quote:

You only don't want them because you weren't raised with them.

You only want them because you were. That's why I distinguished between ideology and morally informed choice. I have no right or desire to tell you that America should disarm. But neither do I think that you or anybody else has a right to tell me that the British ought to own guns.

That sums it up well. We just don't want them. We fell safer and better without. Whether we actually are who knows, but what we feel counts a lot.

but we were, well anyone of mine or manny's age ~ the major parts of laws banning handgun ownership etc were made up in/after 1987

Wow I wasn't aware of that. It has to be differences in culture. They'd (being the governmnet) would never get away with that here. And I'm amazed after finding that out that there arent gangs who have them!

tbh we don't seem to need/want them much - I know of one handgun, and that has been stored in oil for over 50 years, though there are any amount of shotguns about (I live in a fairly rural area)

I think that shooting them in the kneecaps might be a more effective deterrent.

And I'm sure that you won't complain when your insurance premiums go up to compensate.

Oh, did you think that the insurance companies are in it for the benefit of the greater good?

And they're an integral part of the marriage ceremony! :D

my insurance goes up whatever happens

I don't believe shooting people is the answer to any issue / problem (unless they shoot first)

Its fairly common to have a riot exclusion in retail insurance stuff. Some will be insured, most I fear won't.

"Understanding why this happened is different to justifying it" on sky news - Good point, that.

Papers are reporting that Met must legally pay compensation from reserves. It'll still come from us eventually, of course, but the route is different.

That's good.

 

Mikee: I told Skynews to say that, as per my post earlier in this thread.

Sky news told me to tell you there's been sunshine across the UK today but it's a very different story tomorrow- quite wet and very windy.

 

Some very heavy bursts of rain, temperatures down to 9-14. There will be a gusty wind developing.

 

That's it from me, bye for now.

Tell Skynews to go suck a bag of dicks.

Better not be over Birmingham

http://www.okmagazine.com/2011/08/hulk-hogan-talks-london-riots-on-bbc-radio-ill-body-slam-the-youth/

That's the spirit Hulk Hogan

Again with good light/bad light! Who cares? I think burning down other peoples' shit shows them in a pretty bad light to start with but, again, that's not the point.

Also what Milko said.

Guns are fun, that's for sure. But I don't want people here owning guns. But then we don't have a history and culture of needing/using them to survive so it's hardly surprising. I think Manthorp summed it up well. But I'll add that it's a real shame that gun control is a partisan issue over there, it pushes the whole of your politics to the right by forcing people who only agree with Republicans on gun control to vote that way.

As for the fun thing... I'm pretty sure detonating nuclear devices would be fun and the media informs me that small ones can be made with household items. I can perfectly well imagine a culture where their use was culturally and historically ingrained. I wouldn't want one though, and I don't want other people having them. That's pretty much how guns look to us.