Guns

[joeyc77]

We have car insurance as well, it's everywhere. It's actually illegal in some countries to drive without it.

We also have medical insurance, which is the same concept for a human body. So an insurance does that, not a gun.
We also have life insurance. Pretty similar concept but for life threatening stuff or life ending matters. Again, no guns involved.

You only carry a gun when you wanna hurt someone or fear that someone is going to hurt you. It's not an insurance policy, otherwise I could sign up for a gun with my insurer.

I wouldn't say it's fear someone is going to hurt me. It's just an insurance policy in case someone tries to "hurt" me. In the city, you don't know what type of characters are lurking about. It only takes one desparate person to try and rob you. We have the boy scouts here in the US. Their motto is "always be prepared." Carrying a gun is just being prepared for the worst.

[spliff(TONE)]

Ahh....they're all just trying to live up to the lessons they learned as a Boy Scout.

[natepro]

Our supreme court has actually ruled on this. It was determined that the 2nd amendment is an individual right independent of the militia.

It turns out that we've discovered recently that past rulings don't mean anything, so the next time there's a liberal majority they can simply rule the opposite and wipe all of that away.

[NYKalltheway]

I agree it’s ridiculous reasoning (if you knew anything about me in this forum you’d know I’ve consistently called for gun control). But it’s their reasoning. What do you mean the real reason? They legit distrust the government to such a degree they believe they need a gun for when it turns tyrannical (which they believe to be imminent). They believe guns genuinely make them and this country safer (despite all evidence to the contrary).

I don’t know what the “real” reason would be here.

Sounds like a job for a psychiatrist.

[joeyc77]

Ahh....they're all just trying to live up to the lessons they learned as a Boy Scout.

Unfortunately, i learned my lessons in a much more harsh environment.

[joeyc77]

It turns out that we've discovered recently that past rulings don't mean anything, so the next time there's a liberal majority they can simply rule the opposite and wipe all of that away.

Sure they couid. But then there's the task of them actually trying to take my gun away.

Also, i mean you just need your president to stay alive long enough to name more liberal judges assuming that is he wins reelection. Whats his approval rate lately?

[Crovash]

Guns of all stripes are designed and manufactured for the purpose of killing living organisms. Sure, I guess they may be fun for target practice, and who knows, maybe for some reason people like to collect them, but by and large, gun owners who intend to use their guns intend to use them in order to kill other living organisms.

[bigfishguy85]

"high powered rifle"
"high capacity magazine"
"universal background check"

I'm going to keep pointing this stuff out. Every time something like this happens and the gun control conversation starts up, these terms get thrown around. Problem is, nobody knows what they mean, because the people advocating for limits or laws governing these terms haven't even defined them. That's why nothing gets done. Stop blaming republicans for the fact that liberals can't even explain concisely what they're advocating for.

[NYKalltheway]

I wouldn't say it's fear someone is going to hurt me. It's just an insurance policy in case someone tries to "hurt" me. In the city, you don't know what type of characters are lurking about. It only takes one desparate person to try and rob you. We have the boy scouts here in the US. Their motto is "always be prepared." Carrying a gun is just being prepared for the worst.

We're getting somewhere.

The idea that you need a gun because there's some bad guys wandering about sounds like a social problem more than a distrust of the government. Sure it may indirectly lead to the assumption that the police and the municipalities, two government branches, are not doing their jobs properly which is to keep the streets safe, but at the end of the day the distrust stems from a social point of view rather than a governmental one. The government's just there to take the easy blame.

And I trace this back to the foundation of the USA. Just like Australia, it's a nation that was born out of nowhere, with the key concept of individualism over collectivism, regardless of what form the collective takes. In the case of both these nations, it was a monarchy, but it could have been any other form.

Every man for himself sounds like the motto. And since this was someone else's land and they wanted to take it back, people carried guns to defend their "right" to maintain their geographical position and individual status as owner/ruler of that area/property. For some reason the Americans have not outgrown this and have cultivated it in the general culture even if those times are very distant. The Australians for example also had a similar mindset until the rules (ie the government) told them that they're no longer allowed to behave this way. In the USA, there's a lot of lobbying by parties that want this to remain a thing.

You also have to consider the 20th century. The USA was safe from war at home so people aren't as familiar with what this brings. The involvement in both World Wars was very late for this to sink in.
This changed slightly in the second half of the 20th century when the USA sent a lot of troops all over the world, but still, war wasn't at home.
Australia on the other hand was heavily involved in WW1 in Europe along with New Zealand as their troops were forced by the UK at the worst possible situations (eg Gallipoli) to die in vain. And a couple of decades later, they had the Japanese right at their doorstep. They still have people who love to own guns, but not at the same scale as before. Especially after a couple of incidents and specifically one mass shooting case in the mid 90s. Since then, we've seen a larger than 75% drop in gun ownership per household.

The mid 90s aren't that far away. That's when Michael Jordan returned to the Bulls and won his 4th championship. I trust that a lot of people here witnessed that or at the very least were born around that time. It was also a couple of years before Columbine. Can you imagine if the USA acted the same way Australia did? Can't tell if the same 75% reduction would appear, but it would definitely surprise a lot of people.

Some interesting stats from Australia is that they've had a lot of mass shootings before the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. I think it was 13 in since 1980. Don't think they've had an incident since Port Arthur and it's been 26 years now... Just think about that. I don't think Australians can claim they're more unhappy or less free the following years than they were up to 1996.


A nice video about this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0aGGOK4kAM

[Bird of Prey]

Guns of all stripes are designed and manufactured for the purpose of killing living organisms. Sure, I guess they may be fun for target practice, and who knows, maybe for some reason people like to collect them, but by and large, gun owners who intend to use their guns intend to use them in order to kill other living organisms.

ABSOLUTELY. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with using guns to kill other living organisms. Whether the gun kills an animal or someone breaking into their property or trying to harm they or their family, a gun is a weapon properly manufactured to fulfill a purpose. Nothing wrong in taking target practice either in order to sharpen one's skill set to use the weapon when needed.

[spliff(TONE)]

Unfortunately, i learned my lessons in a much more harsh environment.

Driving past a few black people as you nervously clutched your gun?

[spliff(TONE)]

Sure they couid. But then there's the task of them actually trying to take my gun away.

Totally. They're going to need to send in a whole Navy Seal team to get your precious gun from you.

[Bird of Prey]

"high powered rifle"
"high capacity magazine"
"universal background check"

I'm going to keep pointing this stuff out. Every time something like this happens and the gun control conversation starts up, these terms get thrown around. Problem is, nobody knows what they mean, because the people advocating for limits or laws governing these terms haven't even defined them. That's why nothing gets done. Stop blaming republicans for the fact that liberals can't even explain concisely what they're advocating for.

Hell, Biden doesn't know the difference between what a 9mm round is and a .50 caliber round. He doesn't know what a semi-automatic weapon is and what a true assault weapon is. In his stupid macho conflict with that union worker in the factory, he talked about "high capacity magazines" in which he referenced HIS EXPERIENCE with 20 and 12 gauge shotguns for Christ sake. I guarantee that this supposed naval academy appointee has never fired a shot-gun in his life nor any other kind of weapon. He never served in the military. Never served in law enforcement. Always had security provided by the federal government. Biden speaking about weapons is jsut like him speaking on inflation, it is all bullcrap fed to him by others.

[spliff(TONE)]

So you think he's a big liar that is regurgitating someone else's nonsense? Sounds quite a bit like you tbh.

[joeyc77]

Driving past a few black people as you nervously clutched your gun?

More like having bullets fly over my head and having guns pulled on me. Oh and having several friends murdered.