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Originally Posted by james0246
Do the benefits of gun ownership outweigh the costs? Sadly, this question has become more difficult to objectively answer. On every front actual national research into whether or not guns are actually helpful has been blocked, destroyed, or otherwise forced into hiding (and any research that is released is instantly attacked as partisan even if the basic facts of the research are sound).
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Just like global warming eh? it's the unfortunately fact that politics usually trumps and distorts any issues they touch, though I have to say that the anti-gun crowd is hardly any less disingenuous when it comes to their propaganda efforts than the NRA.
It is however my experience that even in countries where there is a total ban on civilian gun ownership there is still no end of violent crimes, or for that matter, gun crimes. Naturally, while there is less of the latter, do you really care if you get your head blown off by a gun or have it chopped off by a machete?
Quote:
Originally Posted by james0246
I do currently believe in gun ownership, and I do believe in the right for the citizens of America to protect themselves (both from their neighbors, strangers, and if they have to their own government), but I do not know if guns are actually a good tool for protection (Consequently, gun ownership could actually be doing more harm than good).
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barring the invention of a personal energy shield, I'd say yes. Though I don't think it's so much a specific issue pertaining to guns - if technology levels reverted back to the early 1700s, we'd be having the same debate, just now with melee weapons - guns are simply the latest weapon of choice for mankind.