Politics

[spitllama]

Whoa whoa let me get this straight:

Moving every time there's a break-in on your street is not paranoia.

Having a concealed firearm is.

wat

[BlackDragonSlayer]

Whoa whoa let me get this straight:

Moving every time there's a break-in on your street is not paranoia.

Having a concealed firearm is.

wat

That's exactly what I mentioned previously, more than once. Easier solutions to problems are (obviously) a lot more sensible.

[Clanker37]

Gun laws in Spain, according to this:
"Gun owners must be licensed and undergo strict medical and psychological tests. No one is permitted to own more than six hunting rifles and one handgun."
"Firearms must be registered and inspected annually."
"Machine guns and submachine guns are banned, as are imitation pistols."

Australia has similar laws. In fact I think you have to pay tax to own a gun. And every time Labor's in Parliament it goes up

Whoa whoa let me get this straight:

Moving every time there's a break-in on your street is not paranoia.

Having a concealed firearm is.

wat

OK, so I over exaggerated a bit. Of course I wouldn't move out every time there was a break in. But, if there was a significant amount or an event which was severe enough I would move out. If there was a person which put me or my family at risk, I would be out of there like a jack rabbit.

It maybe different in the US, but in Australia (Well, Perth at least) you have very defined areas where certain people hang out. If you're poor and rowdy (AKA a bogan) you live in Rockingham or Armadale. If you're part of the middle class, you live in say Claremont or East Victoria Park. If you're rich and high class, Subiaco or Cottesloe. I doubt anyone knows or cares about what I just said, but I don't care. It makes my point clear to Perth people.

Anyways, so I lied. But I'm not going to argue with you guys any more! It makes me sad and I don't know why

[BlackDragonSlayer]

Australia has similar laws. In fact I think you have to pay tax to own a gun. And every time Labor's in Parliament it goes up

Wikipedia: "State laws govern the possession and use of firearms in Australia. These laws were largely aligned under the 1996 National Agreement on Firearms. Anyone wishing to possess or use a firearm must have a Firearms Licence and, with some exceptions, be over the age of 18. Owners must have secure storage for their firearms.
 
Before someone can buy a firearm, he or she must obtain a Permit To Acquire. The first permit has a mandatory 28-day delay before it is first issued. In some states (e.g., Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales), this is waived for second and subsequent firearms of the same class. For each firearm a "Genuine Reason" must be given, relating to pest control, hunting, target shooting, or collecting. Self-defense is not accepted as a reason for issuing a license, even though it may be legal under certain circumstances to use a legally held firearm for self-defense.
 
Each firearm in Australia must be registered to the owner by serial number. Some states allow an owner to store or borrow another person's registered firearm of the same category."

Pest control is a worse reason than self-defense... unless you have a history of giant snakes (a shovel might do for smaller ones) or really really big... raccoons... Or have a garden/are a farmer...

But I'm not going to argue with you guys any more! It makes me sad and I don't know why

As long as it doesn't get out of control, arguing (or "discussion") can be a rather good brain exercise.

[Ruto]

Australia has similar laws. In fact I think you have to pay tax to own a gun. And every time Labor's in Parliament it goes up
OK, so I over exaggerated a bit. Of course I wouldn't move out every time there was a break in. But, if there was a significant amount or an event which was severe enough I would move out. If there was a person which put me or my family at risk, I would be out of there like a jack rabbit.

My thoughts exactly^^

But I'm not going to argue with you guys any more! It makes me sad and I don't know why

Hahaha same. And a bit like playing chess with a pigeon sorta.

Pest control is a worse reason than self-defense... unless you have a history of giant snakes (a shovel might do for smaller ones) or really really big... raccoons... Or have a garden/are a farmer...

Have you seen the fauna in Australia? They have those giant tarantulas in their backyards that can jump and burrow. Deadly ones. There are also more deadly snakes, platypuses...in summary, a lot of weird animals live in Australia. Since humans sometimes can't outrun, outsmart or hide from animals...yeah.

[BlackDragonSlayer]

Have you seen the fauna in Australia? They have those giant tarantulas in their backyards that can jump and burrow. Deadly ones. There are also more deadly snakes, platypuses...in summary, a lot of weird animals live in Australia. Since humans sometimes can't outrun, outsmart or hide from animals...yeah.

Here, we only have scorpions, snakes, and spiders (as well as more common household pests; nothing should be a problem unless you're near the hiking areas )... but I would assume, unless you were trigger happy (I don't think you'd want to use a gun on a Redback Spider...) out of those you listed, you might only need to shoot the platypuses... (also cane toads, if you encounter them; some invasive species are listed here)
Also, as seen here, are (I assume) other Australians talking about pests in cities. To quote one person: "We do have some hurtful and deadly animals and spiders but most of us never see them. The snakes I have seen wanted to run away from me, as fast as I ran from them. You will get some which are aggressive." (when we were hiking once, we literally walked past a snake without even knowing it until we were really close...)
Although, since I have never been to Australia, I can tell that that certainly does not represent the entire country. However, I can't find much more about common pests (and other animals) in Australia, aside from the above/below.

