Why the U.S. is No. 1 -- in mass shootings

[decocker 7,198]

well, yeah the two go hand in hand.

[Operator 1,927]

I don't want to make the argument that guns don't kill people, the fact is guns do kill people when people who have become violent set them to that task.

Lets say that guns could be legislated away today in their entirety. The accidental death by firearms numbers would go down for sure, as would all these horrific "mass shootings". I agree that is a good thing. The problem is still the violence, we still have people who want to do harm to others as we always have only it's getting worse. You have old women on airplanes pulling razorblades and idiot parents beating on coaches and officials at youth sporting events.

China has a fairly restrictive gun control policy, but they still have problems with violence. An old man started beating a teenage girl on a bus the other day for not giving up her seat to him quick enough. People walking into schools and police stations and stabbing as many as they can until they are eventually stopped.

If you take away a persons car they will find another way to get to where they need to be if they want to get their badly enough.

Gun control is like taking an aspirin for a toothache, its a good idea to stop the pain but doesn't fix the rotten tooth.

I know that I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know but I hear gun control as a war cry and I wonder if some people just do see the real problem.

As a gun owner I'm open to discuss and accept stricter measures if it protects my ability to own guns now and in the future. If the government asks me to give them up though I probably won't do it, which will make me a criminal.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

As the other day illustrated, in the US it seems to be easy for deranged people to get guns with which to commit atrocities, both through legal and illegal channels.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I also think there needs to be a discussion about violence.

I think there needs to be a conversation about the lack of social support systems in the USA and what thus does to people's state of mind.

When I lived there it was amazing to me how many people said that the had been forced to live out of their cars.

I had people tell me before a biopsy surgery that if they were me they'd "take their chances" rather than get involved with the health care system and face potential financial ruin.

When the financial crash happened there were a lot of murder suicides. Guys killing their wives and kids because their stock portfolio was wiped out. I doubt these people were violent before, but something about the prospect of losing everything made them flip their lids.

When America works, it works very well. When it doesn't you realise very quickly how deep the cracks go.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Venkman

[Teddy B 17,252]

I don't want to make the argument that guns don't kill people, the fact is guns do kill people when people who have become violent set them to that task.

Lets say that guns could be legislated away today in their entirety. The accidental death by firearms numbers would go down for sure, as would all these horrific "mass shootings". I agree that is a good thing. The problem is still the violence, we still have people who want to do harm to others as we always have only it's getting worse. You have old women on airplanes pulling razorblades and idiot parents beating on coaches and officials at youth sporting events.

China has a fairly restrictive gun control policy, but they still have problems with violence. An old man started beating a teenage girl on a bus the other day for not giving up her seat to him quick enough. People walking into schools and police stations and stabbing as many as they can until they are eventually stopped.

If you take away a persons car they will find another way to get to where they need to be if they want to get their badly enough.

Gun control is like taking an aspirin for a toothache, its a good idea to stop the pain but doesn't fix the rotten tooth.

I know that I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know but I hear gun control as a war cry and I wonder if some people just do see the real problem.

As a gun owner I'm open to discuss and accept stricter measures if it protects my ability to own guns now and in the future. If the government asks me to give them up though I probably won't do it, which will make me a criminal.

Guns make killing easy and they remove the personal element from the act. If you make it harder for a person to kill and make it an up close and personal act like with a knife, hands or club, most people would probably opt out.

Stricter gun control would make it more difficult for people to obtain guns. Most people are lazy and would probably give up if the process was more difficult and it would give a person some time to think about what they are doing and cool down a bit.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Teddy B

[Operator 1,927]

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Guns make killing easy and they remove the personal element from the act. If you make it harder for a person to kill and make it an up close and personal act like with a knife, hands or club, most people would probably opt out.

Stricter gun control would make it more difficult for people to obtain guns. Most people are lazy and would probably give up if the process was more difficult and it would give a person some time to think about what they are doing and cool down a bit.

The availability of guns creates agency, and as we see there are many Americans who are prepared to use them as a first resort to solving their problems.

The crazy that causes people to snap though - that's harder to grasp. You see it a bit on here in little glimpses - childish attitudes to politics, adulation of small minded media commentators, profound ignorance over their own social and cultural history and a social system that allows people to lose everything in the blink of an eye.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Venkman

[Teddy B 17,252]

My malarkey is better than you malarkey!

[decocker 7,198]

seems pretty basic, a country has a ton of mentally unstable people with pretty much open access to guns..the solution is to restrict access.

i mean if you're not going to deal with the mental health aspect..which lets face it - we won't.

Edited August 28, 2015 by decocker

[Póg mo 1,749]

I also think there needs to be a discussion about violence.

Macho culture.