Prior restraint laws are considered acceptable in most non-United States-jurisdictions. That's why a law can gag the Canadian or UK press just to keep public opinion clear.
They're often considered acceptable in the United States as well : only in protection of free speech do they seem to get any attention.
I am thinking of getting a handgun in Italy (I have rifles already). I'll need to go through some painful bureaucracy, but just owning it is more feasible than getting a carry licence.
While I agree with the tone of your fisking, I do want to make a minor dialectical note. When the writer wrote, "Guns are meant to be locked in a cabinet...", the word 'meant' does not mean what it would mean in an American dialect. An apposite translation would use 'supposed'.
In British dialects, the phrase quoted would be understood to be about permission rather than intention. (This doesn't make the phrasing inoffensive, but it does change the focus of its offensiveness.)
Weird- I saw a story almost exactly like this in my local paper about a month ago; an anonymous story protesting the increased number of guns being legally owned in my county. No mention at all of any crime figures, just some complaining by hoplophobes. The really strange thing is that it sounds so similar to the article you've linked to (apart from the quotes from IANSA) that I'd almost think that they were written by the same person. The same release of figures, the same claim that it might be individual owners buying more thasn one gun, the same quotes saying that legitimate sports are becoming more popular.
Any one else in the UK notice stories like this in the local press? Are the anti-gun lobby pushing this forward?
BTW, there is a national register; or there would be if the police could get it to work. It was proposed after Dunblane I believe and despite a fortune being spent on it, the thing still isn't up and running.
Hunting (In Britain, that means the pursuit of game with hounds while people follow and observe) has been outlawed. The ban is as effective as American laws against gambling.
Hunting foxes (on horseback) has been banned - & none of our 3 local hunts:
Tedworth
Royal Artillery
Avon Vale
go out hunting any more.
Of course they still exercise their hounds on a twice weekly basis ... tee hee!
My name is Lauren Knapp-Resnik. I was born in Texas but grew up in London primarily, as well as time in Paris and Geneva.
Let me just get right to the point. I don't understand how you can have American culture pervading all of Europe, and some, including increasing crime stats, without considering ('re-adopting'?) some United States Constitutional rights. Specifically I'm referring to the Second Amendment,
"A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed"
We got it from GB, essentially. It seems like everything else under the sun is being adopted, except for the most inherent rights an individual is born with: the right to self-defense. And then in the 1920's Firearms Act England got cold feet and decided to back out of a long standing premise of the Common Law. After that it was all down hill and tightening up like a vice. Currently England is proof positive that a society banning firearms ownership of law-abiding citizens has no less problems with violence and crime than a country that grants their people that right.
The Tony Martin Norfolk farmer case comes to mind, as does an incident in the early seventies when our Fulham flat was broken into and the perpetrator crept ominously around my mother's bed for two hours, thankfully leaving without doing her harm. My father, also a Texan, traveled the Middle East at was frequently gone at this time. His efforts to bring a gun back to London from Texas for personal protection were not, as you can imagine, met with much encouragement from those at Heathrow in 1974. But they did see his point of view!
I am not being critical or snappish; just coming from someone who's seen both sides. i am an avid National Rifle Association advocate and will defend my right to own a gun and self-defense until the end, no matter what country the bloody enemy is from. The premise that "a world without guns will end violence" is idiotic and false; it will make it impossible for the good to defend themselves, while those with sinister motives are given the clear to acquire firearms whatever means necessary. That will never stop. But giving individuals the security to defend their own lives instead of being forced to cower in their homes will be the key to intimidating those who abuse power.
Sincerely,
Lauren Knapp-Resnik
Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
USA
Note:
All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost;
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JS-Kit/Echo comments for article at http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/2006/08/could-it-be.html (11 comments)
Tentative mapping of comments to original article, corrections solicited.
Prior restraint laws are considered acceptable in most non-United States-jurisdictions. That's why a law can gag the Canadian or UK press just to keep public opinion clear.
They're often considered acceptable in the United States as well : only in protection of free speech do they seem to get any attention.
I am thinking of getting a handgun in Italy (I have rifles already). I'll need to go through some painful bureaucracy, but just owning it is more feasible than getting a carry licence.
