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Women are nearly half of new gun buyers, study finds

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

#851

Post by solidsnack9000 »

jfengel wrote: post #232
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…

Murders aren't the only issue, though. Just the possibility of a gun being present changes a lot of interactions in the US. Every police encounter has to assume you have a gun. A lot of innocent deaths at the hands of police are treated as "I thought he had a gun", which makes everybody scared of the police -- especially minorities. School children go through metal detectors every single day, never turning up any gun…

That YCombinator thread is about having your kids taken away by Child Protective Services, not being killed by guns.

The idea that Americans are on edge is simply not correct. The average American, not intending to end their own life and not engaged in a criminal career, is much, much more likely -- about 10× -- to be killed by their own or another person's car than by a gun, and American attitudes reflect that.

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

#852

Post by cratermoon »

Dma54rhs wrote: post #330
cratermoon wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

VC was supported by China. Taliban is supported by Pakistan and Russia. They don't have "small arms", they have the backing of major powers.

Taliban never had the backing of Russia, what is this bs you're spreading?

https://apnews.com/article/europe-russia-taliban-f25c1a8b030...

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

#853

Post by asquabventured »

throwaway09223 wrote: post #790
sillysaurusx wrote: post #486

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I winced when you started the comparison with Brazil and Mexico. Those countries may be New World, but anybody who's visited Mexico knows not to go random places alone. In other words, if Brazil and Mexico are our points of comparison, we're... not in a situation I'd want to be in, to put it diplomatically. Reddit's running joke is that every gunfight happened in Brazil. In fact, I often wonder if most of the gunfigh…

" if Brazil and Mexico are our points of comparison" Almost half of all US homicides are drug/gang related, so obviously there will be links to south american countries where these enterprises also operate. If you want to avoid high crime, move north. Northern states have a homicide rate roughly half the national average.

You ever heard of Chicago? Up to the minute crime statistics in this northern state city with some of the most restrictive gun control can easily be found. [1.]

[1.] https://heyjackass.com

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

#854

Post by cratermoon »

Throwawayaerlei wrote: post #444
cratermoon wrote: post #275

Giving women guns wouldn't prevent rape: it would land women in jail https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/23/dana-l... Guns Are Bad for Women: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a18666337/nra...

There's no substance to the Harper's Bazzar article, and The Guardian one cites two cases, one I'm not familiar with, but the other was a clear case of attempted murder that got so notorious the woman was given a pass in the end. Key detail in that case: when you withdraw from a heated situation, retrieve a gun from your vehicle, and go back to it and shoot at the person you're arguing with, you're not exactly demons…

> Needless to say they don't list any cases where things went right for a woman defending herself.

I wonder why that is....

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

#855

Post by cratermoon »

rpmisms wrote: post #507
cratermoon wrote: post #275

Giving women guns wouldn't prevent rape: it would land women in jail https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/23/dana-l... Guns Are Bad for Women: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a18666337/nra...

Sounds like sexism to me.

Yes, the attitudes that blame women for their own abuse definitely arise out of sexism.

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

#856

Post by grogenaut »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #780
OrvalWintermute wrote: post #714

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> made possible through the (lack of) gun ownership regulation. The US has plenty of gun ownership regulation. Criminals choose not to follow that though.

The USA also has plenty of gun production capacity. Unless you really believe 25% of Americans own 20 guns each, there is a lot of winking and nudging that guns are going south for drugs coming north.

Actually that's not far off. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/15/the-gun-numb... 3% of americans own near half of the guns.

Generally if you're going to own guns you're going to own several, just like you likely own more than one screwdriver. Small gauge shotguns for small birds, larger for larger birds, smooth bore for deer depending on state. Rifles there will be several, same for pistols. With rifles and pistols you generally practice with small caliber rounds like 22 as it's much much cheaper ($.02 / rnd vs $2), and really more pleasant (quiet, doesn't kick) than hunting rounds.

