Actually if you've ever watched someone getting their butt stomped by an elk or a buck or mauled by a bear you'd realize that even handguns have hunting applications. You can't bring a rifle to bear in such a situation, but you have a chance if you have a pistol handy. Bears in our national parks in the US (especially Yellowstone) have become more and more dangerous to humans in recent years. They learn fast, are strong, and have a taste for human food (or even non-food, they'll eat all the upholstery out of a car).
Also, I'd rather special ammunition remain legal, you can currently buy handgun ammo in the US that is more destructive to the initial target but shatters so well it's unlikely to pierce a wall, car door, or a person and strike anyone behind with any kind of force. Federal Hydroshocks are excellent for this. They are also less dangerous to police as they won't go through a vest (the old Nyclads did).

I understand the lack of firearms makes you feel safer, I was just pointing out that you're not terribly safe compared to living in the rural US (our highest murder rates are in cities, specifically in Washington DC which bans carrying firearms - even bigger cities with high firearm ownership have pretty low rates).
Actually I'm pretty sure I'd rather be shot to death than beaten or stabbed, the former is likely quicker. Given the choice, I choose not to die at all:)

No, but it's a lot harder to kill without a firearm.
I'm just thinking about those cases where some twisted/frustrated kid enters a school and kill around 30 people and in the end kills himself. I have only seen this kind of cases in the US and they lead me to the conclusion that in this respect our law is better. Just that. I don't pretend that my moral is better.
It is not the same thing. Firearms do not cause addiction.
I don't know what problems will cause immediately but on the long run it may be good. Keep in mind that for self defense you could still buy a hunting weapon and keep it in your house. But a hunting weapon it's a lot more visible than a pistol so it is harder to be used it in illegal actions.
Please don't put words into my mouth. I never said anything about national superiority. Sorry but in my humble inferiority I could not follow you in regard to the chinese guy, maybe I'm to tired right now.
Yes, that is true, but the mentality is shaped trough law. You have to start with the law and the people will follow. In time they will not resist the law anymore and will take it as normality.
You have to understand that I don't give a dam if US is banning or not firearms. I just expressed my opinion as a foreigner. If US citizens are happy with that law so be it. I was just started by that story that made me think "this could only happen in US..."

Exactly!! This incident is nothing to do with gun control in America. For in reference to this article and "accidental" homicide your merely defend this idiots right to shoot his wife!
The only argument is why they don't charge this fool with manslaughter. It's because they are NOT that presents a gun prohibitionist their own ammunition lol to threaten your right.

That's true, but it's a chicken & egg-kind of situation, because the reason there are so many stolen or illegally obtained guns around is that there are so many (mostly legal) guns around in the first place. Had the rules been stricter to begin with, the situation would have been a lot better now.
Stricter laws will not fix the situation today, but it'll make a big impact in the long run.
Perhaps. It is a dilemma for sure, and I can see the situation from your point of view thanks to a nasty experience in my own home when I was younger.
But again, in a defensive situation, a regular rifle or a shotgun will do a pretty good job. Both as a way of saying "get out of here or you'll get it", and if needed, as an actual weapon. In my case, it was my father's shotgun that resolved the situation - without actually having to be fired, I should add. The attackers got the point (they did not carry guns, and it isn't unlikely that I can thank my country's strict gun regulations for that).
I'm not really suggesting that people should buy hunting weapons for self defense (if anything, they should buy them for hunting), but rifles and shotguns _are_ adequate as defensive weapons whereas a wide availability of handguns tend to favor the criminals, who can more easily bring guns to your home.

=)) Good point!
Thing are a lot more complicated. There are a lot of factors involved when analyzing if banning firearms will lead to a safer society. I don't think statistics for Washington DC is relevant when it is very easy to bring a firearm in there from the other US states. A firearm banning must be correlated with good frontier control, and this is not the case there.
My opinion is that with firearms is a lot easier to kill and logic tells me that without them murder rate statistics may slightly drop. And banning can reduce the likelihood that idiots like in the above story will do stupid thing with guns.

Just what I wanted to say but better put.

