Its naive to think that reducing assault weapons numbers wouldn’t have an effect on mass shooting where almost all the recent cases use assault weapons and the numbers of casualties are increasing per mass shooting. Even if reduced the casualty count per incident that would have a significant effect.
BTW Why do you choose such a low estimate from a range of estimates for assault rifles ?
This article from 2012 estimated there were 3.75 Million AR15 in the US at that time.
The national shooting sports federations estimates there are 5 to 8 million of these assault rifles.
I might be out of date with my numbers, but I’m loathe to take NRA figures at face value as they do tend, perhaps counter intuitively, towards the higher end.
Anyway, my point remains that it is weird that the number of mass shootings has increased so much. Obviously the number of fatalities in each event will increase, and there will be an increase in the likelihood of 4+ victims. However, why would easier access to a certain type of weapon make more people want to commit mass murder who otherwise wouldnt have?
I’m not in any way disagreeing with stricter gun control. The UK model is outstanding, IMO. Just pondering why bigger guns makes for more shooters.
At a purely theoretical level though, if you’re in a pit and still digging, it’s naive to think stopping will get you out of the pit. And yet, that’s exactly what the First Law of Pits says you should do.
I’m starting to think that it’s not the guns that are the issue. I think Something is wrong with the American society. And what we are seeing is just the symptoms. Assault rifiles are still semi automatic and I don’t think they’re the issue. I have one. They only hold 28-30 rounds unless you get one with an extended magazine or a rifle that uses a drum magazine. My semi auto hand guns hold 9-15 without one in the chamber. Assault rifles are heavy and big. I could do just as much damage in a room with a semi auto handgun in booth hands and a bunch of loaded magazine.
Nooo. Bad @Andrew0409. You are questioning the observation, the diagnosis and prescription. Well, perhaps not the observation.
The observation is people get killed by guns, and in school shootings like this large numbers of people. The diagnosis is, the gun is the problem and the prescription is get rid of the guns.
Seems solid, and in the UK and Taiwan which have been my homes, no problem, hardly anyone owns a gun. Hardly the case in the US and how to enforce taking away a shit load of guns opens up a new problem. Or a host of problems, if one were to be objective.
What you are talking about is single parent families, why males are nearly always the shooter, why at that age, why in families with domestic violence. What you are talking about IMO cuts to the heart of the matter, BUT, good luck having that conversation with a Democrat without being called a Nazi.
From the article: Every school in America should have several teachers and administrators trained in firearms who are permitted to carry concealed weapons. The number of these “protectors of the innocent” in each school should be determined by the number of students.
The sad thing (tragic really) is that this is perhaps the only real solution. That’s how screwed up things have gotten in America. I sure am glad my kids are going to school here in Taiwan.
Spur of the moment mental crisis. Possibly due to suppressed issues from childhood trauma. Premeditated shootings are different. There have already been cases where unarmed teachers have gone berserk in class. If they’re also packing heat…
Exactly. Anyone suggesting the solution is more fucking guns is soft in the head.
Honestly its not worth wasting time even discussing this issue here. Americans are going to keep on shooting each other ad nauseum for the foreseeable future. Probably because gun ownership defines them as Americans and until their own children get shot they are fundamentally unable to see it as an issue.
Not true according to the surgeon in article I have posted above. The killing power of the bullet is imparted largely from its velocity .
When an assault rifle bullet goes through the liver it completely destroys it. The surgeon said it was exactly the same as a rifle bullet exploding a watermelon .
It would also damage surrounding tissue. Remember these are military grade weapons designed to kill large numbers of people as efficiently as possible.
When a handgun bullet passes through the liver it would maybe destroy 10% to 20% of it.
We don’t have young males from broken homes in other countries?
You mean you support socialism to help raise these troubled kids right?
Abortion is the answer?
Select for females only ?
Take away peoples freedom to procreate ?
Why are most hunters and soldiers males ?
Why do males like playing with guns more?
Really not sure what your point is spit it out man. Dont be so wishy washy. Make a point and stick to it.
Can you imagine what happens then when somebody starts acting up in class. Kid throws a punch at the teacher teacher plugs him one between the eyes. Self defence he was going for my gun.
Teacher cops that’s just so messed up!
Sure. First point is to note, in the current political climate you are not going to persuade Republicans to give up guns, even if it’s limited to assault rifles. Distrust of the Democrats is the highest I have ever seen and there is good reason for that and it’s not something the Democrats are prepared to acknowledge, observe or deal with. Just shouting “It’s the guns stupid, ban assault rifles you moron” doesn’t address the realpolitik of the situation, which is if you try and take away the guns, you are more likely to succeed in igniting a civil war than achieving that goal. All shouting “Its the guns stupid” does is meaninglessly virtue signal to others who also don’t like guns, which for the record, Im no big fan of either. Quite happy to have lived in UK and Taiwan where they all but don’t exist.
Second, would be to put options on the table that might help, I don’t think more security as a suggestion is soft in the head at all, added security is always a reasonable consideration when a perceived threat is observed.
What it seems you don’t get, is to better understand “why” people do this and why it seems to be increasing and with higher numbers of deaths and injured people. Some people blame video games, which I don’t really buy into, some have shown a correlation to mental illness, which should indeed be looked at. Or people who come from homes with a history of abuse, which seems to be the case in this shooting, the FBI were warned, the school had this kid on a watch list to be alerted if he came on the grounds with a back pack. This kid shouldn’t have been within a country mile of a firearm.
But going deeper, we can ask ourselves what role society itself had on creating an individual such as this and I do think that needs to be looked at also. I believe the NRA have been blocking studies to try and better understand “why”, it would be my position that needs to stop and gaining a better understanding should always be encouraged.
What can explain the recent rise in mass public shootings? I contend that there are powerful, negative social forces at work today that promote mass murder. These include financial and healthcare fears, a declining belief in the American dream, racism and other hate crime, a distrust of the government and POTUS, global terrorism and constant war since 2001.
These factors have led to alienation, a feeling of powerlessness, and rage for many people. A few but increasing number of them are striking out in horrible, public acts of violence against complete strangers. It demands our attention and deserves our collective resources in order to solve this disturbing trend.
Question: are you sure you want to arm the kind of teacher willing to shoot his own students, yes, even to save others?
Under what circumstances are the school guardians allowed to shoot? If we already have problems with police on this regard, imagine in the hard pressure cooker of school.
That money could be spent on psychological assistance, extra curricular activities to keep kids healthy body and mind, empowering and training for law enforcement to prevent such incidents. Since keeping guns from unstable people is off the table…
And US teachers have to buy their own supplies. I bet they would rather have more pencils than a gun. They need those daily.
I could very easily be convinced to change my stance on this. I hate guns. We never had one in the house growing up. Nobody in my family hunted. But man, you should see my FB feed: guns are not going away in the US. No way, no how. So what do we do? I don’t know, but something needs to be done. I would love seeing all the guns taken away, but we all know that will never happen.
It won’t be the first time a stain on our country’s honor has had to be washed away in blood. If people aren’t willing to follow the law of the land–presuming the moral imbeciles who run the country can wake up and realize our children are being shot down in the street like dogs and pass a law–I’m willing to fight to defend our children. Better yet, if the people who think having an automatic rifle is more important than protecting human life, let them go their own way. I’m fine with it. More than that, truth be told. This doesn’t have anything to do with everyday politics, red and blue bullshit. People have had enough. Are you going to push for people in England to have the right to buy these weapons so easily? If not I respectfully suggest that you are not fully appreciating the gravity of the issue.
