# Fuck the NRA **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184 "2015-10-01T23:02:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![canned\_mayhem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@canned\_mayhem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canned_mayhem)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/61 "2015-10-02T22:19:18Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Soooo… > > What your saying is that they’re an organization dedicated to impeding political and societal change through implied threats of violence? > > Sounds kinda terroristy to me. And distinctly unamerican. Can you be a champ and point out in my post where I said any of that? Thanks in advance… ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/62 "2015-10-02T22:29:10Z")
> [@canned\_mayhem](#): > > Can you be a champ and point out in my post where I said any of that? > > Thanks in advance… Psst, sweetie…your disingenuous is showing. ---
**Author:** ![canned\_mayhem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@canned\_mayhem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canned_mayhem)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/63 "2015-10-02T22:31:53Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > The GOP won this fight after Sandy Hook when they collectively decided that murdering schoolchildren was more acceptable to them than restricting gun ownership. If that wasn’t enough to flip them, ten dead people at a college are meaningless. > > Congratulations, Republicans, you won this one. We get the right to marry whichever gender we love, you get the right to make it easy as possible to murder people. Earlier this week I happened to catch an article claiming their were over 50 shootings in Chicago alone last weekend, about the same as the weekend before. Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t Chicago have some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation? Seems to be working out pretty well there, huh? Comparing legal gun shootings to illegal gun shootings is so one-sided that it’s not even worth debating. Is banning all guns the answer? Sounds great in theory but the war on drugs sounded like a great idea too back in the 80’s. How did that work out? ---
**Author:** ![canned\_mayhem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@canned\_mayhem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canned_mayhem)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/64 "2015-10-02T22:36:44Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Psst, sweetie…your disingenuous is showing. Cool story, bro… ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/65 "2015-10-02T23:02:52Z")
Sick burn, bruh. ---
**Author:** ![canned\_mayhem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@canned\_mayhem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canned_mayhem)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/66 "2015-10-02T23:24:09Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Sick burn, bruh. Well I can’t argue with that, guy… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/67 "2015-10-02T23:42:43Z")
Not very well, at any rate, hoss. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/68 "2015-10-02T23:42:45Z")
> [@canned\_mayhem](#): > > Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t Chicago have some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation? Seems to be working out pretty well there, huh? Less strict than they used to be since the SCotUS struck down handgun bans. Main issue is that, while Chicago itself has strict laws, people buy guns in the south suburbs right over city lines. It’s almost as though some federal regulation would work better than at the local level. That said, homicides are at their [lowest rates in the city](http://heyjackass.com/yearly-murder-trend-1957-2013/) since the 1960s although they’ve jumped up a bit since the handgun ban was struck down. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/69 "2015-10-02T23:54:16Z")
> [@canned\_mayhem](#): > > . . . doesn’t Chicago have some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation? Seems to be working out pretty well there, huh? . . . This is why regional approaches alone can’t work. Chicago (and New York City, and Washington D.C.) are surrounded by areas with very few gun restrictions at all. It’s easy to drive to a small town, buy up a shitload of guns, and sell them in the inner city. “Patchwork quilt” laws are easy to get around. ---
**Author:** ![canned\_mayhem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@canned\_mayhem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canned_mayhem)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/70 "2015-10-03T00:02:10Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Less strict than they used to be since the SCotUS struck down handgun bans. Main issue is that, while Chicago itself has strict laws, people buy guns in the south suburbs right over city lines. It’s almost as though some federal regulation would work better than at the local level. > > That said, homicides are at their [lowest rates in the city](http://heyjackass.com/yearly-murder-trend-1957-2013/) since the 1960s although they’ve jumped up a bit since the handgun ban was struck down. So if the feds restricted guns like they do drugs then it would solve the gun problem? Well that makes sense… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/71 "2015-10-03T00:02:22Z")
Last evening I stopped in the gas station after work. Two people were standing at the counter, speaking with the attendant, while the news was showing Obama’s response to news of the shootings. This is a townie place, where probably 1/2 the regulars, owners, and employees know each other as neighborhood residents. What follows is a fairly accurate paraphrasing of the conversation they were having: “There goes that asshole, trying to take the guns away” “I fuckin hate him” “I don’t fucking care, I’m not giving up my guns” “I’ll bury mine in the back yard” “There’s going to be a revolution. You watch” Note here that there was no mention of nor concern for the dead students. I wasn’t in the mood to argue with three people who probably think the invasion of Iraq was related to the September 11 attacks, so I bit my tongue. As I paid for my purchases, the attendant made some comment to me about how Obama was going to ruin the country. Mind you, I am not a townie, and I don’t know this