The American Constitution

[Deleted]

What does that really mean?

"The constitution of the United Kingdom is the sum of laws and principles that make up the body politic of the United Kingdom."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consti...United_Kingdom

[Eldar45]

But as far as our Constitution goes, it is extremely vague so that it can be interperated differently as times change, and that was intentional. The Amendments are some of the more concrete laws in the Constitution, just so that the rights granted by them (Or denied by them) can not be argued about. They are quite clear in meaning.

This post originally started off as an edit to my original, but somehow became a new post. /shurg.

There is room for change, but only when it comes to the make up of our government and their practices, not so much to the rights of the people.

[FuxieDK]

Didn't even get off the first page. The only countries in the ENTIRE WORLD that ban gun ownership are dictatorships. There may be a few democracies that allow the ownership of guns, but their aren't very many.

Self contradictionary..

Banning guns = Dictatorship
Owning guns = Not for democracy (except few exceptions)

That was YOUR words..


There are, to my knowledge, THREE countries in Europe that allows people to own guns: Norway, Iceland and Finland. Two of them, have polar bear roaming in the cities.
Finland, I have no idea, why they are allowed to own guns..

Of the 48 countries in Europe, how many would you classify as dictatorships?

[unbound]

This gets brought up a lot in debates here but I am kind of curious how many Americans care or know much about it in 2015. I won't lie, i'm a Brit with little knowledge on the American Constitution or personal experience of something similar to relate to. So, what's your opinion on it?

It continues to work very well because it lays the framework down at an appropriate level. It isn't a very long document and, sadly, few people actually read it. Even the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments) are largely unread by the American masses who only know the 1st one as freedom of speech, the 2nd one as everybody can have guns, and the 5th one (mostly as the phrase "I plead the 5th").

The downside is that it can be difficult to interpret the intent of the document in light of current issues (e.g. privacy) or with the strong ideology slowly overtaking US courts (e.g. Hobby Lobby and Citizens United decisions). Basically, despite the best efforts, corruption has still seeped into the process.

Thomas Jefferson advocated re-writing the constitution every 19 years to account for each generation. While that seems a bit too frequent, there is a lot to be said about re-examining the document periodically.

On the flip side, considering that there are only a very small number of actually intelligent politicians in both parties, I don't see re-writing the constitution as going very well.

[Eldar45]

Self contradictionary..

Banning guns = Dictatorship
Owning guns = Not for democracy (except few exceptions)

That was YOUR words..

Oups, miss typed. Fixed it.

I looked up Denmark, as I'd imagine thats where your from based on your location. It allows gun ownership, but is quite restrictive. You don't ban guns, you have high regulations. So I guess your nation isn't sane either, is it?

[FuxieDK]

Oups, miss typed. Fixed it.

Didn't even get off the first page. The only countries in the ENTIRE WORLD that ban gun ownership are dictatorships. There may be a few democracies that deny the ownership of guns, but their aren't very many.

And with you edit (makes more sense, but just as wrong), please answer how many dictatorships there is in Europe.

[Kalis]

And with you edit (makes more sense, but just as wrong), please answer how many dictatorships there is in Europe.

Most (all?) European nations allow the ownership of guns. They're restricted, not banned.

[Deleted]

Didn't even get off the first page. The only countries in the ENTIRE WORLD that ban gun ownership are dictatorships. There may be a few democracies that deny the ownership of guns, but their aren't very many.

I don't know any country that bans gun ownership. Intense regulations perhaps

[Eldar45]

I don't know any country that bans gun ownership. Intense regulations perhaps

North Korea. China is also so heavily regulated that saying they allow gun ownership is kinda silly.

I believe Australia also has a complete ban on guns, and would probably be the one off democracy that does.

[Kalis]

North Korea. China is also so heavily regulated that saying they allow gun ownership is kinda silly.

I believe Australia also has a complete ban on guns, and would probably be the one off democracy that does.

Australia allows private gun ownership.

[Deleted]

North Korea. China is also so heavily regulated that saying they allow gun ownership is kinda silly.

I believe Australia also has a complete ban on guns, and would probably be the one off democracy that does.

Australia has gun ownership

[Kalis]

Australia has gun ownership

Stop copying my answers, goddamnit.

[I Push Buttons]

It was written during a different time, for a different nation, and a different population. For a small, new country, with a few million people, spread over vast space, with a small central government, isolated from the world and hellbent on neutrality.

[Deleted]

Stop copying my answers, goddamnit.

Stop copying my answers, goddamnit.

[Iphie]

Self contradictionary..

Banning guns = Dictatorship
Owning guns = Not for democracy (except few exceptions)

That was YOUR words..


There are, to my knowledge, THREE countries in Europe that allows people to own guns: Norway, Iceland and Finland. Two of them, have polar bear roaming in the cities.
Finland, I have no idea, why they are allowed to own guns..

Of the 48 countries in Europe, how many would you classify as dictatorships?

Look no further than the eastern neighbour, or so I'm told, and many people like hunting, even so owning a gun is heavily restricted and is a process which takes several years to complete if I understood correctly.

[FuxieDK]

Most (all?) European nations allow the ownership of guns. They're restricted, not banned.

In Denmark, pistols and revolvers are completely banned. Even if you are a pistol marksman (e.g. for Olympics and stuff), it needs to be stored at the club.

Regarding rifles, first of all, you have to be a hunter with a million different degrees to even apply for a permit.
Second, the rifle, the gun-lock and the ammo must be stored in three seperate containers, each locked with different locks. They may not be transported together.. Only when you are at a gunrange or in the hunting field/forest, may it be assembled..

In essence, firearms are banned in Denmark; exceptions can occur..

This procedure is very common in Europe..

[Kalis]

In Denmark, pistols and revolvers are completely banned. Even if you are a pistol marksman (e.g. for Olympics and stuff), it needs to be stored at the club.

Regarding rifles, first of all, you have to be a hunter with a million different degrees to even apply for a permit.
Second, the rifle, the gun-lock and the ammo must be stored in three seperate containers, each locked with different locks. They may not be transported together.. Only when you are at a gunrange or in the hunting field/forest, may it be assembled..

In essence, firearms are banned in Denmark; exceptions can occur..

This procedure is very common in Europe..

Nobody denies that many European countries have heavy gun control regulation, but that doesn't mean they are banned. You've just listed ways of ownership in Denmark that shows they aren't banned, perhaps it's a language thing.

[FuxieDK]

Nobody denies that many European countries have heavy gun control regulation, but that doesn't mean they are banned. You've just listed ways of ownership in Denmark that shows they aren't banned, perhaps it's a language thing.

A gun ban = the general rule is guns are not allowed..
There are always exceptions..

[Iphie]

Nobody denies that many European countries have heavy gun control regulation, but that doesn't mean they are banned. You've just listed ways of ownership in Denmark that shows they aren't banned, perhaps it's a language thing.

May very well be. Some words seem to be synonyms and turn out to mean different things, I recently found that 'wages' and 'salary' are different things for example. I know the words for banning and restricting are fairly similar in common usage in dutch, maybe the same applies in Danish.

[FuxieDK]

May very well be. Some words seem to be synonyms and turn out to mean different things, I recently found that 'wages' and 'salary' are different things for example. I know the words for banning and restricting are fairly similar in common usage in dutch, maybe the same applies in Danish.

In Denmark, wages (løn) is pay for hourly work. Salary (gage) is paid monthly work.

Most people say "løn", even though 99,99% (or maybe more) actually get "gage"...