TheCatt wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 12:57 pm
Their deaths are on a different order of magnitude. Most people would call that effective.
Without context of everything else about their society, it's meaningless. The only people that would call it effective are those who are anti-gun. Ask Chicago.
And I say that as someone who is in favor of far more rigid laws about gun ownership. I think people should be allowed to own any gun, but not any citizen should be allowed to own a gun.
I'm all for longer wait times, more in depth background checks, sharing data between states and law enforcement agencies to get a clearer picture, law enforcement being notified when someone illegally tries to buy a gun, permanent banning of owning firearms for anyone convicted of certain crimes/anyone found to be suicidal/anyone that's bipolar (or other severe mental conditions that might trigger a violent act)/etc., the permanent removal of gun selling licenses and jail time for anyone caught selling guns without adhering to these strict standards, and so on and so forth.
However, if you clear all those hurdles, you can own an M-50 if you want. "But why do you need it in 2021!?" Why the fuck not? You don't need cable, booze, cigarettes, weed, extreme sports, and a billion other things that can result in you or others being hurt, but we're not stopping that stuff. "But someone could take it from you and use it to commit a crime!" And they could do the same thing with my car, my internet connection, my phone, my knives, a farmer's pile of manure, and so on. Hell, by that logic, let's ban women going anywhere alone and make them cover up from head to toe because "someone might rape them".
Mini qualifier rant over...
And where I was going with the French thing is that there are other factors leading to mass shootings and the abuse of firearms.
-Our suicide rate via guns is higher. Maybe that has nothing to do with the availability of guns, but a bigger statement about our culture, societal pressures, lack of proper mental care, etc.?
-Our mass shootings are higher. Maybe that has nothing to do with the availability of guns, but a bigger statement about social media (and the extremely negative it is having on society), the MSM glorifying the shooters, societal pressures, lack of proper mental care, etc.?
-Our shootings rate is higher. Maybe that has nothing to do with the availability of guns...wait...ok, this probably does have something to do with the availability of illegal guns, which laws against law abiding citizens will not do shit about, but also has a lot more to do with our society, broken legal system, the plight of the lower class, etc.
Gun violence is the cough of someone with a cold, not the cold itself. It's a symptom, and if you treat it, you're still going to be left with the actual disease.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