Tanfoglio 10mm Auto anyone?
He also said lessons could be learnt from the Canadian government...
As is almost always the case, the lessons learned from the Canuck .gov is what not to do.
Fabio:
Have you seen Publicola's?
While I agree with the tone of your fisking, I do want to make a minor dialectical note. When the writer wrote, "Guns are meant to be locked in a cabinet...", the word 'meant' does not mean what it would mean in an American dialect. An apposite translation would use 'supposed'.
In British dialects, the phrase quoted would be understood to be about permission rather than intention. (This doesn't make the phrasing inoffensive, but it does change the focus of its offensiveness.)
Ah, yes. Two nations divided by a common language...
Kevin, I visited the link. Tanfoglio is very appreciated, I see.
Their guns are also less pricey than Beretta, but not inferior at all.
However, one has to budget something like 1000 USD for a brand new pistol in Italy, dammit.
Weird- I saw a story almost exactly like this in my local paper about a month ago; an anonymous story protesting the increased number of guns being legally owned in my county. No mention at all of any crime figures, just some complaining by hoplophobes. The really strange thing is that it sounds so similar to the article you've linked to (apart from the quotes from IANSA) that I'd almost think that they were written by the same person. The same release of figures, the same claim that it might be individual owners buying more thasn one gun, the same quotes saying that legitimate sports are becoming more popular.
Any one else in the UK notice stories like this in the local press? Are the anti-gun lobby pushing this forward?
BTW, there is a national register; or there would be if the police could get it to work. It was proposed after Dunblane I believe and despite a fortune being spent on it, the thing still isn't up and running.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4766458.stm
Key quote- "In all, the application is fundamentally flawed and not fit for purpose."
Hunting (In Britain, that means the pursuit of game with hounds while people follow and observe) has been outlawed. The ban is as effective as American laws against gambling.
Hunting foxes (on horseback) has been banned - & none of our 3 local hunts:
Tedworth
Royal Artillery
Avon Vale
go out hunting any more.
Of course they still exercise their hounds on a twice weekly basis ... tee hee!
Hi there,
My name is Lauren Knapp-Resnik. I was born in Texas but grew up in London primarily, as well as time in Paris and Geneva.
Let me just get right to the point. I don't understand how you can have American culture pervading all of Europe, and some, including increasing crime stats, without considering ('re-adopting'?) some United States Constitutional rights. Specifically I'm referring to the Second Amendment,
"A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed"
We got it from GB, essentially. It seems like everything else under the sun is being adopted, except for the most inherent rights an individual is born with: the right to self-defense. And then in the 1920's Firearms Act England got cold feet and decided to back out of a long standing premise of the Common Law. After that it was all down hill and tightening up like a vice. Currently England is proof positive that a society banning firearms ownership of law-abiding citizens has no less problems with violence and crime than a country that grants their people that right.
The Tony Martin Norfolk farmer case comes to mind, as does an incident in the early seventies when our Fulham flat was broken into and the perpetrator crept ominously around my mother's bed for two hours, thankfully leaving without doing her harm. My father, also a Texan, traveled the Middle East at was frequently gone at this time. His efforts to bring a gun back to London from Texas for personal protection were not, as you can imagine, met with much encouragement from those at Heathrow in 1974. But they did see his point of view!
I am not being critical or snappish; just coming from someone who's seen both sides. i am an avid National Rifle Association advocate and will defend my right to own a gun and self-defense until the end, no matter what country the bloody enemy is from. The premise that "a world without guns will end violence" is idiotic and false; it will make it impossible for the good to defend themselves, while those with sinister motives are given the clear to acquire firearms whatever means necessary. That will never stop. But giving individuals the security to defend their own lives instead of being forced to cower in their homes will be the key to intimidating those who abuse power.
Sincerely,
Lauren Knapp-Resnik
Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
USA
Note: All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost; references to haloscan comments have been partially automatically remapped, but accuracy is not guaranteed and corrections are solicited.
If you notice any problems with this page or wish to have your home page link updated, please contact John Hardin <jhardin@impsec.org>