From: peter.churchill@rose.com (peter churchill)
Subject: Re: Justifying guns
Organization: Rose Media Inc, Toronto, Ontario.
Distribution: can
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1992 15:49:32 GMT
X-Gated-By: Usenet <==> RoseMail Gateway (v1.70)


Date Entered: 09-05-92 10:40

| (Ramin Dowlati) writes:
| >Can anybody out there really justify the sale of fire arms in this society?
| >Surely, we can maintain some type of hunters association and isolate the
| >fire arms within them so they don't find their way into the cities.

To which BUCKLAND@UCS.UBC.CA replies:
|  Of course, you realize you're starting a war (of words) by asking
|  that question?  And that most of us will follow the guiding
|  principle of British generals through the generations, and
|  refight the most recent war of the past?
|  
|  Justifications for selling - and more basically, for owning -
|  firearms in our society:
|  
|  - it ensures that a large proportion of the population is capable
|    in the use of firearms (well, that's the theory, although there
|    will always be hunters who shoot cows with "COW" painted on
|    them in Rescue Orange, or who shoot their own feet) in case of
|    need.  Remember that it's only a few years since invasion by
|    one or another totalitarian regime was a credible scenario,
|    and the movie "Red Dawn" was believable if unlikely.
|  
|  - it ensures the existence of the ultimate check and balance in
|    democratic societies, the ability of the population to rise if
|    the government becomes undemocratic enough.
|  
|  - it ensures that the population is not totally helpless in the
|    event that civic order collapses.  In Vancouver we (1) live
|    in a major earthquake zone, and could in the worst case find
|    ourselves with nothing between us and roving bands of looters
|    except our front doors and whatever we happen to be sitting
|    behind them with; and (2) have a police force that seriously
|    considered a total strike some years ago.

All of which can be met by the reasonable availability of standard 
limited-load hunting rifles and shotguns. We have had that as long as 
I have been alive here. (I think I still have the first single-shot 
Cooey .22 I once hunted groundhogs with.)

But none of the above provides any justification whatsoever for the 
right to own handguns, assault rifles, automatic weapons for 
semi-automoatic with excessive loading capabilities. 

Hand guns are, by their very nature, notoriously inaccurate, too 
easily concealable, and too easily misused by accident in the hands of 
the incompetent.  They do have a use as a short-range one-on-one 
weapon of self-defence in the hands of those whose job tends to put 
them in situations where that situation is likely to arise (e.g. 
police).  Were I a police officer, however, I can tell you I would 
feel much safer and probably be more effective were I to have the old 
.303 I carried in Korea at hand.  The only reason I hung a sidearm 
(Belgian Browning 9 mm) on me in action was that regulations required 
itof me as an officer.  Believe me, when I was on a patrol or in any 
other situation where the possibility of shooting was likely, I 
carried a pilfered American M1 carbine-- and to hell with regulations.

Portable automatic weapons have no justifiable use in civilian life -- 
even in the hands of the police.  They are truly an area weapon, 
with which you deliberately wish to put _everyone_ in front of the 
muzzle at hazard. They are effective only when there are no innocent 
bystanders.  (House-clearing, area saturation, etc where unaimed rapid 
fire is essential.)  The sophisticated weaponry and defence devices 
now available to civilian police make these weapons nothing less than 
a reckless menace outside of a full military combat situation.

Were handguns and such other weapons as I have just described to be 
banned absolutely and that ban enforced rigorously, not only would I 
feel my rights _not_ abrogated, but my right to live a peaceful life 
in safety greatly enhanced.

If target shooters' aim is to develop the art of projecting a missile 
into a black spot on a piece of paper, I am quite sure that desire can 
be fulfilled, even enhanced, by the challenging skills required to do 
so with a slingshot.

Regards: *PC* 
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