From: mark@unicorn.com <mark@unicorn.com>
To: extropians@extropy.com <extropians@extropy.com>
Date: 10. juli 1998 14:51
Subject: Re: Are guns extropian?
> Seems to me that guns are the
>litmus test of whether you've really considered the things we talk about
>on this list. If you're scared of people having guns, then how are you
>going to handle nanotech, SIs, etc; technologies which are far more of
>a threat than a wimpy little gun ever will be?
I am not trying to argue pro or con Gun. I'm just saying it's taking up to much space on this list.
>>Most Europeans doesn't have it and doesn't want it
>>and don't se the gun debate as a problem at all because it doesn't exist
and
>>no one miss it.
>
>No, most Europeans just want to ban gun ownership outside government and
>hope the problem goes away;
Well the thing is that nobody I know of considder guns to be a big problem! Me neither. Because there is practically no murders comitted with guns here.
>as we've seen on this list before, many
>European subscribers want to do the same for the other technologies we
>talk about.
Guns is a special issue as it can be very provoking to many Europeans.
>I was under the impression that several Scandinavian countries had militias
>who kept automatic weapons at home?
Oh yeas we do. All of the Scandinavian countries has a national guard. I have myself been a member of the Danish National guard for more than ten years. During wich time I have had several Weapons in my home (only one type at the time though). M75, M62, M49 and an LMG. All with live ammo as we had 24 hours to repport to duty in case of a hostile situation.
There are 75,000 Danes with millitary weapons in their homes. The weapons are missused only 1-2 times a year due to high safety standards.
I am NOT an anti gun Weanie with no knowlegde of weapons. I am highly trained in most millitary small arms.
I am only trying to say that the gun debate takes up to much place on this list. And I am pretty shure that when it's a turn-off for me, it is even more so for most Europeans. That is bad PR.
>P.S. And if Europe's so great, why is it that suicide rates are typically
>at least twice as high as America? This is another issue which is ignored
>in these discussions about reducing freedom to save lives; the freer people
>are, the less they tend to kill themselves.