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I'm your man,

 

Perhaps you should take a closer look at the country you live in too - the laws in Canada are very similar to those in the US in most regards & you certainly have to be wary of murderous attacks on students or travelers there as well!

 

Montreal in particular seems to face a high level of school shootings - the attacks at Dawson College & École Polytechnique spring instantly to mind...

 

Yes, the laws about guns are about the same than in the US, or perhaps a bit more complicated with more papers to fill in. But I don't need to worry about my security because the crime rate (with guns at least) is very very low, compared to the US. In canada, it's something like 130 murders by guns per year, and in the US it's more than 22 000.

 

Those two shootings in schools in Montreal you're talking about are the only 2 shooting in school in the history of Canada. One was more than 20 years ago, and the other one had only 2 deads, including the shooter.

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And the reverse is also true, in parts of the US with more restrictive gun laws - legal gun ownership levels diminish.

 

I think that the word I highlighted here is the most pertinent thing regarding the issue that most people seem to forget about. 99% of the people commiting firearms-related crimes are NOT legal owners of the guns they use, and regardless of how much restriction would ever be put on legal ownership, it WILL NOT change the fact that it is not at all difficult to get a firearm illegally, either through a straw buyer or your local underground circuit of criminal elements. Somehow, many people seem to think that making legal ownership more restrictive will diminish the use of firearms in crime, when it is quite true that if someone wants a gun, they don't have to bother to get one legally because there's more than enough illegally-gotten guns to cover anyone who would ever want one.

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Somehow, many people seem to think that making legal ownership more restrictive will diminish the use of firearms in crime, when it is quite true that if someone wants a gun, they don't have to bother to get one legally because there's more than enough illegally-gotten guns to cover anyone who would ever want one.

 

You seem to be forgetting though that most guns start out as legally purchased guns, even if via a "straw buyer" as you mentioned. More restrictive laws would at least help eliminate the straw buyers.

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The crime rate in Canada is only slightly lower then America. Anyways it doesn't really matter either way since we couldn't say if it was lack of guns or some other factor that made Canada less dangerous.

 

And what makes you say that the crime rate in Canada is only slightly lower then "America" (US) ? I've been looking at all stats about violence, crime and guns on nationmaster.com , or compare the numbers on the chart there http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence .

 

And BTW, Canada is America too; USA and Canada are both in North America... United States of America, the only country with no name, that dares calling himself THE America.

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And BTW, Canada is America too; USA and Canada are both in North America... United States of America, the only country with no name, that dares calling himself THE America.

 

We are THE AMERICA buddy, Canada is just the 51st state. Now shove off you frostbitten hosehead, before I pop a cap in your ass.

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Somehow, many people seem to think that making legal ownership more restrictive will diminish the use of firearms in crime, when it is quite true that if someone wants a gun, they don't have to bother to get one legally because there's more than enough illegally-gotten guns to cover anyone who would ever want one.

 

You seem to be forgetting though that most guns start out as legally purchased guns, even if via a "straw buyer" as you mentioned. More restrictive laws would at least help eliminate the straw buyers.

 

Yes, many guns do start out legal and become illegal due to shady practices and such, but that's certainly not the only way. I know a guy whose family emigrated here from Russia, and he told me about how the Russian mafia (which apparently has a pretty large presence in these areas) is quite good about bringing in loads of firearms from various parts of the world, which once smuggled in area sold off to any interested party as the markup can be from 5-10x what they originally paid for the weapons. From what I'd been told, they weren't just bringing in a few guns to sell, but hundreds every year to our area alone, so that's a pretty big influx from such sources as well. For those kind of situations, no amount of regulation will have ANY impact on them, unless they get caught, and apparently they're not in any real danger of being rounded up any time soon...

 

Of course, straw buyers and the like SHOULD be penalized greatly for illegal purchases. I think that is one area that NEEDS to be worked on greatly, just like I believe that sentences for any crime commited with a firearm, legal or otherwise, should be doubled or tripled based on the use of a gun. What good does it do to deter someone from using the most convenient weapon to frighten someone if it has minimal impact on their overall sentence if they're caught? I say, put it to 'em if they want to use guns, make the sentence SO stiff that they will know that any further use of guns in crime will get them a sentence that won't have them on the streets again until their biggest concern is how to keep their dentures from falling out during mealtime. As you can see, I'm a strong proponent of serious penalties for violent crime offenders, as I don't have one shred of sympathy of mercy for anyone cowardly enough to feel the need to use a firearm against another person in a criminal act.

