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Gun Control

deinonychus71

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I think it has less to do with gun control and more with the lack of proper access to two things:
- (free) education: Kinda common sense, but more educated people are more likely to get better jobs (and defend their situation for said job better) and making classes like philosophy class mandatory could really help with some... other dividing topics :)
- (free, government supported) healthcare. Basic, common sense level of safety nets that let families and individuals be safer in life.
You simply don't have that many people with mental issues in other (modern/developed) countries... and not nearly as many "disorders" either. Not counting terrorism into that, it's a whole other issue.

Now yes you can find the counter-example of the shooter with no such problem in life who still committed a crime.
 
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What are you even talking about? The retailer selling the gun does the checks, it's already applied here to great effect, so you are basically looking for problems where there aren't any, at least not in the sense you are talking about.

I've gone to foreign countries with regulations similar to what you suggest. Maybe it's different in Greece, but where I've gone, it's become a biased bag of carp. Certain political parties are restricted access from obtaining guns and there are 'regional coordinators' etc, etc.

I don't get what you mean by the "cultural deterrent" though...

Kennesaw made it a law for the majority of eligible households to have a firearm.

Soon after, general crime dropped by more then 50%.

This isn't rocket science. Criminals avoid pro-gun zones for good and obvious reasons.
 
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Very well thought out post. Unfortunately most people on GBAtemp are younger and have been heavily brainwashed by liberal propaganda that dominates pretty much all the "nerd" sources of entertainment(tv,internet,videogames). Once you realize that most individuals are feeble minded and just nod the head up and down,life begins to make a lot more sense.If people believe that their thoughts are "their own" and "unique",they are more likely to fall in line.

People need to use abstract thought when thinking about these things and being completely objective.For the most part you can figure out what is manipulation by those in higher power,and what is legitimate by using this basic strategy to weed out misinformation.If it is a Politically Correct answer,the truth is usually the complete opposite.For example,let's say that propaganda tells you that sharks are safe to play with.You know that sharks bite so you need to learn to block out the MSM's manipulation. Remember that no one needs to tell you what color the sky is.
 
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The second amendment is obsolete and provide no protection, the government can just drone strike you.
Its like if we gave everyone penicillin today, all the bacteria are immune, just because it worked 300 years ago doesnt mean is still does.
You would have better luck with 3 carfentanyl(a reallllly potent form of heroin, used to sedate elephants) gas canisters, one on each branch of government, theres no way in hell you will win a ground war with the US government.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_theater_hostage_crisis#Evacuation
Well duh, ground operations would be suicide. The war would have to be fought with information and technology first. Gain a bunch of allies, get a billionaire or two onboard. We pretty much live in a cyberpunk world, why wouldn't a rebel group use that to their advantage? Cryptocurrency, hacking, counter-intelligence; it's all there. Now that most likely won't win by itself, but a full-blown war isn't necessary. Just need several coordinated strike teams to break the chain of command. Even if it did come to battling in the streets, the military is spread so thin overseas. The logistics of bringing all 2 million of those troops home at once is mind-boggling. Not to mention how many would either desert or outright rebel, shooting their CO in the back instead of attacking their fellow countrymen. Let's not forget the US is a nation that is fighting two wars against its own citizens and losing both of them. Yes, the government has better military technology than the citizens, but that's an argument against gun control in my eyes. A militia is only effective if it is armed just as well as the actual military. Doesn't matter too much. Anything not obtained legally can be stolen, hijacked, or sabotaged.
And who says when said government becomes tyrannical anyways? It's not like they'll one day just say, "So yep, we're going to be tyrannical now, k thx bye". The second amendment was created in a different time for a different time.
In my eyes, most developed countries, USA included (maybe especially), are either already there or just on the edge. There are so many unelected bodies here with the power to create laws at will, and they are immune from checks and balances. USA has entered into international treaties that directly affect the liberties of its people without any input from them. I'd say the second amendment is more relevant now than it ever has been. Why exactly is it less relevant than the rest of the Bill of Rights? Words have a lot of power to cause harm too, so maybe we should just repeal the first amendment while we're at it. Which state-mandated religion do you want? Christianity or Islam? With the first 2 amendments gone, there's literally nothing stopping that from happening.

