Americans Load up on Guns

[philw]

this article  mentions Australian gun laws, so why not point out the facts?

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/17922/
http://en.epochtimes.com/tools/contact_email.asp

Gun sales are soaring across the United States amidst fears that President Barack Obama will crack down on gun ownership. Since the November election, the FBI has received over 8 million requests for background checks, which are needed to buy a gun in most states. Those figures are up 40 percent compared to the same period last year.
 
While many share prices have plummeted over the past six months, stakes in firearms dealers like Sturm, Ruger & Company have risen significantly in value.
 
Major ammunition suppliers are back-logged with bullet orders, and the price of firearms has jumped.
 
Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, says gun owners have been spooked by Obama’s comments on gun control. As a senator, Obama expressed strong support for the federal ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004.
 
More recently, as a presidential candidate in 2008, Obama said, "I believe that the Constitution confers an individual right to bear arms. But just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can't constrain the exercise of that right, and, you know, in the same way that we have a right to private property but local governments can establish zoning ordinances that determine how you can use it."
 
In the small town of Winchester Virginia, Mr. Blye said he fears the new administration will either ban assault guns or will make them unaffordable by raising the sales tax.
 
Apart from hunting, he said he needs his guns in case of robbery, riots, or a threat “like the rise of a new Adolf Hitler.”
 
“We want to be able to protect our freedoms,” he said.
 
But others say that greater gun controls are needed. At the Brady Center, a gun control lobby in Washington D.C., senior attorney Daniel Vice said, “We should learn from countries like Australia that have taken a common sense approach to gun laws and have dramatically lower death-by-gun rates.”
 
The number of gun deaths per year in the United States is 11 times higher than it is in Australia. Guns kill more people in the United States than in any other developed nation.
 
Congress is currently considering legislation to require background checks for people trying to purchase guns at gun shows, which are exempt from such restrictions.
 
But Pratt says the controls may not end there. If the government tries to take people’s guns, he warns, “it would be viewed as a declaration of war.”
 
If the U.S. Government does decide to restrict gun ownership, they face an uphill battle—possibly, a literal one.

Our Gun Laws are anything but a "common sense" approach.

Firstly, they restrict the freedom and activities of the law abiding only as criminals tend to not take notice of laws and they aren't about to make themselves accountable to them before going off and committing a crime with a gun.

Secondly, our gun laws have had an enormous cost to taxpayers for little return. Prior to the National Firearms Agreement in 1996 Australia was experiencing a downward trend in gun deaths and we now have over a decade of data that proves the preexisting trend has not changed.

The laws did nothing, but cost us lots (some estimates put the bill at around $AUD45.85 for every person alive in Australia today); money that is sorely needed in the Health Sector where the root cause of many crimes is best treated.

Our gun laws do nothing to address method substitution - we've found that if someone is intent on killing they are just as capable of using a vehicle or a drum of petrol, knives, anything really. If you were to look at the crime rates in both our countries you'll see that despite our gun laws, we have an assault rate of 7.02/1000 people compared to your 7.56/1000 people.

Interestingly, Australia's burglary rate is 21.74/1000 people (making us the Number 1 Ranked in the World) as opposed to your 7.09/1000 people (you're 17th on that list).

Your 2nd amendment rights clearly working positively for you there. And while the % of Homicides involving a Firearm is higher in your country (39.56%) you are still only Number 7 on that list and a fair way behind places such as Thailand, South Africa & Columbia. Australia, even with our gun laws, fills the number 21 spot with 16.34% However, the vast majority of that 16.34% concerns illegal firearms and as I've already pointed out, our laws do nothing to stop criminals.

So how much is the US prepared to pay to make no difference where it really matters? If I use the same rate we've paid, how does $US12,157,293,194.10 sound?

[fightingquaker13]

Great post Phil, and a whole lot of common sense. I hope it reflects itself in your elections. I voted, not so much for BO, but against the Gop. As distasteful as I found, and still find McCain/Palin, I am definately suffering buyers remorse. I have never been accused of being stupid, but I can sure as hell make a bone headed decision (even while sober).  I believe that there are enough Blue Dog (conservative) Democrats in Congress to avoid passing any thing like an Autralian model "gun control", eg citizen disarmament bill. Never the less, despite being recently unemployed, I recently bought a 12 gauge riot gun and an AK-47 variant that I can ill afford. That says what my gut vs my head tells me. I know that even if I voted Libertarian or God help me, for MCain (not possible after McCain-Finegold and Palin) it would not have made a difference, but I am realizing that I made the wrong call. Stupid, no, a little slow sometimes, yes. Anyway, I hope you can persuade folks down under to our POV.
FQ13   

[Pathfinder]

Great post Phil, and a whole lot of common sense. I hope it reflects itself in your elections. I voted, not so much for BO, but against the Gop. As distasteful as I found, and still find McCain/Palin, I am definately suffering buyers remorse. I have never been accused of being stupid, but I can sure as hell make a bone headed decision (even while sober).  I believe that there are enough Blue Dog (conservative) Democrats in Congress to avoid passing any thing like an Autralian model "gun control", eg citizen disarmament bill. Never the less, despite being recently unemployed, I recently bought a 12 gauge riot gun and an AK-47 variant that I can ill afford. That says what my gut vs my head tells me. I know that even if I voted Libertarian or God help me, for MCain (not possible after McCain-Finegold and Palin) it would not have made a difference, but I am realizing that I made the wrong call. Stupid, no, a little slow sometimes, yes. Anyway, I hope you can persuade folks down under to our POV.
FQ13   

Never, ever underestimate the power that a Chicago-trained politician can bring to bear on someone, especially from above.

