Why you dont play with guns

[Saitek]

I can't see it - it just becomes non-responsive. This thread has had 1600 views though!

[Hagar]

This thread has had 1600 views though!

Either the topic of GUNS is attractiing an unusual amount of interest or there's something strange going on here. Being from the UK I never pretended to understand the gun culture myself. Don't think about toting a BB gun in Yorkshire or you're liable to be shot. I think it's only a matter of time before this happens. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/3131601.stm

[Craig.]

Its sad when we live in a world where 10 year olds can get hold of bb-guns and wave them around town out of a car window. I wonder how many would have those guns if they were show footage of what the real thing could do to a person.

[Hagar]

Things are very different now. I had an armoury of toy guns of all descriptions when I was a kid & we used to go around "shooting" each other all the time. We also had regular battles with our powerful home-made pea guns that fired maple peas which really hurt if they hit you. I imagine if we'd used ball bearings or stones as ammo they could have caused serious injury. I also had an air rifle which my friends & I used for target practice. I grew up into the most non-violent person I know & neither I nor any of my old friends ever felt it necessary to own a real gun.

PS. I visited the Museum of Naval Firepower at Gosport yesterday. http://www.explosion.org.uk/
If you're interested in guns there's all sorts of serious hardware on display there. The ingenious methods that Man dreams up to obliterate his fellow-humans never ceases to amaze & frighten me.

[Craig.]

which is fine. But the culture alot of these kids are being brought up in, tells them its cool to own a gun, and you hear these kids go on like they dont really hurt anyone, then one day someone switches from a bb-gun to the real thing thinking it couldnt do much worse, takes aim at some other kid and bam, kids brains all over the path.

[Hagar]

I think the main difference is that my friends & I knew it was all make-believe.

[Woodlouse2002]

which is fine. But the culture alot of these kids are being brought up in, tells them its cool to own a gun, and you hear these kids go on like they dont really hurt anyone, then one day someone switches from a bb-gun to the real thing thinking it couldnt do much worse, takes aim at some other kid and bam, kids brains all over the path.

Aye but remember, over here you've got to have some pretty extravagant connections to get your mits on the real thing without a licience. To put it simply "kids" would have a real mission in getting one.

[Hagar]

Aye but remember, over here you've got to have some pretty extravagant connections to get your mits on the real thing without a licience. To put it simply "kids" would have a real mission in getting one.

If I'm to believe what I read that's no longer the case in some areas Woody. This article was written 2 years ago. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/2624539.stm I don't think the situation has improved & it's probably much worse now. No point in tightening the law if they took no notice of it in the first place.

[Craig.]

To be honest with you, i know many areas in Birmingham where i could get a gun no questions asked. And i have only been here 9 months and barely gotten to know the place. Thankfully where i live is a nice area but there are places where it is all to easy to pick up a firearm.

think the main difference is that my friends & I knew it was all make-believe

Maybe i am misunderstanding this one Doug. But i think that kids thinking these things are make believe is the problem. They pull the trigger of a real gun not expecting the action they get. By that time its too late, and there is no second chance.

[Hagar]

Maybe i am misunderstanding this one Doug. But i think that kids thinking these things are make believe is the problem. They pull the trigger of a real gun not expecting the action they get. By that time its too late, and there is no second chance.

We were also intelligent & sensible enough to know the difference between a toy gun & a real one.

[Craig.]

Well yes, that does help:) But i imagine you were taught the differance?

[Hagar]

Well yes, that does help:) But i imagine you were taught the differance?

I don't remember being taught the difference. We just knew without needing to be shown every little thing or go on an instruction course & get a certificate. It's called common-sense which seems to be in very short supply nowadays.

[Craig.]

I mean people like your parents telling you about them. I am not suggesting people should go on a course to learn about them. As far as i am concerned if you have no need for a gun you have no need to go on a course to learn about them, you just dont touch them period. Those who do want one for the legitimate reasons should of course be taught the correct operating and owning procedures. But sadly theres the other group who own them for no reason and dont bother to learn the proper saftey precautions.

[Hagar]

We didn't need to be told with the toy guns but I'm sure my parents told us to be careful with that air rifle & not to point it at anyone. We might have been a lot of little rascals but we had all been brought up with a sense of responsibility & wouldn't have dreamed of hurting anyone. I had full instruction on the use of firearms when I was in the ATC & became quite a good shot with the Short Lee-Enfield, the standard issue service rifle at the time.

It's all very well for these people to talk about laws & gun safety. They obviously have little idea of what they're talking about. What they don't seem to understand is that the people most likely to own & use an illegal hand gun have no respect for the law or anything else. They're hardly likely to worry about safety precautions.

[Woodlouse2002]

If I'm to believe what I read that's no longer the case in some areas Woody. This article was written 2 years ago. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/2624539.stm I don't think the situation has improved & it's probably much worse now. No point in tightening the law if they took no notice of it in the first place.

I'm talking about your average dimwit kid. Not someone in a gang like that. If you start talking gangs such as the ones who did that then it's entirely different as I shouldn't doubt they have their own smuggling rings to bring them into the country.

And Craig, maybe you could pick up a firearm no questions asked. But as they are illegal, and someone's gone to a lot of trouble bringing them into the country, I'd like to see you just dig into your pocket to pay for the thing.