 

There have been some interesting articles in our area recently, such as the takedown of a guy who was one of Milwaukee's bigger illegal arms dealers. They connected him to a gun used in a shooting of a delivery driver last year, and it was pretty scary how much merchandise he was moving. Seems his elderly uncle was a legit gun dealer and collecter, but was stupid enough to have an ENTIRE GARAGE full of guns in his rural area. So, criminal guy would make periodic trips to uncle's place early in the morning, would break into the garage, take about a dozen weapons every month and make the trek back to Milwaukee to sell. Seems he had a nice network of people he'd page when he had a load, they'd all gather and he'd auction off each gun to the highest bidder. Apparently he made quite a nice living at it until the investigations got so deep that they finally nailed him, but he's just one of MANY that are out there, getting guns in ways that won't be affected by the same legislation that impacts the common person who wants to buy a firearm. As long as there are guns, there will be people finding ways to make money in selling them to the wrong element, and they in turn will continue to use them against innocent people, so we need to get to the root and find a way to deter people from even getting started on that path for fear that they'll never have freedom again if they do something stupid.

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Interesting stuff about the Russian Mafia, that is one angle I hadn't even considered. I'm assuming too that if gun laws here got too restrictive, it would open up a huge black market flowing in across the Mexican border. If we can get truckloads of people in, guns shouldn't be too hard. Actually, people are getting harder to get in, guns would be a nice new market for smugglers.

 

We've had an interesting case in the news here recently. A local police officer was a raging alcoholic, so the chief of police impounded the dozens of handguns in the guy's collection, told his wife it was for "safekeeping" and that he'd give them back when the alcoholic officer got himself together. Well, he didn't get himself together, he died actually and the guns never made it home. The wife started having investigators knocking on her door because her husband's guns were being used in crimes all over the region. It turns out the chief of police was selling them on the street to criminals! So yeah, it would be good if only the police had guns, right?

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Okay, I concede to I'm Your Man, the U.S. is in fact a nation of lunatic whackjobs!

 

http://www.koco.com/news/16860079/detail.html

OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma church canceled a controversial gun giveaway for teenagers at a weekend youth conference.

 

Windsor Hills Baptist had planned to give away a semiautomatic assault rifle until one of the event's organizers was unable to attend.

 

The church’s youth pastor, Bob Ross, said it’s a way of trying to encourage young people to attend the event. The church expected hundreds of teenagers from as far away as Canada.

 

“We have 21 hours of preaching and teaching throughout the week,” Ross said.

 

A video on the church Web site shows the shooting competition from last year’s conference. A gun giveaway was part of the event last year. This year, organizers included it in their marketing.

 

“I don’t want people thinking ‘My goodness, we’re putting a weapon in the hand of somebody that doesn’t respect it who are then going to go out and kill,'” said Ross. “That’s not at all what we’re trying to do.”

 

Ross said the conference isn’t all about guns, but rather about teens finding faith.

 

“You make a lot of new friends down here,” said Vikki Goncharenko, who attended the conference. “You get to meet new people. There's a bunch of things that are going on. It's just, you have a wonderful time.”

 

Friday evening, Ross said the gun giveaway had been canceled. Pastor emeritus Jim Vineyard, who ran the event, injured his foot and wouldn’t be able to attend. The gun giveaway was also removed from the church Web site.

 

Ross said the church would give the gun away next year instead. He said the church spent $800 buying the gun for the promotion.

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I've always wanted to fire a weapon. Maybe a Magnum.

 

.357 magnum or .44 magnum? The "magnum" can accomodate a longer round than a standard weapon, allowing for more gunpowder in the load, allowing you to blow a larger hole in whatever you're shooting. Magnum cartridges were originally developed to blast through car doors and body armor used by gangsters during prohibition. If you're going to fire one, I'd reccomend starting with something smaller and getting the hang of it. A magnum load carries a powerful kick and if you're not prepared for it you'll likely end up with the back of your gun planted in your forehead.

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Here in Canada, I wouldn't have much use for a gun...hell, a lot of our criminals don't even use them

 

On an environmental level, it's scary how much lead is pumped out into our lakes and forests by guns. Is there seriously no alternative to using lead?

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On an environmental level, it's scary how much lead is pumped out into our lakes and forests by guns. Is there seriously no alternative to using lead?

 

 

Where'd you hear that?

 

This from Ducks Unlimited which is both pro-gun and pro-hunting, not to mention pro-republican like you.

 

 

http://www.ducks.org/Conservation/WaterfowlBiology/2693/UnderstandingWaterfowlWaterfowlDiseases.html

LEAD POISONING

 

Lead poisoning, which occurs when waterfowl ingest spent lead shot, is a unique disease because it is caused entirely by humans. Ingestion of just a few pellets can cause death, and in some cases, a single pellet may prove lethal. At one time, an estimated 3,000 tons of lead shot were being deposited by hunters in North American wetlands each year, and the number of spent pellets in some wetlands averaged nearly 70,000 per hectare. Within the United States alone, historic annual losses of waterfowl from lead poisoning were estimated at between 1.6 million and 2.4 million birds. Afflicted birds often take several weeks to die and are characterized by an unwillingness to fly, “roof-shaped” wings, severe emaciation, including a condition known as “hatchet breast,” and bright green staining around the vent. While some lead hot spots remain and periodic die-offs still occur, the introduction of nontoxic shot has curtailed lead shot deposition in North American wetlands and has become a viable long-term solution to lead poisoning.

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