SIX PEOPLE SHOT DEAD IN GERMANY: Bloodbath in Chinese Restaurant

But, but, but...I thought that registration would end gun violence! You mean it doesn't?

Well, in your case I wouldn't use specifically Germany as an example, as we do indeed have an extremely low murder rate compared to other nations:

As to accidents: The United States has roughly four times the population of Germany, but a hundred times more children are killed by guns than in Germany.

But the murder rate would probably still be much lower if guns were commonplace in Germany. It's just a different mentality. As in all things political, one has to weigh the benefits (citizens vs. subjects) vs. the disadvantages (more accidents), that's why I, even as a German, am pro-gun (I prefer the example set by Switzerland).

This can't be true.

It's true. Owning a gun and using it for a specific, state-approved purpose, such as hunting, is indeed not that much of a problem. Carrying a gun, especially a concealed one, that's the hard part.

Germany has had strict Gun Control laws since A. Hitler instituted them in the early thirties.

That's a nice story, but unfortunately, it's complete and utter bullsh*t. It was the pressure exerted by the victorious powers of WWI which led to the first German anti-gun laws, many of which were passed 1918-20 (Hitler came into power 1933). In fact, Hitler made it easier to own guns, for "trustworthy" citizens (i.e. NSDAP-members et alii). Then again it were the allied powers (you have to remember that from 1945-48 there was no German state), which called for a complete disarming of the German population.

Historie des Waffenrechts

That's laughable.

I have Springfield 45, my wife a Kimber 45 (For concealed carry). I can carry that weapon concealed nearly anywhere I go (With few exceptions). In Texas in 2006 alone over 62,290 got their concealed handgun licence and they did so fairly easily. These are not special officers of the state, they are people like you and I. You have a right to defend yourself, but you lack the means, and the state (Staat) reserves this right only to itself. If "you" as a law abiding citizen, someone trained in their use, were to carry a concealed weapon what would happen to you if caught?

http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2007/jan/22/concealed_carry_permit_holder_shoots_suspect/

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/16558610.htm

If you're threatened what are you going to do? Scream, "Stop, ich habe ein Buttermesser!" Defacto you have no right to self defense because the means of self defense are denied.

Even the right to own a gun all together is made excruciatingly painful and this is done intentionally to discourage gun ownership. I had a few guns while in Germany and it does cost a lot of money, there are a lot of restrictions, they require licensing, club membership, bla bla bla, which in all reality amount to the state squeezing a lot money out of people and making it intentionally difficult. It's a bureaucratic hurdle intended to make people fail. There is a difference between a right and a privilege. If the state can deny you ownership though you are a law abiding citizen, it's a privilege, not a right to own a gun in Germany! If you lack the means to self defense and the state (Staat) reserves this right for itself, which is the case in Germany, you defacto have no right to self defense. Call the Polizei or hope the BVS does their job, but "you" as a citizen lack the means.

There are many factors that contribute to the homicide rate (homicide= gun related homicide here-forth), gun ownership is a variable that works both for and against it statistically depending on how you want to spin it. Stupid charts like in this post mean absolutely nothing.

Let me give you an example of how this chart means nothing. How about we only take countries like Switzerland which has a lower homicide rate than Germany, less violent crime all together, and more liberal gun laws and more guns per capita in the hands of people? How about I take a list of only places that have lower homicide rates like Switzerland, and throw Germany up in that chart and all other countries with tight gun laws have a high homicide? Suddenly I can argue that less guns means more homicide.

We can make that example even in the US between those states with concealed carry and those without. Cities with tight gun laws and those without. Los Angeles, New York, and Washington are not known for low homicide rates, yet they have very stiff gun laws. On the other hand some cities have liberal gun laws and very low homicide rates in comparison. Here's a good site that applies the exact same reasoning you do but in reverse: http://www.gunowners.org/vtcarry.htm

OK, we can look at it like this too. Australia and Great Britain passed tighter gun laws in the last years and yet their violent crime rate has increased! How does that fit into the oversimplified German equation of citizens with guns = more crime / or more gun crime? They pass tighter gun laws yet their crime has increased! How can that be?

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.