On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:21:25 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


Well I have a simple solution. Good guys kill bad guys or just pose a
credible threat so bad guys start thinking crime doesn't pay. As it is,
the
worst areas have unarmed citizens in them.

'Sounds like you believe that they think like you do. But they're criminals
and you're not, so, by definition, they don't.

Most use of guns in crimes is criminals brandishing, threatening, or
shooting other criminals -- convicted felons, in most cases. The number of
gun-related crimes committed against lawful citizens actually is a very
small percentage of crimes committed with guns, Wes. Since criminals may be
carrying illegally as it is (the ones committing the crimes with guns
certainly are), it doesn't appear that the "credible threats" have much
effect.

Right! Most homicides seem to be gangsta's killing gangsta's though
there are sometimes collateral casualties.

I'd prefer "deterrent" to "credible threat". Predators look for easy
prey. See prolific writings by Massad Ayoob if you want cites.
Becoming a gunsel reduces one to the level of the criminal scumbags.
Killing must be a last resort for responsible citizens. It is not a
solution in general and is quite rarely a necessity in particular.
That said, peaceful citizens able to defend themselves are less easy
prey and we must retain the right to not be easy prey.