# Firearm Violence in the US: 1 person dead every 11 minutes **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 6, 2023, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125 "2023-06-06T22:41:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/61 "2023-06-08T18:10:28Z")
Maybe the violence is fostered by a constant diet of TV shows and video games where the guy with the biggest and best weapons win. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/62 "2023-06-08T18:11:02Z")
Back in 2017 a 64 year old man fired over a thousand rounds from a balcony in Las Vegas, killing 60 people and wounding 413. Of _course_ he would have done just as much damage with a hammer, knife or car. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/63 "2023-06-08T18:12:23Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > It seems odd that one can hold in their mind the need for guns for protection, while also holding in their mind the idea that a hammer is just as good as a gun at violence. Nobody has made that claim. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/64 "2023-06-08T18:14:41Z")
Nobody, other than this guy here: > [@Magiver](#): > > Your example of the person coming out of his house with a gun would have ended just as badly if he stabbed someone or got in his car and run them over or hit them with a hammer. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/65 "2023-06-08T18:15:48Z")
Damn 🥷🏾! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/66 "2023-06-08T18:21:58Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Back in 2017 a 64 year old man fired over a thousand rounds from a balcony in Las Vegas, killing 60 people and wounding 413. Of _course_ he would have done just as much damage with a hammer, knife or car. 🙄 At 25 cents a round that would be $250 worth of ammunition. I think it cost more but lets go with that. How much does it cost to fill up a gas tank and how far could the hotel shooter drive in Las Vegas. He could have spent hours driving from location to location. What’s the MPG (Murder per Gallon) figure associated with that scenario? I think 100 MPG is within reason and a vehicle can travel for hours on a tank of gas. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/67 "2023-06-08T18:26:55Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Nobody, other than this guy here: You talked of a generality vs a specific event. I have stated that there are all manner of ways to kill people. You chose to focus on a single item to compare to guns. The driveway incident involved 2 people and they were easily murdered with a variety of objects. If you want to eliminate all murders by guns then you are left with all murders by other means. If you’re goal is to lower the murder rate then you have to address the behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/68 "2023-06-08T18:27:01Z")
Before _I_ post to a thread, I read it out loud to myself. If, after reading it, I find myself saying “What the fuck was that?”, I erase it and start over. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/69 "2023-06-08T18:29:37Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > if your point that a gun makes spontaneous acts of murder easier that may or may not be true depending on other objects available at the time. Well, you know, just today a man attacked a group of toddlers and parents in a park in France. He was armed with a knife. 4 kids and an adult were wounded, but none were killed. I would hypothesize that, had he had a gun rather than a knife, the carnage would have been much, much worse. Perhaps even a murder might have been committed. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/70 "2023-06-08T18:30:56Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Maybe the violence is fostered by a constant diet of TV shows and video games where the guy with the biggest and best weapons win. It’s probably that. I know that Canada, UK, Europe, Korea, and Japan don’t play any video games or watch any violent movies. In fact, it’s well known that there are almost no gamers in Japan or Korea. Wait, stop! I think I might be wrong about that! ---
**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:** [June 8, 2023, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/71 "2023-06-08T18:31:14Z")
We can only thank the gods that he didn’t have a car! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/72 "2023-06-08T18:34:54Z")
If the guns used violently had actually been hammers, would the proper method of stopping violent hammering be with another hammer, because “The way to stop a bad guy with a hammer is with a good guy with a hammer”? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/73 "2023-06-08T18:39:06Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Well, you know, just today a man attacked a group of toddlers and parents in a park in France. He was armed with a knife. 4 kids and an adult were wounded, but none were killed. > > I would hypothesize that, had he had a gun rather than a knife, the carnage would have been much, much worse. Perhaps even a murder might have been committed. If the person wanted a body count then he could drive through a parade of people and kill 6 which was also a real event. There’s a trial in my area of a women who deliberately did a u-turn on a highway and killed 3 people in a head-on collision. Now the solution could be to make knives illegal or some kind of car related solution but we’re still left with the intent to kill. If that isn’t addressed then no amount of policy will change an infinite choice of methodology to commit murder. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/74 "2023-06-08T18:40:21Z")
[![](https://q7v4y8u3.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Dewalt-AR15-nail-gun.jpg) ](https://q7v4y8u3.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Dewalt-AR15-nail-gun.jpg) ---
**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:** [June 8, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/75 "2023-06-08T18:41:46Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If the person wanted a body count then he could drive through a parade of people and kill 6 which was also a real event. killing 60 people and wounding 413 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/76 "2023-06-08T18:42:08Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If the guns used violently had actually been hammers, would the proper method of stopping violent hammering be with another hammer, because “The way to stop a bad guy with a hammer is with a good guy with a hammer”? Maybe you could get law enforcement to try your suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/77 "2023-06-08T18:42:47Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > we’re still left with the intent to kill. If that isn’t addressed then no amount of policy will change an infinite choice of methodology to commit murder. Then I’ll ask: why are firearms used in the vast majority of homicides? A knife is easier to buy than a gun. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/78 "2023-06-08T18:45:28Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > killing 60 people and wounding 413 Are you suggesting it can’t be done using a car? Something that’s mobile and can continuously move the scene of crime from place to place? What if someone drove from school bus stop to school bus stop? ---
**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:** [June 8, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/79 "2023-06-08T18:47:19Z")
I’m suggesting that your counter example “_If the person wanted a body count then he could drive through a parade of people and kill 6 which was also a real event._” falls woefully short. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125/80 "2023-06-08T18:47:20Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Are you suggesting it can’t be done using a car? I’m pretty sure most cars will stop running well before they reach 473 separate impacts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firearm-violence-in-the-us-1-person-dead-every-11-minutes/985125.md?page=5)