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Women are nearly half of new gun buyers, study finds

wsj.com

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Re: Women are nearly half of new gun buyers, study finds

#531

Post by Throwawayaerlei »

bananabreakfast wrote: post #185
tablespoon wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My wife (and many women) has felt that the only way to effect change in our gun laws would be for white men to feel like targets. That's literally a joke. I heard it on a Dave Chappelle special. IIRC, actual gun rights groups like the NRA want black people and women to buy guns, because they're about gun rights and realize they're better secured if their constituency is larger.

Wrong. They are about gun ownership . Any rights are simply to enable more purchasing. Buying more guns makes the manufacturers happy.

You're confusing the NRA with the NSSF.

Re: Women are nearly half of new gun buyers, study finds

#532

Post by bm3719 »

standardUser wrote: post #274
bm3719 wrote: post #106

Excellent. There's no reason defensive gun buyers should be demographically different from the general population. It's understandable that gun sales for hunting or other activities might show differences, but we all have the same personal security needs. Side note: I'm one of the people here with a large collection of firearms. One thing to realize when you see the statistic that the US has more firearms than people…

For decades I have lived deep in the heart of some of the densest cities in the country (SF and NYC). These are places with serious and obvious crime problems that I have seen up close and personal, day in and day out. Yet to me, despite these experiences, the entire concept of "personal security needs" involving firearms is absolutely absurd. It sounds like a Monty Python sketch. Silly to the point of absurdity. But…

Not sure how anyone can respond to your assertion that it's silly and absurd. I'm fine with you feeling that way as long as you don't try to restrict my right to own them.

I guess one thing I can say is that security needs indeed are met by firearms, including yours to the degree that the police or private security protect you. So, it shouldn't be too foreign of a concept to anyone. Some of us choose to extend that protection to our homes and person, and take responsibility over it to varying degrees.

Re: Women are nearly half of new gun buyers, study finds

#533

Post by mensetmanusman »

umeshunni wrote: post #391
NoImmatureAdHom wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Specifically, cultural homogeneity makes a nation much easier to run. Boring food, though.

Japan has pretty good food for being homogenous.

Boring food can be good, but maybe there are fewer types of restaurants per capita.

Re: Women are nearly half of new gun buyers, study finds

#534

Post by quickthrowman »

sofixa wrote: post #96
chmod600 wrote: post #73

There's something admirable about the idea that a government would not take away all the guns. The idea that people should not have to give up all of their ability to fight. The idea that people should not be entirely dependent on police for their defense. And the idea that physically weaker people (often women) can defend themselves against the strong. Does this idea work? Surprisingly well. If you had to guess the…

> But the U.S. murder rate is not all that remarkable, really The US is at 4.96/100,000 for 2012. For reference, Angola is better at 4.85. Bulgaria and Romania, the poorest countries in the EU, are at 1.3. France is at 1.2. If by not remarkable you mean 3 as bad as other developed countries, sure. The numbers are only for intentional homicide, not even counting accidents and suicides which are also made worse by the…

> Furthermore, i find US fascination with their theoretical ability to fight their government with small arms adorable and misguided.

As an American, so do I. A citizen revolution vs US Military under the thumb of a dictator would be hilariously asymmetrical. There are no consumer predator drones.

Re: Women are nearly half of new gun buyers, study finds

#535

Post by Jedd »

nverno wrote: post #523
Jedd wrote: post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> PS: I am strong supporter of Gun rights and proud gun owner. I don't understand the pride bit. It seems like a regrettable situation where your distrust of your fellow citizens is so strong that you are comforted by the ability to kill them with minimal effort. (I'm in Australia, where we have some truly horrendous legislation, but I totally agree with our gun ownership laws here, and echo other people's observatio…

> It seems like a regrettable situation where your distrust of your fellow citizens is so strong that you are comforted by the ability to kill them with minimal effort. It's usually the opposite sentiment for gun owners- I trust my fellow citizens with arms. Guns are seen as an integral part of self-reliance by many. They provide you with a reasonably effective defense. One way to significantly erode individual's/cit…

> Guns are seen as an integral part of self-reliance by many.

For context, can you clarify if the many you're referring to there are some fellow USA citizens?

If so, I'll note that USA is > They provide you with a reasonably effective defense.

Against what? Other people with guns, or other people with feebler weapons?

If it's the former, then we're back to a basic escalation problem, and it's what most other western nation states have avoided falling prey to by, simply, not playing that game.

If you trust your fellow citizens with arms - who is it that you don't trust and that you need a weapon for 'effective defense'?

As to:

> ... in other words disarming populace is step down a slippery slope.

