Some facts about guns in the US

This Cannot Continue

If you head over to the freeway, five minutes in traffic, and head north, the next town you come to is Everett. The town after that is Marysville. It feels like a long way, but that is because traffic into and through Everett is obnoxious.

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In the most recent press briefing, Marysville Police PIO Cmdr. Robb Lamoureaux was not prepared to officially confirm whether the other person shot and killed was a student or staff member.

Today's school shooting comes just four months after a school shooting at a high school in Troutdale, Oregon. At the time, that was the 74th school shooting in the United States since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., suggesting today’s gun violence was the 75th such shooting.

(Benen)​

And, look, it's not just that it's so damn close. But this is the second time this week for me.

This was my Wednesday:

Who the fuck calls in a bomb threat at GeekGirlCon? Have you seen the kind of people who go to GeekGirlCon? There are little girls in pink tutus and superhero masks, babies dressed as Doctor Who villains, and an Introvert Alley—yes, an entire room for people who do not like crowds and loud noises. It's that kind of place. Or it was, until some mouth-breather threatened to blow it all up rather than let someone speak about her YouTube videos. Who does that? The patient old people that serve as the Convention Center staff had to check our bags for guns. The hashtag filled with spammy, angry tweets, nonsensical but filled with hate. It was bullshit. I can't wait to go back next year, just to show those twisted assholes that they can't win. They've already lost.

("I, Anonymous")​

Say what?

I didn’t feel safe going into GeekGirlCon. Hours earlier, Game developer Brianna Wu had tweeted about the threats she'd received, about calling the police, about sleeping somewhere else.

Just thinking about it made it hard to sleep. The next day, I was almost late to game critic Anita Sarkeesian’s opening panel, and was one of the last to be let in. There had been a bomb threat, of course, though we wouldn’t know about it until afterwards. They searched our bags.

(Dieker)​

But ... but ... but ....

My daughter was there, damn it!

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

This can't be happening.

This just can't ....

Please.

What the hell is going on?

How is this happening?

Please?

 

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The thing is... this isn't even a "gun problem"... ban guns, and it'll be knives. Ban knives, and it'll be blunt force trauma.

It's a people problem... and I honestly don't know how to fix that.

 

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Guns are far far easier to kill with then knives etc.
And yes, it is a people problem, but isn't that why we have laws anyway. To protect us from ourselves and fellow man?
I'm an old bastard living in Sydney Australia, and I know no one that owns a gun, nor have I ever seen a gun in real life.
Gun crimes still exist here, but our strict and in my opinion, logical gun laws, makes ownership and obtaining them just that much harder.
James gave some excellent figures in a previous post.

 

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Exactly - and that works well in Australia.

The problem is, in 'Murica, guns are EVERYWHERE, and people aren't going to give them up... outlaw guns in the US, and while the law abiding citizens will (most likely unhappily) turn them in... all the guns ALREADY in the hands of criminals and nere do wells will still be out there

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Plus, we can't even keep PEOPLE from crossing our borders successfully... how do we expect to stop guns?

 

Other nations have few armed citizens, and few armed criminals. I suspect a correlation.

 

Yes - and I have no doubt that, eventually, the ban would reduce the number of armed crimes and criminals. The problem is, in the short term, it gives criminals and armed thugs basically free reign, as they know that EVERY house they break into is now unarmed and, basically, undefended.

Except...

Well, just a few weeks ago, we had someone walk into a police station and simply open fire.

If a major crime arm needed to acquire some guns... what better way to do it? Walk into a police station, or national guard post, shoot it up, break into the arms locker, and away they go.

We need a MAJOR revision in thinking for firearms... simply doing a blanket ban on them won't be nearly as effective as people think.

 

but that still doesn't change the fact we need less guns in circulation not more. just because it will take a while for it to be fully effective is no reason not to. loose gun laws are the reason were in this mess.

 

Do yoy know of a fesible plan to fix those loose gun laws.???

 

There are a couple of ideas that usually get quickly rejected but here goes.

One is licensing for ownership that requires practical training. As the sophistication of the gun increases, semi auto handgun, the required training increases much like a driver's license. You don't get to legally drive an 18 wheeler with the same driver's license you get at age 16.

Another would making the National Instant Check System, NICS that is used by any FFL dealer, available to anyone with a smartphone or computer through a coded system (for a small fee?) so anyone could check on a potential buyer on the spot to see if he is eligible for gun ownership. I think over time people would use it much like seat belts.

And finally, installing a Federal standard that applies to all states of qualifications to receive a Concealed Carry License. The crazy patchwork of gun law state to state, is a big part of the proliferation problem.

 

get rid of the private seller loophole? 40% of guns are bought through private sellers though 80% of guns criminals get are bought through private sellers. in numerous cases people have told private sellers they couldn't pass a background check they were still willing to sell the gun

 

That's what the Toomey Manchin amendment was trying to do and it was defeated.
As long as extremists from both sides of the issue,are screaming at each other while asking for the moon, nothing will change.

 

your not not wanting deadly weapons all over the place is an extreme idea. that right here is part of problem. that the idea that people don't think guns should be everywhere are extremists.

 

Putting the idea out there of a gun ban or repealing the 2A is extreme. Just like open carry with no licensing or training is extreme. I personally think open carry is a bad idea anyway. The intimidation factor is unnecessarily disruptive.

 

The gun advocates enjoy quoting Feinstein saying she would take every one of them if she could as a rally call that the underlying intent of any new gun regulation is that slippery slope to confiscation. I do not believe that for a minute but the idea is out there and is unrealistic and impractical. I've had many conversations with them and have an active branch of the Open Carry advocates in my neighborhood. For the record, I am a long time gun owner and certainly not a gun grabber, but I do believe that we can and should do more to keep guns from those who should not have than. Smarter gun law is what we need and there are all sorts of financial and social interests blocking anything of the sort.

There is this underlying sense of entitlement that young males have in America that carries over into a patriarchal view and dabbles in misogyny. A difficult subject to broach but I and others believe that until we address those issues in our culture, we will not change anything. Having said that, I also believe that reducing access to guns through smarter regulation is a good thing.

 

actually repealing the second amendment isn't extreme. the second amendment is an anchrononism that helps get thousands of people killed each years. just because your beliefs are very different to it doesn't make it extremist. and please don't try to put words in my mouth. I never said anything about a gun ban or repealing the second amendment.



though i do think repealing the second amendment would be a good first step. have guns as a right i think is a major contributioning facor to all of the us gun problems

 

None of those things would require getting "rid" of guns - and all of them are ideas I fully agree with - we SHOULD screen potential buyers more completely! After all, they are not buying a toy... but a tool, and one that can be used for nefarious purposes!

 

I was not trying to put words in your mouth. Forgive me for the use of the term extreme. I try to be practical in today's political reality of our dysfunctional government. If another bill such as Toomey-Manchin were to be proposed to close at least some of the loopholes it has a shot at passing. If the Republicans take the Senate, that will never happen.

 

Compromise is the path to change in our form of government and the word, compromise, has become a dirty word to the Tea Party segment of government. That is unfortunate. Baby steps.

 

Fewer guns in circulation would almost certainly help. But more importantly, fewer guns in the hands of criminals. The problem with most attempts to reduce guns in circulation is that you end up with more criminals with guns compared to the number of legal gun owners - and that's even worse.

 

To you... which side seems more willin to accept Baby step compromises.???