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State Firearm Laws - State-by-State
This might be helpful to you. Each state listing guns laws that were active in each year since 1991 - 2016, along with the homicide and suicide rates each year.
It doesn't look to me like the laws are creating much of a difference in most states.
Guns are not the problem. People are the problem. A good guy with a gun was the solution. Guns are an inanimate object.It's a smart opinion, as contrasted with a frankly silly opinion.
This is the problem with this issue - the gun people put forth such dumb arguments, we who have some sense are put in a delicate position: how to say something is plain stupid without falling afoul of the rules.
It is obviously inane to suggest that guns are not the problem, and it is even more inane to suggest that all men over 12 should be armed.
Enough of this silliness - it needs to be named and shamed.
Another entirely silly argument - the "gun is inanimate so it is not a problem" argument is obviously wrong.
Whether you and others are doing so intentionally or not, here is what happening: the gun people (or at least some of them) post manifestly absurd arguments. Then, reasonable people have two choices: (1) name the arguments as what they are - absurd - and perhaps get into trouble; (2) try to engage the most silly of arguments without sliding into ridicule. Which is effectively impossible - when an argument is stupid enough, ridicule is the only real option.
Well, some ideas deserve and merit full-on ridicule.
And the ideas you and some others have posted fully qualify.
To the Moderators: I have tried to address the "post", not the "poster". I repeat what I wrote above: you can't expect to post silly arguments and not expect to have those arguments to be named as such. If someone were to argue that the tooth fairy is real, that idea needs to be held up for ridicule. If one instead tried to make a reasoned, sober, dispassionate argument about how the tooth fairy idea is implausible, you would only legitimate that silliness. Besides, in the gun situation, there are lives on the line: I suggest that those who defend American gun culture bear some responsibility for the bodies that are piling up in your streets.
Nuclear arms are also inanimate objects. Why are we fighting to stop other countries from getting them?Guns are not the problem. People are the problem. A good guy with a gun was the solution. Guns are an inanimate object.
Only certain countries. And we do it for the same reason we don't allow certain people to have guns.Nuclear arms are also inanimate objects. Why are we fighting to stop other countries from getting them?
Only certain countries. And we do it for the same reason we don't allow certain people to have guns.
Yes we do.Do we?
The number of weapons floating around is likely a big factor, I think we need to start tracking those weapons.When the world looks at the United States, it sees a land of exceptions: a time-tested if noisy democracy, a crusader in foreign policy, an exporter of beloved music and film.
But there is one quirk that consistently puzzles America’s fans and critics alike. Why, they ask, does it experience so many mass shootings?
Perhaps, some speculate, it is because American society is unusually violent. Or its racial divisions have frayed the bonds of society. Or its citizens lack proper mental care under a health care system that draws frequent derision abroad.
These explanations share one thing in common: Though seemingly sensible, all have been debunked by research on shootings elsewhere in the world. Instead, an ever-growing body of research consistently reaches the same conclusion.
The only variable that can explain the high rate of mass shootings in America is its astronomical number of guns.
With this part I strongly agree.I think when discussing gun control, you should not get too wrapped up in this specific case because there have been many shootings, each with different details...
A silly argument. A nuclear bomb is inanimate, but no sane person would argue that it would not be a problem if everyone had the right to have such a bomb.Guns are not the problem. People are the problem. A good guy with a gun was the solution. Guns are an inanimate object.
While I agree, not all bad events require government intervention, but we're past that. We are simply seeing too many events that continue due to lack of intervention. It's hyperbolic to think the government is going to take away your guns, there is simply a push for restrictions. I think it's reasonable to register weapons, I think it's reasonable to ban certain weapons and accessories, I think it's reasonable to study gun deaths in this country (something the NRA thwarts). I would never call for banning guns outright, but I don't think the answer is to do nothing. And if the argument is all the systems are in place, well obviously they're not working, which is more than enough reason to address this with punishment and more oversight (i.e., ensuring the systems are up and running properly).With this part I strongly agree.
Just as each auto accident brings with it an understanding of why it happened and what, if anything should be done to reduce the number of future accidents, each shooting should be treated the same.
And often, the answer is to do nothing other than to clean up the mess, prosecute the person who caused it (assuming they are still alive) and pray for the injured and/or survivors. Not all "bad" events require any government response beyond that.
What Explains U.S. Mass Shootings? International Comparisons Suggest an Answer
The number of weapons floating around is likely a big factor, I think we need to start tracking those weapons.
From the article:What Explains U.S. Mass Shootings? International Comparisons Suggest an Answer
The number of weapons floating around is likely a big factor, I think we need to start tracking those weapons.
There is a logical disconnect. Who is saying that everyone should have the right to a gun. Or "the" bomb.A silly argument. A nuclear bomb is inanimate, but no sane person would argue that it would not be a problem if everyone had the right to have such a bomb.
The gun supporters may, repeat may, have rational arguments to offer. But the "it is an inanimate object" argument is clearly invalid.
From the article:
But there is one quirk that consistently puzzles America’s fans and critics alike. Why, they ask, does it experience so many mass shootings?
The same reason a country with more cars experiences more auto accidents. And the number of mass shootings is not all that high when you consider two things: The specifics of each "mass shooting" included in the stats and the fact that they occur in a nation of over 330 million people.
i.e. the odds of a citizen getting even shot, much less killed, in a mass shooting are ludicrously low and many "mass shootings" are simply the results of someone committing a crime that, without guns, would have simply used a different weapon.
This means that, in reality, they must be examined on a case by case basis. A shooting during the commission of a robbery is not the same as a murder/suicide of a destitute family is not the same as a shooter with a sniper rifle in a college bell tower is not the same as a whacked nutjob shooting up a church. They all have different causal factors and even use significantly different weapons. And it ignores the guy in a truck mowing down pedestrians.
Thank you so much for posting this interview. This man is representative of the gun owners that I know. They do not idolize guns but see them as a tool to be used in a responsible way.Guns are not the problem. People are the problem. A good guy with a gun was the solution. Guns are an inanimate object.
Sounds like liberal stereotype #16.
But isn't liberal stereotype #15 that they're all anti-gun?
Sounds like you think the "majority" opinion of liberals is that they're murderers.
Isn't it up to all the people -- not just you -- to decide what is or isn't overreaching?
remind me again who the terrorists are?
I disagree. I think what is happening is that every story is breathlessly reported. The fact of the matter is that these "indiscriminate mass shootings" are extremely rare, while many, MANY more people are killed in Chicago alone by gun violence. It's just that the onesy twosy ones don't make the news.While I agree, not all bad events require government intervention, but we're past that. We are simply seeing too many events that continue due to lack of intervention.
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