaves....imagine that...it could happen...