There's also always the BJ klintoon solution where people just sort of die - sometimes committing suicide for no reason.

[fightingquaker13]

Never, ever underestimate the power that a Chicago-trained politician can bring to bear on someone, especially from above.

There's also always the BJ klintoon solution where people just sort of die - sometimes committing suicide for no reason.

I take comfort from Blogoyaevitch (if I screwed up the spelling I don't care, because honestly who can spell that?) A swing, a miss and off to jail. For God's sake, his wife had to take his role in a reality TV series (sort of like the Clintons). I realized that that my sense of buyers remorse over BO was in fact a major FUBAR on my part, with the "The US is the largest muslim nation" comment last week. Still, there are a lot of Democrat congressmen and senators whose electoral ambitions put them against any sort of gun control.
FQ13

[tombogan03884]

Any one who voted for a no accomplishment BS artist of ambiguous nationality, who bragged about "redistributing the wealth" in America , is an idiot. I don't care if his opponent was Snoopy.
I can understand why you dislike McCain but your opposition to Palin marks you as a sexist fraud.

[Sponsor]

[fightingquaker13]

Any one who voted for a no accomplishment BS artist of ambiguous nationality, who bragged about "redistributing the wealth" in America , is an idiot. I don't care if his opponent was Snoopy.
I can understand why you dislike McCain but your opposition to Palin marks you as a sexist fraud.

Sexist? Fraud?
Calling an idiot an idiot regardless of plumbing hardly makes me a sexist. In fact, failing to do would make me one. And when did you get all PC anyway? You sound like Hillary, whats up with that? I seem to recall a post about the evils of letting women vote and how they should be studying the "healing arts" or some such. You're not only wrong here, you are being a hypocrite as well. If you want I can attach a copy of your post.
As far as a fraud, hardly. I have made it clear from day one on this board that as a Libertarian I am opposed to the social conservative position of the religious right. You might disagree, but standing up for my often stated values hardly makes me a fraud.
FQ13

[tombogan03884]

 You voted for some one with NO LEADERSHIP experience at all, and deride someone who has served in several leadership positions. With the exception of her stance on abortion, ( which is merely a "smokescreen issue" to deceive the gullible) You have no valid grounds for NOT liking Palin, unless it is because , A) She is a "she", or B) You are a phony "Libertarian".
As for women voting, I hold the same belief now, however I have sense enough to know that  I'm not likely to win, They already out live men by 10, I have no wish to increase that spread.

[Pathfinder]

I take comfort from Blogoyaevitch (if I screwed up the spelling I don't care, because honestly who can spell that?) A swing, a miss and off to jail. For God's sake, his wife had to take his role in a reality TV series (sort of like the Clintons). I realized that that my sense of buyers remorse over BO was in fact a major FUBAR on my part, with the "The US is the largest muslim nation" comment last week. Still, there are a lot of Democrat congressmen and senators whose electoral ambitions put them against any sort of gun control.
FQ13

Like Tom said. It took you that long to figure out what a fascist little socialist thug he is? I mean, I was from IL, so I distrusted him from the very get-go. Then when he opened his mouth for the fist time, I really got worried. You didn't see that coming until he made his mooslim remark?

If that's true, you need to take a long, hard look at yourself and what you claim to believe in, son. I fear it ain't so. I had to do that myself some years back, and I did not like what I saw reflected. Take it from me tho - you will survive and be better for changing that reflection.

[fightingquaker13]

Like Tom said. It took you that long to figure out what a fascist little socialist thug he is? I mean, I was from IL, so I distrusted him from the very get-go. Then when he opened his mouth for the fist time, I really got worried. You didn't see that coming until he made his mooslim remark?

If that's true, you need to take a long, hard look at yourself and what you claim to believe in, son. I fear it ain't so. I had to do that myself some years back, and I did not like what I saw reflected. Take it from me tho - you will survive and be better for changing that reflection.

Path
I don't know. I think my political philosophy is sound. Hell, if it was good enough for Jefferson it should be good enough for me. Likewise I am comfortable wth the Episcopal Church, I'll trust CS Lewis's judgement there. The problem is knowing who to trust or distrust polittically. Don't even talk about BO because it was apparent from day one that there was a lot more sizzle than steak. The problem was McCain. McCain Feingold really was pretty close to a deal breaker for me. Limiting political speech? What part of Congress shall make no law did the man fail to uderstand? Likewise, I despise Palin, its not just her views, its her attitude. To me, fairly or unfairly, she just strikes me as a cross between Bill Clinton and W, my two least favorite presidents. Ultimately I made the wrong call voting for BO, but I still can't see myself voting FOR the author of McCain-Finegold either. As you say some soul searching might be in order, but I would like to have the opportunity to vote FOR rather than against a president for once. Maybe in 2012.
FQ13

[MAUSERMAN]

I should start loading up then i only have 32 guns.