Can we admit that we have a gun problem now?

Evil Amerika wrote:

We don't have a gun problem. If these people didn't have a gun, they would find a way to kill.

The reason is that Americans are the most evil and violent people in the developed world. A lot of us are truly evil, murderous people. Particularly white men, they're truly evil.

Nothing can be done about this. Oh well.

This is not true. People don't do mass shootings just to kill, they do it to feel powerful.

If they just wanted to kill they would use bombs or poison or trucks (i.e. the weapons of political terrorists). But there is little action or thrill or sense of power in that. What they want is the satisfaction of pulling the trigger, feeling the recoil, hearing the bang and watching people flee in terror.

Guns are our culture's most powerful symbol of power, dominance, machismo. They tempt the broken people who do these kinds of crimes with the promise of glory and power, and there is nothing else in our culture that comes close to promising that level of macho power.

There is a gun problem.

joedirt wrote:

[quote]DGL54 wrote:

As a Canadian, this is BS. Stop the silly racist propaganda. Aboriginals in Canada do not have a higher rate of shooting people than other Canadians.

https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/7-charts-that-tell-the-story-of-homicide-in-canada/

Aboriginals make up 5% of Canadas population but account for about 1/3 of the murders. In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, they account for between 70-80% of the murders in those provinces. Learn the facts before you reply next time.

First Nations accounted for nearly 195 murders?

In 2016, Murder/Province were as follows:

NL 7

PE 0

NS 13

NB 11

QC 66

ON 198

MB 41

SK 52

AB 112

BC 86

YT 4

NT 3

NU 1

At 2/3rds of MB & SK murders, that accounts for 61. Where are the other 130? AB is 1/3rd, so 35.

It's MacLeans, so they are resonably diligent in their fact checking. But this is bollocks.

Sandy Hook didn't convince people--you think a Country Bar will?

We have a Godless people problem. Too many people proud to stand up and say they don't believe in one when every society has created 1 or follows 1. Even pygmies in Brazil have some form of God. They don't know who it is or what it is it's just something that you know.

Of course, then you get 50 year old man who are worthless in life who act like they're a

god themselves while claiming there isn't one. Again, it's not a gun problem it's a Godless people problem

In the US, the gun homicide rate per million is about 3.85 per 100k. Germany is .12. UK is .07. Japan is .04. The suicide rate by firearms in the US is 6.4 per 100k. Zimbabwe is 3.1. Finland 2.4. The US is the world leader in mass shooting events. Gun nuts try to down play this fact by playing statistical games. Norway comes out ahead when you look at rates per 100k, but that is just because of the Breivik massacre where 77 students were killed in one shooting. Mass shooting event should not be measured using the same statistics as other forms gun violence because mass shootings are essentially terror attacks in that they change how we go about our daily lives.

We have a massive gun problem in the US. Beyond the statistics, talk to a cop or two. My son's playmate is a beat cop in a big city. Every time he goes to a domestic disturbance call, the first thing he has to do is collect up everyone's firearms. Everyone has a gun. The husband has a gun. The wife has a gun. The teen age kids have guns. The neighbors have guns. The grandparents, uncles, etc. have guns. If they do not collect up the guns, someone will always draw their weapon once the cops start interviewing people about what is going on.

Also, talk to cops about how easy it is for a thug to get a gun. Whenever there is a home invasion, break in at a business or b/e on a vehicle, the criminals are looking for guns more than anything else. And then there are hundreds of thousands of straw buyers out there who help stock the black market with guns. That is because in the US, access to a gun only requires an instant background check. That is it. And you do not have to do that if you buy a gun through a gun show or casual sale with a non-dealer seller. In other countries, it is a multi-step process.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/02/world/international-gun-laws.html

I think that if we really want to attack this problem we need to have a concerted effort to send out thoughts and prayers. Thoughts and prayers seem to be the ONLY way to combat this growing problem and we, as a concerned society, are just not doing our part. I know that I have been somewhat negligent in my offering up of thoughts an prayers. I think we all need to start each day with a nice little ritual of thoughts and prayers. I further believe that each school day should begin with students reciting thoughts and prayers. This HAS to be the answer. While it is responsible and good government practice to send out thoughts and prayers following these unfortunate incidents I think that we can do MORE!! Join me as I work toward the only logical solution by offering PROACTIVE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS (PTAP)!!!!

PTAP is Where It's At!

PTAP is Where It's At!

PTAP is Where It's At!

PTAP is Where It's At!

Urine Idiot wrote:

We have a Godless people problem. Too many people proud to stand up and say they don't believe in one when every society has created 1 or follows 1. Even pygmies in Brazil have some form of God. They don't know who it is or what it is it's just something that you know.

