RE: More shootings.
December 28, 2012 at 12:00 pm
(This post was last modified: December 28, 2012 at 12:39 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
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.
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.
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