:
Heh. I just came back to edit out my 'incredibly stupid' comment, I was being far too snarky. Or rude, as we call it down my way.
Anyway, I still don't buy it, simply because it seems so utterly daft and just a pure piece of conjecture.
Switzerland is tiny, remember, I'd be surprised if they had reams of murders being committed. Added to this is the fact the Swiss are all existentialist fence-sitters, who are all destined for a career in banking.
|
Nevertheless, I feel that if such a law was passed, it may just change the mind set of criminals permanently.
:
If everyone over 18 had a gun that would be like handing fire-arms to gangs. O.o
Also not everyone with a gun would be proficient with it, I also see many more accidents occurring. I'm sure a man who didn't know how to use a gun would use it if he thought he would be saving human life.
Say two young guys get in a fight, well instead of fighting each other with fists and only beating each other up they would both pull out guns... this doesn't look good at all.
|
I don't think a man would pull a gun out if he didn't know how to use it. He would first make sure that he
did know how to use one well enough, before deciding to use one in order to stop an armed robbery or something.
Also, if such a law was put into effect, parents would most likely be teaching their children gun safety at an earlier age, to better prepare them for when
they are old enough to wield one. This would mean that they would have a more realistic approach when it came to firearms, rather than the children who see a movie where weapons are involved, and say "Oooh, cool! I wish I could do that!". So, the whole fight scenario would be less likely to happen. Partly because the two individuals involved would know better than to let a petty arguement escalate into a gun battle, and partly because they'd be afraid of someone else pulling a weapon on them both to stop them.
:
Someone who has gotten to the point of engaging in armed robbery isn't exactly going to be worrying about little details like that.
|
Actually it depends on the person. If we're dealing with a psychopath, then of course not, though I think even
they would think twice before risking death just because they got a little greedy.
:
Again, people planning on attacking or stealing from someone are not going to be thinking twice at all, or they would not be doing it in the first place. And then when they are faced with an armed opponent suddenly, well, everyone knows what happens when you surprise a gun-wielding criminal. Besides, Switzerland have low rates of all antisocial behaviour. This is a place where lost wallets containing large amounts of cash are invariably handed in to the authorities with all contents intact.
There is a basic dynamic that takes place when you arm both the predator and prey. We see it in nature. This is the part of evolution that will lead to ever faster prey animals to escape from their ever faster predators. The same goes for body size. If you are going to attack a place known to be protected, you're going to make sure that you have a bigger, stronger arsenal than your target. And as the equipment of the local criminals becomes more outlandish, so does that of law abiding citizens. And we can see where this is going.
|
If there's a greater possibility of them dying in the process, then they
would think twice about it. I highly doubt that their desire for money would cloud their judgement to
that extent.
And if the criminals
were to wield lareger, more powerful weapons, the chances of them being caught
before they get a chance to commit the crime would increase drammatically. What's more, in a country where all citizens are allowed to wield firearms, I imagine that there'd be more law enforcement officials at every corner as a precautionary measure.