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5535 — 15 years ago(April 20, 2010 01:03 PM)
He was probably out late like many people, and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe he was targeted because of who he is. Who knows. All I know is that there are too many guns in the hands of criminals. We need to stop the production of bullets.
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ranmalein — 15 years ago(April 20, 2010 02:19 PM)
when everyone is running around with loaded guns, aren't you worried that the criminals won't hesitate to use their guns more often because they have to expect the people they rob to use theirs?
making guns illegal won't prevent many crimes, 5b4but making them legal won't do that trick, either. it will only make the criminals ruthless because they have to fear for their own lives.
do you really think it would've been better for him to have a gun in this situation? i doubt it.
by the way, i don't know much about gun laws in the U.S., but it's not impossible to get one, right? it's just not as easy in washington, if it's "illegal", isn't it?
"Angel Investigation - we hope you're helpless" - Doyle -
Antilles-7 — 15 years ago(April 20, 2010 02:57 PM)
As much as I support gun rights, I don't advocate that EVERYONE should be running around with a gun (I personally don't own one, nor do I want one).
However, the mere prospect that anyone might have a concealed gun is sufficient to deter most criminals from victimizing a random stranger. On the other hand, when criminals know that the population is unarmed, they don't hesitate to rob someone.
Gun laws in the U.S. are pretty liberal (compared to most of the world). But Washington D.C. is one of the few places where citizens are prohibited from possessing guns or protecting themselves.
I don't think it's a coincidence that cities and states with strict gun laws have higher instances of crime and violence than those that allow their citizens to defend themselves. -
ranmalein — 15 years ago(April 21, 2010 05:46 AM)
I don't think it's a coincidence that cities and states with strict gun laws have higher instances of crime and violence than those that allow their citizens to defend themselves.
do you have any statistics to back that up?
i can only speak for the country i live in. i live in austria (not australia
) and it's one of the safest countries in europe. as for murders, i think there were around 25 last year (population 8.4 millions, about as much as new york (1990 they had over 2000 murders, in 2004 over 500) and this was a high rate!
the crime rate is increasing every year (i think it is in most countries?) but when i read about penn's case being a, i think they said, "normal mugging", i was like "this is a normal mugging? at gun point?". when you're being mugged here in austria, they hardly ever have ANY weapons! most of them, if they do, have knives, and don't use them.
anyway, i don't really think strict gun laws influence a crime rate much, but i personally feel safer to know that not everyone on the street is carrying a gun. it also makes it harder for criminals to own one. sure most of them probably know where to get one illegally, but why should they get one if they only want your money and know that you'll hand it to them, anyway? if they 5b4get caught they get in a lot more trouble when they own a gun than they would with "only" threatening with their fists.
maybe i expect criminals to think more logical than they do, but i think it works here in austria. you can get a gun if you want one (of course you have to go through a lot of paperwork and i don't know what else you have to do) but you can't go in a store and buy it like a bottle of milk.
"Angel Investigation - we hope you're helpless" - Doyle -
KricketSC80 — 15 years ago(April 20, 2010 02:26 PM)
I live in DC and its illegal to own a handgun, they just passed a law where you are allowed to purchase hunting rifles, but you have to go through a ton of paperwork to do so.
As for being in DC that late, he is a little crazy! I don't even hang out after dark in DC even if its near the Capital due to the crime rate. Downtown DC is just scary period people will come up to your car and harrass you (this is from personel experience). He was probably in one of the bathrooms at the Metro (our version of subways) and got robbed there, but I don't think the trains run that early in the morning, but that could have changed since the last time I've been on them.
Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.