Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Point Click, Fire: An Undercover Investigation of Illegal Online Gun Sales [View all]gejohnston
(17,502 posts)I doubt they are any more common here than they are in Europe once you adjust for population. They only seem common because they show up on the news, because it is rare. A couple of days ago some guy in some parolee in Belgium threw a couple of hand grenades at some Christmas shoppers. Is their system broken?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1172796
Here is the real problem:
Our murder rate is about 4.8 per 100K, which is a 35 year low. That said, that is an average. When you break it down by locality, most of it is concentrated in places that are either drug smuggling routes or major distribution centers and gang activity in places like Chicago. Europe's illegal gun trade uses the same routes as the illegal drug trade.
Most murders and victims are basically the same demographic and have criminal records. Gangsters killing other gangsters.
That is why places like Vermont and Wyoming are as safe as Japan and Norway even with their very lax gun laws, and Chicago, Southern California, parts of Arizona are higher. The worst in the US is the US Virgin Islands, which has very strict laws, but has an astronomical murder rate (60/100K, like Jamaica after their gun ban).
That said:
I do not use drugs, I do not sell drugs, I do not sell guns to drug dealers. Why should my rights be curtailed because of a problem I do not contribute to?
When are bong owners going to face the fact that their money is fueling most of US and Mexican gun/gang violence?
How about pot smokers start a movement for violence free/fair trade certified weed? At least until prohibition ends.