person. So my response was “Look, whatever you think of guns, or the president, this keeps happening and people keep dying. Don’t we have some responsibility to these people?” “Kids need to go outside and play” “It’s the Democrats doing this to the country” “Obama is a fucking idiot” So THAT is the level of discourse and the depth of thought we’re dealing with here. It was clear to me that none of these folks actually thought about the issues, or whether we have some thinking to do about this issue. They were on a specific side, not of the issue but of the proverbial aisle, and that was it. The world is binary to them. I can’t begin to explain the degree of contempt I felt for their intellect. I have never been anti-gun. But the flat out unwillingness to even think about solutions, or try to address the issue of preventing these sort of occurrences, keeps pushing me little by little in that direction. And surely there are others who feel the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/72 "2015-10-03T00:05:04Z")
> [@canned\_mayhem](#): > > So if the feds restricted guns like they do drugs then it would solve the gun problem? Here’s a fun trivia game: Guess where all those drug countries we “import” through get their guns from? We are to guns what Mexico is to heroin, etc. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/73 "2015-10-03T00:08:28Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > I have never been anti-gun. But the flat out unwillingness to even think about solutions, or try to address the issue of preventing these sort of occurrences, keeps pushing me little by little in that direction. **And surely there are others who feel the same way.** Yo! ---
**Author:** ![canned\_mayhem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@canned\_mayhem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canned_mayhem)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/74 "2015-10-03T00:09:25Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > This is why regional approaches alone can’t work. Chicago (and New York City, and Washington D.C.) are surrounded by areas with very few gun restrictions at all. It’s easy to drive to a small town, buy up a shitload of guns, and sell them in the inner city. > > “Patchwork quilt” laws are easy to get around. Last I checked cocaine was completely illegal in every town and city in this country. Can you guess how easy it is to get an 8 ball (although probably crap) almost anywhere in this country? My nose would enlighten you on the whole “BANNING THINGS MAKES THINGS GO AWAY” mantra 😉 ---
**Author:** ![canned\_mayhem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@canned\_mayhem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canned_mayhem)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/75 "2015-10-03T00:13:30Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > We are to guns what Mexico is to heroin, etc. Yeah, that whole fast and furious debacle really hammers your point home. Thx for the reminder 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/76 "2015-10-03T00:18:39Z")
> [@canned\_mayhem](#): > > Yeah, that whole fast and furious debacle really hammers your point home. Sadly, it should. ---
**Author:** ![canned\_mayhem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@canned\_mayhem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canned_mayhem)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/77 "2015-10-03T00:26:39Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > I have never been anti-gun. But the flat out unwillingness to even think about solutions, or try to address the issue of preventing these sort of occurrences, keeps pushing me little by little in that direction. And surely there are others who feel the same way. But the other side insists on more regulations. Regulations that don’t even begin to affect the vast majority of gun violence in this country. Making it harder for Joe Citizen to buy a gun does nothing to prevent inner city violence that is happening right NOW. Right NOW someone is dying in a pool of blood over a drug dispute, same as 5 minutes ago and same as 5 minutes from now. Banning a tool used to violently ‘solve’ these disputes isn’t going to stop the actual violence. If guns are the cause of violence then the human species would’ve never known violence before guns were invented. Wanna take a guess on how violent our species was before we had guns? (hint: it was brutal) ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/78 "2015-10-03T00:27:11Z")
We’d have to ban [3D printers](http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-22421185) as well … ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/79 "2015-10-03T00:29:45Z")
> [@canned\_mayhem](#): > > But the other side insists on more regulations. Regulations that don’t even begin to affect the vast majority of gun violence in this country. > > Making it harder for Joe Citizen to buy a gun does nothing to prevent inner city violence that is happening right NOW. Right NOW someone is dying in a pool of blood over a drug dispute, same as 5 minutes ago and same as 5 minutes from now. Banning a tool used to violently ‘solve’ these disputes isn’t going to stop the actual violence. > > If guns are the cause of violence then the human species would’ve never known violence before guns were invented. Wanna take a guess on how violent our species was before we had guns? > > (hint: it was brutal) You are very nicely illustrating the point of my story. Thank you for that. Have you any solutions to offer? ---
**Author:** ![canned\_mayhem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@canned\_mayhem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canned_mayhem)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184/80 "2015-10-03T00:44:07Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > You are very nicely illustrating the point of my story. Thank you for that. > > Have you any solutions to offer? Sadly, I don’t have a definitive solution to offer at all. I have noticed that more and more of these mass shootings and the majority of gun violence in general seem to happen in places that have stricter gun control. I’m not saying everyone should be armed but if I was to decide to shoot a bunch of innocent people I’d pick a shopping mall in Washington D.C. before I picked a flea market in Wyoming. Just sayin… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-nra/733184.md?page=5)