Don't you think it's abot time America take a serious look at gun control?

It's a moot issue handguns by far are used in murders,as well as defending oneself from someone with a handgun ,such as robbery etc.Take away the guns and you give criminals a better chance of getting away with more crime.Then your taxes will go up as a result of the need to hire more police who can't prevent the crime from happening in most cases anyway.

Author on gun control by Harry Henderson1951,2001

A1995 study done by the FBI show

56 % of murders were commited with a hand gun.

11% were done by using a knife

3% by rifle

5% by shotgun

5% any other type of gun

7% explosives,poison,or other weapon

6% feet,fist

5% blunt instrument

Personal responsability is the answer,unless you want a police state,like germany.had and some government advocates would like to see.

If there were no guns, there would be something else. Gun control is not the answer as you can't control criminals and those would be the ones not abiding by the laws, thereby leaving the law abiding citizens defenseless against them. What is needed is stiffer penalties for gun related crime, better education, stronger communities, and better parenting.

Well, we wouldn't so much "pull the trigger" as bash, slice, bludgeon, or stab with some other implement of bodily harm. Humans who are inclined to violence will commit it, gun-control or not. And we peaceful humans would also have to bash, slice, bludgeon, or stab people with illegal guns as a means of self-defense against them. Frankly, I'm not willing to bet that my right hook is faster than a bullet.

And furthermore, the "regular stories of young men shooting and killing people" come from two places: Gang warfare and normal military warfare. In the case of gang warfare, the guns used are obtained on the black market anyway. High school shootings are isolated incidents which are hyped by the media to scare parents.

But please, don't make me laugh, the military will keep the gun industry booming for quite a while. We don't need common sense slogans to do that.

Well if you feel that way about guns, there are a host of other things that are killing our children, families, loved ones....humanity and guess what? Nothing will be done because even though it will contradict it is also a need for those with major paper whether as a past time or for profit.

well, I can't speak for America, but here in South Africa...

Gun laws are getting tighter and tighter - for the law-abiding citizens. Problem is that it makes no difference to the criminals. Armed robberies galore.

Here I would say, drop the gun laws. It's a bit of a free-for-all here crime-wise at least. No one really has any control.

The argument that if there were no guns there would be something else to kill people with, is a bit shaky in my opinion. I'd rather have someone try to stab me or "spear" me down ... or try strangling me ... guns make killing someone very convenient and easy and impersonal, Killing with a knife is very different than killing with a gun. Whatever ... the NRA will shoot us all before we interfere ...

I believe that proper gun control is a good weaver stance.

I think most relevant issues have been addressed. I grew up in a house FULL of guns and I was always taught to assume that they were loaded and to NOT TOUCH. The older I have gotten, the more guns scare me. However, laws will not stop criminals from getting their hands on guns. Therefore, I think we need to just ENFORCE the laws we already have.

In a word, no. As stated in some of the other responses, all controlling or banning guns to law abiding citizens will do is to put all the guns into the hands of criminals.

Do you really want to see America completely defenseless against criminals who don't follow the laws?

there is never a time in America when Gun control should be passed or even considered. Ill leave it to the founding fathers to explain.

Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth.

George Washington

The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good.

George Washington

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

To disarm the people is the most effectual way to enslave them george mason

To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.

Richard Henry lee.

Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion... in private self-defense.

John Adams

"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes....Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. Thomas Jefferson's "Commonplace Book," 1774-1776.

Think about it, if there wasn't any guns people would just stab each other or strangle each other to death. You have got to remember that people have been killing each other every since Kaine kelt Able. And that was way before there were any guns or gun laws on the streets. So the answer is NO America doesn't need to take a look at gun control at all. The majority of the guns that are in the streets are illegal and you can't set any laws to prevent anything on that.

Gun control is one of the hot buttons in America today. Having a rational conversation about it is hard. I want my guns and I want you to have yours. Stopping kids from killing other kids with guns means some form of gun control. When I was younger it was knives and chains. Educating the kids is one answer. We don't do a very good job of that either. Any politician that supports serious gun control is not going to get re-elected. I don't see it happening any time soon.

