Help revoke Bowling for Columbine's Oscar

[Toad]

Also, there's an FBI study that shows most gun crime is done by people that have already been previously convicted of one or more felonies.

[midnight Target]

Back to the point.....

The point of the film is to determine why gun violence, especially that of children on children, is rampant in this country. At first, Moore is guided by the precept that easy access to guns is the cause. And, despite being a card-carrying NRA member, he is more than willing to point the finger at Heston and his cronies. But, along the way, Moore makes a discovery - there are more guns per household in Canada than in the United States, yet the death toll, even when adjusted to consider the unequal populations, is much lower. This forces Moore to conclude that, while the ready availability of firearms in the United States may be a contributing factor to the high number of gun-related homicides, it's not the primary reason.

Eventually, after conducting various interviews and hopping around the country (and out of it), Moore suggests that fear, enhanced by the media's obsession with death and violent crime, may be the root cause of America's death-by-gun problem. Americans are frightened. They live in gated communities and lock their doors at night. They sleep with loaded guns under their pillows because only a firearm at-ready gives them a sense of security. Fear makes people jumpy and apprehensive, and more apt to resort to violence. And there's no cure for it. It is a societal ill that is perpetuated by the evening news and reality TV shows like "Cops".

Maybe the NRA lobby should actually watch the film.

[Stringer]

Or more to the point, maybe the Academy members should actually have watched the "documentary".

[Mini D]

Originally posted by midnight Target
Back to the point.....

Maybe the NRA lobby should actually watch the film.

LOL! Once again, I challenge your or beet1e to disprove what the "revoketheoscar.com" web page is alleging.  The best you've managed to come up with so far is "its no big deal."  Obviously, to some it is.  So your wrong on that count too.  No other way to say it really, and no need to say it another time... so this is the last.

MiniD

[Toad]

Bowser? You giving yourself a shake yet? Above the waist, I hope.

[SaburoS]

Help revoke Bowling for Columbine's Oscar

Nope, sorry won't do it. It feels very unamerican to try that.
Freedom of Speech and all that

[Mini D]

Originally posted by bowser
A variation on "guns don't kill, people do".  Gun owners have several valid arguments, you really don't need to use this one.  It's catchy but it makes us (yes, I'm a gun owner) look like idiots.  

I disagree.  To say otherwise it to absolutely fail to accept what is actually causing the violence.

Any idea why the murder rate using knives is 7 times higher with blacks vs whites in the U.S. and the murder rate using guns is also 7 times higher with blacks vs whites?

No... I don't think you have.  The presence of guns are not making someone 7 times more likely to be killed than in another demographic.

MiniD

[bowser]

Edited: Math was never my strong suit LOL.

In US in 1997 there were 200 million guns and 60 million gun owners.  Population now is 275 million.

In 2000, there are approximately 7.9 million firearms in Canada and 2.3 million firearm owners.  Population now is 31 million.

Percent of households with a handgun:
United States 29%
Switzerland 14
Finland 7
Germany 7
Belgium 6
France 6
Canada 5
Norway 4
Europe 4
Australia 2
Netherlands 2
United Kingdom 1

So, according to these numbers, there are more guns per capita in the US...if my math is finally correct, which isn't a sure thing.

If somebody has other numbers, I'd like to see them.

bowser

[Toad]

Interesting....... but


I was directed to "give myself a shake" when I said "Canada (has a) high (number of) guns.

I believe that you will now agree that I was correct?

Thank you.

[bowser]

You shouldn't have been so trusting of my math skills.

If you have numbers from government web sites showing you are correct I would like to see them.

bowser

[Toad]

I quote from MT's post, above;

But, along the way, Moore makes a discovery - there are more guns per household in Canada than in the United States, yet the death toll, even when adjusted to consider the unequal populations, is much lower.

You agree this is true?

Ah.. I see you have edited.

Well then, you disagree with the sainted Michael Moore, Oscar winning documentary maker?

[Montezuma]

Sending a petition to the Motion Picture Academy to revoke an Oscar reminds me of something Douglas Adams wrote about attacking a lunatic asylum with a banana peel.

[Toad]

And you probably disagree with this guy:

Canadian Gun Law Offers Example for U.S.  

Participants in the gun control debate often compare the United States with other countries. Some countries, like England and Japan have virtually no legal gun ownership, so comparisons are of limited value. Comparing Canada with the United States is much more useful. Most Americans know that Canada has a low crime rate and relatively strict gun control laws. What few people realize is that the number of guns per capita is roughly similar.

Nobody really knows how many guns exist in either country, but one estimate for Canada is 21 million guns owned by a population of 30 million people. In the United States, we have over 200 million guns and a population of 273 million.Michael S. Brown, O.D., November 1999

Canadian Gun Law Offers Example for U.S.

[Toad]

But that's what stats are all about, eh?

[Torque]

I'd like to see Mr Brown find anything close to 21 million guns in Canada.

I'd even throw in the first two world wars and squirtguns....