I shouldn't have to say this, but a lot of the things I'm writing about are purely hypothetical worst-case scenarios. An armed revolution at this point probably would be met with failure, but I feel the possibility is a good deterrent. But I mean if you're comfortable with things like people going to jail over Facebook posts, then by all means, give up your rights for some false sense of security, but just know that the further you try to push something underground, it eventually becomes more prolific in the long term. Just look at the war on drugs and the war on terror. What have we achieved with those? More drugs and more terror. What have we lost? Tons of liberties and lives.
 
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Xzi

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I don't agree with gun control at all. Law abiding citizens who use guns to protect themselves and their families shouldn't have to fear having their guns taken away due to criminals who use the guns for all the wrong reasons.
I think law abiding citizens should own guns also in case their government becomes tyrannical so that they may be able to preserve their freedoms.
Gun control is not the same as "taking guns away." No president in history has suggested doing that except Trump, and we know to ignore him because he's a moron.

People need to use abstract thought when thinking about these things and being completely objective.For the most part you can figure out what is manipulation by those in higher power,and what is legitimate by using this basic strategy to weed out misinformation.If it is a Politically Correct answer,the truth is usually the complete opposite.For example,let's say that propaganda tells you that sharks are safe to play with.You know that sharks bite so you need to learn to block out the MSM's manipulation. Remember that no one needs to tell you what color the sky is.
On the opposite end of the spectrum you've got the NRA telling people what to think and how to think about every political issue. Redneck zombies everywhere.
 
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chrisrlink

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i do agree with the mental illness part to an extent for paranoia owning guns but you forget SOME PPL who are high on anger from political views can snap (though a extremely low possiability) but i heard of some pissing each other off to the point of death threats being made police are fucking usless sometimes as they cant do anything unless an imanate threat to ones life is made (god forbid an attempt) also i agree with XZI om the automatic weapons if you go deer hunting with an AR-15 you have serious issues
 
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Xzi

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i do agree with the mental illness part to an extent for paranoia owning guns but you forget SOME PPL who are high on anger from political views can snap (though a extremely low possiability) but i heard of some pissing each other off to the point of death threats being made police are fucking usless sometimes as they cant do anything unless an imanate threat to ones life is made (god forbid an attempt) also i agree with XZI om the automatic weapons if you go deer hunting with an AR-15 you have serious issues
To be fair, an AR-15 is a semi-automatic weapon. As long as bumpstocks remain legal it is easily modified to be full-auto, however. I'll also grant you that AR-15s to some degree have become the poster child for mass shootings and school shootings.
 

kingfrost

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I just want to weigh in generally. Gun control is not what it's made out to be by partisan groups. I would never support taking everyone's gun, but I would support testing to make sure that you know how to use it and all about safety. I'm aware that this exists to an extent in some places, but they need to be more through. You should have to go through every so many years and they should have the ability if you fail or show disregard to safety to have your guns removed.

If you have mental problems, anger issues, suicidal or homicidal thoughts you shouldn't have a gun. Pysch tests need to become a regular part of gun ownership, especially when hoarding starts.

I'm perfectly aware of how easy it is to be an illegal gun, trust me, but that doesn't mean we should make it easy to do so legally. We also don't go after the illegal gun trade nearly as hard as you think we would, and some goverment agencies are even involved in selling and running then.

I don't support taking all your guns away. I personally like the safety I feel having a personal arsenal at my disposal, especially if anything does go wrong. If you want to say I believe I'm special, well I do. I know that I'm safe with them and wouldn't easily harm another person.
 

dAVID_

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Very well thought out post. Unfortunately most people on GBAtemp are younger and have been heavily brainwashed by liberal propaganda that dominates pretty much all the "nerd" sources of entertainment(tv,internet,videogames). Once you realize that most individuals are feeble minded and just nod the head up and down,life begins to make a lot more sense.If people believe that their thoughts are "their own" and "unique",they are more likely to fall in line.

