Quote:
Originally Posted by YeOldeCurmudgeon
(Post 2117110)
This is an ultra political topic but for some reason TOV has allowed it to continue.
Because of this I am going to post some facts that should make you all realize that the right to bear arms was created during a much different time than the present.
When the second amendment was passed, the U.S. had no standing army and needed private citizens to join a militia to defend the country. Not only this, but pioneers had to deal with the hazards of hostile Natives, wild animals, and unknown threats in the wilderness.
Today we not only have a huge standing army but a well-funded and organized police force.
The facts are that there are 100 million more guns in the U.S. than people and that's a dated statistic and I suspect the number today is even greater. Just based on those stats, we have by far more guns in our nation than any other in the world. We also have, as of 5 years ago, second highest number of firearms-related deaths of any nation, only Brazil topping us. The only other nations with a greater percentage of firearms-related deaths are all in Central or South America, and it would not surprise me if we have climbed in the rankings. No other nation has so many mass murder shootings.
Also, if you review the numbers of comparable nations in Europe or Asia with strict gun control like England or Japan, the number of firearms-related deaths are shockingly low. Australia, for example, had a rash of mass shootings in the 1990s and implemented strict gun control and the mass shootings virtually stopped.
For instance in the UK, the majority of police don't even carry a firearm; they carry those bobby sticks. And in the UK, shooting deaths by police average between 50-60 / year. In the U.S., the number is more than a 1,000. With all those guns out there, the police are going to reach for their guns often and quickly, and often shooting rashly for fear of their lives. So, it is more likely that in most circumstances, having a gun puts your life in greater danger, especially if you interact with police. How many times have you heard of people telling police they had a gun and reach to get their ID or registration and get shot?
The facts are blatantly obvious and to say that more guns are needed is patently insane. The only people who sell guns to people for protection are only fooling themselves and their customers.
Sure, there are some people who do need guns for their profession or some legitimate purpose, but those are people who are trained and licensed to use them.
Did you hear about the man in Utah who was being arrested and while the police were doing so, his four-year-old took the gun that was in the car and started shooting at the police? He said he did it, so his Dad could get away and do what he wanted to do.
Wake up, people, we don't need guns to protect us; they're killing machines not life protectors.
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Different times indeed, however, some corrections to your interpretation of facts in necessary. It is very important to understand the Founding Fathers view of a standing army. At the time of our War For Independence, 1776-1783, there was a standing army in our country. It was the British Army. That standing army was the primary enforcement arm of the oppressive government that Americans faced at that time. That standing army is why we have the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Amendments. That standing army was first confronted with the militias and then the Continental Army. James Madison typifies our Founding Fathers in a speech he delivered in June of 1787 at the Constitutional Convention. He said, " A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to Liberty.".
In your post above, you stated that when the 2nd Amendment was passed there was no standing Army. That is not correct. The US Army was born June 14, 1775, the US Navy was born on October 13, 1775, the US Marines were born November 10, 1775. Congress created the US Military under the Constitution on September 29, 1787. The 2nd Amendment was passed on December 15, 1791. Four years later.
Fact: Over 54% of firearms deaths in our country are suicide. Someone committed to ending their life will use whatever means they have available. We don't even land in the top 10 countries in the world on suicide rate. 1. Guyana, 2. Japan, 3. South Korea, 4. Sri Lanka, 5. Lithuania, 6. Suriname, 7. Mozambique, 8. Tanzania, 9. Nepal, 10. Kazakhstan.
You try to paint us as a murdering country, however, the murder rate in our country is in the middle of the pack. Eighty-eight countries have a higher murder rate than we do. For example, El Salvador has a murder rate of 61.8 per 100,000 people while the U.S. is 5.3 per 100,000.
Anti-gun radicals conveniently leave out a very important fact. Every year armed Americans defend themselves 2,500,000 times against criminals. Wouldn't it be great if we consider banning criminals?
I am quite certain you have no idea what goes through the mind of our Law Enforcement Officers, but you do have quite an imagination.
The rest of your rant is bloviation. We could have a billion firearms in our country and that would not have an effect on the number nor frequency of mass shootings. The number of citizens in our country and the number of firearms are irrelevant. Bad people can't be legislated nor banned.
The fact is you have no understanding of the 2nd Amendment, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, our history, nor our form of governance.
