I don't have a great deal of out-of-the-darkroom time available today, so, a couple of quick comments-
I am not trying to demean Japan's culture - or anyone elses. I only tried to bring atention to one instance where the connection between suicide and frearms ownership was non existant, or at least, very tenuous. Suicide is a terrble thing, but let's not knee-jerk assume, or blindly assimilate, the rantings of any emotianally-laden group of either side.
Everyone is entitled - has the RIGHT - to be for or against firearms, or anything else. I can only hope that people will think - try to base their stand - on rational judgement.
I had a candidate for State Representative knock on my door .. "stumping" among the common people ... something I heartily approve of. I hit him with a loaded question (testing his attitude towards the complicated mess we call Massachusetts Firearm Laws), "Do you believe in changing the Mass. Law, so that handgun purchases are limited to one a month? (A "hot topic" in the local press). He kind of blinked - not knowing which side I was on... "Why, yes ... that sounds only reasonable, to me." I said, "Then you are in favor or relaxing the law - as it now stands we are limited to four a year."
Hopefully, a quick example of the legal "mish-mash" here ... There are two "classes" of License to Carry ... Class "A" (High Capacity Magazine), and Class "B" (Low Capacity - I assume ... It is not stated as it is in Class "A"). To transport a firearm with a Class "A" license, It must be IN the vehicle, "Under the Direct Control of the License holder." With Class "B" it CANNOT be "In the passenger area - it MUST be locked in the trunk, away from immediate access."
I asked my son-in-law, a working Police Firearms Instructor ... "What if there are both Class "A", and Class "B" licensees on their way to an accredited Range? Where do the Firearms go for transport? His answer... "I don't have a clue - no one has figured that out yet.
One staistic the Anti-Gun side does NOT want to be known is the "Incidence of Crimes Committed with LEGALLY-Owned Firearms.. or by LEGALLY Licensed Firearms Owners."
One official of the Department of Justice remarked, "From these statitics, I've though of a way to really reduce crime - Issue everyone a Firearms License ... If the statistics hold true, we will come close to eliminating all crime."