Not sure if you were making fun of me or agreeing with me.

Anyway, im curious as to what other countries gun laws are. I know there are people from all over the globe on Comicon, will anyone whos not from the U.S. tell me what your country has in the way of firearm legislation.

Thanks.

Not at all. Well aware of many. Didn't I just mention Ghandi?

You accept them, learn from them and try not to repeat the mistakes from them. Going back and glorifying them, you *don't* do. Painting the US Revolution as a people rising up against a tyrannical oppressor was not the truth. There's a part of it there, but the situation was vastly more complex.

Jesus, back the fuck off. Originally, I posted here to defend myself after someone said I was being an asshole and attacking other artists who 'I perceive as not as good' as myself. I think I was talking about people who take themsevles too seriously as opposed to serious (or dramatic) themed comics. But if you want to read a good novel - Read a novel, not a comic book.

A very slanted way to spin a statistic, though I can't say it's altogether surprising considering from where you retrieved this. They don't even do a very good job of spinning the number. Anybody who reads it critically can see that, while those already strongly in their camp probably won't.

It's really rather simple: One does not need to kill someone with a gun, nor even to discharge the weapon, for that weapon to have been effectively used in self-defense. Most of the time, all it takes is the sight of the weapon and the job of "protection" is done. While this guy did fire a shot, he sure as hell didn't need to in order to protect his home, as the criminals ran right off the bat. Incidents where a homeowner wields a weapon and the would-be criminals flee in fear without a shot being fired are pretty common, but they're not sexy enough to get instant news coverage.

Hell, just ask anybody who grew up in a rural area about tresspassing and being chased off the property by an angry guy with a rifle. Word gets out fast that "you don't f--- around on Mr. Jones' property."

Just as the pro-gun lobby spins numbers to support their views, so, too, does the anti-gun lobby. Very much so. This is a fine example of exactly that.

Yet a third of Americans think they're Irish.

Dont know where youre getting that. Maybe a source?

In the UK, rifles are legal for certain occupations and with a license. Farming for example. There are rifles licences for hunters, but these are strictly regulated and home ownership is incredibly rare and has to be justified. Hand guns etc are illegal. The police are not armed as a matter of course, rather an armed unit must be requested for a specific event, say if someone is spotted with a gun. An exception is made for airports, which is the only time armed guards are seen as a matter of course.

Yes, I know all about this. Again, if you live off in a deserted area or run a deli, owning a gun is not a bad idea.

There is SENSIBLE gun ownership and SENSIBLE gun use and then there is the NRA, which fought like mad to ban the sale of assault weapons, which are used, in general, to walk into McDonald's and kill people.

I quote the self defense statistic just to point out how many people are killed by guns every year. It's great that 300 criminals were killed...now what do we do about the other 29,700?

You know, an armed cop was standing a few feet away the last time the Beltway Sniper struck. Didn't seem to do much good.

For me (as shown by my real life examples used), I would rather rely on education, a working criminal justice system, and societal pressure to curb random violent tendencies than me and my friends all becoming Quick Draw McGraw. A dreamer? Obviously. After my own brush with violent crime (a home break in where I discovered the intruder) a lot of people told me to buy a gun. I decided I would rather die in a more civlized world than live in a less civlized one. The bottom line is that most people are morons, and I would prefer as few of them be heavily armed as possible.

Canada has three basic levels of gun control:

• Firearm Aquisition Certificate (FAC):This is basic proficiency certification, issued when a Canadian resident has passed a Federal government course/test in gun safety. Virtually anyone can get an FAC, I believe the only reasons for refusal are inability to pass, and (possibly) institutionalised-level insanity.
  
  Stores are forbidden to sell firearms or ammunition to customers who don't have an FAC. An FAC holder may buy any weapon that is not restricted.
• Restricted Weapons Permit:
  This covers handguns and automatic weapons.
  
  The applicant for this permit must have a valid reason for wanting a restricted weapon- target shooting, collecting, and self defense are considered valid reasons.
  
  There is a security check for people who want these weapons, and they are fingerprinted.
  
  You can't just walk into a store and buy a handgun- you buy it, and the store must submit paperwork to the RCMP to verify that it's a valid transaction. When the paperwork is completed, you pick up your gun.
  
  There are restrictions of carriage: If you bought a pistol for target shooting, you can't carry it around with you all the time. It can only be transported to and from a range (or gunsmith).
• Gun Registration:
  All firearms must be registered with local authorities, the only exceptions being antique percussion/flintlock types.

That's about it. It's a layman's view- I don't have guns, but I used to hunt and do a bit of target shooting, so I've maintained a passing interest.

Uh-huh. Well, whatever gets you through the night...