"We look at them individually to see if there is a correlation between loose gun laws "
Laws are irrelevant if they are not consistently enforced.
Gun laws where guns take the most lives
51–60 of 204 posts
Re: Gun laws where guns take the most lives
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Mexico has a firearm homicide rate of ~6.3 murders / 100k people / yr. The United States has a lower rate, 4.62 murders / 100k people /yr [0]. If American guns are the problem, why aren't the gun homicide rates higher in the United States than Mexico? But at the very least, it sounds like Mexico could benefit from stronger border security, too many guns are flowing across its porous border with the US. How many Mexic…
> If American guns are the problem, why aren't the gun homicide rates higher in the United States than Mexico? One of the answers is money. USA has more of it - for policing, for prisons, for making sure corruption and taking bribes from crime is less of an attractive choice. More poverty and profits of drug trafficking push the homicide numbers up in Mexico. Of course American guns are not the whole problem but they…
>One of the answers is money.
It would be convenient if it were true, but I don't think money is a great explanation. I come from a rural area in the Midwest, the people are very poor (even poorer than the urban poor) but have a lot of guns. Despite being poor and armed, the gun homicide rates are very low (the suicide rates are unfortunately not that low).
Can you help me understand why poor farmers in the midwest don't commit as many murders as similarly poor and armed Mexicans?
Re: Gun laws where guns take the most lives
#53>This high level of unregistered firearms has been attributed to Mexico’s proximity with the United States, as thousands of gun retailers sit just over the border. A report on gun trafficking between the US and Mexico revealed that almost 90% of the guns recovered and identified from Mexican crime scenes can be traced back to firearm dealers in the neighbouring country.
Obama's ATF forced dealers to sell guns to straw purchasers who took them to Mexico.
Re: Gun laws where guns take the most lives
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Mexico has a firearm homicide rate of ~6.3 murders / 100k people / yr. The United States has a lower rate, 4.62 murders / 100k people /yr [0]. If American guns are the problem, why aren't the gun homicide rates higher in the United States than Mexico? But at the very least, it sounds like Mexico could benefit from stronger border security, too many guns are flowing across its porous border with the US. How many Mexic…
Both countries could benefit from an EU-style NAFTA that allows for truly free movement of people and goods (no passports, no tariffs, no customs inspections, etc) between borders. Today that proposal would probably be problematic, but the U.S. Mexico and Canada should be pursuing "ever closer union" to borrow the EU's phrase.
Mexico is a crime ridden third world country. What do you think it's citizens are going to do if you open up the border?
How many millions of people do you think the US can suddenly take on? And you don't think they'll bring crime with them?
Re: Gun laws where guns take the most lives
#55The debate here has focused on guns as the problem. Guns are not the problem, they are an expression of the problem. To quote the article: "The Economist stated that rapid urbanisation and inequalities in wealth distribution were some of the largest factors in violent crime, and as one of the most unequal countries on the planet, Brazil backs up this claim." I think this statement applies to Mexico and other Latin American countries, to varying extents.
Removing guns from the streets may reduce gun deaths, but the violence will probably remain as long as the underlying social injustices are not addressed.
Re: Gun laws where guns take the most lives
#56I never understood how anyone can take another life. To take away the memories, the experiences, the future potential of another spirit - all for the sake of what? Hate? Money? Power? How can anything be worth more than the only thing that allows one to experience this world? Sad.
Seriously, you downvote this? Huh. The hate runs deep.
Re: Gun laws where guns take the most lives
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If American guns are the problem, why aren't the gun homicide rates higher in the United States than Mexico? One of the answers is money. USA has more of it - for policing, for prisons, for making sure corruption and taking bribes from crime is less of an attractive choice. More poverty and profits of drug trafficking push the homicide numbers up in Mexico. Of course American guns are not the whole problem but they…
>One of the answers is money. It would be convenient if it were true, but I don't think money is a great explanation. I come from a rural area in the Midwest, the people are very poor (even poorer than the urban poor) but have a lot of guns. Despite being poor and armed, the gun homicide rates are very low (the suicide rates are unfortunately not that low). Can you help me understand why poor farmers in the midwest d…
I understand you are helping to differentiate between political and social stability and the easy metric "money", however, poor means something very different in Mexico and central America than it does in the Midwest. I agree with you- there's more going on than just money. But your example isn't convincing to me, because there is a huge difference in the financial capability and stability of the very poor in america, and the very poor of our southern neighbors. Also, just because someone in america is very poor doesn't mean they don't benefit from the wealth of our country in other ways- stronger prisons, often better schools and police, though that does vary a bit by community.
Re: Gun laws where guns take the most lives
#58That is what happens when a global superpower starts funneling guns and money to rebel groups to overthrown democratic governments and replace them with easily bribed authoritarians. This is what happens when you bomb a peaceful civilian populous so they give into a foreign fruit companies exploitative demands.
Things would be a lot better if we didn't spend the last 60+ years doing everything possible to destabilize established and successful political institutions in the name of corporate profits.
Re: Gun laws where guns take the most lives
#59Nobody seems to point out the obvious fallacy of the "right to protect yourself". If having that right actually results in being more likely to be harmed, or harm someone else, having that right is an unacceptable public safety risk. A common argument against gun control ("should we ban hammers next?") is obviously fallacious when you compare it to an even more extreme comparison ("should we ban private ownership of…
What you're basically saying is there's a spectrum, but people just disagree over how to demarcate the spectrum. I agree, and so does the US government. Right now, automatic rifles and anything more powerful than them are illegal to privately own. That's just where a large part of the US draws the line right now: semi-automatic and below are okay, anything above is not okay. Maybe that line will move in the future, b…
But shouldn't the "spectrum" be decided by what actually happens to people, and not just public opinion? Wrt automatics vs non, handguns are (iirc?) the deadliest weapons in the US. So yeah, the spectrum may change, I'm just saying I think it should be based on real world risks and not just individual perception.
Re: Gun laws where guns take the most lives
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If American guns are the problem, why aren't the gun homicide rates higher in the United States than Mexico? One of the answers is money. USA has more of it - for policing, for prisons, for making sure corruption and taking bribes from crime is less of an attractive choice. More poverty and profits of drug trafficking push the homicide numbers up in Mexico. Of course American guns are not the whole problem but they…
>One of the answers is money. It would be convenient if it were true, but I don't think money is a great explanation. I come from a rural area in the Midwest, the people are very poor (even poorer than the urban poor) but have a lot of guns. Despite being poor and armed, the gun homicide rates are very low (the suicide rates are unfortunately not that low). Can you help me understand why poor farmers in the midwest d…
The answer to your question was in the comment:
> for policing, for prisons, for making sure corruption and taking bribes from crime is less of an attractive choice
Does this rural Midwest area have an active police presence? How well policed do you think a rural area in Mexico is?