Well played lol.

I'm against guns, but if the Smurfs had them, they would have lived happily forever since episode 1 XD

That's because what you did was the equivalent of introducing tactical nukes to a gunfight. ;)

You’ve probably heard about all the cuts these last few years, but hopefully it’s not quite as bad as a half day response time. Personally, my only dealings with the force were a few years ago when I was confronted by the underwhelming reality of policing.

Me: ‘Hello? My car has been vandalized; the perpetrators just ran off into an alley. There are two of them, both male, about 6 feet tall. One has short blonde hair, the other long black hair.’

Operator: ‘Ok sir, let me tell you what I'm going to do. First I'm going to grab my gun…’

Me: ‘Uh huh.’

Operator: ‘And move it off the top of the paperwork so I can reach a form 32-B and file a report. That report stays in our system and when combined with others, will eventually make up a solid statistic for crime in your area. If it’s significant enough we’ll start sending policeman in the next 2-3 years.’

haha I could quite believe this.

I was under the impression that you could purchase assault rifles (like an AK-47 or whatever). I would call it military grade, it certainly doesn't need to be in the hands of civilians.

I'm European so... wait... something isn't right with this stereotype...

The only person to mention statistical data so far that I noticed was Starmaker. Not that she offered any links... the data on this topic is often poisoned by the ideological interpretations / assumptions so one would need to have both sides' view on same for a well rounded analysis. Wake me up (by which I mean PM me) if anyone is interested.

Also, I knew JMich's pics were Israel as soon as I saw the first. Was it really that difficult to guess?

You can't. An assault rifle requires automatic fire to be classified as an assault rifle, and selling of automatic weapons is illegal in most states. Similar laws also exist regarding magazine capacity (selling a weapon with a 5 or 10 round magazine is ok, selling one with a 50 round magazine is illegal). Same thing holds true for .50 caliber rounds, even though how a round is measured is a different kind of a mess (the same round may be legal for rifles, but illegal for handguns for example).
Thus why I asked what you consider military grade, mostly because obtaining assault rifles is quite difficult, even though carbines can be obtain much easier.
People are used to Americans displaying rifles in public, so the fact that other countries may be much more comfortable around weapons is a curiosity.

I could care less about stats. Tyranny tends to only stop with weapons. That's the point of the 2nd amendment in the U.S. And I think it should go for the world, but that's my Americanism talking, I'm sure.

Nonetheless, guns are dangerous and should be respected and people should make good decisions about them. But I'd rather die from an accidental discharge than disarm my whole nation and allow, some 300 years later, a tyrant to destroy freedom, justice and peace.

Well... Think about these two phrases ou wrote there. If people start to defend themselves with guns, criminals will have guns too instead of knifes. What is your gun going to do against 6 drunk, violent Russians with guns? The answer is easy: It'll kill you! If everyone has a gun, these Russians will definitely have guns too. Burglars won't have trouble to get guns if everyone has one at home! And when they find a second, third, fourth, etc. gun, they'll sell it to other criminals (no need to have 20 stolen and identifiable guns at home).

Now, if I'm a drunk, violent Russian, breaking into your home with my 5 drunk, violent, russian buddies, and find you wielding a can of whatever (maze, deo, baked beans), I'd laugh at you, hit you in your face and do whatever I came for. But if you'd wield a gun, I wouldn't take the time to laugh and hit you. I'd shoot. Immediately. Before you shoot me!

You with a gun against 6 Russians with knifes? Cool! You with a gun against 6 Russians with guns? Game over.

Those thugs with guns, i'd probably be shot either way. * I just edited this. Noticed my keyboard is not typing everything *

Probably yes.
But the chances of thugs having guns is, in my opinion, higher if weapons are easily available to everyone.

Another thing to consider, to shoot six (knife armed) thugs, You do not only need a gun.
You need a good aim, a cool head, and an intent to kill (even in self defence). Not everyone has that.
I for sure do not know if I will be able to. Not without already happened to be in a similar situation.
S

but that was the point of the thread. A laid back discussion about how they could limit just anyone getting guns etc legally. If thugs want one illegally they will get one whether we like it or not.

(that and i'm surprised it's been as laid back as it has so far)

Yes, color me surprised too.
On topic, I think guns should be more limited, as average joes are not reliable enough to have a weapon.
In standard situations, of course. People living in places with dangerous wildlife (or something like that) should be an exception.
Unfortunately, this leave our safety in the hands of police and army (or government in general), and I do not trust them a lot too. Seem we are in a lose-lose situation...

I tend to stay VERY clear of these topics, for reasons you can easily guess. But I'll bite. Without posing pro or anti arguments I feel that you either ban them altogether, or continue stumbling upon the fine line we walk in the US. Continuing stumbling the fine line will allow citizens in good standing to legally own firearms and no matter what legislation is put forward tragic events will continue. The problem with an all-out ban leaves years of confiscation and a huge number off illegal arms remaining in the hands of criminals. There will never be a clear winner.