# America needs to address its gun hypocrisy **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 23, 2021, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795 "2021-11-23T06:09:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/341 "2022-09-18T01:19:20Z")
Yes, I’m very aware that all you want to discuss is assault weapons. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/342 "2022-09-18T16:28:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I think you are not debating fairly. So, you assign me my position, IOW strawman me, provide cites to defeat that strawman, then get pissed when I won’t argue for that strawman. But I’m the one that’s not debating fairly? ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/343 "2022-09-18T19:05:13Z")
I assume any day now the US Marine Corps will be switching over to 5-shot snubby revolvers and a stockpile of loaded muskets and suffer little to no loss of efficiency. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/344 "2022-09-18T22:46:23Z")
Guns are now (and have been for some time) the leading cause of death in American children. If you think you can semantics that away with “not an assault rifle” and “not a mass shooting” you are most definitely not on the side of angels. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/345 "2022-09-19T16:20:08Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > All you want to do is change the tool used, not confront the root cause. I think this demands a cite. Not the ‘change the tool’ side, but the “not confront the root cause” side. Do you have anything vaguely resembling proof that the gun restriction crowd **does not want to** confront the root cause of mass shooting / gun violence? Anything at all to support this ridiculous claim of yours would be appreciated. A crumb of evidence, a mere shadow of an inkling that an actual gun grabber doesn’t want improvements to mental health services. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/346 "2022-09-20T04:35:05Z")
Can you show me what steps the left has taken to quash the instances of mass shootings that they did prior to pushing bans on entire classes of firearms? Becaue bans are always their first knee jerk reaction. Never once do they say “let’s try this before we start banning things that many law abiding citizens own”. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/347 "2022-09-20T04:41:33Z")
Interesting that “the gun restriction crowd” became “the left”. Almost as if for some this argument is about ideology and not about people getting shot. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/348 "2022-09-20T04:48:39Z")
Let’s be honest, for the most part it is the case that the left favors bans and restrictions and the right doesn’t. Ideology is a big part of the argument. I used to use the word “antis” which was met with “I’m not anti gun rights” which was then followed by “I just want to ban…[fill in the blank].” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/349 "2022-09-20T05:01:07Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Interestingly enough, guns aren’t even the most efficient way of committing mass slaughter. If someone coldly and dispassionately wanted to make the largest possible number of people dead, fragmenting bombs are deadlier. This was realized as far back as the anarchist movements of the nineteenth century, as well as by twentieth century terrorists. ISTM that rampage gunmen are either acting out psychosis or trying to play out a video game/action movie fantasy. Seems much more likely that’s based on the relative difficulty of getting a bomb versus getting a gun. If Walmart sold Claymore mines alongside AR-15s, you’d see a lot more bomb-based rampages. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/350 "2022-09-20T05:01:51Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Let’s be honest, for the most part it is the case that the left favors bans and restrictions and the right doesn’t. Now that’s funny. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/351 "2022-09-20T05:16:48Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Guns are now (and have been for some time) the leading cause of death in American children. This is true. Sadly, this is due to the fact that gangs are now recruiting older teens, and also their drive by shootings are killing children. The Police are now seeing 17yo with guns doing gang stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/352 "2022-09-20T09:43:18Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Can you show me what steps the left has taken to quash the instances of mass shootings that they did prior to pushing bans on entire classes of firearms? You mean like expanding access to mental health services? Something like that would have happened if it wasn’t for the right being dead set against any government led expansion of… well… anything. Is there something else you had in mind? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/353 "2022-09-20T10:21:54Z")
I don’t recall them trying to do that when they controlled both sides of Congress and the White House, like they do now and in the past. I do recall them passing gun bans. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/354 "2022-09-20T12:56:19Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I don’t recall You might have recalled things like health care reform, proposed at least as far back as Clinton in 93, that ALL include provisions to increase access to mental health services, and that ALL have been virulently opposed by people who blame mental illness for gun deaths and say “ **you** should do something about these mentally ill terrorists who shoot up schools”. What has the right done to prevent these killings? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/355 "2022-09-20T14:21:28Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Let’s be honest, for the most part it is the case that the left favors bans and restrictions and the right doesn’t. Ideology is a big part of the argument. > I used to use the word “antis” which was met with “I’m not anti gun rights” which was then followed by “I just want to ban…[fill in the blank].” On the subject of guns anyway, the political Left and Right are reversed with respect to the original meaning of the word “liberal”. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/356 "2022-09-20T16:12:55Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > > [@pkbites](#): > > > > I don’t recall > > You might have recalled things like health care reform, proposed at least as far back as Clinton in 93, that ALL include provisions to increase access to mental health services, and that ALL have been virulently opposed by people who blame mental illness for gun deaths and say “ **you** should do something about these mentally ill terrorists who shoot up schools”. He had the votes to pass a gun ban but not any legislation aimed at mental health concerns? But it was an all or nothing argument by the left then, wasn’t it, Irrelevant, as mass shootings were not the phenomenon they are now, were they? Then what was the purpose of the 1994 ban? Oh, I remember, “assault weapons” are scary looking even though they function like common firearms that don’t look like them, and in the movies drug dealers use them. Least I post that “mass shootings” today by, so called “assault weapons”, still only account for 1-3% of all firearm related murders. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/357 "2022-09-20T16:51:12Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Least I post that “mass shootings” today by, so called “assault weapons”, still only account for 1-3% of all firearm related murders. I missed the part of your reply where you detailed the right’s efforts to reduce the 97-99% of firearm murders that actually count. Well, to be fair, I guess you did fully detail those efforts, didn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/358 "2022-09-20T17:32:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Sadly, this is due to the fact that gangs are now recruiting older teens, and also their drive by shootings are killing children. Sadly, because of our loose gun laws, those gangs have no problem getting ahold of all the guns they need. And also sadly, it’s _not_ just gangs that are getting kids killed, about once a day, a kid finds a gun unsecured about the home, and shoots themself or someone else with it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/359 "2022-09-20T18:19:10Z")
**Modnote** : Dial it down please. This is really pushing the GD rules at this point. Debate what is written and not what you infer please. * * * * * * 🤔 How the heck did this thread come back to life anyway? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795/360 "2022-09-20T18:59:44Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Sadly, because of our loose gun laws, those gangs have no problem getting ahold of all the guns they need. Do note that the newest Gun control act should put the brakes on many of the “Straw man dealers” who are the primary source for criminals getting guns. But I think that part wasn’t strict enough. We need more regs and enforcement to stop these “Straw man dealers” . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-to-address-its-gun-hypocrisy/954795.md?page=19)