NATIONAL SCHOOL WALKOUT LIVE: Students begin rally in solidarity to end gun violence

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

14 hours ago, Steeleballz said:

 

     I'm not sure if it's still this way, but years ago there was only 1 rest stop between Cheyenne and Casper Wyoming, a distance of about 180 miles.  The highway on either side is miles of farmland and nothing, and you can drive for an hour without seeing another car. Then you get to the rest stop and there are cars backed up and people waiting. So you really need to go, but you have another 20 minutes to wait and you start to think why don't I just pull over on the road ahead. No one will know. The answer for many is, you don't because it's illegal. The answer for others may be to pull over.

 

    The simple act of something being illegal does stop some people. It's the reason I withdraw money from my own account at the bank rather than just taking it from the safe. Now the response is usually criminals will do the wrong thing so they will still have guns. That overlooks the fact that most of the mass shooting perpetrators were not career criminals. They didn't wake up one morning as 8 year old kids and think, "hey one day I'm gonna kill a whole bunch of people and I need a plan". Most of them were young people with psychiatric issues who happened to snap. Most of them had prior access to firearms. We made it easy for them. If it was illegal for them to have firearms, would they all have had a backup plan? Would they all have figured out how to use 3D printers or obtain black market parts. The answer is probably some would have and some wouldn't. By extension, maybe some of the mass shootings that have happened would not have occurred. That is what these regulations are about. 

   

    

   

There exist a group of people who will do the right thing no matter what, or where they are.  There exists some that when no one is looking, they might break a law or two (think speeders, stop sign rollers, people who cheat on their taxes, those who buy used cars and lie about the purchase price, etc.). And then there are those who really don’t much care about the laws, they think they are above or outside them.

 

In my experience, the middle group probably makes up 85~90% of humanity.  If they think someone might be watching, they will almost never break the law nor cheat any system.  But if they know no one is watching... 

I can darn sure tell you that the other day while driving for two hours, when the wife needed to go, we did not continue for another 40 minutes to a gas station.  We stopped right alongside of the road, and she took care of the problem. Don’t know if it’s illegal where we were, don’t really care.  Some things are just worth the risk.  Would I do that with a gun sale or purchase?  No.  But I am not everyone, nor is everyone me.  

 

Might the proposed idea work?  Maybe.  But it’s not working very well right now in the 10 states that have it in place, as proven in another thread (or earlier in this one).

The other comment I would make is to your statement in bold: That’s because there are hardly any mass murders in the US when compared to gun homicides.  The “career” criminals do the bulk of the killing, and they are usually prepared in advance.  Thankfully, not too many people plan for mass murders in advance.  And of those who have done them in recent years, none have been very good at it, fortunately for us.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

14 hours ago, smilesammich said:

so, by ten states you mean nationwide, right?

 

  It's a pretty representative group. I am not sure I could name all 10 states, but I know some of them. Some sites have it as 13 states requiring buyer permits.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

7 hours ago, IDWAF said:

There exist a group of people who will do the right thing no matter what, or where they are.  There exists some that when no one is looking, they might break a law or two (think speeders, stop sign rollers, people who cheat on their taxes, those who buy used cars and lie about the purchase price, etc.). And then there are those who really don’t much care about the laws, they think they are above or outside them.

 

In my experience, the middle group probably makes up 85~90% of humanity.  If they think someone might be watching, they will almost never break the law nor cheat any system.  But if they know no one is watching... 

I can darn sure tell you that the other day while driving for two hours, when the wife needed to go, we did not continue for another 40 minutes to a gas station.  We stopped right alongside of the road, and she took care of the problem. Don’t know if it’s illegal where we were, don’t really care.  Some things are just worth the risk.  Would I do that with a gun sale or purchase?  No.  But I am not everyone, nor is everyone me.  

 

Might the proposed idea work?  Maybe.  But it’s not working very well right now in the 10 states that have it in place, as proven in another thread (or earlier in this one).

The other comment I would make is to your statement in bold: That’s because there are hardly any mass murders in the US when compared to gun homicides.  The “career” criminals do the bulk of the killing, and they are usually prepared in advance.  Thankfully, not too many people plan for mass murders in advance.  And of those who have done them in recent years, none have been very good at it, fortunately for us.

 

  I agree mostly. My point is that 85-90% group has no real reason to go out and buy a 3D printer to make a gun illegally, just to have on hand just in case the opportunity to use it arises. Yeah they might eat a donut without paying, but they aren't planning to rob a bank when no one is looking.

 

   There are some in that other 10% group that we would never stop. James Holmes comes to mind. I think that guy wanted to kill people and planned it out over a long period of time. He would have done something one way or another. You can't stop every event, and if you are looking at it that way it probably seems futile. The reality though, is that you might stop some.

[TBoneTX 46,161]

9 hours ago, IDWAF said:

10 is 1/5 of 50 [...] that would require 50 states, or nearly so.

Obama said that there are 57 states.  Please do some recipherin' of your figgers.

[Dashinka 24,813]

School-walkout unity also lays bare student division

 

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2018/03/17/school-walkout-unity-also-lays-bare-student-division/33047729/

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

14 hours ago, IDWAF said:

There exist a group of people who will do the right thing no matter what, or where they are.  There exists some that when no one is looking, they might break a law or two (think speeders, stop sign rollers, people who cheat on their taxes, those who buy used cars and lie about the purchase price, etc.). And then there are those who really don’t much care about the laws, they think they are above or outside them.

 

In my experience, the middle group probably makes up 85~90% of humanity.  If they think someone might be watching, they will almost never break the law nor cheat any system.  But if they know no one is watching... 

I can darn sure tell you that the other day while driving for two hours, when the wife needed to go, we did not continue for another 40 minutes to a gas station.  We stopped right alongside of the road, and she took care of the problem. Don’t know if it’s illegal where we were, don’t really care.  Some things are just worth the risk.  Would I do that with a gun sale or purchase?  No.  But I am not everyone, nor is everyone me.  

 

Might the proposed idea work?  Maybe.  But it’s not working very well right now in the 10 states that have it in place, as proven in another thread (or earlier in this one).

The other comment I would make is to your statement in bold: That’s because there are hardly any mass murders in the US when compared to gun homicides.  The “career” criminals do the bulk of the killing, and they are usually prepared in advance.  Thankfully, not too many people plan for mass murders in advance.  And of those who have done them in recent years, none have been very good at it, fortunately for us.

You provided us generalizations about humanity. Can you address why 96% of all homicides globally are perpetuated by men?

[spookyturtle 9,466]

The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching. 

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

13 hours ago, Il Mango Dulce said:

You provided us generalizations about humanity. Can you address why 96% of all homicides globally are perpetuated by men?

Men are more violent than women.  Pretty easy to see.

 

 

Edited March 19, 2018 by IDWAF