CS: Pol-Sunday Herald article getting bad reaction in US.
From: "roger gascoigne", [EMAIL PROTECTED] Had not seen this in Cybershooters. Gives you another opportunity to point out the pointlessness of the ban. Roger -Original Message----- From: roger gascoigne [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2001 10:07 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Neil Mackay should really check his facts as he claims he does. Dear Sir or Madam, In http://www.sundayherald.com/news/newsi.hts?section=Magazinestory_id=13892 Neil Mackay has written about the Second Amendment Sisters with as much intellectual rigour as a house brick. As a visitor to the US or even a resident he has missed a lot of detail that as a journalist he should have investigated the way he claims he does. This is a quote from him, "And then there's crime. "Ninety per cent of all crimes are carried out with the use of a weapon," she says. When I try to explain that, perhaps, if guns were banned then there would be lower gun crime, Heil responds by telling me her country is different to mine: "We live in a democracy," I'm told. What that means, I'm not sure, but I remind her that King George is definitely dead." If Neil Mackay were to go back to his clipping service he would find the Observer on 31 December 2000 has the following article:- "Observer 31.12.00 Gun crime rockets to record high Arms were used 15,000 times to commit offences this year alone. Tony Thompson investigates GUN CRIME in Britain is soaring to record levels: executions, woundings and related incidents in the past year are set to be the highest ever, an investigation by The Observer has revealed." (rest of the article clipped in the interest of brevity) Now this is in the UK where all handguns were taken from legal gun owners and destroyed. Where is Mr. Mackay's logic and intellectual rigour now ? Has Mr. Mackay read Professor John Lott's multiple works (for example 'More Guns Less Crime') where he analyses, in excruciating detail, those states with concealed carry weapons (CCW) laws and compares their rates of crime to the states without CCW laws? He would find, surprise surprise that CCW prevents crime it does not increase violent crime as he expects. I could go on to point out more flaws in the article, but I feel you get the point, perhaps a rebuttal is needed ? Roger Gascoigne Brit who is resident in Chicago Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less. Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose. http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
CS: Pol-Sport minister criticises handgun ban
From: "roger gascoigne", [EMAIL PROTECTED] For those of without access to the full name/home address etc could the basics be made available ? Thanks Roger -- I don't think it matters, I get the impression that's more for people we may not have heard of before. I think everyone knows who Kate Hoey is. She's a Government minister, I'd put House of Commons, SW1A 0AA as the address. Steve. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ T O P I C A http://www.topica.com/t/17 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
CS: Target-Beware of Factory Rebuilds
From: "roger gascoigne", [EMAIL PROTECTED] Re: Steve's comments on US second hand guns versus UK. The ones you have to watch our for here are the 'kitchen gun smiths' who do work on their guns and then sell them. Most often a genuine gunsmith repair or re-fit will be at least as good as and often better than the original, The amateurs are the dangerous ones. The other issue is usage. here in the US gun collections tend to be larger than in UK - only a few places limit volume, and then its either zero, or one per month. Elsewhere there is no limit. Consequently people have guns that they rarely shoot. I could not, for example, wear out the barrels of the .303's that I have that are in shootable condition. I know the one Alex got was possibly oversize to begin with. (BTW would a re-barrel have been cheaper?) The most aggravating people are those who insist on 'refinishing' firearms to make them look like new. Can you imagine finding an early and hence rare No 5 Carbine someone has blued or restocked in blond wood ? Could make you weep. Roger -- The thing I used to find in the US was: "Oh, my wife bought me this for Christmas but I've decided I don't like it." Or other things such as that. Doesn't happen here very often, because of our gun laws. Steve. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ T O P I C A http://www.topica.com/t/17 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
CS: Pol-US and self-defence
From: "roger gascoigne", [EMAIL PROTECTED] This is the fourth country I have lived in and owned firearms. I see many differences between the US and the UK and would like to comment on Nick's mail. The data is not yet out regarding the 2000 census, but as an example, one of the News Channels here did an analysis of votes by geography in the Gore Bush contest - Gore won his votes in 500,000 acres and Bush won 2,500,000 acres. So the densely populated part of your note seems true today. I think Nick is mistaken about self defense as the no 1 reason for gun ownership. Especially with shotguns. A small cheap revolver on the bedside table is protection for a lot of people - especially in the areas where the 911 (999) call may not even get a police turn out. Self reliance is the name of the game, as you suggest later, but what is this phrase about "(along with the visceral (i.e. 'shoot first') gene" ? The maturity of the culture is not strictly true either. Here the rights of individuals are taken very seriously, just because you 'can' own a gun is a reason most people will have one. Like wise the resistance to wearing helmets or seat belts. cf France on similar issues, and their revolution is of the same vintage as the US. Nick says "Guns will always get a bad press - and where everyone has them, the proportion of irresponsible or just plain short-tempered idiots is clearly higher, and the negative PR factor more significant." I disagree, this seems to say that guns make tempers get shorter? This is the argument that pencils cause spelling errors. The percentage of short tempered people is probably the same, but when you have five times the population of the UK you will have more wild people in number, the proportion does not change because they own guns. The US also has at least five times the media of the UK, so they need something to fill the air waves/papers/web pages and so will report items here that will never get a mention in the UK. (In Chicago we have 5 broadcast channels like the UK but another 61 cable channels) If you have not seen it, I suggest that you read some of John Lott's work, he has shown that concealed carry cuts violent crime in every state in the US that has passed 'shall issue' laws. Also, the licensed population has a significantly lower crime rate that the general public. I think this was true in UK when I lived there. Nick also says "When push comes to shove, Americans as a whole will not vote for any measures which would take away the right to self-defence with a firearm for those who want it." Be very careful, the people who get into power can take actions that were not mandated by the voters at the election. cf UK 1997. Gore is on record as planning registration and we know where that leads to. Your notion of 'national maturity' does not upset me, although it may upset others. Instead it suggests that perhaps experience of living and working in another country might offer a different perspective. Roger -- The NSSF study was very interesting, apart from indicating that 80% of people say self-defence is their primary reason for buying a handgun, it showed that 80% of the guns in the US are owned by about 10 million people. Steve. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ T O P I C A http://www.topica.com/t/17 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
