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From: ooblick@mit-eddie.UUCP
Newsgroups: misc.headlines,alt.flame
Subject: Re: Replying to Gun Nuts Propaganda (was COMPUTER USER...)
Message-ID: <7130@eddie.MIT.EDU>
Date: Sat, 10-Oct-87 08:57:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: eddie.7130
Posted: Sat Oct 10 08:57:19 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Oct-87 01:07:17 EDT
References: <7428@reed.UUCP> <21198@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <826@pbhyc.UUCP>
Reply-To: ooblick@eddie.MIT.EDU (Mikki Barry)
Followup-To: alt.flame
Distribution: usa
Organization: MIT, EE/CS Computer Facilities, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 38
Xref: hoptoad misc.headlines:2606 alt.flame:238

In article <826@pbhyc.UUCP> djo@pbhyc.UUCP (Dan'l DanehyOakes) writes:

>Actually... Consider this:

>1)  England has gun control.

>2)  There were about five gun related deaths in the entire COUNTRY
>    last year.

>Therefore,

>3)  Either
>	a) Gun control works,
>    or
>	b) the English couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

Sorry, neither!  Having lived in England for 2 years, I beg to differ
with your reasoning.  The British VOLUNTARILY gave up guns.  There is
no NRA in Britain with members screaming about constitutional rights.
The British never considered it their "right" to carry the damn things.

You must also realize that the rate of ALL crime in England is much
lower than it is here.  Why?  Perhaps the mentality of people in general
is a bit different.  I really do not think crime is lower in England
because most of the population doesn't have guns (by the way, they *do*
have hunting shotguns and rifles...)

Now don't get me wrong here.  I dislike firearms.  If handguns could be
banned, I would be all for it.  But as long as there are die hards out
there who would never give up their guns regardless of the law, and
as long as there are criminals who have no intention to follow laws in
the first place, only law abiding citizens would give up their guns.
And usually, their guns kill only their own families.

[oooh, finally a REAL flame topic!  please direct followups to alt.flame]

Mikki Barry
HASA - Handguns are silly aardvarks