People need to use abstract thought when thinking about these things and being completely objective.For the most part you can figure out what is manipulation by those in higher power,and what is legitimate by using this basic strategy to weed out misinformation.If it is a Politically Correct answer,the truth is usually the complete opposite.For example,let's say that propaganda tells you that sharks are safe to play with.You know that sharks bite so you need to learn to block out the MSM's manipulation. Remember that no one needs to tell you what color the sky is.
d00.png
/s
 
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Ericthegreat

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Since usually when a mass shooting happens in the U.S. there’s usually a debate whether we should completely ban guns or how much restrictions there should be. So, I wanted to create this section to mainly focus on guns and have people debate this out. And bring some information I found. Should guns be banned? Or should guns be available and we should instead focus on having better restrictions and focus on people's mental health?

Gun control should not be an idealogical debate, it should be an empirical one. And the empirical question should be, does gun control increase or reduce violence.
  • In England murder rates rose after gun restrictions. And in England robbery and burglary surpassed the United States. Britains burglary rate is almost twice as high as the U.S.
  • 40% of burglaries in Britain, Canada, and the Netherlands is when the home is occupied. In the United States its only 13%. All three of the latter countries have lower gun ownership.
  • Murder rates went up in England under severe gun control, while murder rates went down as more and more states in the U.S. allowed people to carry concealed weapons.
  • Most guns used to murder were not legally purchased in England.
  • After a school massacre, U.K. banned hand guns in 1998. A decade after hand gun crimes doubled.
  • After Atlanta Suburbs of Kennesaw passed a law requiring heads of households to keep firearms in their homes burglaries dropped 89%.
  • In 1954 in London there was a dozen armed robberies. By 1990’s it increased to 100 times as many.
  • Switzerland has lower murder rates then Germany, but gun ownership with Swiss is 3 times higher. Israel, New Zealand, Finland all have high rates of gun ownership but low murder rates.
  • In the United States, rural areas have higher rates of gun ownership and lower rates of murder. Whites have higher rates of gun ownership then Blacks but lower rates of murder. For the entire United States had hand gun ownership doubled in the late 20th century but overall murder rates went down.
Gun availability and it's deterrence of violent crime does not enter statistics because the crime never happens. But there are areas where guns becomes more available and crime rates drop. And while people compare homicide rates and gun ownership with United States and England, people make their case that high gun ownership is bad by ignoring all the other countries that have high rates of gun ownership and lower rates of crime.

United States always had a history of higher murder rates then England because of culture. So it has nothing to do with having or not having guns laws. New York has had a murder rate that was 5 times of London for two centuries. And for most of these two centuries neither of the two cities had gun control laws.

In 1911 New York made very strict gun control laws, but still had a higher murder rate than London during a time when guns were freely allowed in London. Gun control in England didn’t happen till a decade after New York restricted guns.

Making comparisons that England has a lower murder rate then the U.S. today and say it's because of gun control is not a fair example because U.S. always had higher homicides rates even when both countries had guns widely available. And after gun bans an increase in crime in England happened.

In U.S. legal changes reduced the fact the people committing a crime will go to jail. After this change crime skyrocketed. In 1974 it was twice as high then in 1961. From 1960 to 1976 people becoming victims of a violent crime tippled. Crime peaked in 1980’s then went down as incarceration went up.

Same happened in Australia from 1964 to 1999. Crime went up as incarceration went down. And Crime went down as incarceration went up. Graphs for England, Wales, United State and New Zealand are also the same. Crime peaked in England and Wales in the 1990’s then went down when incarceration went up.

People that criticize U.S. incarceration rates need to take this into account. Gun restrictions plus low and lax criminal incarceration rates creates a disaster.

Video about the history of the 2nd amendment and crime rates rising in England after gun control


John Stossel video about guns and violence


Guns and Violence by Joyce Lee Malcom
The Thomas Sowell Reader by Thomas Sowell
Two Cautionary Tales of Gun Control

When I see things about gun control, makes me want to go buy an AR-15 before they take them away. For most of us, why shouldnt we. I'm sure they won't make us turn in guns we already own.
 
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lexarvn

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Gun control is not the same as "taking guns away." No president in history has suggested doing that except Trump, and we know to ignore him because he's a moron.

