FFS, another one?
What will we talk about instead of guns this time? Finals pressure? âHardâ majors? Maybe a love triangle? Anything but easily available guns!
That was my exact response when I first heard the news.
I hate to say it, think all the sane and rational people who are grounded in practical reality (rather than some warped wild west fantasy) may need to just give up trying to advance any kind of reasonable regulations when it comes to firearms, and just focus on inventing products that completely deflect swiftly moving projectiles.
SMFH
Warped wild west fantasy? California has one of if not the most restrictive gun control laws in the country. Handgun registration, assault weapon ban, 10 rounds maximum magazine capacity, no NFA items, 10 day waiting period, no outside CCW permits (and some counties donât issue them), and background checks for all dealers sales.
Really, when some one ODs on Heroin or steals money for meth do we talk about needing to tighten drug laws? Or Crashing your car drunk?
No scheme you come up with is going to stop people from doing bad things. A complete ban and confiscation would maybe lower things like this, but criminals would still be armed, just like criminals have no problem finding drugs or arming small armies like in Mexico, where gun control is extremely restricted.
You should be ashamed of yourself, bringing reality-based information into the ghoulish exploitation of other peopleâs tragedies like that. This is clearly a time for hysterical calls for ill-conceived legislation.
Calm down, âgun-pro,â and try not to take my sarcasm personally, mâkay?
I was generalizing, and engaging in some hyperbole; speaking of the extremists who make responsible gun owners like you look bad, no matter what part of the nation they may live in.
(You know, the ones that want to arm everyone from kindergartners to doctors and nurses.)
My snark wasnât meant to be taken literally, rather it was meant to illustrate how hopeless this conflict has become, IMO
Personally I think that we have a better chance at creating âpersonalized force fieldsâ which deflect bullets than we do at coming to any kind of viable solution that protects peoplesâ rights as well as their lives.
THAT was my point sir, so please unruffle your feathers.
I have no such âschemesâ; personally I think that as a species, weâre all proper fucked, frankly.
I never said nor even implied a thing about âbanningâ anything, or âconfiscatingâ anything; those are your own conclusions that you eagerly jumped to, probably because this is a topic in which you are deeply invested, and thatâs an argument that youâve probably had many times before.
No, you ought to ashamed of yourself for not recognizing hyperbolic snark when you see it.
Found an interesting short article (for me, anyway) that inquires on the contrast between Swiss and U.S. gun culture (emphasis mine):
One of the reasons the crime rate in Switzerland is low despite the prevalence of weapons â and also why the Swiss mentality canât be transposed to the current American reality â is the culture of responsibility and safety that is anchored in society and passed from generation to generation. Kids as young as 12 belong to gun groups in their local communities, where they learn sharpshooting. The Swiss Shooting Sports Association runs about 3,000 clubs and has 150,000 members, including a youth section.
âSocial conditions are fundamental in deterring crime,â says Peter Squires, professor of criminology and public policy at the University of Brighton in Great Britain, who has studied gun violence in different countries and concluded that a âculture of supportâ rather than focus on individualism, can deter mass killings.
Iâm starting to suspect that U.S. society cherishes but doesnât respect the right to own a firearm. That, plus an inexplicable aversion to improving access to psychiatric and psychological counseling services.
I wouldnt attribute that to our entire society, per se; but far too much of it for comfort for sure.
Which isnât saying much, really.
I do agree that regional gun laws are of limited use though, which is one reason I think we wonât see a meaningful reduction in gun violence until action is taken on a national level.
Phew. For a minute there âŚ
[quote=âMister44, post:5, topic:78962â]A complete ban and confiscation would maybe lower things like this, but criminals would still be armed[/quote]So just to be clear, would maybe help with the topic at hand, but not something else you are bringing up in its place. Because thatâs how reasoned evidence-based discussion goes; you donât hysterically pay attention to the fact that America has an unusually high level of these things, just forget them.
Not even then, I fear.
The topic at hand being stopping someone wanting to commit a murder/suicide on campus?
Nothing.
Thatâs right, nothing. Any attempt to legislate a solution is bound to be inept and cause more harm than good like the drug laws, the TSA, etc.
If someone wants to kill someone and then themselves, unless they telegraph their intentions or just happened to be stopped by chance - there is nothing you can do. You might be able to fight back, but assuming you know this person and donât suspect their actions, they are probably going to get the jump on you.
Murder/Suicides can happen anywhere, including the sleepy little town I grew in a few years ago which has a near non-existent crime rate.
Itâs also my understanding that the Swiss have much tighter regulations on the availability of ammunition when compared to the US.
Not enough likes to give for that nugget of insight.
This is quite true; the idea of âsafetyâ is merely an illusion that we concoct for ourselves so that we can function from day to day without going crazy.
(Some things can be made safer certainly, but as you pointed out above, nothing is 100% fool-proof.)
So, Iâve already established that I have no viable solutions to this ever growing problem; as someone on the opposite side of the proverbial aisle, do you have any plausible ideas?
Just a reminder to anyone considering moving North to escape a Clinton and/or Trump presidency:
Yâall are welcome. The guns ainât.