Everyone I know who has a gun has at least 4.

My friend's grandfather owns 73. In many areas that's an unremarkable number, especially for older shotguns where you didn't have interchangeable chokes.

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

#857

Post by natmaka »

thebooktocome wrote: post #224
natmaka wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't 'strict control' imply that few legally detain guns? Gender Inequality Index: #1 (best nation) is Switzerland. This country is shock-full of firearms, there is an assault rifle in many (most?) homes (a weird way to 'control', in my opinion). #2 is Norway, where 9% of the population legally owns 1.3 million guns (population: 5.4 million) #3 Finland. 12% of Finns legally detain a firearm

Switzerland's famous assault rifles are not kept with ammunition, and are mostly useless. (I suppose you could bludgeon a home invader with one.) Firearms are more heavily regulated there than in most of Europe. "He shakes out the gun holster. "And we don't get bullets any more," he adds. "The Army doesn't give ammunition now - it's all kept in a central arsenal." This measure was introduced by Switzerland's Federal…

As far as I know and saw in Switzerland the army doesn't give ammo anymore to militiamen (maybe because some over-used it, or maybe due to long-term storage issues) but they are able to buy it, and many do.

Moreover there is a mandatory training programme (a few weeks each year), including shooting exercises. Security-related matters aren't neglected, lowering the accident rates.

After his term a militiamen can buy the army-delivered weapon, and quite a few do so. This is financially clever as most on-duty militiamen take care of the gun (thinking he will buy it) and it reduces its cost for the community as he buys it, along as for him thanks to the massive buying programs of the army.

Many, even among non-militiamen, are hunters or shooters (as a hobby) and a fair fraction of them reload used ammunition.

In Switzerland a prominent argument (maybe the most prominent) of people willing to ban weapons is the amount of suicides by firearms. However suicide rates in heavily-armed Switzerland are at worst equal to those of not-heavily-armed nations such as the UK, Germany and France ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_r... )

As a related note: most firearm-related death rates are established while integrating suicides: in the US the apparent (and widely publicized) ratio of firearm-related death for 1e5 people in 2017 was 11.67, however suicides form 7.32 of it (4.46 being homicides). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-r...

IMHO the Swiss context differs from the US one because the militia is the core of the defensive system, each citizen has to be involved and the local culture integrates it. Even more significantly the Swiss society isn't under lasting and major murder-triggering major pressure (ethnic tensions, extreme poverty...).

Gun ownership doesn't put a stable society into jeopardy, and disarming haters won't transmogrify them into tolerant citizens.

https://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/switzerland

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

#858

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

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

#859

Post by worrycue »

zepto wrote: post #443
jfengel wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Congratulations on never having encountered a police officer. If you do, you'll be very aware of the fact that they're treating you as if you were armed. I am aware of it, and I'm not even black -- and I've seen how much worse it is for black people. Congrats, also, on graduating school before school shootings became a big thing. Me, too. It was great not having to go through metal detectors on my way to class. I am…

I’m not white and I’ve been stopped by police numerous times and have never been afraid of being shot. The chances of being involved in a school shooting are lower than the chance of being hit by lightning. I also have flown many times. Nobody has ever ‘checked me for guns’. Generally they are checking for knives and explosives. You might be too young to remember, but much of today’s airport security was brought in a…

You never been told to keep your hands on the wheel where they are visible to the police officer and not to make any sudden movements, when you are pulled over?

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

#860

Post by grogenaut »

optymizer wrote: post #842
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…

> ability to fight but not to win. You realize how ridiculous it sounds to go against the US government with rifles? It's worse than bringing a knife to a gun fight. Sometimes I can't help but feel like most of you gun loving folks are dreaming that you're in a Hollywood movie, where you're the hero and you die in glorious battle protecting your freedoms and family. But it's ok, because at least you put up a fight an…

Did I miss something, did America NOT just pull out of Afghanistan?
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