So let's hit the ground running: Guns
So let's hit the ground running: Guns
The USA has literally more than one mass shooting1 per day. It has reached the point where these don't even reach the news any longer unless there's some special angle to make them "interesting". The reaction to this, from an outsider perspective, should be "maybe we should do something about the proliferation of freely available guns". The reaction to this, again from an outsider perspective, seems to be rather "OMG I BETTER BUY MORE GUNS!!!!!111oneoneoneeleventy!"
What gives? How come the USA has not yet figured out that doubling down on the strategy that led to the nation having a shocking murder rate for the developed world is not a working solution?
What is it about the USA and guns that makes you tolerate this state when you've got a culturally-similar nation to the north of you that, despite your cultural problems being imported, still doesn't have your kill rate?
1 Defined as a shooting event in which at least 4 people other than the shooter are injured or killed.
We live in a country where people value their guns more than the lives of their brothers and sisters and especially children. The shootings happen so often that they are numb to them, the only thing they're worried about is their possessions being taken away, a few hundred kids a year won't deter them. They like to claim we simply need more mental health resources, and it's not a gun issue, yet simultaneously refuse to fund those resources or take them seriously (you know who I'm talking about 😉). It's sick.
Someone wrote a novel with a similar theme. Something about a catch...?
I'm of the opinion that guns have existed in the US since its inception but the issues we've had with mass shootings seem to be a fairly recent thing maybe in the past 30 years or so. This leads me to believe that the issue we currently have is due to some other root cause.
I'm sure that if we were to get rid of every gun in the US we would see a reduction in gun violence but I don't believe it would have any impact on overall violence because the root cause of all our violence is elsewhere.
I don't have a good solution to our problem but I'd start with raising the standard of living for our citizens by providing universal healthcare and doing something about unchecked capitalism that seems to benefit only the rich at the expense of everyone else.
Edit: Ranked choice voting would help as well so we're not stuck in this shitty two-party deadlock.
I’m of the opinion that guns have existed in the US since its inception but the issues we’ve had with mass shootings seem to be a fairly recent thing maybe in the past 30 years or so.
They've been a thing for FAR longer than 30 years. There has been more of them recently, but much of that is due to better technology reducing the costs of ownership and increasing the availability of the kinds of weapons really suited to killing large numbers more efficiently. Factor in the face-heel turn of the NRA in the '70s and you've got one Hell of a toxic stew, yes, but the ingredients for this sickness are well over a hundred years old. There's something in the American psyche that says guns are the solutions to all problems: domestic and foreign.
I'm aware that mass shootings have existed long before the 90's but my understanding is that the frequency has increased significantly in recent decades. Maybe it's due to better record-keeping or changing criteria used to define mass shootings. I'm not a data scientist. It certainly feels like they've become more frequent since the 90's.
One word: Corruption
I own two long rifles, three handguns and three AR-15s. (Contrary to popular belief, AR-15s are not assault rifles.) Down in my basement, I have about 50 lbs of various types of gun powder, along with thousands of bullets and maybe about 50k primers. Additionally, I have maybe 20k loaded cartridges total for all of my firearms. When I go to the range, I will expend several hundred rounds in a trip to keep up my practice and maintain my skill.
I was raised around firearms and they have never been a big deal. As far as I know, me or anyone in my family or circle of friends has ever shot up a school or committed a mass murder. When I am out and about, I only carry a firearm if absolutely necessary and that is rare. However, there are some places here in Denver you need to be armed. Period.
I was in the military, I hold a good job and support my family. Since I started my career, I have been in something related to security for as long as I can remember. Now, I am a professional infosec engineer. What I am saying, is that I am a somewhat normal and responsible person.
For me, it's really about the engineering that is involved in precision shooting at long distances of about 1000 yards or more. The physics is absolutely amazing!
With all of that said, guns do not define who I am. They are a super interesting and fun part of my life, but that is about it. Now, I can go on about what others can do to prevent the wrong people from misusing firearms, but I will pass on that today and talk about me instead.
Why should my rights be restricted because a few other people are idiots? Why go out of the way to punish the millions of responsible owners for the tragic mistakes of others?
At the end of the day, if someone wants to kill others, they are going to do it. Be it with a vehicle, 747 or explosives put together from chemicals obtained at the grocery store, it's going to happen.
We can throw numbers around about who was killed by what and twist them how we want for the sake of argument. That is a waste of time. If there were several problems that I could identify, it's the shitty education, shitty mental health service and the horrid law enforcement that is here in the US that are the culprits. This, of course, is the fault of our broken government.
Fix that shit first before you punish citizens that go out of their way to uphold the current laws.
If I could take you to the range for one day with this rifle, you might end up falling in love with the sport as well!
However, there are some places here in Denver you need to be armed. Period.
Sounds like you've got a radically different problem than "I NEED GUNZZZZZ!" to solve.
If I could take you to the range for one day with this rifle, you might end up falling in love with the sport as well!
(P.S. I've fired larger. Far larger. About 100mm larger, give or take a few mm... The other branch of my 50% hunting family is former military. Including me.)