[MP-Ryan]

The cultural debate is irrelevant.  What is relevant is that we license all sorts of things because of their potential for danger to other people and make safe-practices training a mandatory requirement of operation - automobiles are a good example.  The majority of people are not totally stupid and will drive reasonably safely - yet the licensing exists because of a minority that exhibit dangerous practices.  What makes firearms a logical exception to this?

A simple licensing requirement whereby a person must prove they have the knowledge to safely handle and store a firearm could have prevented both these incidents.  You don't even need storage laws to enforce it, as all you'd have to charge anyone who negligently stored a firearm with is unsafe handling.

Canada has gone way overboard on the whole gun control issue and spent a ridiculous amount of money implementing measures that are supposed to control firearms themselves (but actually don't).  At the same time though, we've also implemented tough licensing and safety training requirements and educated storage requirements, which are the biggest impact factors in preventing accidental firearms-related injuries.

Sooner or later, someone is going to realize that despite their presence in the Second Amendment firearms are just as inherently dangerous as automobiles when operated incorrectly and force a national requirement for licensing and standardized safety training.  Gun control is not the problem - owner control and knowledge is.

[High Max]

I tend to agree actually. Western culture may have its problems but the people who complain about it most are generally the people who would hate living in any other culture more. While it's fine to complain about the problems and seek a solution to many people go far beyond that into ridiculous comments about how come everyone is stupid but them.

I agree about this.

Actually I think Chinese appeared more selfish when I was there (up to the point I started to feel sick about it). Compared to here, Asian culture in general seems more tough towards misfortunes and failures. Though I do understand the reasons behind that.

There could be a good side to that. It may help people be more disciplined and learn a lot and learn to be polite and less selfish and take better care of themselves with their diet and exercise. Like a teacher being a little rough on you so you will learn better and teach a person to live healthier and with more wisdom and less sloth. Otherwise many people become spoiled and lazy (just look at the obesity rate and lack of effort many people show here), put less value on education like many kids here do and want only fun, and more people start throwing trash on the ground, like I encounter many people doing here, and leaving their carts at Fred Myer's sitting around in random places in the parking lot not caring if they roll and hit someone's vehicle instead of putting them back where they go. It sickens me when people become that selfish and lazy and I see a lot of that around here, but I always put my cart away and throw my trash in the can. I am going by experience of living here, not just by what I read. I typed up "selfish America" and came up with a hit.

By being tough towards you, it can give you more motivation to try harder. Making it so you have more respect for yourself and for others. I think they should be tougher here, honestly, like in oriental Asia. So it is good if it is something you can change but not being tough on you for something you can't change, like age or a syndrome, though.

Does anyone realize that Japanese have the highest life expectancy in the world? Their infrastructure seems sleek and up to date too. They have discipline with their diet and I heard on the news that they have about 30,000 people at the age of around 110+ these days.

[Rodo]

For this scenarios it's clearly the parents fault, definitely... 3 year old holding a gun? I bet the gun was left in a very accessible place and with no custody at all.

A 15 year old holding a gun is a completely different story, those kids have the means to get the gun, no mater how good is it hidden or locked up.
And we have to face this, kids seem to be more aggressive day after day, I myself being 24 can easily tell the difference between me at 5/10 years old and the kids of the same age right now.

[Colonol Dekker]

Parents responsibility is inherant, it comes weith the title. In fact they're the same thing.

If you're not responsible, you're not a parent. You're a bystander.........

[Titan]

*Reads*

I'm not sure how to reply to this, but I have something to say on the issue of gun rights: All those laws that are being passed, they intend to limit the amount of guns in the US. But that can only hurt legal gun owners, since those that use then for illegal purposes will STILL GET THEM ANYWAY.

[Flipside]

Thing is, you go to these Middle East countries, where 4 people can end up being shot by accident at a Wedding, and you realise that it isn't the slightest question of culture or country, and totally a question of people not treating the gun as exactly what it is, a weapon designed to kill things, and not considering other peoples safety.

[karajorma]

But that can only hurt legal gun owners, since those that use then for illegal purposes will STILL GET THEM ANYWAY.

BY STEALING THE LEGAL ONES.

Funny how that last bit never seems to get added.

[Colonol Dekker]

Oh hai Karajorma...

[Polpolion]

So many over-generalizations...

I honestly don't know what to do.

EDIT: Anyway, here I go.

