Let's talk about Gun Control!

[Croc]

The United States of America has had 2 mass shootings in the past 24 hours. That makes 250 mass shootings in 2019 alone.

This seriously needs to stop! We need Gun Control legitslation now! It makes me sad to call myself an American in 2019.

If you are old enough to vote in 2020, please vote! Make informed decisions. Don't vote blindly.

The USA is the only country in the world that has this problem. Yes, other coutries have terrorism, but it's by outside extremist groups, not by the country's own people.

Did you know Texas is an "open-carry" state. This means it is completely legal for citizens with gun permits to carry a handgun or rifle into stores and other public places. I think this is stupid. Why do we have laws on the books that feel like they were made in 1776?

Spoiler: My Solution

In my opinion, all guns, even for recreation should be made illegal and all citizens that own one should be forced to turn them in. The only people that should carry them should be police officers and military.

 

[Red]

Yes, other coutries have terrorism, but it's by outside extremist groups, not by the country's own people.

I’m glad to see this acknowledged. The number of people that believe the contrary rattles me.

 

[moon10k]

I wake up to hearing my brothers talking about gun control, I jump on iFunny to see a post on gun control, and now this. oof

 

[Discovered]

Come to Ireland, Very few people here have guns and you can get very drunk within a 5min walk from ANYWHERE.

 

[Red]

More on the topic of the post, I live in Texas. That said, I’m in the city, and one will seldom see what you describe openly. I think most people who chose to carry firearms understand the very simple concept that it is intimidating. It makes people fear you, albeit subtly, and most people don’t want that for themselves.

 

[JayMC]

First of all, even if theoretically, we were able to get all the guns out of citizens hands, there are still other ways to kill people. Evil people will do evil things. If they can't access a gun, they'll use a car (literally a thick metal shield for the killer) or other means of killing.

Second of all, it would be logistically impossible to take away all the guns. There are 300+ million legal guns in the US. There's simply no way to collect them all.

Imagine for a second that a good person had a gun in one of the many horrible mass shootings. Imagine how many lives could have been saved if the only person holding the gun wasn't the killer. Imagine the countless people who would be living today if only one good person had had a gun to defend against the monster. When seconds count, police are just minutes away.

Finally, 96% of all mass shootings happen in gun free zones. They're literally safe spaces for these killers because they know there's no way for them to be hurt until police arrive.

 

[JayMC]

Why do we have laws on the books that feel like they were made in 1776?

I also love how you apply this to only the second amendment. The founding fathers could have never imagined weapons like the AR-15, obviously. They ALSO could never have imagined computers and phones. Does that mean the first amendment does not apply to such devices? NO.

 

[Croc]

I also love how you apply this to only the second amendment. The founding fathers could have never imagined weapons like the AR-15, obviously. They ALSO could never have imagined computers and phones. Does that mean the first amendment does not apply to such devices? NO.

I was referring to Texas' open-carry law in that statement, not the 2nd Amendment.

 

[JayMC]

I was referring to Texas' open-carry law in that statement, not the 2nd Amendment.

Ok cool, please respond to my main comment :tup:

 

[yo]

Now, this is quite a detailed subject but i'll offer my 2 cents on the topic.

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge that the point I am talking about revolves around many people preferring a large ban on guns for the average citizen (similar to South Korea's outright ban on guns).
Then there is the reasoning for this. There are many different reasons people have to ban the ownership of guns, but a topic that stands out is, if we make the selling and ownership of guns illegal, it greatly reduces the amount of shootings. Now, there isn't anything wrong with this statement, but the basis it is riding on is very thin ice. I do believe that by outright banning them, we will see a reduce in deaths related to firearms; but I also believe that this will not stop the amount of guns being imported, as well as the want that these killers have to cause harm to people. What I mean by this is that the only thing that will be changing is the ability of obtaining a firearm and the amount of shootings, but the want for people to get firearms and cause shootings and massacres will not be as much of a changing factor. To put it short, the main thing that will change is the cost and availability of guns, but the actual shootings will not just disappear.*

So what is my approach? I believe that we should somehow start a change to really show people that guns aren't solutions to problems (or whatever the issue at hand may be). I am also not saying that we aren't taught that shooting isn't good, but I feel like it should be enforced either more strictly, or in a way that really reaches people. Just like how the creators of Instagram went from Burbn to the success they soon reached, looking at the problem in a different light could possibly produce better results.

I am slightly going off-topic to more of answering "How to stop shootings," instead of the topic at hand, but I think the point I put out above could be beneficial to the conversation. To talk more about gun-control though, I don't believe that they should be completely banned, but owning and obtaining them and the kinds that you can get should be monitored much more.

