(03-09-2018 07:12 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(03-02-2018 03:47 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  

(03-02-2018 11:49 AM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  Problem: There are too many mass murders. Some by gun. Some by bomb. Some by car. What is to be done?

Solution: ?

Wait a minute, I took a closer look at your commnet.

Are we sure there are "Too many mass murders?" Does the level of response correspond to the number of mass murders?

Most of us don’t have to address mass murders. If we take mass murder to mean = gun violence, then outside of big cities the murder rate is comparable with that of Japan. More or less, if you avoid the children of unwed parents, the illegal drug trade, gun free zones, and domestic difficulties, your odds of being mass murdered are almost zero, and single murdered are tiny.

But somehow, 38,000 Americans were killed by a firearm in 2016. And the number of injuries, some of which are severe is at least that high.

Now lets compare it to other countries with equal access to technology as the USA., say Australia or the UK, or Canada, or France. There's nothing (other than a law) stopping anyone in those countries printing a gun and using it. But in countries where guns are controlled....by and large....it just doesn't happen in any significant amount.

Now, why is that, you might ask?

I'd argue that the reason is access to firearms. When people in the USA get mad, or feel betrayed by their spouse, or get mad at school, or are desperate for cash, or are depressed.....guess what? If they're here in the USA, they have far easier access to guns than others in the developed world. So when a Aussie gets mad, he doesn't have a gun sitting there. And no, he doesn't even think to print one off, because the culture there doesn't venerate firearms and there's little familiarity with them. Its just not on his mind. He might get a thrill shooting a firearm when he goes on vacation in Thailand, but that's it. Its not just access to guns, but familiarity with it.

Solving mental illness is a good plan, but most people who commit crimes with firearms are judged legally competent to stand trial for a reason....they are mentally competent. They just got mad about something and had access to a gun before they could calm down. Or got depressed and had a gun nearby.

Access to guns has very little to do with it. We are just a very different society. There are countries with gun controls that have more gun violence than we do. There's a combination of mental health and alienation.

In any event, getting rid of 300 million guns is not going to happen. That's like pretending you can have every single driver on Monday on all the Houston freeways be courteous and not aggressive. The people who want guns will get them.