Of course, then you get 50 year old man who are worthless in life who act like they're a

god themselves while claiming there isn't one. Again, it's not a gun problem it's a Godless people problem

Central America is extremely religious, and the highest murder rates in the world.

Precious Roy Toy, how do you explain the higher rates of suicide in Japan, SE Asia and the European average than in America if firearms are the root cause of suicide as you argue?

FelonDJT wrote:

[quote]Urine Idiot wrote:

Central America is extremely religious, and the highest murder rates in the world.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-1101-zuckerman-violence-secularism-20151101-story.html

None of these killers are killing in the Christian God's name. You just made my point. The one thing that these killers all share with liberals, they are all non believers and atheist.

Nice to know liberals have something in common with these killers.

This is why we should not let anyone from Central America enter our country. We need that wall ASAP!

FelonDJT wrote:

Urine Idiot wrote:

We have a Godless people problem. Too many people proud to stand up and say they don't believe in one when every society has created 1 or follows 1. Even pygmies in Brazil have some form of God. They don't know who it is or what it is it's just something that you know.

Of course, then you get 50 year old man who are worthless in life who act like they're a

god themselves while claiming there isn't one. Again, it's not a gun problem it's a Godless people problem

Central America is extremely religious, and the highest murder rates in the world.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-1101-zuckerman-violence-secularism-20151101-story.html

ZIPP wrote:

I'm not much of a gun guy so maybe you all can help my ignorance... What exactly is the need for a civilian to own a semi-automatic firearm?

Some dudes 200+ years ago said people could own guns and now people are obsessed with this right.

Human history is filled with tyrants taking liberties away from their own people. That should be reason enough

Urine Idiot wrote:

FelonDJT wrote:

[quote]Urine Idiot wrote:

Central America is extremely religious, and the highest murder rates in the world.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-1101-zuckerman-violence-secularism-20151101-story.html

None of these killers are killing in the Christian God's name. You just made my point. The one thing that these killers all share with liberals, they are all non believers and atheist.

Nice to know liberals have something in common with these killers.

Did you ask them? Also the Christian God is also the Jewish and Muslim one.

Well, lets see...

there are many drugs that are illegal, but still widely used.

at one time they made alcohol illegal, but it was still plentiful.

Most of the guns used in shootings anywhere in the country are illegal for that person to own, have been acquired illegally, have been modified illegally, etc, etc...

Also, a great many of these shooting come in areas that have the most stringent gun control.

joedirt wrote:

Precious Roy Toy, how do you explain the higher rates of suicide in Japan, SE Asia and the European average than in America if firearms are the root cause of suicide as you argue?

Never said that firearms are the root cause of suicide. The rate of suicide by firearm in the US is multiple times that in other countries. And suicide by firearm accounts for half of the suicides in the US. Suicides are usually impulsive actions trigger by a mental health emergency. When a gun is present, the odds of a suicide attempt taking place and being lethal are very high. When no gun is present, the time it takes to find pills or some other method of suicide is often long enough for the suicidal urge to subside. And the odds of surviving a suicide attempt by other methods is significantly higher than with a firearm.

Overall suicide rates are more a function of societal norms, religion and access to mental health care. Suicide is rare in Muslim countries because in Islam everyone is taught that suicide is Haram and a one way ticket to hell. In Japan, there is a very different attitude towards suicide stemming from the ancient practice of seppuku in the days of the Samurai warriors. There also has been a recent epidemic due to the shift from a business culture where everyone had jobs for life and a full pension to a more Western business climate where companies downsize to raise profits. Also, Japanese lending is very conservative and often require multiple cosigners. When the economy stagnated, people defaulting on loans were shamed for causing family members to have to make good on the loans. This was another big driver in the Japanese suicide rate.

joedirt wrote:

Human history is filled with tyrants taking liberties away from their own people. That should be reason enough

Could people not just exercise other liberties they feel are being infringed upon? Why just fixate on guns?

+1

borrowed religions wrote:

Urine Idiot wrote:

None of these killers are killing in the Christian God's name. You just made my point. The one thing that these killers all share with liberals, they are all non believers and atheist.

Nice to know liberals have something in common with these killers.

Did you ask them? Also the Christian God is also the Jewish and Muslim one.

Kindergarten logician alert...

Urine Idiot wrote:

We have a Godless people problem. Too many people proud to stand up and say they don't believe in one when every society has created 1 or follows 1. Even pygmies in Brazil have some form of God. They don't know who it is or what it is it's just something that you know.

Of course, then you get 50 year old man who are worthless in life who act like they're a

god themselves while claiming there isn't one. Again, it's not a gun problem it's a Godless people problem

Muslim terrorists are not godless people, many are devoutly religious. People in the mafia may believe in God and attend mass every Sunday and then go out and kill people. Japan has one of the lowest murder rates in the world and most people dont really believe in a deity.