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Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

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Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

Sidebar:

Suicides, while tragic, are very separate from murders (mass or otherwise). It DOES affect others, but the suicidal person is only killing himself in most cases, and not killing others. Killing others is the basis of all this gun reform talk.

And I do NOT mean to make light of suicides, believe me. I have had a couple friends kill themselves. It's a horrible, horrible thing.
Gun violence as a whole is the basis for gun reform talk. Suicide rates are affected by gun control as well especially for men who more often use guns vs less than immediate methods. Overall, in the US, states with more restrictive laws, include waiting periods, storage requirements, age restrictions have less suicides by guns than ones that don't. And doesn't cause a switch to other methods.
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

John Oliver on mental health in the US.
https://youtu.be/NGY6DqB1HX8

“We as a society, we have to figure out how to fund [mental health programs]—not just because it makes fiscal sense, but because it would save lives. And if I remember rightly, there are some politicians who claim to be pretty motivated to address this problem,” said Oliver, again throwing to the post-Umpqua shooting quotes by Trump, Huckabee, and Carson, about how we need to address our country’s mental health problem.

“OK, fine—do it then,” shouted Oliver. “Because if we’re going to constantly use mentally ill people to dodge conversations about gun control, then the very least we owe them is a ****ing plan.”
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

We kill 10-12,000 people per year by gun in this country (excluding suicides). We kill 3x as many with cars. There are, conservatively, more than 300 million civilian owned guns in the U.S., and there is the little matter of the Second Amendment. Anyone who thinks a gun ban will ever be enacted here needs to put down the crack pipe and stop wasting our time.

And again most arent asking for one. Most want rules that are enforceable and actually help prevent gun violence. That is not a ban.

You mentioned cars, you know there are restrictions on driving privileges and you need to train to drive. You can also have your rights revoked and restricted. Yet the Right and the NRA dont feel we should have that for guns...
 
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Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

And again most arent asking for one. Most want rules that are enforceable and actually help prevent gun violence. That is not a ban.

You mentioned cars, you know there are restrictions on driving privileges and yo need to train to drive. You can also have yur rights revoked. Yet the Right and the NRA dont feel we should have tht for guns...

Any sort of infringement of the bearing of arms is a violation of the second amendment, and could be constituted as treason, as it gives our enemies reason to attack us on our own soil.
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

Gun violence as a whole is the basis for gun reform talk. Suicide rates are affected by gun control as well especially for men who more often use guns vs less than immediate methods. Overall, in the US, states with more restrictive laws, include waiting periods, storage requirements, age restrictions have less suicides by guns than ones that don't. And doesn't cause a switch to other methods.

My point is, whenever someone kills themself, and only themself, with a gun, the nation doesn't start re-hashing gun control talks.
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

Source pls? Also, nice that you conveniently leave out suicides by guns, wouldn't want to hurt your talking point. Guess those deaths don't really count.

<img src=https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rX1Z34jLbomKhcCuLFcEb9BeaVA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4119890/gunsdeaths2.005.0.jpg></img>
http://www.vox.com/2015/10/3/9446193/gun-deaths-aids-war-terrorism


http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/01/americas-top-killing-machine/384440/

Your 300 million owned guns "stat" is deceiving as more and more it's a shrinking handful of owners owning their own private arsenals.

Conservatives talk about getting amendments passed for as valuable things as denying couples the right to marry. The 2nd amendment isn't some untouchable sacred golden idol to be worshiped.
I did leave suicides out, as I specifically wrote in my post. Suicides, in my opinion, are unique. It's just my personal opinion that when a person commits suicide, the method by which they choose to die doesn't really say anything about that method. That is, if a thousand people kill themselves by sitting in a closed garage with the car running, I don't think that says anything about cars or emission standards. If someone wants to kill themselves, sooner or later they are going to find a way to do it, and when gun control advocates try to use those numbers, I think you just lose credibility. It's like including accidental deaths.

And again most arent asking for one. Most want rules that are enforceable and actually help prevent gun violence. That is not a ban.

You mentioned cars, you know there are restrictions on driving privileges and you need to train to drive. You can also have your rights revoked and restricted. Yet the Right and the NRA dont feel we should have that for guns...
I understand, but the recent posts I responded to were all about the merits, or lack thereof, of a ban. A discussion on a ban is a waste of time. We might as well be talking about if we all just closed our eyes and wished the problem away, maybe it would disappear.