*I obviously can not be sure, but this is my personal view on the outcome

 

[Landon]

"If you are old enough to vote in 2020, please vote! Make informed decisions. Don't vote blindly."
How can you ask people to make informed decisions, when your thread is based on misinformation?

https://crimeresearch.org/2018/03/s...hs-no-fewer-homicides-suicides-definitely-no/

"Once one accounts for the average pre-existing differences in homicide and suicide rates across states and the average annual changes in those deaths from year-to-year, stricter gun laws are associated with more total deaths from homicides and suicides. increasing the index of the gun laws in a state by 20 percentage points (about one standard deviation) is associated with an increase in the total death rate (homicides plus suicides) of 0.4 per 100,000 people. While we might disagree with how the Brady Campaign rates state gun control laws from year-to-year, this relationship is found using their ratings."

Stricter gun laws, on average, are associated with more deaths from homicides and suicides.

--

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/s...-used-mass-shootings-obtained-legally-n474441

Would you believe that more than eighty percent of guns used in mass shootings are obtained illegally? Astonishing logic, let's implement laws regarding control, that will stop criminals from obtaining guns illegally. Just like prohibition worked! We all know that stopped alcohol from being produced and sold.

 

[Croc]

First of all, even if theoretically, we were able to get all the guns out of citizens hands, there are still other ways to kill people. Evil people will do evil things. If they can't access a gun, they'll use a car (literally a thick metal shield for the killer) or other means of killing.

I'll give you the car one, but as far as other weapons go, not much beats a gun. I'd love to see a mass-murder happen with a measly crossbow or bow and arrow. Especially when gun-weilding police can arrive within minutes.

Second of all, it would be logistically impossible to take away all the guns. There are 300+ million legal guns in the US. There's simply no way to collect them all.

I guess that's a good point. If all the law-abiding citizens turned them in, then only the outlaws would have the guns haha

Imagine for a second that a good person had a gun in one of the many horrible mass shootings. Imagine how many lives could have been saved if the only person holding the gun wasn't the killer. Imagine the countless people who would be living today if only one good person had had a gun to defend against the monster. When seconds count, police are just minutes away.

I'd be concerned that when the police arrive, I'd be targeted as a suspect just for having a gun. If I shot and killed the "killer", then how would the police know he was the killer and not me?[DOUBLEPOST=1564966668][/DOUBLEPOST]“Thoughts and prayers” that dwell on the past don’t keep anyone safe.

 

[Red]

The problem isn't guns. It's that mental health isn't kept in check and rather than making rules for it and trying to accept that it exists and get help/re-education to combat it, the majority ignore it and suffering people just get pills and are miserable. Racism is so strong in America because of it's diversity and while that's good we don't focus on re-educating southern communities. The problem is literally that republicans are just a huge group of baby boomers that can't notice a problem. Therapy is seen as taboo. Literally just need a reformation of the republican party and a presence/acceptance of mental health issues.

Has it ever occurred to any of you that maybe the reason there’s more of a push for gun control than mental health initiatives is BECAUSE the stigma against therapy and the like is so strong? Is BECAUSE they know people are so unwilling to accept it and work towards it that even trying to tackle that issue would be way too difficult and self-defeating? Imagine there’s a boy who’s suicidal. I’ve heard gun proponents argue that taking away his knife (and whatever else he may harm himself with) is merely treating the symptom, not the underlying disease.

That’s right! That makes sense. Giving him proper psychological help is treating the disease. Now imagine that you try to treat the boy while letting him keep the knife. He’ll be dead the next morning, and treating or not treating the disease won’t matter anymore. And what if you can’t find a doctor? What if it will take years to find a doctor for the boy? Will you leave him with the knife or take it away?

This I feel is the mentality of gun control activists. I think no one doubts that mental health is the real issue, but it’s so hard to fix. And just saying “we need to try to fix it more, not take a shortcut” isn’t practical. It will NOT happen for a very long time. The stigma is too damn strong.

Now, I feel the poll on this post is a bit too strong. I understand that carrying guns is in the country’s constitution. I’m not saying get rid of it. I’m just saying we should tighten the control of who gets them.

Going back to my metaphor, don’t ban the knives. Just try a little harder to make sure the sick boys don’t get a hold of them.

 

[yo]

Second of all, it would be logistically impossible to take away all the guns. There are 300+ million legal guns in the US. There's simply no way to collect them all.

Would you believe that more than eighty percent of guns used in mass shootings are obtained illegally? Astonishing logic, let's implement laws regarding control, that will stop criminals from obtaining guns illegally.

I think these are some great points. While we can't lessen the amount of guns that we have now, we should try to instead lessen the ways people get these guns for malicious purposes. And this can be tackled in many different ways, which I believe is the route that should be taken. Of course it won't stop shootings, but it will greatly help.