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BamaD -> RE: Bored in Oklahoma (8/22/2013 9:53:54 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Zonie63
quote:
ORIGINAL: SilverMark
@zonie "I think gun control would probably gain more support in this country if its advocates would be willing to tie it in with some truly tough measures against crime."
We already spend more money on prisons and prisoners than we do on education, our prisons are full, and we now contract prisons to private corporations. How do we toughen laws, and deal with the numbers when we have overcrowded, understaffed, and expensive prisons as is? What laws would you toughen up? More mandatory minimums? Tougher gun laws? More time for less heinous crimes? Install an express lane for lethal injections and electric chairs?....Not sure I understand what else we could do? We can't outlaw guns, hell we can't even get a list of gun owners, and the present system is a failure, and we already add time for crimes committed with guns, where would you start?
You're raising a lot of different points, but the point that I was trying to make had to do with the incompleteness of the usual arguments which come up in regards to crime and gun control.
At the very least, I was saying that those who would like to restrict, limit, or ban firearms ownership should consider the reasons why people feel the need to own guns in the first place and why they'll fight tooth and nail before they'll ever give them up. The reason is crime and a general feeling of being unsafe, along with the inadequacy of law enforcement to completely protect the public.
So, the bottom line is that if there are those who want citizens to give up their guns and accept gun control, then they're going to have to convince them that they'll be safer without guns than with guns.
If, by your questions you've put to me, you're implying that society is doing all that it possibly can and we can't do any more, I take that as meaning that we, as a society, have run out of answers to this problem.
As to your point about prisons, one way of reducing the overcrowding is to pardon all drug offenders and instantly parole all non-violent offenders as much as possible.
I never said anything about outlawing guns at all. I'm not in favor of that, and I don't think it would work anyway. In any case, my whole point here is that there's so much political resistance to the idea that it's a dead end to even pursue the matter. Other avenues besides gun control should be explored.
As for the death penalty, I think society has the prerogative to take that step when deemed necessary. I don't really see that there should be any parole or forgiveness for the crime of murder.
Of course, it's not just a matter of the laws, but also within the culture. There are some sections of society which seem to glorify crime and other amoral behavior. Some people think that it's "cool" and brag about being "connected." Hell, we treat criminal bosses like they're Hollywood celebrities. We reap what we sow, but it has very little to do with guns themselves.
As Kirata pointed out earlier we grew up in an era when guns were far more readily available, my dad was a cop and there were always half a dozen loaded guns in the house, none locked up. I got my first gun when I was 12.
Everyone in school had a pocket knife. People got in fights but they didn't use weapons. There was a greater value placed on life, and respect for others. Young people are not taught values and respect, this is the problem.
We need to teach values, and respect not only for the lives of others but their rights.
We do this and there can be a gun on every coffee table in the country and you won't see this sort of thing happen.
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