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Another Mass Shooting in Texas
I have no idea what the solution is.
I mean, I do: intact Families and a culture that does not promote despair and rage.
But since that is not on the table, I have no idea. Taking away guns from citizens has never been shown to work in this nation. That seems to be all that is ever proposed.
Guns have always been in the hands of the people. Mass shootings are a sign of sickness in America as much as theft of AC parts. In the great depression, people did not rob infrastructure. We are sick and dying as a society.
Not enough people believe in anything but getting what is good for themselves or in hurting others because of their pain. It is the Republic of Rome in its last days.
Published in General
It is a human right to defend oneself and one’s family, and arguably, one’s property. This isn’t up for debate. A gun is the most effective way of defending oneself. As a gun owner, I think I’m obligated to know how to use a gun effectively and not to be a danger to others. I take that responsibility seriously, as any gun owner should, and I don’t think I’m different in that regard.
BTW, not all problems have good solutions.
Have you recommended how to solve it? I may have missed that.
Because what I’ve gathered so far is you seem to be suggesting that widespread gun confiscation in America is the solution.
First off, self defense is a human right (even the Catholic church recognizes it). And, secondly, it’s a big country with lots and lots of responsible, law abiding gun owners. Gun culture is a thing here and it isn’t about mass murder. Mass murder is a values/mental illness problem, not a gun problem.
I hear it’s best to stay away from east London due to knife attacks. A mass murderer mowed down people in his vehicle in a Christmas parade in Waukesha in 2021. Leaving law abiding people unarmed doesn’t seem like much of a solution.
I do recall seeing this.
The knife attacks followed the acid attacks.
BTW, is the shillelagh still legal in Ireland?
Way back when Esquire was worth reading, someone wrote that “inner-city blacks and browns, and rural whites are given to offing each other at truly impressive rates . . . the rest of us are more likely to be hit by lightning than by a stray bullet.” But it was a long time ago when that was written.
Gotta keep an eye on those foreigners, like Apu!
I think the right to self-defense is a human right. Probably the most primary human right.
It is a human right no matter where it’s written. The Constitution does not give us our rights — it protects them.
The Declaration:
Surprising how many don’t grasp that.
So is ducking the question.
Consider that the very recent history of stomach-churning violence is one of the things which keeps violence in check (as you claim) these days, not to mention a general acceptance of the resolutions to The Troubles.
Your low levels of gun violence would probably be right where they are today, gun ban or no.
Not really. Our founding documents are pretty unique in human history — appealing to the God-given, natural rights and constraining the power of government to infringe on them. I don’t think many countries are set up that way, if any. It’s more normal I suspect for “constitutions” to set up positive rights requiring lots of government action to “provide” for them.
Making them serfs at best. But some people like it that way, including a distressing number of ignorant or defective Americans.
Indeed.
I think you have a false sense of being safer based on our sensational news. Remember, we are a country with 360 million people, open borders that let criminals waltz in, and a problem with black youth from fatherless homes who engage in gun violence in the cities.
The difference between Ireland and the US re gun murders is <3/100,000. We don’t cede our right to self defense for such a puny advantage. In fact, armed civilians stop more crimes in progress than do police. I checked 2018 numbers, last year in FBI tables, and the difference in number of perps killed by cops and civilians that were ruled justifiable homicides (self-defense, for example) was only 109. We are a very large country with many areas not densely populated. People must defend themselves because cops are at least 10 minutes or more away. Most murders are in cities with strict gun control.
Half of murders happen in 2% of the counties. Blacks (13%), mostly young black males, commit 52% of murders. We have a culture problem, not a gun problem.
You are probably right. Every time I hear from some fool say that “it is time to declare [name it] a basic right” I want to spit up. Take health care. That is not a right but rather a service provided by specially trained people. What gives anyone the “right” to the time and labor of another person? The answer is: “Nothing”.
Exactly. And what the government gives you, the government can take away. Rights become permissions.
Besides, our founders didn’t want the type of governance they had escaped from.
#YGDR!
If only because there’s not a lot of ethnic diversity in Ireland.
There would also be more victims of criminals and wild animal attacks, not to mention the accelerating serfdom of the citizenry in the face of an increasingly fascist political climate.
Besides, I suspect that budding psychos would quickly notice that all you need is a car (not to mention common fertilizer and the internet); a gun makes it easier to kill specific people trapped in ‘gun-free’ zones, not more people, so that last sentence is incorrect.
A lot of people don’t recognize free speech, religious freedom, or equality under the law as human rights, either.
Violence is concentrated in 2% urban counties, and usually 10 blocks or so within those counties. Also within counties dominated by Scotch-Irish dissent. We are way less violent than Europe if you throw those out.
There’s a suicide warning on the FDA label for SSRIs. So I don’t think the analogy to seatbelts holds up.
Actually, our Government is currently passing very draconian “hate speech” laws at the moment, laws which have full support of every meaningful political party across the (narrow) political spectrum and the media – who barely report on the issue, other than to support the proposed laws. The resistance comes mainly from a small number of politicians, and a large enough number of concerned citizens. The opposition is gaining a little traction, but is doomed to failure because of the stifling homogeneity of politics in this country. The government plan could be seen as tyrannical, but we won’t be organising militias yet.
There’s a lot more now than the last time you looked. And it has brought some serious problems, but no gun crime yet.
There’s an old joke in Ireland, about the tourist slowing down his hired car and asking a local man for directions to some destination. The local man says-
“Well if I was going there, I wouldn’t start from here”
Maybe everyone here (with a very few exceptions) is happy with the prevalence of guns in their society and does not see any connection between that prevalence and any mass shootings – no problem no solution necessary.
I’m addressing the very basic point that a society without guns is a better place – in that sense- than one where they are too prevalent. It follows that I believe that working towards a reduction of guns in America would be a good thing.
Obviously my opinion is not too popular here. I’m happy to have expressed it anyway. It’s time for work now.
I’ve heard it was a bipartisan deal. I’ve also heard people blame Reagan.
Didn’t Geraldo Rivera do an expose on mental institutions that got the whole thing started?
There are all sorts of warnings on medications.
The Suicide Warning is specifically for the fact that when very Depressed, one may not have the energy for suicide. There is a window where an antidepressant can give you more energy but your mood has not followed. Thus the warning.
I do, actually know what I am talking about.
95% less beds.
Started in the late 60’s