Cyprus-Forum.com

[Oracle]

Oracle wrote :
"""""So you are happy to condemn them on a supposition ... convenient that they would never be able to prove themselves able to respond to such a threat of extinction by doing the right thing as they have a tendency to do when push comes to shove. (And I have personal experience from the great work the Fisheries Dept. are trying to do!)

Which is why it is an unfortunate accusation to make ... and WISE !!! ""

Well thank you madam Scientist , it seems to be that you know a lot less about Cypriots that you infer.
Bird killing is as old as Cyprus itself. Efforts are continually being made to eradicate these archaic and irresponsible practices of shooting anything that flies , including some that do not such as stray cats .
We do not have a history of being caring towards birds , we raid their nests , we await for birds on migratory routes ready to shoot them down. I grew up in Cyprus remember , I know its a long time ago and happily such practices are not the norm but they do happen now.
ps.Many thanks for the compliment !! Its a joke and I take it back , the word you used was DUMP !!!
I WILL GET YOU FOR THAT !!!

I was commenting on your extreme accusation that Cypriots would cause extinctions .... without evidence.

Island extinctions through man's activities are easily accomplished (see Dodo), yet Cypriots are not guilty of this. Hence it was a dumb thing to say ....

Calm down, it's a lovely Sunday and we're off swimming later.

[cyprusgrump]

But the motive for banning guns might just be that people with guns kill. And some people don't like the idea let alone the actuality of being killed. Nothing puritanical about that motive.

[sarcasm] Well banning the public from owning guns has certainly solved the gun-crime problem in the UK… [/sarcasm]

Difficult to prove Grump but my guess is it would be much worse if hand guns hadn't been banned, the fact that criminals are reduced to converting replica guns partly bears this out. It has also been claimed that a lot of weapons came to this country after collapse of Soviet bloc.
Quite frankly if the price we have to pay for banning handguns is the prevention of one Dunblane massacre then I think it's worth it

So you think the entire UK Population should be punished because of the actions of one madman?

Thomas Hamilton only killed seventeen. How about the three thousand killed on the roads every year? Should we ban the UK population from having vehicles to save that massacre?

How about terrorism? There are apparently thirty credible terrorist plots facing the UK at the moment – should we ban Muslims from the UK to prevent another 52 innocents being killed in terrorist attacks?

[Jerry]

But the motive for banning guns might just be that people with guns kill. And some people don't like the idea let alone the actuality of being killed. Nothing puritanical about that motive.

[sarcasm] Well banning the public from owning guns has certainly solved the gun-crime problem in the UK… [/sarcasm]

Difficult to prove Grump but my guess is it would be much worse if hand guns hadn't been banned, the fact that criminals are reduced to converting replica guns partly bears this out. It has also been claimed that a lot of weapons came to this country after collapse of Soviet bloc.
Quite frankly if the price we have to pay for banning handguns is the prevention of one Dunblane massacre then I think it's worth it

So you think the entire UK Population should be punished because of the actions of one madman?

Thomas Hamilton only killed seventeen. How about the three thousand killed on the roads every year? Should we ban the UK population from having vehicles to save that massacre?

How about terrorism? There are apparently thirty credible terrorist plots facing the UK at the moment – should we ban Muslims from the UK to prevent another 52 innocents being killed in terrorist attacks?

I would not call it a punishment. For a start the entire population of the UK have never owned hand guns. If you are dead set on shooting in the UK you can still get a shotgun and if you like pistols for target shooting get an airgun.

The car argument is nonesense, they are designed and used in the main for transport not for killing, and you don't have to be a Muslim to be a terrorist. If you extend your argument we would simply just ban people.

I wonder if you would have the same view if your child had been one of the seventeen.

[Get Real!]

Conservationists fear turtle dove shoot through the back door

Shoot the doves through the back door??? You must be an ace shot to be able to do that!

Where have you been Kafene? Haven’t you heard of the new heat-seeking infra-red micro rifles?

[cyprusgrump]

But the motive for banning guns might just be that people with guns kill. And some people don't like the idea let alone the actuality of being killed. Nothing puritanical about that motive.

[sarcasm] Well banning the public from owning guns has certainly solved the gun-crime problem in the UK… [/sarcasm]

Difficult to prove Grump but my guess is it would be much worse if hand guns hadn't been banned, the fact that criminals are reduced to converting replica guns partly bears this out. It has also been claimed that a lot of weapons came to this country after collapse of Soviet bloc.
Quite frankly if the price we have to pay for banning handguns is the prevention of one Dunblane massacre then I think it's worth it

So you think the entire UK Population should be punished because of the actions of one madman?

Thomas Hamilton only killed seventeen. How about the three thousand killed on the roads every year? Should we ban the UK population from having vehicles to save that massacre?

How about terrorism? There are apparently thirty credible terrorist plots facing the UK at the moment – should we ban Muslims from the UK to prevent another 52 innocents being killed in terrorist attacks?

I would not call it a punishment. For a start the entire population of the UK have never owned hand guns. If you are dead set on shooting in the UK you can still get a shotgun and if you like pistols for target shooting get an airgun.

The car argument is nonesense, they are designed and used in the main for transport not for killing, and you don't have to be a Muslim to be a terrorist. If you extend your argument we would simply just ban people.

I wonder if you would have the same view if your child had been one of the seventeen.

