United States to fund gun-violence research after 20-year freeze

Post by c0nducktr » Tue, Dec 17, 2019, 7:12 AM UTC

dx87 wrote: post #18

rayiner wrote: post #3

Gun violence research is a good example of how science can be skewed to make different political points. For example, one of the new tactics gun control advocates have adopted is lumping homicides and suicides together into “gun deaths” even though the policy implications of the two things are quite different. (Suicides accounting for the large majority of “gun deaths,” but bans on semi-automatic rifles and high capa…

Another way I've seen statistics misused when advocating for gun control is bringing up the high number of "mass shootings" any time an event makes the news. The majority of "mass shootings" are gang violence, but gun control advocates will bring it up when there is a school/mall/etc. shooting to play on people's fears and make them believe that almost every day there is someone killing a bunch of kids in a school. I…

Post by ryeights » Tue, Dec 17, 2019, 7:17 AM UTC

glenstein wrote: post #103

robcohen wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alternatively, you can just repeal the second amendment. I’m unsure why anti-gun advocates don’t just argue this. The constitution can be changed. Justice Stevens argued this in an op-ed: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/opin...

Gun advocates should clear up confusion by lobbying for an amendment that redefines militia to encompass a wider age range. Or we can acknowledge that passing constitutional amendments in the 21st century requires amount of political capital that it is no longer possible to attain in our system. Insisting that we interpret the status quo as favoring one's preferred ideology, and that one's ideological opponents must…

Post by tomlockwood » Tue, Dec 17, 2019, 7:20 AM UTC

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #171

tomlockwood wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok! Is there perhaps a less messy way to do it than a gun? Also I think people, particularly men, seem to think they're pretty immune to mental illness or fits of emotion. That's another belief that lacks a basis. Whether you die because you had a bad month or because a toddler found your gun, or your partner was angry at you, you'll still be dead.

> Ok! Is there perhaps a less messy way to do it than a gun? Of course. And maybe we should encourage people to pursue those alternatives if they're sure in their decision, and maybe take some time to contemplate whether it's what they really want before doing something they can't undo. But we need to do that anyway , because even without a gun, someone may have a rope on hand, or a bottle of pills. We need to addres…

Post by tomlockwood » Tue, Dec 17, 2019, 7:22 AM UTC

ryeights wrote: post #169

tomlockwood wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno, maybe this is a super controversial opinion but I think it may be harmful to categorize a bunch of people who commit suicide as idiots. Particularly given that those people in America are more and more often veterans and men. I also think that by some tragic circumstance or another a lot of those mentally ill people have no friends or family to support them. I'm happy to pay the government to care for those…

Note that I said 'accidentally injured' in my original comment; obviously suicide is a different matter entirely. This might actually be a controversial opinion, but I believe people who want to end their lives have a right to do so. Barring that, we already have measures in place (e.g. involuntary hospitalization) for the acutely suicidal. For others, why stop at taking away their guns? Take away their kitchen knive…

Post by AnthonyMouse » Tue, Dec 17, 2019, 7:38 AM UTC

tomlockwood wrote: post #156

yongjik wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I see it the opposite way: America's infatuation with guns reflects a world where your fellow citizens are wild animals to be fended off with lethal threat, and your government is run by dangerous criminals ready to take you and your freedom by brute force. This is a world built upon the lowest common denominator of civilization.

> your government is run by dangerous criminals ready to take you and your freedom by brute force. Even more interesting to me is the idea that the American government has such a hold over the patriots in the military that they could be commanded to enforce tyranny. Or, that owning an assault rifle is some antidote against the best funded military in the world, which has been fighting armed insurgencies for years.