OT: Americans love their guns

Asun Friere afriere at yahoo.co.uk
Sun Sep 7 22:15:35 EDT 2003


Steve Lamb <grey at despair.dmiyu.org> wrote in message news:<slrnblj40a.vc8.grey at dmiyu.org>...
>     If guns were such a overriding factor why is it the UK has as high
> if not higher rate of gun related violence than the US?  For that matter
> why is it in several other European nations (Netherlands and Switzerland
> IIRC) where there is a legal requirement for all males over a certain
> age to be armed (standing militia) that there is so little gun related
> violence?
> 
>     When are people going to learn, it ain't the guns, its the education
> and attitude surrounding them.  It isn't guns that are the problem, it's
> ignorance of guns thats the problem.

I didn't realise that gun-ownerhsip was mandatory in the Netherlands,
but as far as Switzerland is concerned the requirement is to be a
member of the armed forces.  Perhaps this is the way to cut US
fire-arms deaths.  All gun owners will have to join the Army, or the
National Guard at least, that way they can be educated in their
correct use, thereby substantially reducing accidental fire-arms
deaths, which in any case seem to make a higher contribution than
outright homocide.  Maybe they can also be taught that they kill only
on command?

What I'm trying to say, of course, is that comparing gun-ownership in
Switzerland, where it comes as part of being put under military
discpline, with gun ownership in the US, is comparing apples to
oranges.

And remember, thermonuclear devices don't kill people!  People do.




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