Should private firearm ownership be banned in the United States?

Why or why not?
Pretty cool debate, lots of reasons for each side.
What do you think
Answer:
There is one overriding reason that firearms cannot be banned; The United States Constitution! Unless you change that all talk is moot but if you want to get into it... I read some of the answers here and I agree with most of them. Some things I don't agree with: England has a ban on guns and yet they have the IRA and gun crimes are increasing. In the 18th century a competent soldier and marksman could load and fire in about 20 to 30 seconds, not 2 minutes. Of course, a person could always carry more than one gun like the Missouri bushwackers did during the War between the States. Many bushwackers carried as many as 7 pistols and a rifle or shotgun! Banning high capacity magazines won't work because of that. VT the *** who did the killing fired way too many rounds to be competent and all it would have taken was one armed student to stop him. Banning guns would place all of us at the mercy of criminals and a corrupt, oppressive government. I mean a real oppressive government like Saddam Hussein or Hitler.

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It could work.
There would be more crime at first,
but I predict that it would dwindle down to zilch within a few years.

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No, why would someone want people to be defenseless against criminals?

Criminals get guns illegally...

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probably not

I would like to ask the person who thinks their gun gives them freedom what they would do to protect themselves from the government, because that is the argument they use%26#92;

a gun could help you if you are in a bind, but it will do nothing for you if the government turns on you.

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Honestly, I do think it should be banned. Or at least controlled to the highest extent possible.

People don't realize the numbers of gun crimes in America, and the fact that those numbers are growing by the hour. They don't realize that guns kill just as much as the people who shoot them. They don't realize that having them available and under such laxity, that they can get into the hands of a crazed and metal person, and tragedy can happen. Look at VT and the recent events. That's the exact reason why they should be controlled and banned.

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No. But only citizens should be allowed to own guns. Not illegals or people here on a work or school visa. I hate to say that...but I believe it. I also believe it may be time for Americans to beef up on gun ownership.Again..I hate it! But, I believe it!

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No. Even a communist like me understands that the second amendment is legitimate.

That said, we don't live in the 18th century when it took 2 minutes to prepare a gun to fire. So, as with the evolution of firearms the rules that govern their ownership should also evolve. No one needs an M-16 to kill a deer or the dude stealing their television.

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of course not.you want only criminals to own guns.I think you should live in the moon,ciao baby

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No.

The right to bear arms shall not be infringed....sound familiar?

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Heck no I'm one of those who believes the constitution needs to be upheld including the amendments. I don't really think people should be allowed to own a weapons cache big enough to level war on a small country, but i like guns in general as long as they aren't in criminal hands. It seems unfair to ban all guns since many only own hunting weapons which there is no apparent reason to ban. Oh yeah if you would like to know i'm a pretty liberal guy so i don't follow the party line.

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No.

Banning private firearm ownership strips a law-abiding citizen from protection against a criminal, which as someone earlier said, will get guns illegally.

The Virginia Tech shooting could have been stopped much sooner had someone else brought a gun and been able to stop him.

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it would never work it's protected by the amemndment "the right to bear arms." and it's best for some peoples safety. it would not help too much with stopping violence and crimes simce there are still knives and bombs and other weapons. so it'd just be pointless to waste time no trying to do

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Well, why stop at our constitutional right to bear arms. Why not start telling folks they do not have a right to own property if they do not meet government guidelines. Maybe they can tell us who is legal to have a child. I am not a gun freak, I personally have no use for them. I believe the old "Outlaw guns, and only outlaws will have guns." Controls, yes. Why not start with getting the firepower that is more deadly than our Policemen carry. Start with some bite on automatic and even semi-automatic guns. I don't think anyone needs that for hunting or any other valid reason.

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No, because you have had guns for too long, so if you take them away now, you will only take them away from the honest people.
Our government here in Australia had a knee jerk reaction after Martin Bryant murdered all those people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, they spent millions buying back guns, often old and useless and I will bet you anything that none of them were from the villains, they just kept them hidden until they have a use for them.
So the only people that finish up defenceless are honest people!

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Never! and the day it happens is the day we will no longer be a constitutional government. The reason we have the rights to keep and BARE arms is to protect us from not only foreign powers that the military may not be able to protect us from, but to also to protect us from ourselves (criminals and our own government if need be). The moment we surrender our right to protect ourselves is the moment we surrender our freedom.

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no,it should not be banned.i would like to defend my family and everything i've worked for,against someone who thinks he or she has the right to help themselves.

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I say no as well.

But even if you banned them, there would still be guns, and gun crime.

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That would certainly make criminals happy and those in the government who want absolute power so I guess it just depends on where one stands.

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yes i am doing a debate on that and its not just people be defenceless its about other people killing inocent people like the ohio tech thing those people couldnt carry guns to school any way so they were defenceless anyhow.