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I was just surfing around when I came across this art made from guns:



It got me thinking about the debate as to whether we should bear arms and be allowed guns.
I know it's a mixed bag in many countries, so I wondered - what are your various opinions?

Personally, England doesn't allow guns unless they're licensed for hunting (which is naturally rare) or farming, so I equate them with really terrifying crime. Sure, we have uproars about knife crime and a lot of people argue that that's just as bad as guns, but to be frank I think a lot less people die form accidents or even stabbings than if you have guns to shoot people.
The idea of someone storing a gun in their own home where anyone can get hold of them in an argument, by accident, or when invading your house is horrifying to me. I couldn't live in the same house as a gun ><
that said, my grandad used to have a shotgun, but it was locked away in the loft, but even that is iffy.
And when they go on about 'defending your property' with guns, to me that just seems to be giving people an excuse to kill one another.
Guns are a long range weapon that require aim etc - surely it's often premeditated murder, at least in that you take a few moments to decide 'yeah i'm killing the b*****d'.
If I had a burglar I wouldn't shoot 'em. If you're being attacked you grab a kitchen knife or something i guess. I don't' worry about it. And if any criminals do get guns, but the banning of them mean that the police can crackdown on them very hard, as they should do.
The majority of humankind are idiots - why arm them?

That said, historically speaking i can understand why some countries insist on keeping guns. For example, colonies needed to protect themselves form natives and to defend their newly acquired territory. but why in modern times they feel the need to keep this right I have no idea.
The same for war-torn countries of course.

Certainly one of the only thing that keeps people I know away from America (or reluctant to go there) is the gun ownership. My mum refuses to go because of it
sweatdrop


that#s my 2 cents anyways.


opinions?

This is a tough one.
There's pros and cons to each side.

Moon brought up a good point with safety but if no one had guns then what would there be to fear?
We'd all be on a relatively even played field when it came to weapons.
But then those people with better knife fighting skills would come out on top.

The right to bear arms is in the bill or rights but I think it's a tad outdated.
Really, who's going to invade your land in a hostile takeover anymore, your neighbor?
I think it should be for hunting only.
(Though I don't know if I can say anything since my step-dad has two high power hunting rifles in his closet and that doesn't bother me.)
I was anxious about it when I first found them but he gave up hunting years ago, he just still has them I think because he doesn't know what else to do with them .

hmm... guns should only be used for self defense and hunting. plus one really should be checked out in the head before being allowed a serious weapon, of any sort.

I think she's talking about Airsoft Guns
They're kind of like pellet guns on crack.
Ex shot me with one once, it stung and left a nice red mark but it was a low powered one so it wasn't bad at all.
High powered ones can break the skin and do damage, though I doubt they're fatal.

I know those aren't allowed at schools here.
It's illegal to paint over the orange tip, which indicates it's not real, so that it looks really real.

You hear a story every once in a while about someone holding up a convenience store with a water gun?
What about people who paint these things to look real then doing it?
Anyone can buy them since they aren't deadly, you just have to be over 18.

The way I see it is that if they got rid of guns altogether, people would just find something else to use as a weapon. Besides, it isn't the weapon that kills, it's the one who wields it.