# Solution to USA Mass shootings **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 17, 2019, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391 "2019-09-17T17:44:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391/261 "2019-09-25T21:51:18Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > You said it’s not censorship, but you’re wrong. It may be Constitutional, it may be legal, it may be the right thing to do, but it’s still censorship. Copyright violations, slander, libel, and plagiarism have no prior restraint, and are all civil offenses. > > Are you saying as long as CNN is willing to pay a fine they can publish the names? Who would levy the fine and under what authority? They’re on cable so you can’t pull their license. What do you propose the government should do to them? > **[Civil and Criminal Penalties for Violation of Federal Copyright Laws | Kent...](https://www.kent.edu/it/civil-and-criminal-penalties-violation-federal-copyright-laws)** > > Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). These rights... CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF FEDERAL COPYRIGHT LAWS KentInformation TechnologyCivil And Criminal Penalties For Violation Of Federal \*Copyright Laws Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). These rights include the right to reproduce or distribute a copyrighted work. In the file-sharing context, downloading or uploading substantial parts of a copyrighted work without authority constitutes an infringement. Penalties for copyright infringement include civil and criminal penalties. In general, anyone found liable for civil copyright infringement may be ordered to pay either actual damages or “statutory” damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. For “willful” infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys’ fees. For details, see Title 17, United States Code, Sections 504, 505. Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.\* What does the Government do to those who name rape victims? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391/262 "2019-09-25T23:39:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Actually quite a few have agreed it shoudl be tried. Just to make it clear, several people, including me, have said we’d be perfectly fine with news providers voluntarily choosing not to report shooter names, and/or exclusively refer to them as worthless idiots. However not one of us -not a _single one_ of us- has stated that we think this would solve mass shootings. Honestly it would be like using a band-aid to treat a broken leg. (Full disclosure: The above sentence is an analogy.) > [@DrDeth](#): > > Nor is it censorship. Depends on whether the government forces them to do it or not. Which leads us to… > [@DrDeth](#): > > You could, you know, read the cites and my posts. Your posts to date are not illuminating on this subject, and your cites are not a reliable source for your opinion (what with them saying that guns are a major factor, and all). So how about you actually state the proposal you’re putting forth? Here, I’ll make it easy: A: The government uses laws or regulations to censor news providers regarding details that identify mass shooters. B: No laws or regulations are employed to force news providers to play along. A or B? All you have to type is a single character. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391/263 "2019-09-26T00:17:53Z")
This is where he says: > [@DrDeth](#): > > \*\* _I_\*\* am not proposing anything, _scientists_ are. Argue with them. Even though no scientists are proposing the government uses laws to censor broadcast news providers. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391/264 "2019-09-26T00:35:38Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > A or B? All you have to type is a single character. I predict a rolleyes. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391/265 "2019-09-28T10:38:18Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > DrDeth, you’ve said that the reason that mass shootings haven’t been an issue in the developed world\*, is because the rest of the world does not have the same 24/7/365 coverage, or the same social media presence, as the United States. May I ask how you came to that conclusion, and by what metrics you are measuring? > \*comparing apples to apples as much as one can > [@begbert2](#): > > Just to make it clear, several people, including me, have said we’d be perfectly fine with news providers voluntarily choosing not to report shooter names, and/or exclusively refer to them as worthless idiots. However not one of us -not a _single one_ of us- has stated that we think this would solve mass shootings. > > Honestly it would be like using a band-aid to treat a broken leg. > > (Full disclosure: The above sentence is an analogy.) > > Depends on whether the government forces them to do it or not. Which leads us to… > Your posts to date are not illuminating on this subject, and your cites are not a reliable source for your opinion (what with them saying that guns are a major factor, and all). So how about you actually state the proposal you’re putting forth? Here, I’ll make it easy: > > A: The government uses laws or regulations to censor news providers regarding details that identify mass shooters. > > B: No laws or regulations are employed to force news providers to play along. > > A or B? All you have to type is a single character. DrDeth, there are a couple of questions that have been sitting about for a couple of days now. Are you at any point going to answer them? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391/266 "2019-09-28T17:17:54Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > DrDeth, there are a couple of questions that have been sitting about for a couple of days now. Are you at any point going to answer them? I have already done so. Read the thread. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391/267 "2019-09-28T21:56:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I have already done so. Read the thread. Okay - I’m not seeing you having done so. Has anyone else? Seriously - other than a flat “other countries aren’t the same”, I don’t see that you have done so. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391/268 "2019-09-28T22:05:17Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > Okay - I’m not seeing you having done so. Has anyone else? > > Seriously - other than a flat “other countries aren’t the same”, I don’t see that you have done so. Look, he’s been piled on so hard that he’s maybe trying to let the thread die. We should just take our victories as they come and let this thread sink down to the bottom of the forum, where the scavengers and bacteria can consume it and poop it out, thereby increasing its value. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391/269 "2019-09-29T00:17:26Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > You said it’s not censorship, but you’re wrong. It may be Constitutional, it may be legal, it may be the right thing to do, but it’s still censorship. Copyright violations, slander, libel, and plagiarism have no prior restraint, and are all civil offenses. Interesting distinction, and I gave it some thought. You can violate copyright and engage in slander and libel and plagiarism and get away with it _if_ nobody complains about it, in these cases the copyright holder or the person being insulted or the artist being copied. If they don’t notice your action, or choose not to bother, the government will not go after you. Kiddie porn and the OP’s proposed media name-blackout, though, invite the state to act without a specific victim complaint. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391/270 "2019-09-29T01:10:04Z")
1. Studies that show that articles which teach good vaccination information against anti-vaxxers helps to **increase** anti-vaxxer count. 2. When Donald Trump does something bad, he works to increase awareness of it, pushes the media to promote it (as bad), and drives **up** his approval rating. There is no such thing as bad publicity. Gun homicides, in America, get a lot of publicity. In Switzerland, everyone has a gun. No publicity. Spree killers are, at heart, attention-seekers and they know how - in modern day America - to get it. The media would almost certainly save all of those lives by stopping giving the killers what they want. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391/271 "2019-09-29T22:01:23Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > . > > Kiddie porn and the OP’s proposed media name-blackout, though, invite the state to act without a specific victim complaint. So does saying “fuck” on broadcast TV, along with (with a few exceptions) Nudity. The FCC has lots of rules for broadcasters, including the Equal-time rule and at one time- political fairness. In general, the FCC does wait for a complaint, but with so many viewers… ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391/272 "2019-09-30T05:39:35Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > 1. Studies that show that articles which teach good vaccination information against anti-vaxxers helps to **increase** anti-vaxxer count. > 2. When Donald Trump does something bad, he works to increase awareness of it, pushes the media to promote it (as bad), and drives **up** his approval rating. > > There is no such thing as bad publicity. > > Gun homicides, in America, get a lot of publicity. > > In Switzerland, everyone has a gun. No publicity. From [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Switzerland). Only about a quarter of homicides in Switzerland were done with guns. If we had such a low homicide rate, we might not have the publicity either. And our guns are not getting publicized, just our murders. Suicides don’t get publicized, but they still happen, at a higher rate than murders. Not that half the homicides in Switzerland are committed by foreigners. Are they doing it for publicity? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-usa-mass-shootings/840391.md?page=13)