But that can only hurt legal gun owners, since those that use then for illegal purposes will STILL GET THEM ANYWAY.

BY STEALING THE LEGAL ONES.

Funny how that last bit never seems to get added.

Well, I guess I'd rather have the government steal my guns than some random person. At least I know that the government was elected by the people that they'll be taking the guns from.

There could be a good side to that. It may help people be more disciplined and learn a lot and learn to be polite and less selfish and take better care of themselves with their diet and exercise. Like a teacher being a little rough on you so you will learn better and teach a person to live healthier and with more wisdom and less sloth. Otherwise many people become spoiled and lazy (just look at the obesity rate and lack of effort many people show here), put less value on education like many kids here do and want only fun, and more people start throwing trash on the ground, like I encounter many people doing here, and leaving their carts at Fred Myer's sitting around in random places in the parking lot not caring if they roll and hit someone's vehicle instead of putting them back where they go. It sickens me when people become that selfish and lazy and I see a lot of that around here, but I always put my cart away and throw my trash in the can. I am going by experience of living here, not just by what I read. I typed up "selfish America" and came up with a hit.

Either you must live in a town that's in some serious trouble, or I must live in a really nice place, because I haven't encountered any of those problems. Plain and simple, where I live, the vast minority of people "don't care,"

What does this mean? Enacting policies to undo something in a manner that affects everywhere is a waste of resources. If you want to pick up litter, don't sweep areas that have no litter. If you want lower obesity rates, making people that already play a few sports take Gym again isn't going to help. If you want higher test grades, don't force people that already have an A test grade average to study more.

Whatever you do, don't inconvenience the people that are doing it right because some retards are taking it easy.

[Flipside]

You could start by explaining what you think are over-generalisations

[Titan]

You could start by explaining what you think are over-generalisations

Considering you just made one. 

[Mr. Vega]

Sigh. Just don't start saying all people are stupid unless you actually have evidence that everyone is stupid, and not just one nut who ended up on the news.

[Scotty]

In my defense, I said most, not all.

[Mr. Vega]

And we all make generalizations all the time. It's how we make sense of things. It's just that this one is completely at odds with the facts.

[Flipside]

You could start by explaining what you think are over-generalisations

Considering you just made one.  

Amazing how people are saying this, and yet still failing to explain what this supposed over-generalization is, despite my asking twice, and two people have accused me of it, without bothering to state their case...

Maybe there is none...

At least Sizzler justified his opinion, I'm now waiting for you.

[Mr. Vega]

In my defense, I said most, not all.

You sure about that? What percentage of people you know are stupid? What percentage of people you met that you could tell immediately that they were stupid? It seems reasonable. But think about it some more. The people you've worked with in a crappy fast food restaurant. Were they really stupid or did they just not care enough to do things with any competence? Once you impose any real standards it just melts away IMO.

[NGTM-1R]

BY STEALING THE LEGAL ONES.

Funny how that last bit never seems to get added.

The evidence I've seen suggests this accounts for slightly less than half of illegal firearms in areas of the US with looser gun-control laws. The guns you'll find on the street in California or New York being used for crimes were most likely purchased, legally, in bulk, at a gun show somewhere in Texas or Georgia. Try again Kara.

[Scotty]

In my defense, I said most, not all.

You sure about that? What percentage of people you know are stupid? What percentage of people you met that you could tell immediately that they were stupid? It seems reasonable. But think about it some more. The people you've worked with in a crappy fast food restaurant. Were they really stupid or did they just not care enough to do things with any competence? Once you impose any real standards it just melts away IMO.

Yes.  I am very sure that I said "most" and not "all."

[Mr. Vega]

And personally, I'd be all for banning everything except for rifles, except for the fact that I do believe in the right to bear arms - in the event that the government needs to be overthrown. If you take away our guns then we're gonna have to convince elements of the army to support us which will be tricky and then there will be the threat of the army simply replacing a corrupt civil government after the coup. So I do think we should be allowed to bear non-hunting firearms for the sake of this purpose. It's just that too many people are killing each other with them, and the only alternative to gun bans is a grinding social war against organized crime, which might lead absolutely nowhere.

Yes.  I am very sure that I said "most" and not "all."

I'm not talking about all silly. I'm questioning if that number is above fifty percent. I just don't think it is; a lot of cases of "stupidity" can be explained away by apathy and the inability of our society to allocate mental resources properly.

[Mr. Vega]

And also the abominably poor system that is American public school.