- Feb 10, 2013
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Just wait until we top it this year. We’re #1!This news is horrifying.
Not horrifying enough, though. Post #10 rehashed an old NRA chestnut, and no doubt many more will follow.This news is horrifying.
A great many mass shootings - and nearly all school shootings - are carried out by people who have no criminal record using legally obtained weapons, so that is the crux of the issue. And of course once that trigger is pulled another criminal has arrived. Merely putting stronger locks on gun cupboards is futile. Guns are everywhere; in bedside drawers, under the kitchen table, on the streets.Which gun culture are we talking about? I am concerned about criminals owning guns. Illegal guns are part of criminal culture, but I'm not concerned about typical firearm enthusiasts. People who buy guns legally, practice at firing ranges, are licensed for concealed carry etc. aren't a threat. If anything, the latter arguably helps protect us against the former.
The crux of the issue hinges on two key points. Law-abiding citizens usually comply with the law whereas criminals do not. However, firearms stolen or otherwise obtained on the black market are partly a product of having so many guns to begin with. It's nice to think that simply outlawing guns will remove the threat, but given the quantity of guns already out there I don't think passing laws (which only work on law-abiding citizens) is a realistic solution. At least not in the short-run. Unless we want to give armed criminals free-reign.
Cracking down harder on the illegal weapon trade might net the biggest short-run gains, which combined with new laws for people who already obey the law might make a difference, but that's a big ask for our law enforcement officers.
Which isn't to suggest that there aren't school shootings committed with legal firearms. There are. I just think the problem runs deeper than that. If new laws are passed, perhaps those laws might contain something about using more secure gun safes so kids can't get hold of their parents' guns.
If we acknowledge only one side of the issue... either the sheer quantity of guns out there (too many) or the fact that criminals do not comply with firearm legislation... I frankly don't see us making meaningful progress.A great many mass shootings - and nearly all school shootings - are carried out by people who have no criminal record using legally obtained weapons, so that is the crux of the issue. And of course once that trigger is pulled another criminal has arrived. Merely putting stronger locks on gun cupboards is futile. Guns are everywhere; in bedside drawers, under the kitchen table, on the streets.
I agree that the American problem with mass killings almost every day is very deep and will not be solved merely by legislation. There is already legislation and it does not work. With the enormous number of guns in America already radical measures are called for and there is no appetite for change.
I suggest that a tiny first step would be to crack down on the legal trade. Absolutely anybody can obtain a gun. The existing legal checks are a farce.
I have no words left .Just wait until we top it this year. We’re #1!
You're so right, sadly.Not horrifying enough, though. Post #10 rehashed an old NRA chestnut, and no doubt many more will follow.
My main inference from the new death toll record is that many Americans have become indifferent to slaughter. I predict that this thread will confirm my view.
Mass shootings in US with four or more deaths hit highest level since at least 2006
There have been more mass shootings with four or more deaths in 2023 than in any year since at least 2006, according to The Washington Post’s gun violence database. There have been 38 such mas…www.google.com
We have broke the record of the number of mass shootings from the high of last year.
Something to cheer about? Not really. It may be time to look at our gun culture and guns in our culture and work on a new way.
Take pride of n what we’re willing to sacrifice.I have no words left .
Thanks, such and honor.
This misleading argument gets trotted out again and again and again even though it is wrong in such an obvious way.Guns are incapable of committing violence. They are not sentient.
Yes, the idea was put about by the NRA and it still gets trotted out as a piece of folksy wisdom by apologists for unlimited gun ownership.This misleading argument gets trotted out again and again and again even though it is wrong in such an obvious way.
The fact that a gun cannot "act" on its own is obviously not the point - it is a very effective enabler for human beings intent of wreaking death and destruction.
The "gun is just a tool incapable of acting" is very bad argument - it needs to go.
Except for the fact it is true. People commit violence, not pieces of metal. After all the inanimate pieces of metal are eliminated, the violence will continue with knives, clubs, bombs, axes, and any other object that can do harm.. including the fist. I suppose if we got rid of forks, obesity would go down drastically. If we got rid of cars, there would be no more drunk drivers! I know... close all hospitals and fire all doctors. No more sickness!This misleading argument gets trotted out again and again and again even though it is wrong in such an obvious way.
The fact that a gun cannot "act" on its own is obviously not the point - it is a very effective enabler for human beings intent of wreaking death and destruction.
The "gun is just a tool incapable of acting" is very bad argument - it needs to go.
Calling it "folksy wisdom" is giving more credit than is due.Yes, the idea was put about by the NRA and it still gets trotted out as a piece of folksy wisdom by apologists for unlimited gun ownership.
You have missed the point so completely I hardly know where to start.It is exceedingly easy for any guy with a machine shop to build guns. It is not rocket science. It would become an underground industry. A whole new mafia crime. Someone wanting to mow down innocents will find a gun. Criminals do not care about laws... that is the definition of criminals. They will find and use guns.
I agree. If they took away guns, people would just start bombing places like Timothy McVeigh. There's something wrong with society that is causing these shootings.Guns are incapable of committing violence. They are not sentient. They can no more be violent by choice than a tree or a butterfly.
People are violent. Why is there no respect for life and property? Why are families declining and crime overall increasing? Why do half of marriages end in divorce? Why are 40% of children born out of wedlock? Why has the number of LGBTQ teens increased 10 fold from the boomer generation to the genz? Why do people feel entitled to do the criminal things they are doing? Find out what has happened to people in the US over the last 50 years to cause them to be more violent, immoral, and ungodly. You will have the answer.
Mass shootings in US with four or more deaths hit highest level since at least 2006
There have been more mass shootings with four or more deaths in 2023 than in any year since at least 2006, according to The Washington Post’s gun violence database. There have been 38 such mas…www.google.com
We have broke the record of the number of mass shootings from the high of last year.
Something to cheer about? Not really. It may be time to look at our gun culture and guns in our culture and work on a new way.
No, it is a misleading argument intended to trip people up. It is beyond obvious that just because something is not able to "act on its own", it cannot therefore be a problem.Except for the fact it is true.
Profoundly misleading as already explained.People commit violence, not pieces of metal.
Where is your evidence for this claim? There is reason to be skeptical: From a Study published in the New England Journal of Medecince in 2008 (authors = Miller and Hemenway)After all the inanimate pieces of metal are eliminated, the violence will continue with knives, clubs, bombs, axes, and any other object that can do harm.. including the fist.
What is easier and less expensive - to control access to guns or to tackle the complex psychological issues that cause people to kill.Address the real problem and stop avoiding it by blaming inanimate objects. Find out why people want to kill each other.