French Shooter & Gun Laws

[O C]

Instead of stacking swivels on French rifles, they have tie down points for surrender flags.

 

[Tipro]

Instead of stacking swivels on French rifles, they have tie down points for surrender flags.

Oh my goodness the poor French will never live down ww2. A millennia of history forgotten. And I'm not even French!!

 

[HGM22]

The French won the 100 Years War I believe (hence no English territories on mainland Europe).

Also, despite popular perception, they fought ferociously in the Battle of France, but their strategy was largely flawed from the start. If I'm remembering right, there were multiple French concentrations that held out longer than expected, giving the British time for the Dunkirk evacuation.

To keep this on topic, I've gotta say I'd hate to be a French gun enthusiast right about now. Any idea if they have something like the NRA? Maybe its time for the NRA to go international?

Oh, and I'd love a MAS 36.

 

[barnetmill]

The French won the 100 Years War I believe (hence no English territories on mainland Europe).

The english under their Norman commanders were there for about a 100 yrs. I guess if they finally left it was victory for the French. The brits did win some impressive battles which is not the same a s winning a war. The English soldiers also quite literally spread havoc in france.

 

[ZEN.45]

I think it's basically about; 1) MEDIA and 2) POLITICIANS

MEDIA:

The main issue is 'SENSATION SELLS'. That's why '8 guns' are an 'arsenal', 'more then 2 criminals' are 'a mob' or 'a gang', a killer is always 'ruthless', a 'SA rifle' is an 'AK47' and every other weapon is always 'high capacity' or 'high power' or 'military'. If a journalist saw my weapons, he/she would accuse me of preparing the invasion of Luxembourg.

Bottom line ... 'sensation sells' and it's universal (check your own newspapers).



POLITICIANS:

Here's the secret of being a succesfull (not honorable) politician. When a tragedy involving firearms happens, the public (voters) will look at your response to it. You could propose something that works like 'better law enforcement', 'better justice', 'better follow-up on mental problems', ... but these things cost money you already spend. So you propose 'restrictive gun laws', it won't prevent another tragedy, but you can convince the public it will and it's easy on the budget.

It happenned in the UK, in Australia, in Belgium (only our politicians even failed at faking), in the US (remember the 10-round mags ?) and on this occasion it may happen in France.

 

[ZEN.45]

You folks just have to remember the French are not bellicose.

When you had to choose whether buying a thesaurus or a history book ... you made the wrong choice.

Instead of stacking swivels on French rifles, they have tie down points for surrender flags.

They're not laughing ...

 

[Pilot]

The difference between the U.S. and Europe is staggering with regards to gun laws. Yes, there are many here who feel we should be just like Europe, and enact more stringent gun laws to control LEGAL firearms.

However, there is one big difference here beyond the 2A. It is the not so recent plethora of first time, and women gun buyers and shooters. These are the people that will help stop more useless gun legislation and restrictions of legal gun ownership.

 

[bbuddtec]

No matter how close the world gets to this idealistic dream, there will eventually be a country secretly manufacturing enough weapons to have a marauding force, and things will once again be in utter turmoil.

Turning our backs on technology is equivalent to extinction.

PS, things weren't so hot in the "stone age", were they?

Remember that news is as such... if there is none make some of it, people need to be entertained.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

OK, James Wright and Peter Rossi did a study based on a survey of 1874 "armed and dangerous" U.S. convicts (well armed and dangerous when they committed their crimes) and among other things asked them where they got the guns they used. The vast majority got their guns from "unregulated sources"--fellow criminals, fences, drug smugglers (who often smuggle guns too), personal theft, and less commonly from legal sources (and there they used relatives or girlfriends with no record to buy for them). 40% reported stealing guns (but only 12% stole for personal use) and sources stolen from ranged from manufacturers and truck shipments, to gunshops, police stations and army bases.

After the ban on handguns in UK 1997, the British Home Office study #298 published in 2006 almost ten years later dealt with the emerging criminal gun culture in UK: including the emergence of full-time armourers: criminals who make their living smuggling, fencing, repairing or making firearms for other criminals.

And I don't think the "Dogs of War"-type novels are complete fiction when they detail how arms are obtained with fake "end user certificates" and other black market subterfuges in Europe.

Outlaw any X desired by a large number of people, a black market in X will emerge beyond any governmental control. The legal X might be done away with, at the expense of creating a black market also patronised by formerly law-abiding citizens who lose respect for the law due to the ban. As one politician stated when the German Weimar Republic proposed a strict gun law, it does the dignity of the law no good to pass an unenforcable statute.

 

[jad0110]

I chuckled when I heard a tv report that said, with shock in the reporter's voice, "The shooter had THOUSANDS of rounds of ammunition...."

I heard a news anchor commenting on a FL man who had been arrested and what they found in his home. In a low, near whisper, she said ... "... and he had <pause for dramatic effect", over One Hundred Rounds of ammunition!", all the while annunciating every syllable like William Shatner playing Capt James T. Kirk. The other co-achor gasps, as if in stunned belief. The only way it would have been more ridiculous is if the anchor had said and did what she probably really wanted to all along, something like: "Oh my God, 100 rounds of ammunition!!! Guns and ammunition are soooo bad!!!! Waahahahahha!!" ... all this sputtered out in sentence fragments with hands flailing about.

I saw this in the break room at work, with many other people standing around watching this. I uttered the word "amateur" and everyone got a good laugh.

The second (maybe first) most shocking part of that article is the part where the pres diverted intelligence resources to spy on opponents and illegally tap newspaper phone lines. HOLY CRAP! I mean I know even the US isn't completely corruption free but how can the french trust their govt to take their guns from them if it clearly has the intention to break its own laws. And yet the people want even more lgun laws. Really awfully sad

I've talked to a few different folks from Europe over the years. One stated simply that most Europeans have a different view, or connection to their rulers than do most Americans. They have a greater trust of their government's than we do. For example, I do know in the UK that their are observation cameras scattered all over the nation (much more so than here), and most Brits don't seem to mind (they welcome it as they believe it is a sign that their rulers care about them and are keeping them safe). Also, aristocracies still exist in Europe (not to the extent they used to of course), where hunting for instance is nearly always a wealthy man's sport. The same could be said for gun ownership in general. The only people with guns are the State, the wealthy and criminals. "Common" folk like us rarely own guns in Europe, and it is generally frowned upon in European culture. I recall a thread here on THR recently where a British citizen stated that owning guns in their society is a privilege, not a right. That tell's a lot, doesn't it?

The State will grant the privilege if you have been a good, obedient little subject and you can prove a need (and self defense isn't considered a need).

 

[AlexanderA]

I've talked to a few different folks from Europe over the years. One stated simply that most Europeans have a different view, or connection to their rulers than do most Americans. They have a greater trust of their government's than we do.

I can tell you that in Greece, the exact opposite is the truth. Greeks assume that their government is incompetent and corrupt, and they're mostly correct. There's zero trust in government. Government is there to be milked. As for gun laws, the legislature passes all sorts of strict gun laws, which are then widely ignored.