I really can't speak to what it looks like from within the borders of the USA, but from outside, it feels that the USA is well down that slippery slope (of eroded freedoms, and citizenry exploitation) compared to many other democratic nations - so guns in the hands of private citizens don't appear to be a panacea.

[0] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/13/key-facts-a...

Re: Women are nearly half of new gun buyers, study finds

#536

Post by rpmisms »

philwelch wrote: post #397
tootie wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the simplest counterpoint is Britain. The US Second Amendment is a direct descendant of the British Common Law right to bear arm. And Britain is arguably our national parent with a similar culture and history and a modern pluralistic culture. They effectively ended their right to private gun ownership in the 20th century to the point that it's now extremely difficult to procure one and there are very few guns…

Britain also spent a long time transporting violent criminals and resettling much of the relatively violent “Scotch-Irish”/“Borderer” population to the American colonies. We also got a lot of their religious fanatics. This explains a lot about America.

This is an excellent point that I don't hear often.

Re: Women are nearly half of new gun buyers, study finds

#537

Post by adamredwoods »

booleandilemma wrote: post #481
csours wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if more Texas liberal women were armed, they would still have the right to choose to get an abortion?

If they can shoot the men trying to rape them maybe they won’t have to?

Have you ever tried to pull a gun on someone attacking you? I think most people find it easier to fantasize these 'armed defense' reactions then to actually experience one.

Re: Women are nearly half of new gun buyers, study finds

#538

Post by systemvoltage »

treeman79 wrote: post #463
KorematsuFredt wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PS: I am strong supporter of Gun rights and proud gun owner. I fully agree with anti-gun crowd that having vast majority of guns in hands of citizens (legally or illegally) leads to more deaths. USA's comparison with Angola is actually more serious than the numbers tell you because you need to realize that USA has far better medical response and doctors trained to handle gunshot wounds. So to truly compare Angola and…

Situations like China effectively exterminating populations they don’t like are why gun rights are so important. Order men to re-education camps and forcing their women to sleep in same bed as police/watchdogs gets a lot less appealing if the woman can shoot their government mandated rapist.

Yeah, I cannot fathom the carnage and full blown civil war in Northwestern China if Uighers had guns.

Re: Women are nearly half of new gun buyers, study finds

#539

Post by [deleted] »

mmmpop wrote: post #368
redstripe wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's admirable about it? This is just a fiction that you Americans tell yourselves about the next revolution. Name one, just one way, that ease of gun ownership has protected Americans from their government in a way that citizens of other western democracies have suffered? There is no scenario in which any citizen with a gun in any country defeats their government. Your gun will keep you safe about as well as your…

If you were an officer of the law pressed to go door-to-door to say, purely hypothetically, take the oldest child by force to inscribe them in some dystopian military program, you'd probably be a lot more hesitant if you knew that there was a chance you'd get shot in the process right? I believe that's the security that us Americans (I imagine your sneer with that) feel by being armed. Isn't it that the Swiss are all…

[deleted]

Re: Women are nearly half of new gun buyers, study finds

#540

Post by teakettle42 »

Jedd wrote: post #499
KorematsuFredt wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PS: I am strong supporter of Gun rights and proud gun owner. I fully agree with anti-gun crowd that having vast majority of guns in hands of citizens (legally or illegally) leads to more deaths. USA's comparison with Angola is actually more serious than the numbers tell you because you need to realize that USA has far better medical response and doctors trained to handle gunshot wounds. So to truly compare Angola and…

> PS: I am strong supporter of Gun rights and proud gun owner. I don't understand the pride bit. It seems like a regrettable situation where your distrust of your fellow citizens is so strong that you are comforted by the ability to kill them with minimal effort. (I'm in Australia, where we have some truly horrendous legislation, but I totally agree with our gun ownership laws here, and echo other people's observatio…

> I don't understand the pride bit.

I can't speak to the parent, but I take pride in self-reliance, and taking responsibility for securing and defending the well-being of myself, my family, neighbors, and community.

I also am a volunteer, state-certified structure firefighter, and take pride in that for the exact same reason.

You might find it interesting that, as part of our classroom instruction, my structure firefighting class was asked how many of us owned guns — all of us raised a hand.

This mirrors my experience in the broader fire service.

> Perhaps I could interest you in some Iain M Banks (taken from Excession).

I love Iain M Banks' Culture series, but they live within a utopian, post-scarcity benevolent dictatorship managed by AIs with powers verging on that of a demigod.

We most certainly do not.

As for the quote? Any tool can only be fully appreciated within the context of its intended purpose, and the effects that it can produce in the world around us.

The value of a gun as a tool is a tragedy, but the tragedy isn't the gun, but the necessity for one, and it's a tragedy inherent in our mortal existence.

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