As a UK citizen, teacher and fellow human being I was saddened by the news of the murders in Connecticut a few days ago. As a foreigner I never really studied US law (most of the time it doesn't affect me). I also realise that the civilised world doesn't really understand the US attitude to guns, so hope to get some sensible insight here.
First, my own view is that gun regulation is necessary and that more guns will not solve a problem. You may disagree with me (again, it doesn't affect me) but I don't particularly want to know if you do or don't.
That said, I've seen a lot on the news about the right to bear arms. I've quickly looked through wikipedia (as I mentioned I don't have an in depth knowledge of this) and it most of the wording seems to show that US citizens have the right to bear arms to defend themselves.
You can arm yourself with a big stick. You don't need a gun. So where does the fascination with guns come from?
Pro gun groups are claiming they have a right to carry guns....well do they? Could laws be passed banning guns and mandating that everyone carries a sword to defend themselves? Is this still within the boundaries set out by the constitution?
If so, what is the big deal with owning a gun? I honestly don't understand it.
I know the US has a long tradition and culture of owning guns but times change. You had a long tradition of owning slaves. You had a long tradition of not owning mobile phones. Both of these traditions are no more, which at least shows that folks in the US are willing to accept changes to their society.
Lastly, going back to the sword/gun point. If it is defined in the constitution that citizens specifically are allowed guns, can you change the constitution? At this point I will acknowledge I have no real standing to say what US citizens should do with their constitution, moreso coming from a country that has no single document stating my rights and responsibilities. However from my viewpoint this makes sense so bear with me:
1) the constitution specifically grants the rights for citizens to own and carry guns
2) lots of people are being killed by guns
3) enough people stand up and say this is not a good thing (I have no idea what "enough" would be here)
4) change the constitution to reflect the views of the people
The very fact that the constitution has amendments to it suggests people are amenable to changing it when it suits them, so why not now?
Please try and keep this on topic and help a foreigner to understand where all this gun culture stuff comes from. Please don't let it degenerate into another guns are good/guns are bad/good/bad/good/bad/thread-locked thread.
First, my own view is that gun regulation is necessary and that more guns will not solve a problem. You may disagree with me (again, it doesn't affect me) but I don't particularly want to know if you do or don't.
That said, I've seen a lot on the news about the right to bear arms. I've quickly looked through wikipedia (as I mentioned I don't have an in depth knowledge of this) and it most of the wording seems to show that US citizens have the right to bear arms to defend themselves.
You can arm yourself with a big stick. You don't need a gun. So where does the fascination with guns come from?
Pro gun groups are claiming they have a right to carry guns....well do they? Could laws be passed banning guns and mandating that everyone carries a sword to defend themselves? Is this still within the boundaries set out by the constitution?
If so, what is the big deal with owning a gun? I honestly don't understand it.
I know the US has a long tradition and culture of owning guns but times change. You had a long tradition of owning slaves. You had a long tradition of not owning mobile phones. Both of these traditions are no more, which at least shows that folks in the US are willing to accept changes to their society.
Lastly, going back to the sword/gun point. If it is defined in the constitution that citizens specifically are allowed guns, can you change the constitution? At this point I will acknowledge I have no real standing to say what US citizens should do with their constitution, moreso coming from a country that has no single document stating my rights and responsibilities. However from my viewpoint this makes sense so bear with me:
1) the constitution specifically grants the rights for citizens to own and carry guns
2) lots of people are being killed by guns
3) enough people stand up and say this is not a good thing (I have no idea what "enough" would be here)
4) change the constitution to reflect the views of the people
The very fact that the constitution has amendments to it suggests people are amenable to changing it when it suits them, so why not now?
Please try and keep this on topic and help a foreigner to understand where all this gun culture stuff comes from. Please don't let it degenerate into another guns are good/guns are bad/good/bad/good/bad/thread-locked thread.
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