Don't know how I missed this thread...
Yes. I do think that America needs a few more regulations regarding gun ownership. The idea that the 2nd Amendment shouldn't be altered because it is a right is foolish. If the Amendments were written in stone, there would be no legal alcohol in the U.S.
You would also be agreeing to child hello kitty and racially charged calls of incitement ... Luckily, the Supreme Court has ruled that there are situations when freedom of speech does not apply.
I think part of the problem is that Americans (sorry to generalize) have been brought up with the idea that criminals are lurking around the corner. There is a distinct theme that crops up in this debate and it has been voiced a few times here as well: the idea that guns are for protection.
I am not talking about people like KAAT. Like her, I grew up on a farm. I've been around guns for most of my life. Those guns have, from time to time, helped us out. Our farm boarders a forest, so rabid foxes, raccoons, and coyotes sometimes come near the house.
No, I mean the people who believe that a crook could enter your house at any moment, and that the gun will save you.
Looking at 2011 data, there were about 200 instances of justifiable homicide in the US that year. For those 200 people, that's great... they were able to protect their family. Unfortunately, there were over 850 deaths due to accidental firing in the same year. Some of that was people shooting their teenagers coming home after curfew (thought to be a burglar) some were kids accidentally shooting themselves or their friends, some was due to improper cleaning etc.
Reading the above, I expect that gun proponents would try to argue the following: "But those are only deaths. How many robberies have been prevented due to a warning shot, or simply injuring the intruder." This is true, and I don't know the numbers... but I suspect they wouldn't be terribly different from the number of robberies that were prevented due to a dog's bark, an alarm system, or simply seeing the lights on in the house. Most intruders don't want trouble.
I'm a family man... and sorry, those numbers (1:4) don't justify the ownership to me... not with the gun regulations you have now. Get some trigger locks and keep ammunition separate and I might change my mind.
The truth is that you are highly unlikely to be in quick need of a gun. I don't want to live in the States. It isn't because I am worried about criminals... I would probably never be near one (Wall St. Bankers, excluded
) No... I fear the average citizen in the States. I would fear that the neighbour kid's father doesn't keep his guns properly locked up; I would fear that the neighbour kid would say "check this out" to my son.
That, as far as I am concerned, is your clear and present danger.