This. It seems like to me that the majority of people for gun control just want better regulations around how easy it is to obtain a gun, not an all out gun ban of any kind, but most pro-gun people seem to interpret anything people for gun control say as "I want a gun ban".

Also, most pro-gun people don't seem to like to address the fact that the US seems to have a rather high gun accident rate (considering gun accidents should be completely preventable and it is really hard to find examples outside the US of gun accidents) which could be curbed really easily with some gun control (which it has as least with gun related accidental deaths in the last couple decades http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-accidental-gun-deaths-20180101-story.html). One thing I personally think would help is requiring someone to have some sort of license to prove they actually know how to properly use and store a firearm (I think it's kinda insane that we don't require any kind of gun training for safety reasons). This also would incidentally probably help with when someone impulsively goes to buy a gun to commit suicide or commit a crime as they probably won't have a license unless you already planned on getting a gun.
 

Olmectron

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Problem: "My 10 year old daughter, who was sat inside our car, just got a stray bullet to her head because of a gang gunfight two blocks away. She's dead. We had parked here waiting for her mom to come out of her work."

Answer A: "The problem was the mental health of the bullet. Not the guns."

Answer B: "You should have used your own gun to stop the bullet."

Answer C: "You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's none's fault. Let my guns alone."

Answer D: "It's not the gun's fault. Pretty sure a knife would have flied and broken your car windows the same way the bullet did."
 
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ThoD

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Problem: "My 10 year old daughter, who was sat inside our car, just got a stray bullet to her head because of a gang gunfight two blocks away. She's dead. We had parked here waiting for her mom to come out of her work."

Answer A: "The problem was the mental health of the bullet. Not the guns."

Answer B: "You should have used your own gun to stop the bullet."

Answer C: "You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's none's fault. Let my guns alone."

Answer D: "It's not the gun's fault. Pretty sure a knife would have flied and broken your car windows the same way the bullet did."
I know you are trying to be funny or something, but the answer is just that nothing is done about educating people better, resulting in a lot of ghettos and whatnot where violence runs rampant and so do guns.

A very good solution to gun violence is actually what a comedian said some years back, don't regulate the guns, regulate the bullets, make them like 500€ for each bullet and you will see gun crime go down significantly:P
 

Olmectron

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I know you are trying to be funny or something, but the answer is just that nothing is done about educating people better, resulting in a lot of ghettos and whatnot where violence runs rampant and so do guns.

A very good solution to gun violence is actually what a comedian said some years back, don't regulate the guns, regulate the bullets, make them like 500€ for each bullet and you will see gun crime go down significantly:P
I was not trying to be funny. I'm serious.

The death of a10 year old is not funny. Stupid pro-gun people is not funny. I'm very extremist with these subjects, and I'm the most anti-guns people you'll know. Nothing will change my mind.

I was just trying to state stupid things some pro-guns people I know actually have said (not literally, but something as stupid in similar situations). And no, I'm not saying all pro-gun people is stupid, but some are. The same way many anti-gun people are just outright stupid.

Sorry to say stupid that much, but in my opinion, there shouldn't be a valid reason for a government not to do anything when kids are dying in places they are supposed to feel safe. I've lived several wrong things in my life; and for sure I can say now that kids being shot is simply not right. This should be common sense, don't you think?

I respect pro-gun people, and I get some of their reasons for owning guns. But it hurts a lot whenever a new shooting takes place and there's nothing I can do about it.
 
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PanTheFaun

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I was not trying to be funny. I'm serious.

The death of a10 year old is not funny. Stupid pro-gun people is not funny. I'm very extremist with these subjects, and I'm the most anti-guns people you'll know. Nothing will change my mind.

I was just trying to state stupid things some pro-guns people I know actually have said (not literally, but something as stupid in similar situations). And no, I'm not saying all pro-gun people is stupid, but some are. The same way many anti-gun people are just outright stupid.

Sorry to say stupid that much, but in my opinion, there shouldn't be a valid reason for a government not to do anything when kids are dying in places they are supposed to feel safe. I've lived several wrong things in my life; and for sure I can say now that kids being shot is simply not right. This should be common sense, don't you think?

