2nd Amendment: The Right To Kill People?, Is it time to amend the US Constitution? Options

[hardbodyactiv]

Considering that USA have more deaths by the deliberate use of firearms than all 21 affiliated countries in Europe, Canada and Australia...approximately 500,000,000 (five hundred million) people, do you not think that it is about time that the US Constitution was amended to outlaw the purchase and use of firearms and restrict their sale to private individuals only for the purpose of hunting and only allowing these to be of the shotgun or rifle variety?

Long question I know and perhaps a bit deep...but most of you will at some time or other encounter a firearm incident if you live in the Continental US and it is even more likely if you live in certain urban areas or states such as Texas, Florida, California or New York. Perhaps this is due to State in addtion to Federal legislation and also perhaps an explosive mix of different social & ethnic backgrounds.

Please don't just post yes or no as you must have a reason to give an answer


Peace Out

[*mipadi*]

I'm actually hesistant to join this debate, because I really don't have a strong opinion either way. My lack of a strong opinion, however, is not based on apathy, but rather, the fact that I don't feel I am informed enough to make a clear decision. To be honest, I can see both sides of this issue; unfortunately, I have not read up enough on statistics and other facts to make what I really feel is an informed decision. However, there are a few things I know about the issue that has helped to begin to shape my feelings on the subject.

I think Comradered makes some very good points. Removing guns does not get rid of crime. A perfect example of this is in European countries; while many have similar gun control laws, I will use Germany as an example, because Germany is the nation I am most knowledgeable about. In Germany, is it very difficult to obtain a firearm. Many gun control advocates point to the fact that Germany has a much lower gun-related crime rate that the US as a result. This is true. However, the crime rate in Germany is not significantly lower than the crime rate in the US. This can be attributable partially to the fact that violent crime still happens in Germany, albeit with weapons other than firearms. A lack of guns, therefore, does not necessarily mean that crimes (and more importantly, violent crimes) will not occur.

I think that the gun control laws in the US are, in theory, satisfactory. They are adequately designed to allow access to firearms for legal purposes, while prohibiting access for illegal purposes. The problem in the US is that many of these gun control laws are not effectively enforced. Columbine is a good example: many of the weapons used in the commission of that crime should have been prevented, but weren't because of ineffective enforcement of the existing laws, or due to loopholes in the laws. For example, Robyn Anderson, the woman who bought several weapons for the Columbine shooters, was not given a background check before her purchase; when asked if a background check would have kept her from purchasing the firearms, she answered yes. [1]

In short, the problem with gun crime in the US is not directly attributable to relaxed gun laws, but rather an inefficienty and ineffectiveness in enforcing existing gun laws.