The right to bear arms

[YesNo]

That data doesn't really prove much. Of course if there are more guns there will be more gun homicides. What we should really look at is the total homicide rate for any weapon (which is probably still higher in America than in most).

One could consider the countries with a high number of firearms per 100 people and low deaths by firearms per 100,000 people to see how these countries keep firearms available with a low death rate. The USA has a high number of firearms and a high death rate. The general question is how to reduce the death rate. A corresponding question is how to keep these firearms from being used by suicide-terrorists on children.

[Volya]

I think the problem will all the 2nd Amendment supporters is that they fail to understand what a well-regulated militia is. What they have in the US can hardly be called a militia, more of bunch of random people who happen to own guns. W
Whereas in Switzerland they also have a high number of guns but still maintain low crime rates - partly because the culture in Switzerland is very different to other countries, and partly because to own a gun you get conscripted into serving with the military for (I think) two years.

[Sancho]

...(Austin has pockets of culture too - i've seen some good rock bands there)

You've just destroyed your own argument.

Haha. I see your point, Emil. But if you ever happen to find yourself down on 6th street in Austin, Texas, you don't have to go to a rock-n-roll show. They also have Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop, Techno, Zydeco, Country-Western, Rap, Tejano, Folk, Soul, Metal...I could go on and on.

Oh yes, I almost forgot. The city also has an eclectic ensemble of folks who call themselves the Austin Philharmonic Orchestra. They're pretty good.

Aye yai yai, what were we talking about again? Hmm, oh, I remember - guns. Bad juju those things.

You know, Volya, the 2nd amendment rulings by the US Supreme Court (the court that has the final say in constitutional law here) did interpret the amendment to mean "well regulated militia," instead of a broader interpretation as the right for private citizens to "bear arms", up until relatively recently. 2008, I think. We do, in this country, have a well regulated militia: it's called the National Guard. They are state militias who answer to the state governor, but who can also called up for federal service during times of emergency (Title 10 Activation).

[Volya]

You know, Volya, the 2nd amendment rulings by the US Supreme Court (the court that has the final say in constitutional law here) did interpret the amendment to mean "well regulated militia," instead of a broader interpretation as the right for private citizens to "bear arms", up until relatively recently. 2008, I think. We do, in this country, have a well regulated militia: it's called the National Guard. They are state militias who answer to the state governor, but who can also called up for federal service during times of emergency (Title 10 Activation).

If you want to own a gun then you should have to serve with the National Guard, seems to be a good idea to at least try out, just to see if it makes a difference in regards to gun crime. It can hardly make it any worse.

[qimissung]

I liked what the second commenter had to say in the NYT article:

". It's hard to ignore the fact that guns are a convenient, popular choice for robbing the lives of others, but to focus solely on guns as the problem is no less foolish than focusing on cars as the problem for car accidents."

It's true, and we should not stop in our efforts to tease out the roots of the problem, which will be deep-seated and lie within our culture.

Looking at the chart I noticed that in the first column, Homicide by firearm rate per 100,000 population,Japan had 0.0 at the top while we were at the bottom with a 3.5. I wonder why that is? I read somewhere once upon a time that the Japanese have a love of violence in their games and movies, much as we do, yet their level of violent gun-related crime, or violent crime in general is much lower than ours.

[Sancho]

If you want to own a gun then you should have to serve with the National Guard, seems to be a good idea to at least try out, just to see if it makes a difference in regards to gun crime. It can hardly make it any worse.

That'd probably never fly, but I like your thinking.

I haven't much studied it, but concerning the Supreme Court rulings and the intentions of the founders, I've got to think the guys who wrote the 2nd amendment were thinking along the same lines as you - a well regulated militia. It was a well regulated militia (The Continental Army lead by George Washington) that tossed out the Red Coats. And it was a semi-well-regulated militia (Sam Adams and the boys) that got everybody all riled up in the first place: they tossed several tons of good East India tea into Boston Harbor during a little soirée.

And all that stuff was high on their minds when they wrote the Bill of Rights.

