Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Has the pendulum swung? Could this be America's Dunblane? [View all]spin
(17,493 posts)15. The UK never had the number of firearms as exist in the U.S. ...
a strong gun culture or a law similar to the Second Amendment.
Here is a bit of history for you to consider:
The American Revolution begins with resistance to Gun Control!
At about 5 a.m., 700 British troops, on a mission to capture Patriot leaders and seize a Patriot arsenal, march into Lexington to find 77 armed minutemen under Captain John Parker waiting for them on the towns common green. British Major John Pitcairn ordered the outnumbered Patriots to disperse, and after a moments hesitation the Americans began to drift off the green. Suddenly, the shot heard around the world was fired from an undetermined gun, and a cloud of musket smoke soon covered the green. When the brief Battle of Lexington ended, eight Americans lay dead or dying and 10 others were wounded. Only one British soldier was injured, but the American Revolution had begun.
By 1775, tensions between the American colonies and the British government approached the breaking point, especially in Massachusetts, where Patriot leaders formed a shadow revolutionary government and trained militias to prepare for armed conflict with the British troops occupying Boston. In the spring of 1775, General Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, received instructions from England to seize all stores of weapons and gunpowder accessible to the American insurgents. On April 18, he ordered British troops to march against the Patriot arsenal at Concord and capture Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock, known to be hiding at Lexington.
The Boston Patriots had been preparing for such a military action by the British for some time, and upon learning of the British plan, Patriots Paul Revere and William Dawes were ordered to set out to rouse the militiamen and warn Adams and Hancock. When the British troops arrived at Lexington, Adams, Hancock, and Revere had already fled to Philadelphia, and a group of militiamen were waiting. The Patriots were routed within minutes, but warfare had begun, leading to calls to arms across the Massachusetts countryside.
When the British troops reached Concord at about 7 a.m., they found themselves encircled by hundreds of armed Patriots. They managed to destroy the military supplies the Americans had collected but were soon advanced against by a gang of minutemen, who inflicted numerous casualties. Lieutenant Colonel Frances Smith, the overall commander of the British force, ordered his men to return to Boston without directly engaging the Americans. As the British retraced their 16-mile journey, their lines were constantly beset by Patriot marksmen firing at them Indian-style from behind trees, rocks, and stone walls. At Lexington, Captain Parkers militia had its revenge, killing several British soldiers as the Red Coats hastily marched through his town. By the time the British finally reached the safety of Boston, nearly 300 British soldiers had been killed, wounded, or were missing in action. The Patriots suffered fewer than 100 casualties.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/22258
It does seen the British have been trying to impose gun control on Americans for centuries and we have successfully resisted the effort.
edited to add:
I was just watching a pompous Brit, Piers Morgan, tonight on CNN. He has launched his own War on American Guns. He asks experts on both sides of the issue to appear on his program. He gives those who support gun control a fair opportunity to state their view and then asks the gun rights representative a question and when they attempt to answer he goes on an angry rampage filled with insults. They are lucky to get a couple of sentences out before he overrides them in an extremely impolite manner.
After watching him do the same on several of his shows dealing the the gun issue I have decided that our founding fathers were indeed wise to separate from England.
Edit history
Please sign in to view edit histories.
Recommendations
0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
19 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RecommendedHighlight replies with 5 or more recommendations

My guess is that it will blow over as folks tend to have a limited attention span.
Kaleva
Dec 2012
#1
I don't know what "proliferators" means, but how are responsible gun owners "responsible" for the
pop topcan
Dec 2012
#3
Proliferators are those who promote the use and carry of handguns and other
Starboard Tack
Dec 2012
#7
Okay, I'll accept that. What better reason to carry a weapon could possibly exist than a
pop topcan
Dec 2012
#9