Well, it was a punishment for the thousands that owned and enjoyed using handguns and had to hand them in or sell them at below market value. Also see the UK Olympic shooting team.

I do actually own a shotgun, and owned one in the UK too. I like guns, if allowed I would own a handgun but I am not. However, my owning of a handgun does not a mass-murderer make…

You clearly dislike guns and I respect your view on that but you base your arguments on flawed assumptions.

You ‘guess’ that gun crime in the UK would be worse if guns had not been banned but you have no proof of that? How many gun crimes were carried out with legally held firearms before the ban?

You also assume that Thomas Hamilton would have been happily sitting at home doing the crossword had he not been allowed to own a handgun. In reality he could just have easily burnt the school down, blown it up, run over the queue of kids at the bus stop, etc. You do not know in fact what he would/could have done had he not owned a gun.

You say my car argument is ridiculous yet you stated that banning handguns was a worthwhile price to pay for saving seventeen people when thousands are killed by cars every year? Surely, if life-saving was your aim rather than banning guns based on your obvious dislike for them then there are other better methods of doing so? I guess you own a car?

Yes, I agree that to take my argument to its ultimate conclusion would require the banning of cars, trains, motorbikes, aircraft, etc. a complete change in our lifestyle and civil liberties…

And yet that is what you condone when you state that firearms should be banned from being legally owned by law abiding citizens.

[Oracle]

[You also assume that Thomas Hamilton would have been happily sitting at home doing the crossword had he not been allowed to own a handgun. In reality he could just have easily burnt the school down, blown it up, run over the queue of kids at the bus stop, etc. You do not know in fact what he would/could have done had he not owned a gun.

All those other killing methods have more risks attached for the killer ... and are not as efficient at killing.

You just have to make it difficult for people to kill others ... it's never going to be impossible.

Guns make killing easy ... and that's why they serve no purpose in society.

Even if some of you boys just like to own some toys!

[Bill]

Banning hand guns has had little or no affect on the amount of guns in criminal hands throughout the major cities in the UK.

All it has done is prevent what were legitimate gun owners from pursuing their hobby ~ a legitimate owner would have to be screened by the club they belong to and also a police firearms officer ~ it's not so easy to get a firearms certificate .

In the larger cities such as London, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham illegal hand guns are relatively easy to buy if you know where to go and there seems to be no shortage of available weapons as they seem to be flooded with Eastern European makes.

Whilst I appreciate that the ban on hand guns has taken a lot of guns out of circulation and therefore can't be stolen by criminals from their legitimate owners it really seems pointless if a criminal can buy them with little effort from a pub or street corner for a couple of hundred pounds.

Quote Jerry
I would not call it a punishment. For a start the entire population of the UK have never owned hand guns. If you are dead set on shooting in the UK you can still get a shotgun and if you like pistols for target shooting get an airgun.

Not correct Jerry ~ it's only been a few years since hand guns have been banned in the UK and if you have the appropriate firearms licence/certificate you can still buy general purpose or target rifles from any gun shop.

Whilst we are talking about guns Jerry have you any idea how many automatic and semi automatic guns are kept under virtually every Cypriots bed plus enough rounds to knock out a small village ~ I would guess most of the male population has one hidden somewhere in their house plus of course a collection of hunting shotguns

Cyprus is awash with automatic weapons but you don't hear of to many ( except within the mafia ) shootings here.

Personally I have a shotgun for clay pigeon shooting which is a hobby I've had and enjoyed for many years and have absolutely no intention of giving it up.

Bringing my gun to Cyprus was a nightmare at the UK end ( Heathrow ) but on arrival at Larnaca it arrived on the carousel with the rest of my luggage and no fuss at all at the customs or the police station when I went to register it with them.

Bill

[cyprusgrump]

[You also assume that Thomas Hamilton would have been happily sitting at home doing the crossword had he not been allowed to own a handgun. In reality he could just have easily burnt the school down, blown it up, run over the queue of kids at the bus stop, etc. You do not know in fact what he would/could have done had he not owned a gun.

All those other killing methods have more risks attached for the killer ... and are not as efficient at killing.

You just have to make it difficult for people to kill others ... it's never going to be impossible.

Guns make killing easy ... and that's why they serve no purpose in society.

Even if some of you boys just like to own some toys!

I’m sure it is a boy’s toys thing… I’ve loved shooting in the ‘States when I have visited…

However, legally held firearms in the UK had to be kept in a (police inspected) locked gun cabinets, and the ammunition in another totally separate gun cabinet.

Killing somebody with a legally held firearm is not a spur of the moment thing… And Thomas Hamilton cared little for the risks involved in his actions – he killed himself after shooting 17 others. So I’m sure had guns not been available to him the ‘risks’ of some other bizarre scheme would have mattered little…

[kafenes]

Conservationists fear turtle dove shoot through the back door

Shoot the doves through the back door??? You must be an ace shot to be able to do that!

Where have you been Kafene? Haven’t you heard of the new heat-seeking infra-red micro rifles?

Yes, but that only works if the dove farts whilst in flight.

[Get Real!]

Conservationists fear turtle dove shoot through the back door

Shoot the doves through the back door??? You must be an ace shot to be able to do that!

Where have you been Kafene? Haven’t you heard of the new heat-seeking infra-red micro rifles?

Yes, but that only works if the dove farts whilst in flight.

Now there's a thought for a technological breakthrough in hunting!