"J. Clarke" wrote in message
What I've never gotten is what good all this "registration and
licensing" are supposed to do. There are two kinds of people in the
world, the law abiding and criminals.

I'll answer your question and then I'm done. Obviously, nobody is going to
change their minds at this point.

There's three kinds of people, not two in your scenario - the law abiding,
the criminals and all those in between. How many times have you read about
someone who gets into a fight, goes home and gets his gun, comes back and
shoots the original opponent dead? They aren't criminals until the gun is
used. What might have happened if a gun hadn't been easily available? People
don't have to be criminals to shoot someone. All they need do is to really
lose their temper at some point, (something we've ALL done, likely more than
once) and in the wrong circumstance a gun is used. This is more common than
some may think. And before you suggest it, a gun does not really compare to
a knife. A gun can easily kill from a distance, is viewed much more
seriously than a knife and is handled and considered differently.

How many bars or pubs are there in the US? How many experience fights
between patrons on a regular basis? In the heat of a fight, it's pretty
damned easy to pull your gun and shoot someone. It's just as easy to miss
and shoot a bystander. When you're fighting and your adrenalin is pumping,
logical, reasoned thought generally goes out the window.

Forty years ago, people would get into a fight and usually go home
afterwards. There were no guns pulled, no knives used and only once did I
see someone grab a bottle at which point the bystanders started to advance
on the bottle holder. He then dropped the bottle. Now, it's different and
public attitudes have changed. That change in attitude is intensified and
easy access to a gun only intensifies it futher.

Those people who get a gun "just because they can" and put it aside are at
real risk of using it at the wrong moment. My suggestion of licensing and
registration, includes training. These three things (at least in my Canadian
society and in my perspective) imbed additional respect for a gun and the
privilege of ownership. It also means that more consideration goes into the
act of grabbing a gun on the spur of the moment. If it's more costly, time
consuming or requires more effort to get the gun in the first place, people
aren't going to so easily risk that gun ownership. Just being able to walk
into some store, plunk your money down and get a gun does not do those
things.

Yup, most certainly I get upset when some new regulation comes into effect
and it affects me personally in some way. I objected when the Canadian
F.A.C. process came into effect. Then I eventually accept it. Considering
the amount of gun owners in the US and the power they yield, it may well be
impossible for any authority to affect gun ownership much. Or at the very
least, they'd be afraid to seriously legislate gun ownership because of the
backlash. But, whether it's liked or not, it's gradually happening. More and
more states are legislating gun control. And as long as the US has a
functioning society, that gun control will increase. Attrition does work, as
long as it doesn't back off. And yes, I most certainly undertand that's a
big concern to many Americans, because gun culture has been an important
part of your society for many, many years.

Post a response if you want. I'll read it, but I probably won't reply.