Why to presume that chopping off a chickens head is offensive? Especially to an Eastern European? You could find more common ground in that regard. Eastern European states under Russia's thumb held martial law relatively recently.
The police were the only ones who carried firepower.
Like was previously stated it's Constitutional not for Boy Scouts or Farming, it's so militias can be drawn, even if the reality of them toppling the government is bleak... As most recent as the Black Panther Party during the Civil Rights Movement these Constitutional rights held importance.
What is it that those defending gun laws over this mans stupidity believe so esoteric to the rest of the world about their culture of "Bear Defense" that yields a likeness to this home-improvement improvising moron and him NOT receiving a sentence of manslaughter to whatever degree a judge finds reasonable?
Sending this fool down the river doesn't impugn your right to own guns. All I see in these comments is a couple of American stereotypes thrown around that the ones becoming defensive should be proud of, and a few international folks thanking God their countries don't have as many gun carrying loons as we do. I think we can all appreciate that when we visit them.

I sure am glad there are places like GOG that I can come to when I want to get harangued by drunken strangers about politics.

+1

As am I.
Not to steer this conversation anywhere near politics which lull me to sleep.
Also again, I don't know what would be more ridiculous... Knowing this dude shot his wife like this, or seeing his home fit with washers on the outside through the bullet holes to hang his TV!!!
It is Bear Defense I wish to provoke!
[url=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVS1UfCfxlU[/url]

How easy is it to buy a firearm in the States? And is it mandatory that you have instruction in use and safety before you own one?

Gun control does not reduce crime. What it does is prevent citizens from protecting themselves. Here's the thing: if a criminal is going to break the law anyway, whats to stop him from illegally acquiring a gun? Just look at Washington D.C., and you'll see the gun control doesn't help at all.

It isn't. That's what some've been trying to say. It was brought up in regards to American stereotypes, but is very silly to include in this case.
On getting a firearm, its very hard in some states to be eligible. It takes forever to apply, to keep up with the records is tougher than immigration. But rules are different in each State. Its a regional country. On the East Coast its easier to procure a license from a neighboring state with lax gun laws and bring one home and simply not keep up with the records, for the average person to have one to feel safe.
The states with strict gun laws hurt themselves creating a better economy for the lax states to deal to them for a couple hundred more per handgun. Guns in the strict states hold more power and fascination too, because of their taboo. So to relax the laws overnight could backfire for a bit. What they lack in infrastructure regarding firearm safety and an open range they certainly know how to shoot straight and look behind a wall!! LOL
The culture of guns is the necessity for protection in states with larger population and cities, so they must be even more careful because of the repercussions. It's like yin and yang. Wouldn't know what to believe to solve problems, but young people take gun violence and murder for granted more and more all over the world and thats the important solution needed. Don't think it has anything to hinder with our right to bear arms though.

Ah, yes. Because THAT is what determines how easy it is to illegally smuggle something across a border...
Okay, let's put it this way:
You are a shopkeeper in a bad neighborhood. Hell, let's say you are a 5 foot chinese guy who is rather scrawny. You are clearly easy game for thugs who want to knock over a store. But gasp, you have a legally purchased gun under your counter, and most of the neighborhood thugs know this. So they don't mess with you.
Now let's say that a law is passed and you are forced to get rid of that weapon. Bam, your deterrant is gone. BAM! Your cash register (and possibly your life) are gone. Why? Because you lost your gun overnight, but the guys who don't do things legally didn't.
It sucks, but that is the case. If you want a humorous take on it, go look at that Simpsons halloween special with the monkey's paw. They got rid of all their guns, and aliens attacked. Obviously it wouldn't be that bad, but it shows that firearms act as a deterrent.
Yes, you saw a news story and decided to instantly attach nationalistic pride and blame it on a nation you don't like. Simple as that.

Oh, fully agreed. And that is what tends to annoy me. People think they know everything about a situation they have only seen the (heavily biased) reports on the worst of it. And they provide "obvious" solutions that just aren't viable.
That being said, I fully agree that stricter laws are needed. But at the same time, I don't think that an outright banning is the naswer. Like I always say, I am a very strong supporter of gun control, but not gun banning.
Yes, a hunting weapon could work perfectly. But at the same time, small caliber handguns are a lot safer. If you have ever lived in an apartment with paperthin walls, I am sure you heard your neighbor getting it on. Now imagine if that neighbor had to actually fire a weapon in self defense. Probably a bit more annoying :p
Plus, let's be honest here, the particularly bad neighborhoods tend not to be the kind where the residents go hunting. :p

You are right - Gun Control does not reduce crime. However criminal control would reduce crime. Lets say all gun crimes are a Federal Offense with a mandatory 15 Year Sentance on top of what ever else they are charged with.