Driver hits people in Manhattan; multiple deaths

[The Grand Nudger]

Yeah. I mean well.

I can appreciate that you are a gun rights advocate. Though I do believe that the mindset that “no one wants to take away all the gunz” is a flawed view.

Just for you to understand where I’m coming from; I have an MBA and an MS in psychology, and am nearly completed with a PhD in psychology. I also have a Six Simga master black belt certification. With that (and because of that), I am not only a life time NRA member, I am a NRA speaker and have volunteered my time, and been paid for my time on multiple occasions to work with communities to help assist with issues of gun violence.

So with that said; I am a gun nut per say, though not your typical back woods gun nut.

Hold my drink while I laugh at how you think your six sigma cert means a damned thing.  How often do you casually drop that into conversation?  As a well educated student of the human mind, what would you say motivates you to tell us this in a discussion about mass shootings and gun control?  

Now any one that says that our gun problem is six parts suicide, whatever parts cops and robbers, and the rest being whatever the heck else hasn’t fully analyzed the issues. It is a narrow minded flat earth assumption that doesn’t come close to solving the problem.

That's just the statistical distribution of gun death.  In ten gun deaths, six are suicide and 4 are either cops shooting someone or criminals shooting someone (usually a cop or another criminal - but spouses and significant others are high on the list too..not that these categories don't have significant overlap.......).  The odd mass shootings are flashy but they don;t amount to much in the pie.  The same is true of "accidents".  OFC knowing that doesn't solve the problem, but it does tell us what the problem is, what needs solving.  

So, let’s go back to your “Our gun problem is 6 parts suicide”. If we eliminated 60% of the guns in the US; would there still be suicide? When people are dumb enough to focus on the tool (gun, shoe lace, ice pick, pocket knife, etc.) they don’t solve the problem. Focus on the problem and the root cause and I can assure you that the tool used is of no concern. Commit suicide with a gun or tie off the throat with a shoe lace to suffocate? Remove the tool and address the problem. The first step of this problem is the suicide.

Who said anything about removing the tool?  I said that we need to have better mental health screening, and stricter enforcement of the federal law stating that crazy can't have a gun.  This would prevent the majority of -gun deaths-.  Whether or not it "solves suicide" is irrelevant.  We could certainly work on that as well, but "solving suicide" is not the aim of gun control.

99.9% of the firearm issues that we have in the United States are brought on by unresolved, unconcerning, or unnoticed sociological and/or socioeconomic issues. But narrow minds are better off removing the tool rather than the problem.

I don't know why you keep talking about removing the tool.  In any case..sure, deep rooted socioeconomic problems lead to a situation in which people end up dead by gun.  What do you think we have a better shot at, enforcing our current gun regulations..or solving mental illness, poverty, and crime?  Do you -really- think that we'd have to solve mental illness, poverty, and crime to reduce the number of gun deaths in our country..or that this would be the simplest and most direct way to do so?  It doesn't seem like any other country had to do so to achieve the same effect.   I'm well aware that removing guns would only prevent -some- suicides, and also that we don;t have to remove guns to prevent suicide...however, limiting access to guns on reasonable grounds already laid out by federal law will reduce gun death -and- suicide -and- mass shootings. Pretty efficient, since the laws are already on the books. "Removing the tool".....or just limiting access, again on reasonable grounds laid out by federal and state law won't end crime either, but it will reduce crimes involving -guns-. I don;t know if you're aware of this, but crimes involving guns are statistically more lethal than crimes -not- involving guns.

You aren't telling me anything I didn't already comment on from the outset.  In some cases we will have to make changes to other systems or provide a credible way -to- enforce our laws  Can't enforce the crazy can't have a gun law without mental health screening, now can we?  Criminals aren't going to stop packing so long as their main opposition...cops and other criminals..are packing...and we're not going to be able to reduce the number of guns in circulation until we can credibly enforce existing regulations concerning their sale, transfer, and storage.

Gun nuts generally limit themselves to pleading with the darkness not to take their guns..but objecting to the suggestion that we enforce our gun laws..because of socioeconomic problems that no one in gun nut land is looking to solve......is a particularly batshit kind of low even for gun nuttery. Personally, I;m of the opinion that a legitimate attempt to enforce what laws we have would change the distribution and nature of our gun problem fundamentally. Theres no other area of law where so much ink is spilled on so many regulations that no one intends to enforce, or even provide the basic framework necessary -for- enforcing. It's positively mystifying until I remind myself of -why- those laws have been left to die on the vine.........

Fucking gun nuts who don't have the sense or foresight to realize that they, more than any mass shooter, are the ones driving us to a gun ban. Call me crazy, but you'd think they;d be onboard 100%..but no, you want to talk about shoelaces and flat tires and liberals and schoolyard bullies and how it's the poors just being poor and possessing a gun while black and your racist anxiety....and your silly ass six sigma cert.