Platypus
I hate spiders
Snakes
Wolf spiders, but I think we have these in California too...
Jellyfish, but if you're close enough to shoot it, it might be too late...

[Clanker37]

As long as it doesn't get out of control, arguing (or "discussion") can be a rather good brain exercise.

Going on this basis:

Pest control is a worse reason than self-defense... unless you have a history of giant snakes (a shovel might do for smaller ones) or really really big... raccoons... Or have a garden/are a farmer...

The only reason that anyone has a gun in Australia is because they're a farmer and have to keep kangaroos, cats and foxes from attacking their flocks and harvests. It's actually a legitimate reason, imo. Also, we have to many kangaroos so we need to cull them. Anyone else who asks gets rejected.

Have you seen the fauna in Australia? They have those giant tarantulas in their backyards that can jump and burrow. Deadly ones. There are also more deadly snakes, platypuses...in summary, a lot of weird animals live in Australia. Since humans sometimes can't outrun, outsmart or hide from animals...yeah.

This is kinda wrong as well. Platypuses are herbivores and if you're attacked by one it's probably retarded or you're standing on it's nest. Snakes will escape from anyone who stomps and they just don't appear in Winter. Just don't touch the spiders. If there's a messy web it means that the spider is venomous. Neat, circular webs are that of nice spiders, but it's easier just to stay away. Plus they keep the flies and mozzies down  You're more likely to be killed if you're in between a bogan and his Jack Daniel's.
 
I think we've gone a bit off topic. But I like edumacating you guys on Australia.

[KefkaticFanatic]

That is also the only legitimate reason people still have a gun in the US.  There are still people that live out in the middle of nowhere and need some way to deal with a bear or cougar etc etc.  I suppose you could call hunting legitimate, but that's really the extent of it.

It simply boils down to the fact that there is no good reason for gun ownership to be as widespread as it is.  Most of the rest of the world has moved past such primitive behavior.

Also, don't make bigger fools of yourselves by throwing around statistics like the nut of the day on whatever radio show... they prove nothing at all.  There are far more variables to those than just gun ownership among other serious problems that any researcher would laugh at...

[SlowPokemon]

Most people have guns simply because they like collecting them. I hate to pan collectors of anything but I think there are safer hobbies they could have.

[Ruto]

Platypuses are herbivores and if you're attacked by one it's probably retarded or you're standing on it's nest. Snakes will escape from anyone who stomps and they just don't appear in Winter. Just don't touch the spiders. If there's a messy web it means that the spider is venomous. Neat, circular webs are that of nice spiders, but it's easier just to stay away. Plus they keep the flies and mozzies down  You're more likely to be killed if you're in between a bogan and his Jack Daniel's.
 
I think we've gone a bit off topic. But I like edumacating you guys on Australia.

Haha xD The platypus example was to show how weird the animals are in Australia compared to the ones we see here. IIRC British scientists had a field day when they first saw one. Some thought it was a joke and the beak was sewn on, etc. That's some good advice about spiders xD Unless you live in the Southwest you won't even see anything but household ones here.

[Yugi]

how weird the animals are in Australia

have you ever seen a cassowary

i was killed by one once

[Clanker37]

Haha xD The platypus example was to show how weird the animals are in Australia compared to the ones we see here. IIRC British scientists had a field day when they first saw one. Some thought it was a joke and the beak was sewn on, etc. That's some good advice about spiders xD Unless you live in the Southwest you won't even see anything but household ones here.

xD Sorry! I knew you weren't that stupid! And the spider advice doesn't always apply. But it usually does

have you ever seen a cassowary

i was killed by one once

I haven't, but those drop bears... They'll rip your arms off!

[KefkaticFanatic]

drop bears, not even once

also, everything in australia will kill you I will never go there mah gawd

[spitllama]

Currently trying to convince a group of redneck Facebook friends that the Confederate flag does not represent a love for cornbread and Nascar -.-

mahgawd

[Jub3r7]

I live in the South, so I can't say that guns should be banned entirely.


A background check is required to purchase a gun from a store, but when you are buying it from anywhere else (garage sell, etc.), the need for a background check suddenly disappears.
Rifle shooting and shot gun shooting at clay pigeons make for good sport, and it'd be kind of sad if I was suddenly not allowed to do that anymore.

Yes, a little bit more gun control, but nothing too strict.

I'd argue that I need them for the zombie apocalypse but they're only helpful if you have a silencer, otherwise you just attract more zombies!!!!
This is why I prefer close range weapons like my quarter staff that I carry around everywhere and yeah