igor2003
Posts: 1718
Joined: 1/1/2004
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--FR--
One safety feature, already available on all guns, is to simply leave the firing chamber empty. That, alone, would virtually eliminate all accidental shootings where a toddler discharges the weapon, and would definitely (in my opinion) drastically reduce accidental shootings by older children. Getting the adult owners of said weapons to actually do this would be the real trick, since it reduces the available firepower by one round.
But more laws aren't going to do the trick. Since automobiles are often used as a sort of comparison, I'll do the same. Automobile laws are there mainly to prevent loss of life and property. You have laws (varying from state to state and country to country) that regulate who can own or register a car. You have classes and tests that have to be taken in order to get a license to operate the car. You have multitudes of laws concerning what you can do while operating the car. There are speed limits. There are laws concerning lane changes. There are laws concerning stopping at intersections. And on...and on...and on... Law after law after law, and regulation after regulation after regulation.
But guess what. People still die in traffic "accidents". Why? Because all too often, once the classes and tests have been taken, and once the person has their license and they get behind the wheel, those lessons, and tests, and rules, and regulations...get ignored. The person thinks, "Those rules are for people that aren't as careful as I am," or some such idiocy...if they even THINK at all.
More safety features? Cars have safety features like seat belts, turn signals, parking brakes, etc. etc. But those safety features, even if required to be there by law, don't do a bit of good if they aren't used. You can require more and more safety features on guns, but if you can't get the people to use what is already there, then what good are more and more safety features going to do?
I WOULD BE WILLING TO BET that when it comes to cars and driving that most (or at least many) of the people that are anti-gun, and/or who want more gun regulations, are going to be people that at least occasionally speed, or roll through stop signs, or make illegal lane changes because they are about to miss their exit. And if more regulations "don't apply" to them, why do they think more regulations for guns will make any difference?
I know there are people that will argue, and often rightly so, that just because present laws, rules, and regulations aren't working, does that mean we should make it legal?...or not write more laws? SOMETIMES new laws and regulations can and should be called for. But new laws and regulations aren't some kind of fix all. Adding laws just to "do something" isn't the answer. More often than not those new laws and regulations only effect people that are already doing their part, and have no effect at all on the people that are going to ignore them anyway.
I freely admit that I don't have any ready answers that will work. At least if you can't get people to comply with the rules, regulations, and safety features that are already there. And I don't think stricter gun control laws will work either. I know we have people that say, "See what it did for the UK and Australia." But the history, culture, and people of the United States is considerably different from those countries. If you want to compare countries, you might as well try comparing to Jamaica. I've never seen that comparison before. Jamaican gun laws, from what I understand, are every bit as strict...or more so...than either the UK or Australia. There, even the possession of a single bullet, even without the presence of a gun, can get you as much as 10 years in prison at hard labor. The fees to get a gun license are as much or more than most of their citizens make in a year...or several years, and then is subject to extreme scrutiny by the government. And yet they have one of the highest gun/murder rates in the world. (I have to admit that this information was read several years ago, and may not be 100% accurate today, but I openly invite anyone to look up the present information and post it. I won't argue with what they find!)
Anyway...I'm not sure you would call this a "rant", and I'm probably not going to keep coming back to argue the finer points just because someone disagrees. These are just my thoughts and opinions. You are entitled to your own.
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If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy. - Red Green
At my age erections are like cops...there's never one around when you need it!
Never miss a good chance to shut up. - Will Rogers
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RE: Another "successful" carry story - 
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I don't know what the probability is but it certainly wouldn't be toddler proof. 
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