I think your car example is an excellent one. We do impose restrictions on who can use cars, and how they may be used. We also impose restrictions on the manufacturers of cars to try to make them safer and reduce deaths.

We also take similar steps with guns. With respect to their manufacture, there are undoubtedly safety standards which are designed to lead to fewer accidental deaths related to guns. I personally received a check one day for $2.79 because I was apparently part of a class action involving the Remington 1100 shotgun manufactured with a barrel which will explode when certain types of shells are used, so at least some lawyers are looking out for me.

Numerous states and cities also impose restrictions on things such as traveling with an uncased gun in your car, discharging a weapon in city limits, etc...

But what I ask people who tell me we have to impose new restrictions, tell me what restrictions you want to impose, and how they would have stopped events like Sandy Hook and Oregon?

The thing to remember about these shootings is they are still an extremely rare event. Furthermore, I suspect most cases are like Oregon, where all the purchases were legal. Tell me what you would do, and how would it have stopped this clown in Oregon?

My position on this is cold, and I admit as much, but it's a dangerous world we live in. Guns, cars, viruses, bears, whatever. We're just a living organism, and at any point in time there are thousands of things that can get us.
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

I did leave suicides out, as I specifically wrote in my post. Suicides, in my opinion, are unique. It's just my personal opinion that when a person commits suicide, the method by which they choose to die doesn't really say anything about that method. That is, if a thousand people kill themselves by sitting in a closed garage with the car running, I don't think that says anything about cars or emission standards. If someone wants to kill themselves, sooner or later they are going to find a way to do it, and when gun control advocates try to use those numbers, I think you just lose credibility. It's like including accidental deaths.

Why wouldn't you include accidental deaths as part of the death toll of guns?
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

Why wouldn't you include accidental deaths as part of the death toll of guns?
It can be kept as part of the toll. But not part of the discussion about the need, or lack thereof, for additional restrictions intended to prevent homicidal behavior. When we are talking about waiting periods for purchases, screening for mental illness or past criminal behavior, etc..., the fact that someone died as a result of a gun accidentally discharging while it was being cleaned doesn't really add to the discussion. Like suicide.
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

It can be kept as part of the toll. But not part of the discussion about the need, or lack thereof, for additional restrictions intended to prevent homicidal behavior. When we are talking about waiting periods for purchases, screening for mental illness or past criminal behavior, etc..., the fact that someone died as a result of a gun accidentally discharging while it was being cleaned doesn't really add to the discussion. Like suicide.

OK, I can see that it's excluded (by definition) from the portion that has to do with intentional violence, but I think it's a very important part of the broader discussion of the value of decreasing the total number of guns floating around.
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

OK, I can see that it's excluded (by definition) from the portion that has to do with intentional violence, but I think it's a very important part of the broader discussion of the value of decreasing the total number of guns floating around.
I saw a report by the CDC once (it might be the one Foxton was citing). Accidental discharge of firearm deaths are extremely rare. Less than a 1000 per year, on average, as I recall. Obviously important to those individuals and their families, but statistically pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

The number that surprises me, and would probably surprise most, is suicides. Of the 30-35,000 firearm deaths each year, 2/3 are suicides. Now, can you argue that if there were literally no guns around, there would be fewer suicides in this country? Sure, possibly. But I also think that suicide is a problem that isn't going to be addressed in any meaningful way by restricting guns. It's like trying to solve drunk driving by regulating the sale of hops.

This is what irks me a little, when people throw out statistics like "35,000 deaths by firearms each year" without looking at what happened behind the numbers. 35,000 people aren't getting gunned down in cold blood in this country.
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

I think that's a fair statement.

I am more interested in addressing gun ownership as a right. To me it makes perfect sense to let the local community decide whether guns are legal or not, because having guns in the country makes sense while having guns in the city is insane, and local populations align with that. Personally I don't think the Second Amendment needs to be changed at all and that the interpretation since Heller is a radical historical outlier driven by an unpleasant set of political circumstances that are becoming moot.

Prohibition at the state and local level lets me live in places where I don't have to worry about redneck Rambo gallumphing around with his arsenal, while in our third world states they can keep on shootin' to their little hearts' content. Something that makes us both happy seems like a reasonable solution, and it has the added advantage of encouraging the InfoWars Intelligentsia to move to places I'll never need to go.
 
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Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

I think that's a fair statement.

