i envy your gun laws over there. don't even get me started on gun control in the US. i think it's the root of so many of our problems, including all the horrific school shootings. i suppose we just don't hear so much about the gnarly things that happen in the UK, so perhaps i just have a skewed view, but you guys don't have nearly as many of these shootings etc, do you?

 

anyway, back to those pretty coins...:tongue:

I can has dis shiny device?

i envy your gun laws over there. don't even get me started on gun control in the US. i think it's the root of so many of our problems, including all the horrific school shootings. i suppose we just don't hear so much about the gnarly things that happen in the UK, so perhaps i just have a skewed view, but you guys don't have nearly as many of these shootings etc, do you?

 

anyway, back to those pretty coins...:tongue:

 

Nah, we're pretty lucky with those sort of crimes. I remember going on holiday to Florida last year and whenever I watched the news it was headed by a new shooting, then we went to a mall and found guns on sale on the supermarket shelves, which was pretty odd. I know people need a license to buy them, but seeing them on the shelves in a shop, not even locked in boxes and stuff. Very strange! :s

I guess with the new coins, we won't be entering into the Euro anytime soon

we don't need the euro

the british pound is what makes us so unique

the airport police carry machine guns. and the armed response units would, i hope!

Nah, we're pretty lucky with those sort of crimes. I remember going on holiday to Florida last year and whenever I watched the news it was headed by a new shooting, then we went to a mall and found guns on sale on the supermarket shelves, which was pretty odd. I know people need a license to buy them, but seeing them on the shelves in a shop, not even locked in boxes and stuff. Very strange! :s

 

it's disgusting, that's what it is. and people wonder why we have all these school shootings and the murder rate is so high. and some people argue "well, if EVERYONE had a gun then once they saw a wacko getting ready to go on a rampage, then someone would just shoot him and have done with it." WHAT?! that's still murder, and it wouldn't solve anything because then if everyone had a gun then every wacko would have a gun and we'd get more of these horrid massacres and more people being like "i thought he was just about to kill someone, so i killed him first." absurdity.

 

and even without a liscense, it's so insanely easy to get guns. i could go out and buy three right now, no problem. and not just hunting rifles, etc: you can get assault weapons and AK 47's etc really easily.

 

i think cops can be armed, though.

 

[/off topic rant]

There are 2 guns in this house, although the police know about them.

it's disgusting, that's what it is. and people wonder why we have all these school shootings and the murder rate is so high. and some people argue "well, if EVERYONE had a gun then once they saw a wacko getting ready to go on a rampage, then someone would just shoot him and have done with it." WHAT?! that's still murder, and it wouldn't solve anything because then if everyone had a gun then every wacko would have a gun and we'd get more of these horrid massacres and more people being like "i thought he was just about to kill someone, so i killed him first." absurdity.

 

and even without a liscense, it's so insanely easy to get guns. i could go out and buy three right now, no problem. and not just hunting rifles, etc: you can get assault weapons and AK 47's etc really easily.

 

i think cops can be armed, though.

 

[/off topic rant]

 

Yeah, I honestly couldn't agree more.

Maybe with these ongoing elections there will be changes in these laws, because its obviously a matter wich affects thousands of people every day.

Its nice to get your opinion on it though, gives the rest of us an insight into a different lifestyle.

 

Going from some new coins to gun massacres, thats a pretty big leap :p

Definitely agree with both of you on that topic. Although I would usually say I'm fine with the police carrying firearms, I think recent incidents such as the shooting of that innocent brazilian guy (De Menez?) just goes to show that the police are just too trigger happy, especially when a shoot-to-kill policy is introduced. The guy was basically murdered in front of dozens of people, on nothing but a suspicion that he might have been a terrorist. Personally I thought that was an example of blatant racism, but thats just my opinion and that might have not actually have had anything to do with it.

But its definitely not good to have a policy that basically tells its citizens to fight fire with fire... and I would have thought with all the recent massacres over there that it would give the government a wake up call so they finally realise where they're going wrong. Although personally I think I might be dead before they ban firearms in america unfortunately.

 

But yes. These new coins are just too cool. It also shows that we're not going to take on the euro anytime soon, since they're hinting at a shelf life of at least 20 years. Although I'm kind of neutral on the whole euro thing, I agree that keeping the £ does make us quite unique.

Definitely agree with both of you on that topic. Although I would usually say I'm fine with the police carrying firearms, I think recent incidents such as the shooting of that innocent brazilian guy (De Menez?) just goes to show that the police are just too trigger happy, especially when a shoot-to-kill policy is introduced. The guy was basically murdered in front of dozens of people, on nothing but a suspicion that he might have been a terrorist. Personally I thought that was an example of blatant racism, but thats just my opinion and that might have not actually have had anything to do with it.

But its definitely not good to have a policy that basically tells its citizens to fight fire with fire... and I would have thought with all the recent massacres over there that it would give the government a wake up call so they finally realise where they're going wrong. Although personally I think I might be dead before they ban firearms in america unfortunately.

 

Yeah, the police having a shoot-to-kill policy can be really bad, but if De Menez was a terrorist, the consequences would have been far far worse. It was a tragic mistake, but form what I heard in the news at the time the police only chased him because he was running away.

But thinking about it, if you were chased by four big men with guns (not even wearing police uniform - these guys were undercover) I think I'd run as well. I can only imagine that in a split second like that, the police had to make the decision which they felt was for the greater good, which sadly was the wrong call.

 

That being said, I don't remember many other incidents of this nature, especially not in the UK, so I guess we can take comfort in the fact its a rare occurence.

 

I'm not sure how common this is in America though :s

 

 

And yeah, I'm not a huge fan of the Euro, although I am one of the few who likes the ides of Eurpoe being in partnership, because of the opportunities for travel and work for everyone.