The 3rd amendment says:

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Which was a direct answer to George III's army being quartered on private property in the American colonies. And those two amendments make me think the founders were trying to protect us against the sort of things that lead up to the Revolutionary War. I doubt they'd have had much sympathy for a modern-day dude who wants to own an AR-15 with a big ole banana clip.

By the way, the National Guard still has the logo of an 18th century Minute Man. They are the direct descendants of Paul Revere and the lot.

My other theory is that the 2nd amendment was all just a big misunderstanding, a typo. What really happened was Benjy Franklin, Al Hamilton, Chuck Pinckney, and little Jimmy Madison had been out all night boozing it up on Sam Adams' beer and whoring around in Philly. The next morning at the Constitutional Convention they wrote the 2nd amendment. They'd been mooning around all night with a French Can-Can girl named Mademoiselle Liberté. Anyway, you how a bunch of young guys get when they're around the fairer sex. They meant to write "bare arms." They thought they were being funny. The sots.

[Volya]

I liked what the second commenter had to say in the NYT article:

". It's hard to ignore the fact that guns are a convenient, popular choice for robbing the lives of others, but to focus solely on guns as the problem is no less foolish than focusing on cars as the problem for car accidents."

It's true, and we should not stop in our efforts to tease out the roots of the problem, which will be deep-seated and lie within our culture.

Looking at the chart I noticed that in the first column, Homicide by firearm rate per 100,000 population,Japan had 0.0 at the top while we were at the bottom with a 3.5. I wonder why that is? I read somewhere once upon a time that the Japanese have a love of violence in their games and movies, much as we do, yet their level of violent gun-related crime, or violent crime in general is much lower than ours.

Japan have some of the strictest gun laws in the world - even stricter than here in the UK. I think it is pretty much impossible to own a gun. From what I'm aware, the Japanese have very low crime rates in general (I'm not sure how much crime the Yakuza get up to)

[Emil Miller]

Haha. I see your point, Emil. But if you ever happen to find yourself down on 6th street in Austin, Texas, you don't have to go to a rock-n-roll show. They also have Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop, Techno, Zydeco, Country-Western, Rap, Tejano, Folk, Soul, Metal...I could go on and on.

Please don't, I think I'll stick to music.

[ennison]

Owning a gun in America is a right touted by anarchist fruit cakes. The notion that keeping several revolvers and machine guns at home helps you to defend yourself against your democratic government is risible. Most of these I-need-a-gun nasties are not members of a militia and not well -regulated. They are more likely to shoot their neighbour in an argument over a parking space than to ever go hunting. Their arguments for gun ownership are laughable.

[prendrelemick]

My advice to Mr President would be to make a small start, set the ball rolling, perhaps introduce some legal responsibility to gun ownership, and in about 50 years you may start to see a change in atitudes. Meanwhile watch out for fiscal cliffs

[Sancho]

Please don't, I think I'll stick to music.

...also they have Swing, Bebop, Gospel, Punk, Rockabilly, Doo-wop, Salsa, Cajun, Grunge, Bluegrass, Baroque String Quartet...whoa, who let the long-hairs in the house?

[Alexander III]

My advice to Mr President would be to make a small start, set the ball rolling, perhaps introduce some legal responsibility to gun ownership, and in about 50 years you may start to see a change in atitudes. Meanwhile watch out for fiscal cliffs

If America were a one party system or a monarchy sure no problem, but considering the other party has more than half of the lower house it is neig on impossible.

[prendrelemick]

Today the NRA told it how it is, and blamed :-

The Media,
Video Games,
President Obama,
Gun free school zones,
Hurricanes,
Sports stadiums,
Celebrities,
Foriegn aid,
Movies,
Music Videos,

But definitely not guns.

[Emil Miller]

This is rather pertinent:

http://youtu.be/Ternps0JFwo

[miyako73]

Even without guns, those who are determined to kill children and make schools as graveyards will have machetes to use. If that happens, it will be clearer to us that the problem is not about guns but the desire to kill children as a social statement that bothers and to create havoc at schools out of revenge on a society that "others" and does not listen.