assault weapon ban, your opinion

[Domestic Violence]

Originally posted by chas:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Domestic Violence:
[QBsince i'm referring to a pistol in .25 ACP caliber, which is an acronym for Automatic Colt Pistol, i think the term "automatic" relatively applies.

the automatic for .25 ACP rounds refers to the autoloading feature (or so i think). automatic with respect to a handgun (or pistol) would mean continuous fire which would be illegal. the media generally calls all semi-auto's 'automatic'. this gives the wrong idea to the general public about the legality of handguns. [/QB]</font>[/QUOTE]i am quite aware of the difference.

Originally posted by Machiavelli:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Domestic Violence:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Machiavelli:
This is all fine and good and I dont advocate banning guns - but the UK has banned guns and has very little gun crime...
whats the explanation for that in your opinion?

england's violent crime rate has steadily increased. since australia banned guns, their violent crime rate skyrocketed. when only criminals have guns...</font>[/QUOTE]Actually, no - Scotland banned guns all together, even for police officers and theyve seen a marked decrease in gun crimes... however, an interesting sidepoint - pety crime like pickpocketing and street fights (and in scotland, thats practically a way of life) have gone up.

The Scottish Executive cite similar statistics about the drop in gun crime in England to bolster their case, but I havent seen any specific studies - so I am reluctant to comment. And the bans are different between the areas.

With that said, what about America makes a ban impractical and probably do more harm than good? </font>[/QUOTE]i suppose the 3 british officers i'm helping immigrate to this country don't know what they're talking about? they are concerned about being another hidden statistic like their fellow officers who were gunned down. UK officers have not been carrying weapons for a long time. they have an Armed Response Vehicle that patrols each district. those officers attend a 6 week firearms training course to be able to work in the ARV.

this is a 2 year old article.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2413223.stm