ll_jenny_ll here
New member
While we outside the USA sometimes shake our heads at what we perceive as an excessive interest in guns... Have you ever considered why ( apart from the *right to bear arms thingo ) this is the case....
I put it down to the hostilities between the white settlers and the indigenous peoples,
the fact that there was awar of independence, that the USA was colonised by opposing and often warring nations,
that there were many wild animals that would attack people,
that many settlers needed guns for hunting meat
that a civil war was fought
among many other contributing factors.....
a gun represented freedom, protection, and in many cases food
so are we from the outside often a little to hard to judge the Americans and their *attachment* to their guns...
just as a point of discussion.. I also believe that Alcohol is to Australia , what guns are to America.... at one point in early australian history... wages were paid in Rum... and try and tell an aussie you're gunna take his alcohol away... LOL ....
yes yes yes we all know about the second ammendment..... it's the catch-cry of those who love their guns.. I guess I am asking more about WHY and if people understand why it is so important.
I understand.. or at least make an attempt to.... BUT ... I do lean towards gun control... I mean do people REALLY need an ak47 for example.
And while I make an attempt to understand the American gun culture... can I also ask of americans if they understand why the populations of other nations don't have the same *need*
Australia, for example, was settled ( acknowledging the indigenous population was here first btw) by ONE nation... no battles... we became an independent nation without bloodshed...we (i believe in any case) never had the need for guns as you guys did..
Our freedoms came without bloodshed, we had no lions, bears or wolves to attack us.
We brought our own meat supplies with us, didn't need to hunt as much as you guys did (perhaps)...
It isn't in our psyches to need/want guns.
I read a recent statistic ( will try and find it somewhere) that Australia had 289 murders in one year... that's for the entire nation....
And yes we do have gangs... some ..make that FEW have guns ( which they have obtained illegally)..but generally when it comes to gang fights it's a matter of punching/kicking and possibly stabbing...IF they all had easy access to guns... as in the case in the USA... I am certain our murder rate would be a great deal higher....
we also have far less accidental shooting cases than what you guys have per capita
BY THE WAY .. I am not saying we're better than you ... I am finding this an interesting discussion.
Here it is a fairly safe assumption to make ... that if somebody attacks you ... they HAVEN'T got a gun...so I guess we don't feel the need to have one in defense...
I put it down to the hostilities between the white settlers and the indigenous peoples,
the fact that there was awar of independence, that the USA was colonised by opposing and often warring nations,
that there were many wild animals that would attack people,
that many settlers needed guns for hunting meat
that a civil war was fought
among many other contributing factors.....
a gun represented freedom, protection, and in many cases food
so are we from the outside often a little to hard to judge the Americans and their *attachment* to their guns...
just as a point of discussion.. I also believe that Alcohol is to Australia , what guns are to America.... at one point in early australian history... wages were paid in Rum... and try and tell an aussie you're gunna take his alcohol away... LOL ....
yes yes yes we all know about the second ammendment..... it's the catch-cry of those who love their guns.. I guess I am asking more about WHY and if people understand why it is so important.
I understand.. or at least make an attempt to.... BUT ... I do lean towards gun control... I mean do people REALLY need an ak47 for example.
And while I make an attempt to understand the American gun culture... can I also ask of americans if they understand why the populations of other nations don't have the same *need*
Australia, for example, was settled ( acknowledging the indigenous population was here first btw) by ONE nation... no battles... we became an independent nation without bloodshed...we (i believe in any case) never had the need for guns as you guys did..
Our freedoms came without bloodshed, we had no lions, bears or wolves to attack us.
We brought our own meat supplies with us, didn't need to hunt as much as you guys did (perhaps)...
It isn't in our psyches to need/want guns.
I read a recent statistic ( will try and find it somewhere) that Australia had 289 murders in one year... that's for the entire nation....
And yes we do have gangs... some ..make that FEW have guns ( which they have obtained illegally)..but generally when it comes to gang fights it's a matter of punching/kicking and possibly stabbing...IF they all had easy access to guns... as in the case in the USA... I am certain our murder rate would be a great deal higher....
we also have far less accidental shooting cases than what you guys have per capita
BY THE WAY .. I am not saying we're better than you ... I am finding this an interesting discussion.
Here it is a fairly safe assumption to make ... that if somebody attacks you ... they HAVEN'T got a gun...so I guess we don't feel the need to have one in defense...