BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / The gun and the money?

**Posted by Davina** June 17, 2012 8:15 am

The reason, originally, for the 3rd amendment to the constitution was because the original United States did not have a standing army. As a result they needed to be able to call to arms, at short notice, enough armed personnel to repel any attack, as it were. They were rebels, who had rejected rule from the UK and as such, despite declaring their independence, were still under threat.

I too am not particularly interested in guns, however guns do play a part in Sherlock from Moriarty seemingly identifying the gun Sherlock carries in TGG, John's use of the gun to shoot the cabbie in ASiP, the snipers in TRF and Moriarty's suicide etc. what threw this into my field of vision, as it were, originally was Moriarty's
'identification' of the gun before he could see it in TGG.

Whilst I may not agree with the principle of everyone's right to carry arms, we have very strict gun laws here, I respect the right of citizens of another country to think differently about it; although I would hope that this might change in future. In the UK, as I said, we have strict gun laws but that does not prevent random shootings, massacres, gangland shootings and guns being used for robbery etc. It is not just a case of having strict gun laws because not everyone respects the law anyway. Knowing about guns per se, not even knowing how to use one, will necessarily cause a problem. Guns don't kill, people do.

**Posted by Sherli Bakerst** June 17, 2012 4:20 pm

Just a small correction: It's the Second Amendment that deals with the right to bear arms. the Third Amendment is about quartering troops in people's homes.

**Posted by Sentimental Pulse** June 17, 2012 4:29 pm

kazza474 wrote:
Well while I admit our own country's past has had ridiculous laws such as that, we have as a nation move forward & rectified past indiscretions. If you see this an an attack on anyone's culture, I would say yes it is against the gun culture. But it is not an attack on any particular country.
That said, if the shoe fits, wear it.

I am a citizen of the Planet Terra and as such all people are equal, all people are worth something.
Guns kill, that is their purpose.
That purpose brings about the ending of lives of my people.
They are unnecessary for most to own.

I agree..and I fully support gun control in the U.S.

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** June 18, 2012 8:11 pm

I'm glad that we have gun laws here in the UK although like Davina said, it doesn't actually stop people getting their hands on guns if they really want to. It's like the argument for legalising drugs. People would still take them whether they were legal or not.

You can still own a gun here in the UK but it's pretty strict on getting a licence...I'm not sure on the exact rules because I've never tried to apply, lol.

**Posted by butterfly grl** June 18, 2013 5:49 pm

As an example of how Sherlock has no concept of gun safety, he shoots the wall in the flat, and at the end of TGG, he scratches the back of his head, with a loaded gun, with his finger on the trigger.

It's Johns gun - in the tunnel chasing the Golem, john mumbles about wishing he had his..., sherlock then hands him his gun.

**Posted by ancientsgate** June 18, 2013 9:09 pm

butterfly grl wrote:
As an example of how Sherlock has no concept of gun safety, he shoots the wall in the flat, and at the end of TGG, he scratches the back of his head, with a loaded gun, with his finger on the trigger. It's Johns gun - in the tunnel chasing the Golem, john mumbles about wishing he had his..., sherlock then hands him his gun.

He seems reckless when he has a gun in his hand, as he in so many parts of his "work", almost heedless about his own safety. But that doesn't mean he actually IS reckless. Perhaps he'd flicked the safety on before he scratched his head with the thing? Stupid thing to do anyway-- any basic gun safety course will drill it into your head to never point any gun, loaded or unloaded, at anything you're not intending to kill-- but you know how Sherlock thinks and how arrogantly confident he is in his own mental capacity to control stuff around him. I could see him doing that, even though it's stupid.

The only thing that doesn't add up with the shooting the wall thing is that modern day ammunition would have gone right through that wall and endangered the folks next door, something I can't really picture Sherlock taking a chance with-- he's arrogant, but I've never seen that he would ever put civilians' lives at risk if he could help it. Didn't the shooting the wall thing come directly from original canon? Which is probably why they included it. But maybe back in ACD's day, ammunition was more apt to stop at the first solid thing it hit, not go roaring on through wood, brick and plasterboard as the new ammo does. No idea. But that really was reckless, however one looks at it, IMO.

**Posted by Davina** June 19, 2013 6:25 am

The shooting the wall does, indeed, come directly from canon where VC is shot by Holmes into the living room wall.

**Posted by butterfly grl** June 20, 2013 12:50 am

Sherlock doesn't shoot the wall until he hears John walking up the stairs.
Bored, yes, but waits to show his frustration until he has an audience.

**Posted by sj4iy** June 20, 2013 1:27 am

I think this sums it up best.

Last edited by sj4iy (June 20, 2013 1:29 am)