Maybe we should move somewhere else because now my gloves are off as well. I will not defend the OP, but I think that you are a fucking idiot who is doing more hard than good.
Now that we are screaming at each other, we are of course going to carefully listen to what each other screams because of course that always changes minds. Good job, asshole.
I fundamentally disagree. “Real steps” is code for appeasement and half-measures. The GOP is completely insane, yet this thread is littered with lefties and moderates repeating the same equivocations the GOP has used for years to avoid sounding too extreme. The fringe right has done such a good job of moving the goalposts here that their opponents can’t help but undermine their own arguments.
Pretty obvious who you’re siding with in this debate.
Yes. Incredibly obvious (to me, at least), and yet you seem wholly oblivious to it. Ironic, given your user name.
Um, no. You never heard of the Thompson Sub-Machine gun (first automatic and then semi-automatic) or the Colt 1911 which was designed in the 1890’s.
Semi-autos have been available to the public for over a century.
When they make the same exact argument how do you reconcile it? In what possible way are those the words of an ally?
Who had gun history esoterica on their bingo card for the deflection and defense of kid killing?
But that’s not going to happen and you know it. Not any time soon.
So instead of bitching on and on about Republicans and gun stores how about putting some energy into trying to solve why in the last 20 years these incidents have been increasing. If it was just availability of specific guns it would have been happening at the same rate over the last 120 years
I want a bazooka. Why can’t I buy one legally? I have the right to be armed as per the 2nd Amendment so what’s keeping me from owning that bazooka?
I don’t know for sure but I figure that bazookas are outlawed. There must be laws against owning bazookas! How can that be?
I’ve always wanted a Gatling Gun myself.
I used to have a friend in Texas who got his hands on an antique iron canon. He had it placed in his front yard and planted posies around it. Oddly enough he was shocked, SHOCKED when the neighbors complained and he learned that there really was a law about pointing a canon at someone’s house.
That’s too difficult–mental illness and cultural issues are messy affairs. Frankly, it’d be a whole lot easier to just not allow anyone to own or use any type of firearm unless they are part of a regulated militia*
Just like it says in the 2nd Amendment.
*maybe single-shot low-caliber handguns and shotguns could be allowed for varmint killing and target shooting.
That was my thought. IANA gun dealer but an 18-year old buying $10-grand of anything has to be unusual.
Yeah, how many 18 yr olds in a basic wage job can manage to save $1000, let alone 10,000? Something smells off here.
Perhaps you should be advocating for funding mental health and an actual social safety net with the same fervor you embrace the 2nd amendment. The Texas governor and legislature have been slashing funding for mental health for years, so why is anyone wondering why they have episodes created by the mentally deranged? If you ignore a problem for years don’t be surprised when it comes back and bites you in the ass.
But, meanwhile - we’ve been doing it your way since Columbine - more and more guns, less and less regulation. It’s not working. Maybe we should try something else for a change.
The US is the ONLY country where mass shootings are routine. It’s also the only country when an 18 year old can go out a purchase an AR-15 and a shit-ton of ammunition with no questions asked. I strongly suspect these two facts are related somehow.
This is something the ammosexuals don’t get - despite the piles and piles of guns in the US the proportion of the population that don’t own guns outnumbers the that which does, and there is a significant percentage of gun owners who are also appalled and favor more oversight and regulation. The ammosexuals are significantly outnumbered.
If the ammosexuals aren’t willing to compromise then, eventually, the rest of the population will stop offering compromise. As @I_Love_Me_Vol.I states: “Otherwise it’s all going to have to go.”
Too many have forgotten the part of the 2nd amendment where is says well regulated. Well regulated, not UNregulated.
We’re talking about rifles, not handguns (Colt 1911), but hey, continue to drag in unrelated bullshit to try to prop up your defense of dangerous customers and blaming the victims and relatives.
If we regulated the AR-15 like we regulate machine guns and full autos maybe this massacre wouldn’t have happened. Or at least had a lot fewer than 19 custom coffins.
Funny how full autos never seem to be used in crimes - hmm… could lack of access and increased oversight have anything to do with that?
Even when we DO point out why there are more angry people willing to shoot kids in the face the Republicans do fuck all about the problems, or worse yet, actively work against solving them. You just want to sell your guns and don’t give a fuck who uses them or against whom, worshiping the almighty dollar. Gotta make money! Who cares if some people die for your wealth?
Actually fund mental health. Do something about grinding poverty. Do something about bullying in schools. And accept that well regulated means accepting that you shouldn’t always make that big sale. Holy fuck, buying beer is more strongly regulated than buying guns in far too many places. Regulating alcohol hasn’t deprived responsible citizens from enjoying a cold one.
I think the real fear among ammosexuals is that if sane regulations were put into place they’d be found wanting and unfit.
He’s a cop. Properly funding mental health as a professional sector and as a social-service function would infringe on the responsibilities currently assigned to police and would therefore negatively impact his job security. Same goes for sensible drug treatment programs, anything related to racial justice, and all the other sociopolitical nails for which the police are seen as an all-purpose hammer.
You might be interested in John Oliver’s recent commentary about “school resource officers”.
That’s going a bit overboard in pushing one’s religion.
