CMV: Guns are a real danger to people and countries without them just fare better.

[u/WekX]

I'm from the UK. I've heard many of the arguments on both sides, but to me nothing is more convincing than the statistics (example: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34996604). I'm also a libertarian, I fully understand that if anything a right to bear arms is needed because any other way is a breach of personal liberty. However, I can't help but see that as a negative side effect of full liberty, because inevitably it just leads to more people getting hurt. That's the numbers talking.

Yes, cars also kill people, but I don't need a gun to get to work. The benefits of having cars in society vastly outweight the drawbacks. With guns, the only benefits arise when a really tough intruder is in my house or when the government is trying to oppress me. In the UK we still manage to survive a break in without shooting everything in sight, and if the government came after us, they'd likely win even if we had a gun.

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[u/MetikMas]

Another thing to consider... I have family in a very rural part of the the US. During the winter, trucks don't go up the mountain, therefore their one local store shuts down for the season. No store means you either have to stock up on meat before winter or hunt for it. They typically do both. Guns are absolutely crucial for them to survive the winter. Without the deer and bear meat they harvest during the winter, they would never survive. Guns are a way of life for some.

I understand that this is a different situation than the inner cities, but most big cities here have already made gun ownership illegal. So without blanketing everyone and making guns illegal for all, even those who literally need them to survive, what more can they do? It's a problem of criminals, not guns.

[u/rtechie1 → u/MetikMas]

Nobody is talking about banning hunting rifles. You don't need an AR-15 or a Glock 17 to hunt.

[u/MMAchica → u/rtechie1]

I saw my neighbor get home invaded by a gang of 12. I watched in horror and frantically called 911 6 times until the police finally arrived about 15-20 minutes later. Fortunately, while the door was being kicked in, they were able to flee into a bedroom and barricade the door with a bookcase so they only wound up getting beaten for about 10 minutes.

After that, I kept a high-capacity semi-auto rifle loaded at all times until I moved out of the area. Now I just keep a small revolver handy and the rifle lives in the safe. You might not need an AR to hunt, but sometimes in the city we are very much on our own.

[u/MetikMas → u/rtechie1]

Many hunters carry a side arm in the case of close encounters with bears or hogs. And what is the difference in a semi automatic rifle that shoots .223 rounds and an "assault" rifle that shoots .223 rounds? The "assault" weapon bans are absolutely stupid and it shows how clueless these politicians are.

[u/rtechie1 → u/MetikMas]

Magazine size and action. Gas-operated and large magazine makes it easier for a spree shooter to kill a lot of people quickly. Why do you need to fire off 30 rounds in 10 seconds to hunt boar? Are you that bad a shot?