another shooting in America ah? Rant

[Misha]

That video actually makes me laugh 'cause the statistics mentioned in there are not accurate Regardless, I wouldn't say the US is the greatest country in the world because that's completely subjective, and therefore, no nation is the "greatest." However, I would say that militarily the US is the "most powerful," making it capable of many great things. But overall, it's impossible for any nation to be #1. The US is still a superpower, and it still has a massive impact on the world. The US, Russia, and China are the only three nations on the same platform regarding might. The UK, Australia, Germany, and France are other players, but they wouldn't stand a chance. However, again, that's only one avenue, and I enjoyed that video 'cause like it says, many nations have "freedom" in some form.

As for gun laws, I will always be open to anyone having the right to bear arms in the US. The only stricter laws I would support would be a more thorough background investigation and firearm safety course in order to deem the citizen competent to utilize a gun properly.

I know the statistics are bullshit as that was a fictional tv series explanation, but it still holds some truth. And I agree with the more thorough background checks and wouldn't be opposed to a strict mental health evaluation.

[Aura]

(you need an account to see links)

[I_royalty_I]

Exactly. Look at almost any other developed country and you'll see that banning guns works.
The worst is when people say stuff like "the criminals will find a way to buy guns anyways." Sure, maybe some of the huge criminals will have the connections to buy them illegally, but 99.99% of people don't. I live in Canada and I have no fucking clue where I'd even begin looking if I wanted a gun. It's just so stupid.

Youre not a criminal. The 99.99% won't know where to find a gun... But that percent has no intent on using a gun in a violent manner. It's the .01% who have bad intent who could find a gun anywhere. There is quite an underground, black market that most people aren't even aware of. It's there though. How do you think drugs make their way onto the street? They don't just magically show up. Gun control won't solve anything because the people who commit the crimes don't usually go through proper channels to get a gun anyway. I agree there should be background checks and all that sort of stuff, but disarming the population is a terrible step to take, especially considering how little trust there is in the governments ability to do anything productive now a days. Gun control is a power play, something to keep people from questioning what's reallly going on.

[Lincoln]

I wrote a scifi analogy of gun control in the United States.

Basically, I think the thing we should be mad about isn't that "liberals are trying to take all the guns", or that "we need to be banning guns".

We need to be angry that we have a congress that cares more about looking like they're taking "a stand" than making legitimate steps towards progress. It's not just in regards to gun control either. Ted Cruz and the republicans threatened to cause a government shutdown before listening to the Supreme Court nominations of President Obama. In the United States, almost nothing important goes to the popular vote. Because of this, we will never have a nationwide debate like Britain had over Brexit.

We have to be able to rely on congressmen and women who try their best to come up with amicable solutions to the problems which our country continues to face. But right now, we don't have that. We have an angry, name-calling debate, inside and outside of the big building in D.C, from which no legitimate change comes.

I don't give a fuck if you restrict all guns, or if specific legislation demands stricter background checks, or if you just ban specific groups of people from purchasing guns at specific vendors. Just make some fucking progress.

Don't be mad we haven't banned guns or that people are trying to ban guns.

Be mad that we have a congress that cares more about yelling than working together for progress.

[Naked Gamer]

Shits scary from my Australian point of view!

We had 1 mass shooting and the PM at the time locked shit down and just banned guns not completely but its strict to get licence plus you have to be registered to a shoot range to keep the guns, only allowed certain amount max of ammo and year long waits before you can acquire different weapons as well.

I'm glad to live here in Aus


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[Aska]

Things like this don't even phase me anymore. There are always people getting shot, stabbed, ran over or whatever else way of dying. The media does not help by obsessing about these instances. What you need to change is how easy it is to access guns for a start. Require private sellers to get background checks.

Sure it'll curb some issues but you have to change the mindset that a life is worth taking. America has a violent society and many of them have become numb to the violence.

I live in a redneck area. There are gunshots around me on a fairly regular basis. I'm sure they're not shooting each other but it's a bit of a rude awakening at 4 a.m.

You will not please anyone with any measure. Congress will not pass anything because of the lobbyists and the Nra. It's just a bunch of hot air.

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[Foxglove]

A LOT of the cases of mass shootings (especially many of the more deadly ones) that I saw on the site were cases where a family member massacred their own family/friends. If everyone should carry a gun to defend themselves, then should each person in the household get a gun to carry at all times to also defend themselves in case one member decides to turn on the rest of the family? Should kids also carry a gun to defend themselves in case their father tries to kill them in their home?

I'm just at that point where, like Aska said, I feel like you just simply "can't please anyone with any measure". I really don't know what can or should be done that would make everyone feel happy and safe as far as gun control regulations go.


Edit: This isn't new or revolutionary or anything but I always get really frustrated when thinking about the whole gun-control debate and issue. Thinking about what Aska said, it's just so true. You just can't make people happy on either side. I don't know if there really IS a way to control or not control guns in any way that would make people feel safer. (Misha's whole limiting access to ammunition did seem like a good idea though, although I really have no idea how the whole obtaining ammunition thing works.)

Keep things the way they are now: people will feel unsafe. Make it harder to get guns: people will feel unsafe. People say even if you make it harder to get guns, people can still get guns on the black market. If you don't make it harder to get guns, well, people can still get guns as they have been getting them.