I respect pro-gun people, and I get some of their reasons for owning guns. But it hurts a lot whenever a new shooting takes place and there's nothing I can do about it.
You can be anti-gun all you want but if anybody ever tries to threaten you or your family with a weapon, you're pretty much done. The police won't always be there in time to protect you. We have these guns to protect ourselves from people who use guns to harm others and to protect ourselves from a tyrannical government. Maybe you like to be defenseless but I sure as hell don't.

"To disarm the people... is the most effectual way to enslave them." - George Mason
 
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Olmectron

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You can be anti-gun all you want but if anybody ever tries to threaten you or your family with a weapon, you're pretty much done. The police won't always be there in time to protect you. We have these guns to protect ourselves from people who use guns to harm others and to protect ourselves from a tyrannical government. Maybe you like to be defenseless but I sure as hell don't.
I have lost many cousins bacause of bad people with guns.

I nearly lost some of my children to guns. Because of stupid cops with guns.

I live in a country with no law. I know what it feels to be assaulted with a gun just for the sake of it. I don't trust in the local police at all, they are more likely to use their weapons on me than on the bad guys.

But, I live in fear that my country could start having school shootings as frequently as you do (yeah, even here, shootings inside schools are rare); I would make me stop sending my kids to school. That's what I fear the most.

We live mainly locked indoors all the time, except when working or in school. I wouldn't survive the call where some policeman tells me my kid is dead while being where he was supposed to be. I don't know how would people can carry on living after that. It should be the most painful feeling.
 

PanTheFaun

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I have lost many cousins bacause of bad people with guns.

I nearly lost some of my children to guns.

I live in a country with no law. I know what it feels to be assaulted with a gun just for the sake of it. I don't trust in the local police at all, they are more likely to use their weapons on me than on the bad guys.

But, I live in fear that my country could start having school shootings as frequently as you do (yeah, even here, shootings inside schools are rare); I would make me stop sending my kids to school. That's what I fear the most.

We live mainly locked indoors all the time, except when working or in school. I wouldn't survive the call where some policeman tells me my kid is dead while being where he was supposed to be. I don't know how would people can carry on living after that. It should be the most painful feeling.
Most of the school shooters were on prescription psychiatric drugs and I'm not gonna blame the gun when it falls into the hands of a maniac. You have to understand that without guns to protect yourself anybody can harm you or your government enslave you. I understand that there are terrible people out there who harm others with guns but you can best believe they are in the minority of gun owners. Most gun owners like myself are very responsible and know to use it only as a way to protect themselves, family, or others as a last resort.
 

Olmectron

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Most of the school shooters were on prescription psychiatric drugs and I'm not gonna blame the gun when it falls into the hands of a maniac. You have to understand that without guns to protect yourself anybody can harm you or your government enslave you. I understand that there are terrible people out there who harm others with guns but you can best believe they are in the minority of gun owners. Most gun owners like myself are very responsible and know to use it only as a way to protect themselves, family, or others as a last resort.
Again, I'll be able to kind of understand why you say that.

But I won't ever support the actual gun laws in USA. It's simply wrong not to improve the laws for more control (deeper people checking) after all those shootings. I'm not saying to ban them completely, but some more laws for making them harder to get wouldn't hurt.

And, not trying to be rude, sorry if I am, but how will you defend against killer drones armed with guns and missiles, once your government goes nuts? Will you have a full convoy of guns to protect against them? And missiles too?
 

PanTheFaun

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Again, I'll be able to kind of understand why you say that.

But I won't ever support the actual gun laws in USA. It's simply wrong not to improve the laws for more control (deeper people checking) after all those shootings. I'm not saying to ban them completely, but some more laws for making them harder to get wouldn't hurt.

And, not trying to be rude, sorry if I am, but how will you defend against killer drones armed with guns and missiles, once your government goes nuts? Will you have a full convoy of guns to protect against them? And missiles too?
You don't have to support the laws since you aren't a citizen of this country. I'm not worried about that but what I am worried about are people with your mentality to try to make them harder to buy. I'll be honest because most people won't say it but most shootings are done by minorities and most of the people who did the school shootings were Jewish. That's just factual.

We will defend ourselves the best we can and figure that out if the time ever comes.
 

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