Only in America. I despair.
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Only in America. I despair.
http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/ar...jHAx4.facebook
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And right there is the biggest problem with your argument. You want people to surrender the right/means to defend themselves to the government. Some people are not willing to do that, in fact it looks like a majority of the populace is unwilling to do that.Quote:
Originally Posted by yodajazz
Also, if a semi-automatic rifle is unnecessary, then why do the police carry them? Are we arming law enforcement so that they can engage in killing sprees? Or is it perhaps because those types of rifles are easier to use and more effective when someone's life is on the line?
Murders involving rifles are a very small number of the overall homicides in this country.
In 2010 there were:
12,996 reported murders, of that only 358 were committed using a rifle.
In comparison, 1,704 people were murdered by the use of knives or other sharp objects, 540 by blunt objects, and 745 from being punched/kicked.
Needless to say, killings by the use of semi-automatic rifles have been over-hyped by the media.
LOL good one.Quote:
Originally Posted by maxpower
This is very confused. You're saying law enforcement agencies are unnecessary in the U.S.? And you claim that a majority of Americans are unwilling to give up their assault rifles? Most Americans do not own firearms period, let alone assault rifles.Quote:
Originally Posted by NYBURBS
We have already surrendered the right to defend ourselves to the government. A monopoly on the legitimate use of violence is one of the foundational principles of the modern state.
There is something very wrong in America. Since Newtown, 1,400 have died by firearm. I question your data source NYBURBS because more 358 people died by firearm in Philadelphia, PA alone in 2010.
You ask why law enforcement carry semi-automatic weapons and part of the answer at least in Los Angeles is that they did not as late as 1980's when LAPD was engaged for over 3 hours by two bank robbers armed with assault rifles and multiple magazines.
Why do we have so much death via firearms relative to the rest of the Western World per capita? Now even a left wing extreme voice like Michael Moore points out that other countries have high gun ownership per capita and watch violent movies and play video games.
But the NRA's positions just get too extreme. Today they opposed the idea of background checks. When it is easier to acquire and operate an assault weapon than it is an automobile, something just doesn't seem right.
I don't propose to have all the answers but America's seeming indifference to the obvious issues that guns are posing in our society does not make me proud to be an American.
We must be able to do better as a society than to all "gun up" and put armed guards in every public place all to protect the 2nd amendment which clearly was talking about armed militias not armed citizens paranoid of what their next door neighbor might due.
The NRA exists not to protect the 2nd amendment, they exist to protect the interests of gun manufacturers.
Agony of parents whose daughter, 15, was gunned down a week after she performed at Obama's inauguration:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...d-Chicago.html
Slave Patrols and the 2nd Amendment p1:
Slave Patrols and the 2nd Amendment p1 - YouTube
Slave Patrols and the 2nd Amendment p2:
Slave Patrols and the 2nd Amendment p2 - YouTube
A survivalist kidnaps boy and shoots school bus driver dead.... having blasted neighbours with a gun over a speed bump dispute. Ongoing....
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/child-held-...091633215.html