ah yes - well that would explain it then...
you are right about the lack of border here - instead in australia we have
12,200 miles of coastline and a population of 22 million mostly down in the
SE corner of the country --> which makes for a fairly 'permeable' border
after all.
the reason i personally object to guns is that it makes it a hell of a lot
easier for ordinary people to committ criminal acts. at some point in their
lives most people have probably been violently angry or financially
desperate and somehow having guns lying around just seems to be asking for
trouble.
i'm not suggesting that we don't have crooks here - obviously we do and
yes, they have guns. but not really the petty criminals - for example, my
flatmate was held up with a syringue of (supposedly) AIDS blood. 7-11
hold-ups seem to involve big knives more than guns. both situations with
more risk for the crook who has to get much closer to use his weapon, and
perhaps that in itself is a deterrant. accordingly, gun deaths are
considerably lower here per capita than in america.
i grew up in a small rural town (ie more guns) and when i was young there
were two different murders within a few hundred metres of my house - both
domestic situations with guns handy. it's senseless waste and that's what i
object to most of all.
anyway, how's the newt...?
aaron
>Sorry, I guess I should've not been subtle (although I didn't think my point
>was that easy to miss), but if guns were forbidden in the US, that would
>just change the economics of guns for the crooks -- they'd just smuggle them
>across the border with the drugs.
>
>In OZ, unless the crooks have submarines, it's just a tad bit harder.
>
>- Eric.
>>
>> oh yes, i am such an idiot!
>>
>> i forgot that it's foreigners that committ crime.
>>
>>>> and here is an opposing viewpoint (worth a read):
>>>>
>>>> http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~lambert/guns/lott/onepage.html
>>>>
>>>> i live in a country with quite tight gun control laws (australia). gun
>>>> crime is very low. go figure!!!
>>>>
>>>
>>> Of course, not having thousands of miles of border that just anyone can
>>>walk
>>> across really helps out...
>>
>
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