I am more interested in addressing gun ownership as a right. To me it makes perfect sense to let the local community decide whether guns are legal or not, because having guns in the country makes sense while having guns in the city is insane, and local populations align with that. Personally I don't think the Second Amendment needs to be changed at all and that the interpretation since Heller is a radical historical outlier driven by an unpleasant set of political circumstances that are becoming moot.

Prohibition at the state and local level lets me live in places where I don't have to worry about redneck Rambo gallumphing around with his arsenal, while in our third world states they can keep on shootin' to their little hearts' content. Something that makes us both happy seems like a reasonable solution, and it has the added advantage of encouraging the InfoWars Intelligentsia to move to places I'll never need to go.
Oddly enough, you really don't need laws to make that happen. People are selectively choosing to no longer own guns, and to segregate in the way you propose. http://www.norc.org/PDFs/GSS Reports/GSS_Trends in Gun Ownership_US_1972-2014.pdf
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

And again most arent asking for one. Most want rules that are enforceable and actually help prevent gun violence. That is not a ban.

You mentioned cars, you know there are restrictions on driving privileges and you need to train to drive. You can also have your rights revoked and restricted. Yet the Right and the NRA dont feel we should have that for guns...
The difference is driving is a privilege, gun ownership is a right. I certainly wouldn't be opposed someone having to take some type of firearm safety training, though.
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

Free speech is a right too, there are restrictions on that as well.
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

Free speech is a right too, there are restrictions on that as well.
Yes, limited restrictions. We already have limited restrictions on gun ownership too. Strengthening background checks and enforcement would be a good first step. Actually doing something about access to mental health treatment and the stigma surrounding it, instead of just paying it lip service every time something like this happens, would also go a long way towards preventing them.
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

Yes, limited restrictions. We already have limited restrictions on gun ownership too. Strengthening background checks and enforcement would be a good first step. Actually doing something about access to mental health treatment and the stigma surrounding it, instead of just paying it lip service every time something like this happens, would also go a long way towards preventing them.
Here's the problem. The easy solution is we just restrict guns. The next easiest solution is we blame it on mental illness, and we do something to increase diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.

Both of those make us feel good, but really won't solve the problem.

The core problem is why do people act violently towards other people, and what can we do to head that off.

I recently read a story about a study/program in Chicago where they tried to address the root of violent behavior, and take steps to head it off, with at least temporary success. http://cureviolence.org/results/scientific-evaluations/doj-evaluation/

Until we, as a society, can take steps like those taken in this Chicago program, we're not going to see substantial reduction in this criminal behavior, no matter what the lobbyists for fewer guns and more mental health counseling tell you.
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

Here's the problem. The easy solution is we just restrict guns. The next easiest solution is we blame it on mental illness, and we do something to increase diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.

Both of those make us feel good, but really won't solve the problem.

The core problem is why do people act violently towards other people, and what can we do to head that off.

I recently read a story about a study/program in Chicago where they tried to address the root of violent behavior, and take steps to head it off, with at least temporary success. http://cureviolence.org/results/scientific-evaluations/doj-evaluation/

Until we, as a society, can take steps like those taken in this Chicago program, we're not going to see substantial reduction in this criminal behavior, no matter what the lobbyists for fewer guns and more mental health counseling tell you.

If a mentally unstable person, hell bent on killing can't get a gun, what is he/she going to do? Give up? No, definitely not. So, instead of killing people with a gun, they go and google how to make a bomb, and do that instead, and kill the same amount of people. How is that better than killing with a gun? It isn't. So, like you said, to really fix this problem, we have to figure out the root of the problem. Gun deaths, or bomb deaths, or any other method of killing is not the problem, it is the symptom of the problem.
 
Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

Nothing says we can't more effectively regulate guns (both by using the laws on the books and also passing measures like background checks that everyone overwhelmingly supports) while also pursuing other measures to improve mental health treatment, etc. It's not zero sum.

Other than the politics and the cultural fetishism, a lot of the problem with guns is trying to design a rule that holds both for Incest Springs, Wisconsin and New York City. That's silly.
 
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Re: Nice Planet X: I knew it, I'm surrounded by a-holes!

Grab some popcorn! Obama is reportedly going to Roseburg on Friday, but the publisher of the local paper told O'Reilly tonight the county commissioners, the sheriff, police chief and most of the residents don't want him to show up. Oh, and the Westboro wackos are also planning to picket the funerals. :mad:
 
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