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The US Gun Violence Problem

I don't want to start a flame war here (there are plenty of places for that) but I'd like to see some sober thinking here.

I'm not a fan of the way the 2nd Amendment has been abused by the NRA - the word "own" never appears in the wording, for example.

It's not the right to OWN a gun, it's the right to carry one - to protect the state from hostile actors.

We all know that it was enacted long before even revolvers were invented - so that's another problem too.

However, all of this is academic - a bigger question is this: will enhanced gun laws help?

My belief, accepting that they're never going to happen because political pressure and filibusters will always prevent them, is that they're pointless.

To me at least, the toothpaste has already been squeezed out of the tube, brushed over some pearly whites and spat down the drain...

I suspect we need to look at this from a different angle and one of those angles seems to be media. Right now, we're bombarded with terror on pretty much every channel. It's either fake terror in the form of drama (which is fine because most of us can figure that out) -or- real terror in the form of fake news.

I think this is a bigger issue and one that really could get some political traction because it doesn't hurt the 2nd, doesn't attack a political party on the left or right but it does look at the question of terrorism dressed up as free speech.

Let's not make this about the 1st amendment though - that's an even bigger can of worms, I want look at how we deal with news networks that enable people and instill fear of hidden actors that are probably just there to pull in viewers.

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Draco 6 Oct 4
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7 comments

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The thing is... the thing is...
The overall trend in both gun crime and violent crime altogether has been down since 1980. Gun deaths went from 6.6 per 100,000 in 1980 to 3.6 in 2010. But now we hear about every shooting and stabbing and robbery, because the 24-hour news cycle demands constant feeding, and if it bleeds, it leads.

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Unfortunately, mass shootings in the U.S. have become so common, tha the media hardly reports them anymore. For example, in 2017, by the time of hte shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, there had already been over 200 mass shootings (defined as 4 or more deaths per incident) in the U.S., and very few were reported. The Lad Vegas shooting itself resulted in 59 deaths and over 500 injuries in less than 10 minutes.

By contrast, In Australia after their worst mass shooting in 1996, they banned all semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons and they have not had a single mass shooting since that time.

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The statistics on guns with their obvious correlation to homicide, have clearly done nothing to promote legislation or basic common sense regarding gun ownership. So I think American culture has to make a major change before we any changes to gun laws. It’s a shame really as so many easily preventable deaths are allowed to happen.

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While it's probable that the greater part of the population of the US is for gun control if not strict stringent gun control it's the NRA, their lobbyists and the power they wield over the political scene that can change it. Imposing gun control and enforcing it will never be allowed unless the NRA can make money from it and keep making money from it. The power of money is all pervasive.

SamL Level 7 Oct 8, 2017
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Here's the thing, most of us aren't advocating for a complete removal of all guns, just automatic and semi-automatic weaponry. There's literally no reason at all to have such weapons, all they are useful for is killing large amounts of people in incredibly small amounts of time. That said the media needs to have its journalists educate themselves on how to present their articles. Yellow journalism needs to be squashed heavily, and I say that to the point that I would easily consider heavy fines on companies spreading fake news and on major corporations that can't be bothered to get their facts straight before they rush out with the latest breaking news.

They are only exacerbating a growing problem and until they get their shit together it will continue to be a growing problem.

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It is MY opinion that ANYONE should legally obtain a gun if they want. Not forced to have a gun, but not denied one either. That means felons, mentally unstable persons, etc. Why do I say that? Look at the police officer in New Jersey, who in 2015 shot his ex-wife, the mother to their nine children. They both were driving and the police officer followed her and then rammed her car, got out and shot her through the driver's side window multiple times. All the while their youngest, a nine-year-old daughter was sitting in the father's car and witnessed the slaughter. When the police arrived, they did not do anything but talk. Seems they knew the cop from their own squad. But he then walked up to the wife's car and discharged his weapon through the windshield. Finally, he gave up and pleaded to terroristic threatening. And his wife died!
I do have one request, no one should use their gun on ME!

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