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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: Handguns: we're succumbing to mob ru - (nf)
Message-ID: <3202@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 15-Sep-83 19:49:29 EDT
Article-I.D.:    utzoo.3202
Posted: Thu Sep 15 19:49:29 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 15-Sep-83 19:49:29 EDT
References: <2789@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 34

Ben Leimkuhler observes:

	The important point is that most handgun deaths in this country
	are the result of domestic disputes.  Armed lunatics, muggers, and
	hired killers account for few of the more than 10,000 murders
	occurring in the US each year...

Sorry, Ben, your figures are out of date.  It used to be true that most
murders were among friends, relatives, etc.  More recent figures say
that's not the case any more -- the majority of murder victims are strangers
to their murderers these days.  The precise cause of this is not known, but
there is one intriguing speculation:  the change seems to have occurred
at about the same time and about the same rate as the liberalization of
divorce laws.  I would speculate that an increased number of drug-related
crimes might also be a factor.

As for handguns...  I go along with one of the less-popular views, to
the effect that any real solution will require both sides to give in a
bit.  The anti-gun faction is going to have to admit that there is *no*
reason why a sane, honest, competent, responsible citizen should be
banned from owning handguns.  (Note that if we are talking about a free
country, the proper question is not "should people be allowed to own
handguns", but "is there sufficient cause to ban handgun ownership".)
And the pro-gun faction is going to have to admit that not everybody
is a sane, honest, competent, responsible citizen, and that therefore
there is a real need for some sort of official certificate saying "it's
ok for this guy to own guns, we know he's not going to do anything stupid".
Note that I am not talking about a certificate that would be handed out
like candy, or something that would be based solely on character and
honesty -- the applicant should be required to prove that he knows how
to handle firearms properly and safely.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry