Gun control, the constitution and you, let's keep it civil.

[craig]

I don't know about knives being more dangerous than guns, but at close range I would rather defend against a firearm than a knife.

EDIT: I would rather defend against neither.

maybe so.

but how many 6 year olds could defend them selves against a military assult weapon that fires a .223 caliber bullet a lot faster than they could ever run at a rate of more than60 bullets a minute?

if this person was carrying a knife. do you think that 26 people would have died before some one stopped him?

yes mass murders are committed with bladed weapons, but, most bladed mass killings by a single person dont happen in a 20 minute period. but with a semi auto rifle.....well

[Happiness]

However, at least some of Mexico's problem comes from guns smuggled in from the United States. Also, regarding Norway, I'm not keen to use outlier events. Particularly, when said events are not uncommon in the United States.

Can you explain what you mean about Norway. I dont know what you mean by outlier events. The two events have alot of similarities, but different countries and different gun laws.

[DFIB]

However, at least some of Mexico's problem comes from guns smuggled in from the United States. Also, regarding Norway, I'm not keen to use outlier events. Particularly, when said events are not uncommon in the United States.

I think that a lot of the guns in Mexico do come from the US but not directly. Most are purchased from warehouses of overstock remnants from internal conflicts the USA supported in Central America. The Guatemala - Mexico border is wide open. There is practically no surveillance or accountability outside of the main road border crossings. There are weapons armories just across said border that sell wholesale with no ID required.

It is funny that the US president himself promoted the idea that most of the guns come from the US. If I remember correctly a very small percentage can actually be traced to the USA. Well, not so small but most definitely not the 90% that president Obama claimed in his visit to Mexico. http://www.factcheck...xicos_guns.html

So the black numbers should be an even lower percentage than. It is just very comfortable for Mexican government to blame the US for it's problems instead at looking at the internal corruptions that allows cartels to proliferate and thousands of Mexican citizens to be slaughtered. Smoke and mirrors.

I agree that a lot of weapons in Mexico come from the USA. I also don't think that they all came from the civilian gun market. Like I say, Central American warehouses and weapons the US has sold to the Mexican Navy over the years are the most likely sources.

EDIT: The only way to purchase a handgun or rifle legally in Mexico is from the Mexican army. Where does the Mexican army buy the guns they sell? Yep, so not all the weapons in Mex. are smuggled across the US border even if the US is their point of origin.

maybe so.

but how many 6 year olds could defend them selves against a military assult weapon that fires a .223 caliber bullet a lot faster than they could ever run at a rate of more than60 bullets a minute?

if this person was carrying a knife. do you think that 26 people would have died before some one stopped him?

yes mass murders are committed with bladed weapons, but, most bladed mass killings by a single person dont happen in a 20 minute period. but with a semi auto rifle.....well

Good points all but I was referring to myself.

Edited December 19, 2012 by DFIB

[chbare]

Can you explain what you mean about Norway. I dont know what you mean by outlier events. The two events have alot of similarities, but different countries and different gun laws.

This type of event is rare in a country like Norway. In other words an exception or a statistical outlier. However, such events are at a point where I would almost call them common in the United States. Such events have occurred multiple times over the past 15 years. It is not valid to compare isolated incidents in other countries to an event that continues to occur on a regular basis in the United States.

Edit: I am aware of the high levels of gun ownership in Norway; however, the stipulations such as mandatory gun safes and so on that go along with said ownership are not an inherent component of ownership requirements in the United States.

Edited December 19, 2012 by chbare

[Arctickat]

So they have have many more homicides involving guns yet have stricter gun control laws. You can be arrested for having an empty shell casing in your possession.

Provided the police officers have the desire to walk into drug controlled territory where most of them get decapitated and their heads put on a pike. Even so, Mexico still has less murders involving guns than the US does.

[chbare]

Perhaps I did not explain my point clearly? I am not buying all the comparisions I see people making to countries such as Norway and Switzerland where gun ownership is high but gun violence is low. Unfortunately, I see people pointing to these countries as justification for the United States to not consider changes. However, what many people fail to appreciate is that the high rates of ownership come with many laws, stipulations and regulations. However, I rarely see people point that side of the coin out. Once again, this makes the situation in the United States unique among other "post-industrial" nations.

[Arctickat]

Err, Chris, Gun ownership in the States is almost double that of Switzerland and nearly triple Norway.

http://en.wikipedia....pita_by_country

Then again..those would only account for the legally registered weapons.

Edited December 19, 2012 by Arctickat

[chbare]

Yes, I am well of aware of that; however, gun ownership in those countries is still higher than many other nations and gun related recreational activities are actually quite popular in Norway. Actually, ownership is high in many of the Scandinavian countries; however, the culture is different and the regulations are quite different from the United States.

[Arctickat]

err. okay. Sorry Chris I had to wrap my head around your statement and realise now what you're saying.

[chbare]

No problem, I realised my point wasn't too clear.