Fuck the shooter’s father. The kid was under age, he wasn’t allowed to have those guns in the first place. No law could have stopped him getting his hands on them, because whoever supplied them to the aformentioned minor broke the law as well.
I don’t think banning guns is really the answer, it hasn’t worked yet, but I also don’t see what any civilian needs with a semi-military grade weapon. And let’s be honest, those are WEAPONS, NOT “tools.” You can’t compare an AK to a car or a knife, because those have uses besides killing. There’s nothing you’re doing with a weapon like an AK besides killing or practicing killing, and no one’s going hunting with a weapon like that. And I suspect the only reason we can buy weaponry like that is so defense contractors don’t go under.
Handguns for self defense, hunting rifles, fine. But some semi-military grade shit that has one and only one purpose? No way. No one needs that shit and allowing civilians to buy stuff like that basically because a significant portion of our economy is defense is irresponsible.
This might rustle a few jimmies, but I view (extreme) gun nuts & the NRA the same way I view people who were opposed to civil rights and gay marriage. They’re just holding the rest of us back, and because they don’t want to have to take a look at themselves and and their “hobby” and see that their benefit means the rest of us get put in danger, sometimes in ways we don’t even think about, we all suffer and it contributes to the weakening of society.
A weapon is a tool. A tool for inflicting lethal harm, in the rare case where it is justified to do so. A tool with one purpose (although guns are not single purpose items) is still a tool.
It’s also a tool used to hit inanimate targets for amusement or demonstrate or practice acts of marksmanship for show.
Semi-auto rifles are very common for huntjng purposes actually. It depends on the game your’re hunting. 7.62x39 is a very good calibre for deer or hog hunting.
Also - don’t tell me what I need. My hobby puts nobody in danger but myself, and not even that, if done correctly.
So at what point can we say that one kind of gun is ok but another one is not? While an assault rifle can kill many people quicker than a handgun, a handgun can still kill many people quickly.
We need to look at every single reason why guns are being considered legal, and ask ourselves…does this reason outweigh the dangers of having a gun?
Hunting: How many hunters are there in the US? Is it a necessity to hunt? What is stopping any one of these responsible gun-owning hunters from flipping out on someone and shooting them? Again, does the desire for this recreational activity outweigh the dangers of a gun?
Self-defense: At first glance, it might seem logical to have a gun for self defense. We need to look into how often it is the case that an attack, whether it’s by a gunman, rapist or a burglar, was thwarted by someone that possessed a gun for self-defense. I don’t know the statistics for that but I think it’s a rare occurrence, much rarer than self-defense advocates seem to suggest. Also, lets dismiss the scenario that we need to protect ourselves from the government. Aside from how ridiculous the conspiracy theories are, even if the government did attack, guns would not have much effect against the government’s heavy infantry, tanks and aircraft.
Gun-collecting: Is wanting to have a gun collection a good enough reason to have guns legal? What if someone wanted an explosives collection…a nuke collection? I think it’s a ridiculous reason and can be easily dismissed.
So really…why does anyone really need a gun?
The tool comparison is more apt if you live in the country side. In the city they are weapons. Most “militaty grade” guns are basically toys to the owners. Most high powered guns are murdering left over 6 packs.
Don’t. Tell. Me. What. I. Need. Fuck you, it is not your place, not any Government’s case to tell me what I can ad cannot have, unless I’m hurting people.
I’m not even American and I can grasp this concept.
How about you go and ask all those civilians who end up having to draw, or even fire their guns every year. The use of personal firearms as a deterrant outweighs the lives lost through misuse. Or, would you rather the death total go higher because the criminals are armed and the victims are not?
In a country where criminals have guns, levelling the playfield seems entirely like a legitimate need.
A tool doesn’t suddenly change it’s purpose because you live in the city. A tool is an implement used to perform a task. A weapon is tool used to perform the task of hurting something or someone.
Assault rifles don’t exist in the us for regular use, neither do military grade rifles. Those “military style” are engineered diffrently to prevent full automatic function. And all the assault rifles in the US belong to rich individuals, or people who are very enthusiastic about their hobby and respect it.
Your most base defenitions are wrong therefore, the whole of your shit argument is wrong also.
I don’t see anything related to economics on his post.
Your stupid, explosives are not illegal. Nor are they illegal to manufacture. But you’ll get in trouble for gross negligence and reckless emdegernment leading to an explosion. You’ll also get in trouble for that during the manufacturing process for a fire if you happen to have an restricted chemical or its derivative in your posession.
You don’t even k ow your laws or definitions, so who are you to pose questions?
You can’t take guns and you can’t deal with crazy people until they kill someone. Whatchu gon’ do? All the signs he was nuts were there, but nobody really gave a shit about THAT, despite it being the reason this happened. He did this with guns, so somehow, guns are the problem. His maladjusted ass was gonna kill people regardless of what was at hand. Can we focus on that?
Except it does. A rifle in the country, especially on places like Alaska, is basically a necessity. You can live just fine in the city without needing to protect livestock feom wolves and coyotes, fend off bears or scare of moose.
The purpose of a weapon is to inflict harm, no matter what the target is. Whether you are shooting animals or humans, offensively or defensively, this does not change.
maaaaaan…
You have never went hunting/trapping. Its a real relaxing experience. Not to mention game meat is on average more cheaper and healthier then store bought.
Most people that actively go hunting are quite level headed. Its why hunting and conservation go hand in hand.The only thing that would make them “snap” is if someone who doesnt know anything said guns are pointless cause they never experienced a rural lifestyle.
Also considering you can make some money from selling meat/skins in areas with little/no jobs, I’d said its still relevant and always will be.
Another point, Is if there is a large animal problem with them entering towns/cities. The obvious solution would be to just encourage hunters to thin them down. Not the liberal, just tranq, tag and send back in wild. :^)
As for self defense. If your American, Its part of your right and constitution.
Its the kind of attitude that speaks “I will not be moved” against any threat. It gives the people power, no matter how irrelevant you may think it is.
With that defeatist attitude you might as well stop caring about politics and the corrupt.
They have more resources, theres no point in speaking out against what is wrong. Right?
“It’s the American Way” is not a valid answer to anything. I’m paraphrasing, but that’s essentially what you said.
In all fairness, the amount of restrictions placed on who had access to the lightsabers was huge. Even if you factor in the sith, i’m not sure that lightsaber crimes would be all that high.
Semantics RE: the tool thing. Call it whatever you want but the sole purpose of a military style weapon IS to kill. I highly doubt they design those with hunters in mind.
Also, I’m not trying to be dismissive, but your country has a much smaller population and a much better instance of a social safety net than we do here in the states, and those two things alone make the gun issue a wholly different animal. It’s a PROBLEM here. Maybe it’s not where you come from, but talking about guns in Aus vs the US is like comparing apples to oranges.
Again, I’m not saying banning guns is the answer (because it doesn’t work) but certain guns, and I don’t have any problems with people owning or collecting guns, but I just can’t see what a civilian needs with something that’s almost military grade. That’s all I’m saying.