X-Message-Number: 10700
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1998 07:41:44 -0800 (PST)
From: Brian D Williams <>
Subject: Re: gun control

From: "Thomas Nord" <>

>This is a bit far out from Cryonics but related, since we better
>live in US as near as possible to an Cryonics facility I am told,
>due to the time-factor with better chances.

You are correct, this does not belong on cryonet, but since you
insist on posting it here, I will respond.

>We outside US get a bit scary of all the guns there, perhaps an
>overreaction of what we see in TV, but statistics dont lie.
>Suppouse its most the bad guys killing each other. With all the
>guns the risk increases for all of us to get a wound no Cryonics
>can help out with.

Don't believe what you see on U.S. media about guns, every major
U.S. media outlet is antigun. As you said statistics don't lie,
look up the lott papers from the University of Chicago, in the U.S.
guns PREVENT over 2 million serious crimes a year. Everyplace
concealed carry laws are passed, the crime rate drops. The reason
tourists were targeted in Florida a few years ago was that after
passing concealed carry laws, criminals began attacking tourists
because they were easily identified as the only group not carrying
guns.


>The amazing thing are here we can do without so much guns, in UK
>they are practically forbidden now.

Gun related crime, including handguns, is rising steadily in the
U.K., Canada, and Japan, despite being banned.

>Sometimes I feel a need to have one against bad guys too, but cant
>without hardeffort to get a license after a year or more, if not
>a rifle for hunting faster.

At least we in the U.S, still have a choice.

>Charlton Heston making PR for NRA said a ban doesn't help when the
>guns in the wrong hands mostly are stolen. Turn that issue around,
>where are guns to steal in UK for all the hoods? He also meant bad
>parents with i.e shooting kids should be prosecuted also; What
>about solidarity with weaker minds, not all are superman.

While a nice guy, Charlton Heston wasn't the best choice the NRA
could have made, he won on popularity alone. He won't be re-
elected. He makes one good point though. the NRA has always
stressed personal responsibility. Here in Chicago handguns have
been illegal since 1983, but the average citizen doesn't know that.
Why? People might ask what good are antigun laws since handgun
crime is common here, also on an almost daily basis someone gets
hurt (usually a child) because a supposed adult with illegal
possession of a handgun has carelessly left it were it could be
found. They are never prosecuted. The NRA believes they should be.

>Long sentences are not a solution in any country, US have a record
>high.

Nonsense!!!! Crimes are commited with guns every day, 95% serve
little or no time.

Pass a law 20 years with no chance of parole for commiting a crime
with a handgun, life in prison if someone is injured or killed and
the crime rate will drop to virtually zero.

>If we have a gun at home, someone in the family may flip out one
>day i.e. of the heat combined with mind weakness.

You are correct here 95% of all insidences involving guns in the
U.S. involve people who know each other. If your family members are
not stable, you should not have a gun around.

>A hard choice, security or disarmament.

A personel choice.

>It simply is to easy to use a gun, knife is a mess and difficult
>in a fight.

>I saw 2 kids today collecting kids-names for Ban bullets.

>Taking on NRA is not easy. Any ideas?

Start by asking this question in the appropriate forum, if you
start in the wrong forum pro-choice advocates like myself will
respond.

My apologys to members of this list, but antigun challenges must be
met anywhere, anytime.


Brian
Member, Extropy Institute

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