RE: The (ridiculous) weapon laws of the Netherlands
I am very happy about these strict laws.
you're about 20 times less likely to be involved in a gun crime in the Netherlands than in the USA.
This says enough for me. I feel a lot safer walking outside or in the city, knowing most people won't be carrying weapons. People cannot be trusted with these things in such a densely populated area. Accidents can happen, but even more so: what about hot-heads? Not all people can think rationally and I would not want to risk having a gun aimed at me, just because I accidentally walked into someone (so to speak).
Even if I'd not be involved at all, I wouldn't very much like to see a fight escalating to the point where people started pulling guns. Fights are much easier stopped by a crowd when people just use their fists and they are less likely to end in fatality.
U.S. Gun crimes are overblown. If you don't travel to CHICAGO, ATLANTA, DETROIT, or BALTIMORE you effectively eliminate any odds of being even 5 miles from a shooting. I live in a county with the HIGHEST PER CAPITA issuance of concealed carry permits and work in public safety - guess what - we have nearly 0% gun crime. 0 - zero. If you take suicides and gangs out of the numbers guns are safer than your bathtub. Rifles kill less than 300 people a year - ACCIDENTS mostly, and pistols are literally all dirt bags and gang bangers. Firearms are inanimate objects. Laws cannot guarantee your safety. They banned drugs and yet they are everywhere. The anti-gun mindset is rooted in illogical ideals based on false realities. It will never win and never work.
I assume most Dutch people are happy about the laws. Gun enthusiasts (like me) are by vast the minority.
I understand that strict laws are good with a densely populated country like ours, but I do think they're a little bit too strict. I'd love to see regulations cut down on bolt action rifles, which in my opinion should be free to own if you own other property (like a house or land). Of course different rules should apply to metro poles or cities.
My main reason for increasing gun ownership is clear, it keeps the government in check and it gives power back to the people.
Of course, I don't believe regulations are going to be removed any time soon, larger chance is they're going to be increased. I'll be happy if they don't touch current legislation on pellet guns, which is quite lax. The best solution for me, is ofc to move to a more gun friendly and less densely populated country, like North America or even to Scandinavia, Switzerland or the Czech Republic.
And yet, violent crime has plummeted by about 50% across the board in the US over the past 30 years despite the relaxation of carry restrictions, the sunset of the Clinton Ban on Scary-Looking Guns, and the continued sale of firearms. Blaming gun ownership misdiagnoses the problem and results in a false prescription to cure it.
Oh I agree. If you trust people with driving a 2 ton vehicle 80 mph than you should also trust them owning a firearm. Both items ask for big responsibility and sanity. Banning one but not the other would be hypocritical and irrational.
I was glad today to be able to carry a gun. I wore a pistol when I went outside to investigate some stray dogs roaming the neighborhood. Had they been aggressive, I would have been able to defend myself. Since they were not aggressive, I had no need of it, but who is to say beforehand what the situation would have been?
Here in the Netherlands I am by far the minority who promotes gun ownership. Even our so called "classical / liberal " parties don't promote it, there's only 1 party that wants to make the rules a little more lax but they're very small. There's an irrational fear for guns around here and an irrational trust in the authorities. It all started in the 1960s and on wards with the creation of the nanny state, and there's deeper rooted problem behind this but I can't tell as that would be very controversial, but that hasn't just affected us but the whole of the West.