🚀 go-pugleaf

mjp@austin.ibm.com (Michael Phelps) writes:


>In article <1992Nov10.044148.22135@netcom.com>, gurgle@netcom.com (Pete Gontier) writes:
>|> pat@rwing.UUCP (Pat Myrto) writes:
>[lots deleted]
>|> 
>|> I understand that a ban on handguns would merely be a band-aid. That
>|> doesn't change my preference.

> I'm curious.  Why not?  

Clearly you are a believer in the maxim that if a solution is not final
and complete it is not worth implimenting at all. No sane person
believes that the registring/ banning / whatever of guns would sole all
problems. Neither does medicine solve the problem of death. But even
bandaids help ( or don't yo own any of those since they aren't the
complete solution)/


> If the goal is to make society safer, clearly the problem to be addressed is
>  violent crime, of all sorts.  Banning handguns isn't gonna solve it - but
>  you already know that!

Yes and controlling peoples ability to commit violent acts is part of
the solution- not all of it, part of it.
Many of the guns used in crimes are stolen- stolen from all those law
abiding citizens who never use them. And if there are more available to
steal they are easier to steal.


> If you simply don't like handguns, fine.  Don't own one.  

I don't know about the original poster but I don't like them in your, or
other peoples hands. Like you I feel that I am infinitely responsible
and would never never misuse any gun I owned Unfortunately I do not
have the same confidence in you, or others , and am willing to give up
my utterly responsile freedom in order to help protect me from other's
irresponsibility.

> If you feel that they are just too dangerous for people to own, consider the
>  numbers - there are about 200 million handguns in the US, and about 12000 
>  firearms homicides per year, and 1400 accidental firarms deaths.  That makes
>  firearms safer than automobiles.  
> 
 Uh, hardly. divide the number of deaths by the number of times they
are used, not by the number. There are "billions" of molecules of cyanide
in the universe. That does not make them any the less dangerous when
used.