Both suggestions seem to have their faults, as far as I can see. If I was forced to pick a side, I'd probably go for tighter control, but I suspect that's just because I'm Australian where we don't have this inbuilt sense of entitlement to own a gun. The whole "right to bear arms" thing has never applied to us, what with us all starting off as convicts. Only an idiot would bring a bunch of criminals to a far off, isolated place, then tell them that sure, you can have a gun!
The idea of owning a gun, quite frankly, scares the bejezus out of me. I wouldn't even want to touch one, let alone own one. The only person I know who has one is a police officer, which I guess you can put down to an occupational hazard. My Opa used to have a rifle that he kept behind the back door when I was a kid, but I'm almost certain it didn't work and he just kept it there as a scare tactic. So you can see my knowledge of all things firearms is woefully inadequate to be making these sorts of decisions.
I think if I was pressed for an opinion, though, I'd have to agree with Chris Rock's opinion. Forget about gun control. Let them buy as many guns as they want. Just make bullets cost a small fortune. It might not solve all the problems, after all there's always accidents, mistakes, stupidity, but if you made each bullet cost hundreds of dollars, I can guarantee that senseless deaths by firearms would drop significantly.
But don't take what I say too seriously, as I said, I have no real basis for it. It's just an opinion, as ill informed and naive as anyone elses. But to be fair, I think it's just as valid as the other ones being spouted off at the moment.
Chris Rock's solution is as good as any I've heard. Gun culture will destroy the USA. Let's hope Canada and Australia can stave off that way of thinking.
ReplyDeleteI think as long as they preserve that healthy fear of guns we seem to have, we won't have to worry about it as much as Americans do.
DeleteThe whole "right to bear arms" thing has never applied to us, what with us all starting off as convicts.
ReplyDeleteThat cracked me up.
And is she really holding that gun like it's a bazooka?
I'm a gun owner. When I found myself as a single gal living alone in the city I bought a 9mm Beretta. I keep the gun in my nightstand and the clip in the closet with the chamber empty. So, when the inevitable burglar/rapist/murderer/creepy clown does break in, I'll be prepared and have just enough time to get the gun out of the nightstand and throw it at him because the actual ammunition is on the other side of the room. Brilliant.
Hopefully you'll clock him a good one with the butt of it!
DeleteWho would have ever thought Chris Rock would be the harbinger of wisdom? What a confusing world we live in...
ReplyDeleteI know! Turns out he was just PRETENDING to be an idiot!
DeleteWhat about banning assault weapons? Does anyone use those for hunting?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure. The only hunting I do is for left over after dinner mints in the fridge. It's not something that requires a gun ... but sometimes a machete would come in handy when I haven't cleaned in there for a while.
DeleteI don't live very far from Colorado, and let me say, the culture in the western United States is still very much that of the old west. In other words, pretty much every man and his dog out here already DO own guns. Yes, actually, that includes myself... despite my horribly liberal political views. I, however, LOVE the Chris Rock solution. I really don't "go shooting" like a lot of people I know, and I definitely don't go hunting. I, really, only need a handful of bullets which should pretty much last me a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteIt's solve the problem of mass shootings. People wouldn't be able to afford them.
DeleteGuns truly freak me out. Once, when I was in Honduras, I had to transport a gun from one person to a security guard at our clinic. I was a nervous wreck and couldn't wait to pass the darn thing over to the guard. I don't know what I thought it would do, but I was a big baby about it, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteI would have been freaking out too! Even if it didn't have any bullets I'd probably be wetting myself.
DeleteI've never held a gun, never shot one, and really don't care if I ever do. I will never own one. I'm not staunchly against them, I just have no need to own one.
ReplyDeleteMe either. As long as we have supermarkets, I won't have to hunt my own food. Therefore, no gun necessary.
DeleteI live in Colorado, and there are more people who own guns than not. Usually for hunting and home protection. It's funny because historically, when everyone not only owned guns, but WORE them openly, society was more respectful. People also knew there neighbors and people in their towns, and that probably is more important. When you don't know your neighbors, you don't care about them, or feel much attachment to community. I think we're looking at the wrong thing here, this is more about the destruction of our mental health system than anything else. It is almost non-existant in the US and costs a fortune to get help. Here in the US, we think mental illness is either a weakness or an imaginary problem, and most insurance doesn't adequately cover it. Since we don't have many places to put severely disturbed people, we just let them back into the general population. It's a big problem.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good point.
DeleteGuns never bothered me, until I saw firsthand the damage and horror they can cause. I grew up around guns, have shot them, have dead eye aim, and never thought much of them. Then, almost 3 years ago, without going into detail, I saw what they can do. Now, I really can't stand them near me, and they terrify me.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful I've never had to witness anything like that. They scare me enough as it it.
DeleteI want to own a gun. But I'm too lazy to actually apply for one. There is a whole lot of crap you have to do to get one in NJ, and frankly, I just don't care that much.
ReplyDeleteIf only the rest of the world were as lazy as me.
Hugs!
Valerie
Maybe that's the answer, we need to make the red tape more confusing! They have to fill the form out in triplicate, provide a whole bunch of useless and practically unknown trivia, line up for 13 hours to submit them, then stand on their heads and recite the poem Jabberwocky in pig latin.
DeleteThe fact is that 99.9% of gun owners are law abiding honest citizens who own a firearm to protect their family. Those who choose to own a gun are not trying to force anyone else to buy one. We just want to everyone to have that same freedom of choice. So why do those who make the personal choice NOT to own a gun feel the need to force their own decision on everyone else?
ReplyDeleteThe media hypes these shootings out of proportion to reality. The truth is that you are more likely to die from the flu, than from a gun.
There is nothing in the US Bill of Rights that says these guns have to be for hunting, or sports, or any other subjective measure. Its simply the inalienable right of free men. And many believe its an important part of what keeps men free.