Quote:
Originally Posted by Winnipesaukee
No, Massachusetts has some of the worst gun laws in the country. Massachusetts also has some of the worst violent gun crimes in the country, also some of the highest numbers of gun-related accidents.
In new Hampshire it is perfectly legal to own a "machine gun." Take the M16, for example. Due to the 1986 ban of the manufacture of automatic firearms (from the "Firearm Owners 'Protection' Act of '86), prices of grandfathered M16's are around $20-25,000. No typo.
But if you're a little short on cash, you can make a quick trip to your local Boston-area black market and buy the same gun for $200.
I don't understand everyone's fear and idolization of firearms. They're inanimate objects. We must be pretty arrogant, ignorant, and thick, to blame these "objects" for our own mistakes and stupidity. I shot automatic "weapons" when I was 8.
Does alcohol make people drive drunk? Did Ted Kennedy's CAR kill Mary Jo Kopechne?
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I'm curious what makes you say "worst". I think I can guess based on the rest of the post, but I wonder if you could elaborate so I don't errantly impute motives to you.
Also, I thought I would mention this - Only Hawaii has a lower rate of gun deaths than Massachusetts.
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/cri...te-per-100-000
For violent crimes as a whole, MA is pretty close to the median, and below most states with major metropolitan areas.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004912.html
For murder as a whole, MA is 16th, well below other states with large cities.
As for "accidents" - I couldn't find a state-by-state breakdown, but the most recent statistics I found said that there were only 600 accidents resulting in fatalities nationwide (2005, I think). No matter who had the largest share of those, the per-capita rate of accidents isn't likely to be statistically significant. But if you have access to better statistics, I would love to see them.
You are absolutely correct that people, not guns, kill people. But perhaps there is some evidence that limiting access to guns may make it a little harder for people to kill people. Any counterarguments would be welcome.