If you want to see a real failure of gun control just look at England. Guns are practially illegal there but crime goes up. So what do they do go after knives. After knives they will certainly attack rope, sticks, stones and whatever except the real problem which is crime. By the way you are NOT allowed to protect yourself there if attacked. You will get locked up for protecting your family.

It's not the guns that are the problem>

It's the rampant insanity in various governments that is the problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This trully is a no brainer, and I am amazed at some of the responses received to this question. Well educated (questionable) men thinking that gun don't kill people kill. Well what do they use to do the killing, gun is about quick and effective kill, most people including me would prefer to face a criminal with a knife rather than a gun. I agree we have to fix lives, before they would chose to use a gun or knife, but if they have no weapon it would be more difficult to kill. Contrary to one response, its a lie to promote that gun crime is rampant in Britain even though tehy banned guns. Guns became common in the British and western european communities because of the EU treaty and the lowering of the borders which allows ease of goods shipment. These guns have made their way there because of criminal gangs who will stop at nothing to commit crime. Guns have not become common place in Britan, very few gun crimes, police officers don't carry arms daily unless there is a serious incidence. People in western europe are alarmed to see the viscious cycle of gun crimes in America, where school children are victims. Many there vowed they would never live in a place like America where guns are so easy to come by, images of the wild west comes to mind. If people step back and think rationally, about living in a world where you can walk any hour of day or night whithout fearing you will be shot by a stray bullet or even be hold up by a gun carrier. What a world that would be, if America wake up and do something about this menace. Whose school will be next, or which child will be the next to be killed in their classroom? If those youngsters entered the schools with knives and not guns, how many people would they kill before they would be caught?

here is my answer...

Do you think it is time that the amount of people getting killed in violent, brutal, unnecessary killings doubles.

With no guns there would be no way for people to defend themselves. And it isnt the guns fault that people get killed it is the people's/

Blaming guns for killing people is like blaming spoons for making Rosie O'donnel fat.

I noticed that the right voices have been shot down. Anyway, here comes truth:

Hitler first registered guns, then took them away.

Australia took all guns from those who had them registered-- the law abiding citizens. (btw, the real Crocodile Dundee refused to surrender his weapons and was shot dead by government.)

In California, they passed a law making "assault rifles" illegal. Later, they pretended no one knew exactly what an assault rifle was (yet passed a law to ban them?) So, they defined assault rifle as any rifle with a stock grip extending below the trigger guard.

That caused a lot of guns to go out of state. The Japanese no longer need to fear (as much) the "American deer hunter". That is the reason Hirohito gave for not invading California immediately after Pearl Harbor.

Here is a test to see if you are a living, breathing human capable of making your own decisions or are simply a lateral mover of information, aka a "tool."

This is a one question test:

What is the purpose of gun ownership rights in the Constitution?

If you answer, "To shoot squirrels in the yard." Or, "So red necks can machine gun old cans." Or, "To hunt which is no longer necessary in the modern world." Then, you are a tool.

However, if you said "to ensure the government never becomes too powerful and oppresses the masses, murdering and imprisoning those who oppose its power", then you are a real human.

The government has 30 round clips, but limits citizens to just 20 round clips. Even THAT should have never been allowed.

Guns owners are disrespectful of authority. A failure to rely on authorities is an invariable sign of improper and overly independent attitudes. The mere fact that they gather together to talk about guns at... keep reading →

Guns should be strictly controlled. I live in rural France and lots of people have guns for hunting. Yet there's no real sense of it being a society where people are 'armed'. It's partly because generally it's a pretty sane, healthy society and people are taught respect for the gun, its appropriate uses and its care and maintenance. People here in Provence are pretty positive on the whole and kids grow up (mostly) respecting the parents and wider society.

Where you have alienated people and guns you've got a ba-d mix. There must be many incidents where a stupid argument turns into a shooting simply because an angry person has a gun to hand at the moment he's losing control...

Yes. As with providing universal heath care other countries manage to effectively control the sale and use of handguns and military type weapons. The U.S. is long overdue to pass and enforce effective gun control laws. This can be done without affecting the use of hunting and target shooting weapons.