Originally posted by Mini D
The 1920 legislation was built attop the "defense of the realm" act. Some might even call that a "patriot bill" of sorts. People like to use fancy terms like that when taking away your rights.
Mini, the Defence of the Realm Act was an Act passed to cope with the new emergency situation of being at war. It was passed at the beginning of WW1 just four days after Britain had declared war on Germany. "The legislation gave the government executive powers to suppress published criticism, imprison without trial and to commandeer economic resources for the war effort."
Better come down from your high horse, Mini. The stance of the US was no different in WW2 with regard to treatment of Japanese Americans - people actually born in the US who were imprisoned in internment camps, often far away from where they had lived. These included the actor, George Takei - famous for his role as Mr. Sulu in the original Star Trek series. His biography on IMDB states
His first hand knowledge of the unjust internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans in WW II, poignantly chronicled in his autobiography, created a life-long interest in politics and community affairs. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, George and his family were relocated from Los Angeles to Camp Rowar in Arkansas, and later, as the war was ending they were moved to a camp at Tule Lake in Northern California.
Source:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001786/bioAs for our "rights", we never had any "rights" to possess weapons as you did. It was just that there was a time when no gun control legislation existed because none was needed - just as there was no need for a 30mph speed limit in my town 200 years ago.
I've been looking around at some of the NRA supporter websites lately, and they all seem to follow the same theme:
- Look for material in foreign countries - examples of gun control legislation being passed.
- Make it look as if it were forced upon the population, who as "subjects" (as opposed to citizens, though MiniD doesn't know the difference) were powerless to oppose it.
- Make it sound as if the gun control legislation was tantamount to a confiscation, and a prelude to the population being rounded up and exterminated - that will add weight to the cause for keeping guns at home, should the citizens need to rise up against the US government.
- Conveniently overlook the fact that said legislation in said foreign country was passed by a democratically elected government.
- Give consideration to making the lack of any protest look as if it was because the "subjects" were powerless to protest.
- Ignore the real reason for any lack of protest, which is that very few people are interested in guns and therefore most people couldn't give a fork.
- Make it look as if the gun control legislation has not worked, and make it look as if the country with gun control has a bigger problem than the US by drawing ridiculous comparisons such as Myth #3 on this web page - "Nine Myths" of gun control Nashwan's going to love reading #3 - it's got Lazs's name written all over it! It states: "We have noticed that, if one subtracts the inner city contribution to violence, American homicide rates are lower than in Britain and the other paragons of gun control."
According to the Blackwell Report, 6 police officers died as the result of gunfire in the years 1908-1912. Had the status quo continued, we could have expected about 24 officers to die by gunfire in a 20 year period.
Now compare that to modern times, when we have a much more serious problem with crime - immigration, ethnic unrest, car crime, drugs, lack of discipline in schools... and yet in the 20 calendar years 1984-2003, we lost only
two (IIRC) police officers nationwide to gunfire: Yvonne Fletcher (1984), and Ian Broadhurst (2003).
Clearly gun control legislation was needed; clearly it was what most people wanted; clearly it has been successful.
Quod Erat Demonstrandum, mi old nose-sparrow.
Eagl said
"The whole country looks at many things completely differently than Americans." Maybe, but at least we can see the door handles!
Sorry to know that you've had problems in Britain. My ladyfriend Tomato is not British (born in Africa, German nationality) but has no problems at all.
