Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of guns here in NZ too. We are a rural based economy and nearly every farmer in this country would have a rifle or shot gun. There are large numbers of hunters here too (mainy because the huntings pretty good), plus there are active gun clubs in most large towns and cities. Also, I am not anti firearms. I have shot targets, furry creatures, potential carriers of bird flu, etc. I have worked with a guy who was an avid gun enthusiast at the local gun club and did not think he was about to be the lead story of the evening news for killing us all in the office! What I am advocating is control of those firearms, especially hand guns.

MrKim, I have to completely disagree with your assertion that "Criminals don't care whether guns are legal to own or not". Evidence clearly shows that criminals are more likely to arm themselves if their victim and/or pursuers are likely to be armed. Sure, there are criminals who arm themselves here in NZ despite the extreme difficulty to legally own hand guns, but is it worth escalating the number of criminals who do so, thereby making our society even more dangerous? Most petty criminals are lazy and like to do things the easy way (one of the reasons they are petty criminals) so if it is difficult to obtain a firearm, most will not be bothered to do so.

I realise it is a different arguement in the US as you have the constitutional right to bear arms, and I like the founding fathers reasoning behind that (to take down the Government if they overstep the mark), but I stand by my original post in that I am glad I don't live in the fear that you guys seem to be living in!

Nice pic of the can o' worms woberto!