In Ireland, “it is illegal for
any civilian to use, carry or possess a firearm or ammunition without a valid
firearm certificate which correctly specifies the owner, the weapon, the
ammunition and its maximum permitted quantity. Applicants
must prove ‘good reason’ for ownership of the firearm applied for, and the [“Garda Síochána”
(the Irish police)] must be
satisfied that the applicant can be permitted to possess, use and carry the
firearms ‘without danger to the public safety or security or the peace.' If the
‘good reason’ for firearm possession is target shooting, the owner must belong
to a police-approved rifle or pistol club.”
(http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/cp/ireland) I find
it interesting that ammunition has to be registered in Ireland along with a
firearm. In the U.S. I have purchased
ammunition from gun shows, gun stores, and gun ranges separately, and I also registered
my two firearms without registering ammunition.
Furthermore, in
Ireland not all police officers are qualified to carry a firearm. The “Garda” are routinely unarmed, with only
20-25 percent qualified to deploy a firearm.” Those officers that are allowed
to carry a gun must carry an authorization card that shows proof that they have
completed a weapon training course and earned a certificate as proof of their
competence in handling a firearm. The “Garda”
has 15,355 sworn officers and out of those officers approximately 3,000 have an
authorization to carry firearms while on duty.
(http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/cp/ireland) Gun homicide in Ireland is low. For example, 84 homicides were reported by
police in 2007 and 18 involved guns. I
wonder if the low homicide rate in Ireland is due to the strict civilian and
police gun laws combined.
Assignment: Aesthetic Evangelists - Due 1/30 Three key ideas in the text that resonate with me: The first is the idea of the "new public art," or what we would call "community engaged art." The article discusses the transition from art displayed in public sites to community based projects that have the goal of collaboration and focus more on the process than the end result/outcome. This intrigues me because before this class I was honestly very unaware of this form of art-making and its growing prevalence. Another idea that resonates with me is when the author talked about community based public art of today drawing on the urban reform rhetoric of the past both consciously and subconsciously. This stood out because it's an old adage that history repeats itself and I think it's interesting that the times we live in now call for a callback to this type of work and a more curious examination of what this can do for people and their communities. Th...
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