I feel like the argument over how we should restrict or not restrict access to guns isn't even addressing the real issue, which is: the culture in the U.S. which produces the types of people that live in our country. The issue with bullying in schools, at work, at home, etc needs to be addressed. Low-income and impoverished families and neighborhoods need better support. Children who grow up with unstable home lives or who have (emotionally or physical or neglectfully) abusive parents/parent-figures need better support. Outcasts need attention and support. People who are struggling need attention and support. We need to take care of the people who live in our country, we need to support one another, we need more compassion, we need to try and raise each other up when we see someone is down...

And also a point I read somewhere was about how we shouldn't do mass media coverage of mass shootings because in a sense it glorifies the shootings and may serve as inspiration to other people who are messed in the head and would get inspiration from something like that. I can see where they're coming from, doesn't seem like a terrible idea either. For the general public, these mass shooting coverages only seem to inspire shock and disbelief in the public, and then spark more debate over *groan* the gun control issue... -_-

[Sci_Girl]

What thug criminals are people so paranoid about that get these black market guns? It is spoken like gun wielding maniacs are abound. Or are these mentions in reference to the gangs that are not going anywhere anytime soon and shoot up other gang members thus driving up gun crime statistics?

As a Canadian I am simply dumbfounded. Like @(you need an account to see links) mentioned I too would have no idea how to get a gun let alone these "easy to find" black market ones. I get that crime exists, happens here too, one is an absolute moron if they believe crime will simply stop with gun control measures. It will not stop. As long as a gang is around violence will happen. Want to feel safer? Move someplace where you feel safe enough to buy oranges in the supermarket without carrying a weapon to "save the day". If you do not feel safe to walk the dog at the park or to grab a coffee or to buy your groceries then remove yourself from said bad environment. Because that sounds like a bad environment to be in. I only know my own experience but I know we have crime here and I feel perfectly safe to go buy my bananas without a weapon at the ready. I just do not get it. I am not sure how to get it.

[Aska]

I don't understand your whole "move if it's so bad" mentality. I don't think you understand how expensive it is in America compared to Canada. I have a friend currently going to school in MTL. He pays like $500 to rent an apartment in downtown Montreal. In Denver, to get something comparable, you're looking at around $1500 for the same luxury.

I am going to speak from a Colorado perspective, as I watched my state become a cesspool of transplants because of legalized weed, which it's still cheaper to buy off of the street than the shops. But that is for a different debate.

Before the legalization, rent was not cheap but no where near as bad as it is now. To rent in the small town that I live in, it was from 400-500$. Denver was a few hundred bucks more, but still an option for most people. Now that my state has legalized weed, the population has at least doubled, which has drove up prices of rent. It has invited many unwelcomed sub-human characters too, which has driven the crime rate up. My town has seen an increase in crime and is now being invaded by wannabe gangsters. It's to the point where I have to carry pepper spray on me and I also drive with a metal bat in my car. Personally, I don't want to carry a gun as it doesn't make me feel any safer. I just think it would draw more unwanted attention to me because I am a female with a gun.

It basically comes down to being able to what I can afford. I can afford where I live because we own the house. If I had to rent in my town, I'm looking at around a grand, which is doubled what it was just a few years ago. People are going to choose a roof over their heads rather than being homeless. My ex can barely afford the place he lives at, and there are always nightly gun shots there. Hell, my car even got keyed there once. Point is that you cannot always just pack your shit up and leave. People are going to make do with a bad situation because that is what they can afford to do.

[Sci_Girl]

I don't understand your whole "move if it's so bad" mentality. I don't think you understand how expensive it is in America compared to Canada. I have a friend currently going to school in MTL. He pays like $500 to rent an apartment in downtown Montreal. In Denver, to get something comparable, you're looking at around $1500 for the same luxury.

I am going to speak from a Colorado perspective, as I watched my state become a cesspool of transplants because of legalized weed, which it's still cheaper to buy off of the street than the shops. But that is for a different debate.

Before the legalization, rent was not cheap but no where near as bad as it is now. To rent in the small town that I live in, it was from 400-500$. Denver was a few hundred bucks more, but still an option for most people. Now that my state has legalized weed, the population has at least doubled, which has drove up prices of rent. It has invited many unwelcomed sub-human characters too, which has driven the crime rate up. My town has seen an increase in crime and is now being invaded by wannabe gangsters. It's to the point where I have to carry pepper spray on me and I also drive with a metal bat in my car. Personally, I don't want to carry a gun as it doesn't make me feel any safer. I just think it would draw more unwanted attention to me because I am a female with a gun.

It basically comes down to being able to what I can afford. I can afford where I live because we own the house. If I had to rent in my town, I'm looking at around a grand, which is doubled what it was just a few years ago. People are going to choose a roof over their heads rather than being homeless. My ex can barely afford the place he lives at, and there are always nightly gun shots there. Hell, my car even got keyed there once. Point is that you cannot always just pack your shit up and leave. People are going to make do with a bad situation because that is what they can afford to do.

You are right I do not get it. Which is why I said exactly that. As for prices, it ain't cheap to live here by any means. $500 for rent sounds glorious. I am at a 2 bed 2 bath apartment and it is $1400 a month. Prices for everything here are expensive. But we still have petty crime and even some gangs around due to drugs. But we still in the rough areas do not have people thinking they need to carry weapons. For whatever reason with crime still present we do not want guns at the ready.