Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BuHaoChi]

....

[BuHaoChi]

...).

[cosmo]

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/04/post_68.html

Opposing view: Bans don't deter killers
Look what happened at Columbine and Virginia Tech, both �gun-free zones�.
By John R. Lott Jr.

People are beginning to notice what research has shown for years: Multiple-victim public shootings keep occurring in places where guns are already banned. Forty states have broad right-to-carry laws, but even within these states it is the "gun-free zones," not other public places, where the attacks happen. It is high time that legislatures remove these roadblocks to people protecting themselves, including at public universities.

Whether it is Virginia Tech or other deadly attacks � Columbine High School, where 13 were shot dead by two students in 1999; Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, where 23 were fatally shot by a deranged man in 1991; or a McDonald's in Southern California, where 21 people were shot dead by an unemployed security guard in 1984 � they happened in gun-free zones. (Many older shootings, such as the one at Luby's, occurred before states began issuing permits for concealed handguns.)

In recent years, similar attacks have occurred across the world, including Australia, France, Germany and Britain. Do all these countries lack enough gun-control laws? Hardly. The reverse is more accurate.

The law-abiding, not criminals, are obeying the rules. Disarming the victims simply means that the killers have less to fear. As last week's attack demonstrated, police can't always be there: Unarmed students and faculty met the killer before police could arrive.

Most people understand guns deter criminals. If a killer were stalking your family, would you feel safer putting a sign out front announcing, "This Home is a Gun-Free Zone"? That is what schools do.

Unfortunately, public schools don't even have the same incentives as private companies to make the correct decisions on protecting student safety. For one, they are generally immune from liability. Parents can't sue the school for the death of their children. Nor can injured students sue.

Fears of permit-holders endangering safety are misplaced. Permit-holders have been extremely law-abiding and well-behaved. For example, before 1995, few K-12 schools had prohibitions on permit-holders having guns, and there is no evidence that there was ever a single problem.

Good intentions don't stop killers; people with guns do.

John R. Lott Jr., author of the forthcoming book Freedomnomic, is a dean's visiting professor in economics at the State University of New York at Binghamton.

[BuHaoChi]

.....

[cosmo]

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/arm-the-teachers-p1.php

The Daily Show covers guns in schools

[cosmo]

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1616393,00.html

Heidi Get Your Gun
Tuesday, May. 01, 2007 By HELENA BACHMANN
Each September the hills around Zurich are alive � with the sound of gunfire. Nobody is alarmed, however, because they know it emanates from a bunch of teenagers doing what comes naturally to nearly every Swiss: sharpshooting. And there's nothing random about it: The 12- to 16-year-olds are participating in Knabenschiessen, the world's largest youth rifle competition, which blends the jarring report of rifle fire with the melodious ringing of cow bells.

The Swiss system of "a rifle in every closet" may be the envy of the NRA, but some are pushing for more restrictive gun-control laws.
There's a paradox in this peaceful and neutral country that would make the NRA drool with envy: Firearms are as ubiquitous as chocolate and edelweiss. Weapons and ammunition � not multitasking pocket knives � are routinely issued to, and kept at home by, all able-bodied Swiss men for their annual military service. This custom is tied to the long-held belief that enemies could invade tiny Switzerland fairly quickly, so every reservist had to be able to fight his way to his regiment's assembly point.

The Swiss learn to shoot from an early age, and develop a deep sense of responsibility toward their firearms. Every summer, hundreds of thousands of military arms are retrieved from closets and attics, slung over shoulders, and taken on bikes, buses and trains to compulsory shooting practices held in nearly every village and town. In fact, firearms are so anchored in Swiss society, and the crime rate so low, that gun control has never been an issue. "We feel it's our patriotic and civic duty to use the guns wisely," explains Felix Endrich, a spokesman for the Swiss Armed Forces. "We respect this tradition."

A 1999 law regulates the sale and licensing of private guns, including a ban on carrying concealed weapons, but the tradition allowing military rifles and 50 rounds of ammunition in private homes � dispersing an estimated 2 million firearms and millions of rounds of ammunition throughout a country of 7.4 million people � has mostly gone unchallenged. Until now, that is. Some political and pacifist groups are planning to force a nationwide vote to end the cherished custom of "a gun in every closet."

Murmurs of discontent have been reverberating since 2001, when a disgruntled citizen opened fire with his army rifle inside the chamber of a regional parliament, killing 14 and injuring 14 others. Opposition to the guns-at-home tradition gained momentum last year when a ski champion was shot to death by her husband. And, in the past few weeks, discontent has grown more vociferous following reports of a man brandishing his army rifle in a hotel, killing one person and injuring four others. "Keeping guns at home is outdated, useless and dangerous," says Chantal Gallard;a socialist parliamentarian who is spearheading the fight for stricter arms legislation.

Gallards argument is bolstered by statistics showing 300 gun-related deaths � mostly suicides � every year. "These deaths are impulsive decisions taken in the heat of the moment," says Hans Kurt, who heads the Swiss Society of Psychiatrists and Psychotherapists, and supports tougher gun-control laws. "Take away an easy access to a gun, and these tragedies are preventable."

Supporters of the status quo say anyone intent on committing a crime or suicide will find a way regardless of the availability of firearms. "There is always that risk, but the majority of our people are law-abiding," says Ferdinand Hediger, head of international relations for Pro Tell, Switzerland's gun lobby, aptly named after the country's legendary apple shooter, William Tell, who used a crossbow to target enemies long before firearms were invented.

Seventy five million rounds of ammunition are fired every year, Hediger says, yet only a tiny number are used in killings. "Every death is one too many, but statistics have to be put in perspective."

The Swiss Parliament recently threw out a plan to tighten the gun law. Still, acting on the outrage over the recent shootings and the mounting pressure from left-wing groups, politicians vowed to reconsider the issue in June. Ultimately, under the Swiss system of direct democracy, the citizens might have the last word. But for now, the crack of rifle fire is the sound of springtime in the hills around Switzerland.

[ernie]

it's funny that realistic-looking toy guns are banned in the US... quality problem solving at work

[cosmo]

Canadian Stockpiling Military Weapons
http://www.nowpublic.com/john_lee_out_on_50_000_bail

John Lee Out On $50,000 Bail May 5, 2007
John Lee Who was charged with possession of weapons , including machine guns was released from jail on $50,000 bail. Lee made a mad dash for a waiting car covering his face. Lee if convicted will probably get jail time.
Vancouver police carted out what appeared to be a tripod-mounted, military-style machine gun from a high-rise apartment, just one part of a major weapons seizure.
"Some extraordinary guns, some devices that may have had some explosives, some precursors and what-have-you," Insp. Bob Chapman told CTV British Columbia on Saturday.
Police covered the rifles, ammunition boxes and machine gun before removing them from the building and carting them away.
The sheer volume of guns and ammunition had Chief Jamie Graham out on a Saturday to take a look.
The resident has been taken into custody. CTV British Columbia reports that other than a past incident at the border, he isn't known to police.
While police say they don't believe there is a terrorist or gang connection, they are still trying to figure out why he had so many military-style weapons in his apartment.
The condominium complex is a half a block from both Science World and a SkyTrain station and a block from the GM Place and BC Place stadiums in downtown Vancouver.
Police spokesman Howard Chow told The Canadian Press that the department might make a further statement on Monday or Tuesday.

What is a precursor in this context, and what is a what-have-you?

[Satori]