[quote1177518461=Jeffwa]
The only gun control that should be looked into should be with handguns - they serve no practical purpose aside from killing people. Look at Britain - handguns are outlawed and they have only had 46 homicides involving firearms last year. New York had 579. Compare populations - 53 million people live in England in Wales compared to 8 million in New York.
I disagree with gun control affecting law abiding citizen's....all the recent shootings were done with LEGALLY PURCHASED WEAPONS. Yes, I know there are shootings everyday with illegal weapons, but these really nasty incidents like VT have historically involved weapons obtained legally.
I will agree that taking away guns won't solve anything...the bottom line is people kill people, not guns, knives bombs or whatever else.
[/quote1177518461]
About the hand guns, in states with right to carry, crimes involving breaking into houses and muggings dropped dramatically since the criminals dont know who might be armed and who isnt. They aren't willing to take the risk of being injured. Also, at least in Illinois, you cannot hunt with a rifle, only shotguns and pistols are allowed so a ban on pistols would hurt the hunting community greatly. And the VT shooting happened because they have not waiting period or extensive background check for firearms which I believe SHOULD be enforced in all states.