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You said it! Readers' Opinions on Gun Contol
What's your opinion of gun control? Send it to us.
Look at how easily young people get access to guns. This combined with an unhealthy approach to conflict resolution is what causes so many people to be killed by gunshot wounds. JJG
from the U.S. Karl
Menzel, U.S. Erica
from the U.S. Connie
Faille from Colombia My feelings and reflections concerning the firearms debate in the United States of America. For the last three or four years I have followed the debate with varying degrees of interest. I am a foreigner to you, but please do not reject my thoughts without at least reading them. One night in the early hours of a new day, I was struck, as it so often happens, by an idea or you might say though. What I came up with was a new concept of defining the way that guns work when operated by humans, or so I hope it is. Instead of looking at guns as semiautomatic, automatic or pump action, I am prepared to give guns and their mechanical function a different angle. My concept is as follows; guns belong to one of the three following categories. Reflex operated, conscious operated or premeditatedly operated. This is because different mechanical actions give the human shot different amounts of time in which to contemplate the result and correction of his fire. Guns differ a lot from each other in the way they work, but you can categorize them into three main groups in a purely mechanical sense, namely automatic, semiautomatic, single shot. I am aware of how crude the categories look, but bear with me for so long. Instead guns can be categorized in a slightly different way. My three categories coincide quite well with the previousl mechanically organized groups. But that is not the angle I am trying to pursue. My angle is simply concerned with the way humans interact with guns and the amount of thought or say mental workload that is required to release another round down the barrel with 9, often supersonic speed. Therefore I have named my three categories in the following order, beginning with the least demanding mental workload, reflex, following in order is; conscious and premeditated. I will explain each after the other in order. Reflex means that the body is capable of executing the sequence involved in firing the gun without actually using the brain. The muscles and nerves interact as they were intended in the dawn of evolution, without reflexes our ancestors probably would have wound up in the belly of a cave bear or poisoned by snakes.The reflex in this case is also being boosted or augmented by a thing called stimuli, a term loaned from the field of psychology - my sincere apologies to all professional psychologists who are offended by this. The stimuli in this case is the continued stream of bullets and their effect on the target and also probably the continuous bang and the rocking motion of the recoil. Daniel
from Sweden The only way that we can prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands is completely getting rid of all gun sales. That will never happen. My guess is that about 97% of he people who buy guns do it for hunting, collection or just shooting at a range to relax or just blow off some steam. I'm 14 years old and I hunt with my dad. It's a lot of fun. We have never had a problem with a gun or had any accidents. It's people's constitutional right to own and possess a firearm. I can't wait till I can own a handgun, not for the reason of killing someone, just because it's fun to shoot guns. Travis
from the U.S. Kanako
from Japan Several month ago, I agreed with that partly. But as we know, the private groups like NRA have distorted the public opinion and lobby the member of congress to protect their profit. Other weapons such as knife, razor, bat, etc. are made for own usages. But guns are made for only one reason to kill someone. Of course, There are people who have guns to protect themselves from the criminals. But crime is getting more cruel and severe nowadays, so actually even if someone has a gun, it is impossible to guard himself completely. As a substitute, I think, if the possession of guns is controlled more strictly, people can live safer lives than now. There are other reasons to oppose the gun control,(e.g. the possession of guns is historical inheritance and represents that people's resistance will against tyrannical government) but none of them can justify and explain today's serious situation in the U.S. Sang-Hoon
Shin from Korea Guns do NOT kill people. People kill people! The gun is merely a tool to accomplish this end just as an ax, a hammer, a knife, baseball bat or whatever else is handy to the person who wants to kill. The media is permeated with violence. People watch television; especially young people. "As the twig is bent, so shall the tree grow". Eliminating guns will NOT eliminate killing. Changing the mind set will, however. Bobby
Walker from the U.S. I grew up with loaded guns in the house, as did most every rural kid from my generation, and no one was ever shot "accidentally" because such tragedies happen only through ignorance and lack of training. To fear an inanimate object is nonsensical; the only difference between an assault rifle and a sporting rifle is a loose nut behind the trigger. We don't have a gun problem, we have a people problem. The biggest fear I have is that criminals—those who prey on others to support their lifestyles—are very well armed, in spite of gun laws that are already tyrannical and excessive. Criminals by definition don't obey them, and I think too much of my loved ones not to be at least as well armed as those who accost in a dark parking lot. Len
McDougall from the U.S.A., author of
"The Complete Tracker", "Made for the Outdoors",
"Practical Outdoor Survival, and the upcoming "The
All Outdoors Handbook" Blaine
from the U.S. Patrick
from the U.S. I was raised by parents involved in Law Enforcement and EVERY weapon in our home was always loaded. My father still sleeps with a loaded pistol under his pillow. Not one single firearms accident ever occurred in my house. When the children were old enough (7 or 8), we were taken to an authorized shooting range and taught how to respect weapons as machines capable of protection or destruction, not toys or movie props. I am currently teaching my three children, as they grow, the lessons I learned that have kept me safe and well armed in my life. My handguns lay in their holsters, loaded and within reach, and will sit there for years without "jumping up" and shooting anyone! No weapon has ever killed of its own free will, it has to be operated by a person to be dangerous. Thank you for a chance to talk. Ken
from the U.S. There are many causes that attribute to the high crime rate present in America today. Mainly, the failure of the criminal justice system to punish criminals and keep them off of the streets causes the majority of the problem. Also, children must be educated about guns at a very young age because chances are that some day they will come across one. Accidents would fall dramatically if the children were just shown what to do if they come across a gun. Just because guns are available to me does not mean that I will shoot a person out of rage or for any reason. In other words, a possessing a gun does not cause someone to murder, etc. The problem is within that person's mind. If someone has the intention to murder, etc., they will do so with whatever weapon is available, gun or not. Chris
Ahmed from the U.S. C.
Sabella from the U.S. On another note, our cultural differences in attitudes towards gun ownership can be traced to the dynastic histories of our countries. The US was formed in the common law tradition of western Europe with personal responsibility both for one's safety and one's actions held paramount. Japan's history has been one of rule by monarchy/oligarchy with weapons *never* allowed for the lower or serf classes. I welcome your responses and thoughts. Dr.
Timothy Albers from the U.S. Anonymous
from the U.S. Texas
Rancher from the U.S. Anonymous
from the U.S. Anonymous
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