More shootings.

[Creed of Heresy]

It's already in the public eye, Brian. It can't possibly be any LESS in the public eye. It's being scrutinized right now. We don't need rabble-rousers anymore, we need discussion.

[Brian37]

Drugs and gangs indeed. When's the last time you heard of two 7-11 owners getting into a firefight over who got to sell slushies on what street corner? Wonder of wonders, prohibition in the here and now panned out exactly like it did the last time we went that route. Organized crime, disorganized (but well armed) violence.

People who feel compelled (or are encouraged) to engage in illicit trade are generally left with nothing other than illicit means to protect such "business endeavors". The hand that kills is often the hand that feeds. An uncomfortable (perhaps too uncomfortable to confront directly - for some), but nevertheless present situation in our society. I wonder how much of our gun violence might be chalked up to human beings fighting (as they always have) over resources? I doubt that removing their firearms would have as pronounced an effect as limiting their ability to compete for that resource by means of violence (decriminalization of illicit drugs, for example). People would most likely still shoot and/or murder people, but they would have one less reason to do so (however transparent or ill-concieved that reason may seem to the rest of us).

@Brian
In any case, what's been offered thusfar in many of these threads.
Enforcement of existing regulations, standardization thereof, expansion of regulations at the state level.
Broader access to healthcare (specifically mental health)
Addressing economic engines of violence (gun violence included) like illicit drug trafficking/trade and long standing social inequality.

Golly gee, looks like a lot of good suggestions have been put forward, or you know, we could go with "herp derp guns R bad". All the while insisting that those who disagree with us are selfish murder-enablers as we gladly belly up to the corpses of victims and the specter of their family's grief as though it were carrion. Is it completely inconceivable to you that we might be able to address this problem without creating another? That we can both curb our murder rates and preserve our rights? Please tell me I won't have to be the optimist in this conversation for long, because I'm really not that good at it.

Is it completely inconceivable to you that we might be able to address this problem without creating another?

I am NOT creating another problem. YOU actually told the truth for once. YOU are a murder-enabler. You selfishly talk about your rights forgetting that if we were doing (as a collective society) such a great job, our gun death rate would not be so high. The only thing I fault the gun control advocates for is not having enough balls to stand up to people like you.

This is simply more bullshit in order to maintain the status quo.

[Dee Dee Ramone]

The admins might make this thread sticky, it's bound to pop up again & again anyway.

[Creed of Heresy]

Oh boy, Brian, so you're basically saying you just want guns banned outright?

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The admins might make this thread, it's bound to pop up again & again anyway.

...huh?

[A Theist]

It's already in the public eye, Brian. It can't possibly be any LESS in the public eye. It's being scrutinized right now. We don't need rabble-rousers anymore, we need discussion.

We don't need rabble-rousers anymore, we need discussion.

....these guys don't want a discussion Creed....what they want is to control the debate and to dominate any discussions on their terms....the control fanatics are focused only on the guns...they're not interested in discussing the other factors surrounding these shootings, such as mental health issues or the environmental influences on the shooter that would motivate such a person to commit violent acts....none of this matters to them Creed....they naively believe that the cure all is in more regulation or banning guns altogether...

[Creed of Heresy]

I'unno, Moros, Ryan, Rhythm, a few others actually have good points. Brian, sadly, is just pushing to an extreme. No extremes work in life; this is wisdom I have long come to accept as fact. This is no exception. There is a sweet spot to this discussion; we just have to come to agreement on it. If everyone were to come to it with level heads, I think it would be successful.

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

Police prevented today a shooting that was going to happen at a mall I was at today. :/

[Brakeman]

How many policemen would volunteer to raid gun owners homes who refused to surrender their firearms after a few hundred bloody shoot outs? We found out during prohibition that cops don't want to fight wars, they only want to address individual lawbreakers. If the cause was not popular, they would ignore it and fake the majority of their responses if not completely turncoat. If you really wanted to ban all guns in the U.S. you would have to use the military and the military tends to vote pro gun, and the military is not to be used against it's own citizens, so in effect you would have to trash the constitution to enforce a total gun ban, and yes this would cause a civil war.

[Zen Badger]

It's already in the public eye, Brian. It can't possibly be any LESS in the public eye. It's being scrutinized right now. We don't need rabble-rousers anymore, we need discussion.

We don't need rabble-rousers anymore, we need discussion.

....these guys don't want a discussion Creed....what they want is to control the debate and to dominate any discussions on their terms....the control fanatics are focused only on the guns...they're not interested in discussing the other factors surrounding these shootings, such as mental health issues or the environmental influences on the shooter that would motivate such a person to commit violent acts....none of this matters to them Creed....they naively believe that the cure all is in more regulation or banning guns altogether...

You're such a fucking cry baby.

"Oh please don't take my gun away, It's all I have in the absence of a penis!!"

No one here is calling for the banning of guns.

Just tighter controls on who can have them.

Is that so fucking hard for you to understand?

Or are you afraid that under the new regs you wouldn't be trusted with a gun?

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And other factors to contemplate?



Guess religious stupidity is also a factor to consider.

(Theory of E is Evolution)

[Creed of Heresy]

Well Brian sure seems to be arguing for the total banning of guns.

I think.

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I should probably point out that my dick is actually of above-average size and girth, though I also have a fascination with guns, and I am not afraid of not being able to possess guns under the strenuous registration requirements I listed. Largely because I wouldn't be able to, but I no longer live in a ghetto.

Though, apparently NEAR one.