Originally
posted by
martian:
actually,
if you watched bowling for columbine, when it compares the US and Canada, one of the conclusions is that rate of gun ownership isn't really the underlying factor for the large difference in violent crime rates. Chances are it probably has no effect one way or the other and many gun sales are driven by marketing to suburbanites feeding on their fear.
It isn't that hard to get a hunting rifle in Canada (legally) except within the boundaries of some major cities (which isn't due to legal reasons).
It's true that there are far more restrictions on what kind of guns you can buy here (no semi automatic weapons for example) but the ones you can buy would kill a human pretty good (or a deer).
The argument I don't get at all is to "protect you from the government". If you form a militia and try to really threaten the government, they aren't gonna send in cops with hand guns after you. If it came down to it, they would use heavy armor or air power and artillery. None of your hand held weapons are gonna scare them off.
I own a ray gun:P
At the current time in the US, the government cannot use military forces within the United States due to the Posse Commitatus act, which prohibits the use of the military for civil police duties.
And they are already doing an end run around that by militarizing the police. Any department in the country can request and receive an MRAP from the defense department, and I can assure you they will use them when they feel the need.
But, as General Giap said during the Vietnam war, you cannot kill a hill of ants with an iron pick.
They cannot use that to take out as many as they need to to prevent disruption of their nefarious plans.