There are several campaigns that argue that this is what is causing the proliferation of mass murders.
Sort of says it all, really.
Mass murderers have been famous throughout history (by at least one reasonable definition, most of "history" is defined as a list of who killed who). But in 1962 the most effective weapon you could find to perform one was a bolt action hunting rifle, breech loading shotgun, or plausibly a six-shot revolver that took 90+ seconds to reload. Now you run to the corner store and get equipment that can deliver a hundred rounds in a minute. Arguing that this simple issue of equipment technology and availability is not at least part of the problem seems ridiculous on its face.
Here’s a 1964 ad for a commercial AR-15 model: https://www.ebay.com/itm/403353839122
Also, a six shot revolver can be reloaded in seconds using a speed loader; basically, a piece of plastic that holds six rounds of ammunition in the right position to drop directly into the cylinder.
Police officers commonly carried them.
He really did seem to be maximizing attention more than anything else.
This last guy they made a big deal about was literally a jew (mother was a jew, he attended a synagogue etc) by the way. They say Hitler was a jew so I guess that's how you can tell the real Nazis apart from normal homophobes. /s
I will not concede on red flag laws that prop up false accusation. That's like having a backdoor in your encryption, willingly. And I know how 95% of the people on this site feel about that.
I will not concede on increasing the age to own firearms. There is no other right in our bill of rights that is only given in full well after legal adulthood has been reached. "You're allowed free speech, but only once your mind has developed enough to where you don't say as many stupid things." Sounds terrible to me.
I will not concede on banning certain types of firearms, nor firearm accessories, as the primary point of the 2nd Amendment was to be able to overthrow our own government if it became necessary.
"Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." ~ Benjamin Franklin
"That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government (...) it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security." ~ Thomas Jefferson
"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies." ~ George Washington
The government will not abolish itself. It will go kicking and screaming. Jefferson probably wasn't talking about peacefully abolishing an entire government. You're being disingenuous if you think so. Washington wasn't talking about the Federal army having sole monopoly over the military supply manufactories, otherwise how would a militia function to keep a rogue military and Federal government in check? They wouldn't.
There is a problem with violence in America today. I'm not disputing that. The solution is not to ban certain firearms. Or to raise the legal age. Or to ban all firearms. Or to require the government's permission before obtaining a firearm. We need to take unnecessary government spending and put some of it towards training people to be comfortable with firearms, and to respect them. We need to fix society to understand the importance and beauty of life. We need to promote having fathers in the home to teach these kids how to behave.
I support fixing the mental health and societal problem. But when it comes to "gun laws", you can "come and take them."
Not to mention, that's not a good argument against the 2A. "Technology has advanced, and only the Federal government has that technology. Guess the 2A is pointless now and doesn't matter." Sounds to me like we deserve more access to advanced technology.
Friendly reminder that private citizens owned warships.
"A majority of gun owners (61%) are Republicans or lean to the Republican Party, but NRA members skew even more heavily to the political right than other gun owners. Roughly three-quarters (77%) of gun owners who say they belong to the NRA are Republicans or lean Republican, while only 20% are Democrats or lean Democratic." [1]
[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/us/politics/republicans-j... [1] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/07/05/among-gun-o...
Sounds highly illogical to me. That totally won't ever be abused, like every vague law is, by every political party ever.
Those countries that gave up the right to bear arms are such failures of democracy.
That said there's no doubt there's in my mind economic conditions contribute. The paths to middle class prosperity in the US are fewer and further between than they used to be. That deprives many of even the aspiration of a better life, leading to nihilism, which can be witnessed in many contexts outside mass shootings (what media is popular, sentiment polls, etc).
I also wonder if our Architecture itself contributes. A lot of bedroom community suburbs seem designed to create social isolation. They're just collections of crash pads for long commutes with no communal gathering places.
Maybe what we need is a version of the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer?
Look at HN. We discuss various events the same way ( process-wise anyway ) as people on FB discuss stuff. It is very interactive and we did not seem to develop appropriate firewall rules for social media yet ( as in, just because TV shows a guy running on water, doesn't mean its possible ). For some reason, we take informal social media utterance with more gravity than official White House statement.
I think you are really onto something.
"There were more mass shootings in the past five years [2017-2021] than in any other half-decade going back to 1966"
So no, I don't think it correlates to recessions and/or inflation.
Ergo mass shootings are on the rise because there are more mass shootings, and no circuit-breakers to interrupt "the riot".
[1] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/19/thresholds-of-...
The FBI investigated this and found only a minor correlation.
Whereas there is a high correlation between financial crisis and depression. Including suicide which accounts for a very large proportion of gun violence. Which made the FBI discovery rather shocking.
Social media is also minor correlation, something like 17%.
I think the point discovered is that mass shootings are not statistical. They are microscopic in terms of homicide, Mass shootings accounted for under 0.2% of homicides in the U.S. between 2000 and 2016, which spans the dotcom bust and financial crisis. They aren't even close in terms of gun violence or even gun crime in general.
It looks to me like they heavily correlate with presidential elections. Columbine and Virginia tech were the year before an election, Sandy Hook was the year of an election. Even now, it seems like we peak on shootings before elections.
1: https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/fatalities3.p...
Basketball is an amazing game because you can go to almost any court in the evening and you will find guys who want to play. I often play with scrawny, pimply faced guys who I don't doubt have had thoughts of violence at one point or another, but on the basketball court they ball hard and earn the respect of everyone on the court through teamwork and hustle. It's totally evident to anyone who has experienced it how one good play can do away with anger, resentment and doubt, do the work of years of therapy.
[1] https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/popu...
