Alexander Serebriansky
Shooter, lifelong firearms enthusiast
59w ago
Of course, not.
In fact, the murder rate was during the middle ages was almost two orders of magnitude higher than today:
Although, as you know, the guns as practical weapons didn’t appear until XVI century. More-or-less practical handguns appeared only about 1550
Probably, the biggest driver in the decline of violence was the development of social institutes like the state monopoly on violence, courts, centralization of power, and police.
Matthew Moore
10 years as an NRA instructor, 30 years owning guns, much reading
59w ago
Of course not. When were guns invented? Around 1400 AD, in Europe, for personal firearms. Around 900 AD, in China, for cannon. When was murder invented? Long before that, it is safe to say.
In recent times, see the Rwandan genocide, mostly perpetrated with farm implements. And numerous other examples. I recently read that South Africa’s violence is seldom gun related (because they cost too much) but knives and clubs are sufficient to achieve a world-class homicide rate, far beyond our meager efforts in the USA.
Generally, people don’t murder, rob, or rape because they have a gun and the gun beamed violence into their brains. People commit violent crimes for gain, or to avenge insults real or imagined, and once they have decided to do that, they acquire weapons to fit their plans.
Jimmy Yap
59w ago
Not necessary, how it’s distributed and distributed is the key to make the world a safer place.
In Singapore, only the police and other relevant authorities have access and can carry guns with rules and regulations, and i believe normal police CANNOT carry the gun home.
As such, it make it hard for the police to actually also go rouge, since their access is limited.
With that, it’s extremely difficult for a normal civilian, with mental instability, to actually have access to gun for any reasons, un-supervised, and go on a mass killing. It’s virtually impossible due to probabilities for a mass murder to occur, because the father forget to lock the guns, or the gun was stolen from Bob cause he has a collection and did not bother to lock it.
The last time someone manage to have access to gun and bring it to the public over the period of 15 years in my memory is 2 times. both caught and sentenced accordingly.
The punishment is usually life sentence, caning or death sentence for possessing/smuggling or using of fire arms. Simply put, just because you have the firearm with you, regardless are you using it or not, for yourself or not, your life will be ruined for sure.
If the penalty is light, for instance 3 years jail time, with fines etc, people may still try. after all, they may conduct a successful crime or just murdering someone out of hatred, and being caught with just possession before conducting the actual crime itself, still gives them a chance to do it again, or again, or again before giving up. How many times can the police successfully catch the person repeatedly before it’s being carried out?
Whereas if the penalty is extreme, one would consider again, because if they are just merely caught with the weapon, they cannot try again to smuggle in to do their crime. it’s 0 chance after that.
Not ruling that it’s impossible, but it’s definitely extremely hard to carry out a crime with firearms in Singapore.
That makes it safe in these areas, you are less likely to be killed by a gun, just because you offended some crazy asshole.
The crazy asshole may chase you with a knife and kill you, which is really possible, but at least, the chance of you escaping increase.
Certainly, murder may not reduce with the absence of gun, but the measures to protect yourself is easier. All i have to do is lock my car door, or keep some distance, would greatly increase my survival and foil a murder by any other weapon.
With a gun, just because you have sex with the girlfriend, the guy would and could easily stole the gun belonging to his neighbour, and shoot you through the car. effectively killing you, and there’s very little you can do, to protect yourself from such attack
Next,
Because gun is so strictly regulated, it’s extremely difficult for criminals to have gun as at all.
This would make the police extremely powerful when subduing criminals.
Keeping themselves a good 5 mtrs away from any criminals, would increase their chance of getting away without injury exponentially, since any other melee weapon range is limited. you cannot just stab a police officer 5mtrs away.
When you approach them still when they asked you to stop, they could just shoot you. effectively closing the case and have no lame shit of calling reinforcement because you’re armed with Ak-47.
Thus, the police presence itself is usually met with no resistance. Any resistance is usually ended quickly, since any amount of melee on your hand still make you a easy game.
Daniel Schwartz
I’ve been trained to know one end of a gun from the other
59w ago
To borrow an old cliche: God created men, but Sam Colt made them equal.
From the perspective of violence and safety, all men are not created equal. A 300-pound football player is not equal to a 110-pound physics major. A two-meter male weightlifter is not equal to a 150-cm female clerk. And a young muscular purse-snatcher is not equal to a frail, elderly grandmother in a wheelchair.
In all these cases, the former can easily overpower the latter… unless the latter has a gun.
This is not hypothetical. I once knew a woman who had significant trouble from her stalking ex-husband. Calling the police didn’t help; taking out a legal restraining order didn’t help. Getting a gun did. As she put it: he wouldn’t leave her alone, until he learned that she was able, and willing, to put hot metal through his head.
(Please note that she didn’t shoot him. She never had to. But she had to have the ability, in order to be left alone.)
Would she have been safer without a gun? She certainly didn’t think so.
Andrew Redmayne
Australian Army 1994-2004
59w ago
The world will be a safer place without violence, not guns. This is an important difference. There were no guns in common usage until the 16th century, but no historical studies would ever describe the times before that “safe”
Jay Borwick
University graduate, military veteran, musician, auxiliary police
59w ago
There are arguments you can make for both sides of this issue. When I lived in the USA, I owned weapons, qualified with weapons in the military and law enforcement, and even possessed a conceal carry permit as a civilian. But now that I live in Canada and don’t have any weapons, I actually feel safer. Yes there is crime here in Canada, but not as much as I was exposed to in the USA.
While I believe that it is true that the world has experienced violent crime since the beginning of the human race, I also believe that guns have made committing some violent crimes much easier. As a result, eliminating guns would affect safety in a positive way.
Josh Karrde
Firearm collector, target shooter, carrier and occasional hunter.
57w ago
No.
Matt Junkin
Born into a firearm and hunting family, and I’ve carried on that tradition.
59w ago
No. Human beings slaughtered quite effectively prior to the creation of firearms. If you really want to make the world a safer place, destroy all chemistry, destroy all known biology information, and destroy all electronics/computers. Death, in a truly vast sense, will come from one of those sources, not from a 9mm pistol.
daybreakonline.news.blog 