I have an abiding faith in humanity. I believe that if someone were to point out to you how close you are to gloating over the death of youngsters, you will never do it again. Worth a try.
It hasn’t shamed the NRA, their spokespeople or their right wing allies yet.
The fact that you don’t need an AR-15 to commit a mass shooting doesn’t mean that banning them won’t prevent some shootings. Should we also abolish the speed limit, since you don’t need to be speeding to run someone over?
I dont think that would prevent any shootings. I concede it might reduce the casualty count at some mass shootings.
So, what guns do you want to ban?
You do know that “assault weapons” are hardly ever used in murders or other crimes, right? That horrific as they are, mass shootings are only a blip on the violent crime radar, right?
Weapons like the AR-15 have no legitimate civilian application. The only reason to own one is if you want to be able to kill a large amount of human beings quickly. Frankly, I don’t see why a civilian needs to own a handgun either. Shotguns and single-shot rifles at least have legitimate applications, for home defense, hunting, and pest control.
At the very least, we should treat guns the way we treat cars - license the owners, register the guns they own, require gun owners to carry liability insurance in case their gun hurts someone, and hold them criminally accountable if someone gets hurt or killed because they handled or stored their gun irresponsibly.
As pointed out many times here, they do. They are very good at varmint hunting and also home defense, especially out in rural areas.
Handguns are needed for security guards, to train for Olympic sports, and for self protection, etc.
No cars are not like guns. First of all, cars only have to be registered if used on public highways. Same with insurance. Nor do you need a drivers licence to own a car or drive it on your own property.
Indeed, you can be held *criminally accountable if someone gets hurt or killed because they handled or stored their gun irresponsibly.
*
Boy, is my face red! I had not even thought about the millions of my fellow Americans who require handguns to fulfill their Olympiad dreams!
Though, maybe just as well Tonya Harding wasn’t armed…
So, you’re disappointed the shooter only killed 10 people, not 30?
Funny how every single other nation on Earth manages to train its Olympic pistoliers without allowing unlimited and unrestricted ownership of as many guns of any type as one can afford.
You need to rethink this.
Somebody does, that much is sure!
America! Fucked, yeah!
No. But would should ban red cars. That will eliminate some speeding and runnings over, at least.
Good proposal, thanks. You need to register your gun, have a proper license for each one and carry liability insurance if and only if you take your gun off your property. Surely that is acceptable to you.
Okay…
Rethinking done. More bullets into a crowd of people=more people in that crowd being wounded or killed.
That would be silly.
But, we could require certain levels of safety standards built into cars. We could require that cars be licensed and registered. We could require that anyone using or operating a car have met and proven certain minimum standards of diligence. We could have people whose job it is to specifically monitor the use of cars on public motorways, and give helpful reminders as to the proper and safe operation. We could allow that, if someone has demonstrated lack of skill, capability, or responsibility to use a car in a safe fashion, that we take away their privilege of operating one. We could even require that they carry insurance, so that, in the event that even the most diligent driver is involved in an accident, parties can receive some level of restitution towards making them whole again.
Oh wait, we already do.
And be fully both fiscally and criminally responsible if your carelessness allows the guns to be used off of your property.
Neither does the USA. And other nations also have few gun controls.
If you carry a gun, you have to have a permit in most states.
Why didn’t we just offer thoughts and prayers to everyone killed by an unsafe car or a drunk driver and throw up our hands and say “Nothing can be done about this”?
Actually, the cultural similarities are rather striking. Who remembers the early days of the campaign against drunk driving? How often groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving were sneered upon for being shrill and hysterical? How the designated driver became a “thing”? And the degree of “buzz” that a .1% alcohol blood equates to? Roughly speaking, if you are telling yourself you are perfectly fine to drive, and heck! you drive a little better with a bit of a buzz, you are more careful, just like you are better looking and more witty… you are impaired, alcohol lies, its why we like it so much. Turns out, a social drinker is a drunk driver, more often than not.
I take this diversion to illustrate a point: cultural change is the answer, what was the question again? Changing our culture on guns would seem to be an easier “lift”, but it isn’t. There is a segment of our population that flat out loves the damned things! Especially us of the hairy/stinky gender, the soft guys with the wobbly bits tend to have better sense.
That’s where it has to happen, the hard way, the long road, the agonizingly slow. Because sometimes the truth can stare us right in the face and piss on our shoes, and we still won’t see it. And yes, lots of people still going to die, because we are that stupid. But even a journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single stumble.
The general trend by the states is to ease restrictions on silencers. Only nine states now require a license to possess them; the rest have few/no restrictions or just require the tax stamp. MN was one of the latest states to ease restrictions. I doubt that Trump will do anything to promote the Hearing Protection Act bill in Congress though.