Sometimes it can seem that way. I was saying that the financial imbalance between rich and poor is the disease, and increased gun violence is a symptom of it. If rich people didn't do everything they possibly could to hoard all the money and drive poor people into the ground, we would see fewer murders over gangs, robberies, and drugs.
I don't want to get into another gun thread, but I can't leave this alone. I have a sister who lived in Switzerland for years. Everyone has to keep a rifle and a certain number of bullets, but they don't own hand-guns like Americans do. They also keep those rifles locked up at home and aren't permitted to carry a gun unless they have good reason to (like en route to the gun range, or working a security job). The reason why Switzerland has low violent crime is cultural and economic. It is an affluent country that is careful about letting less affluent people in. And they are ridiculously law-abiding. They don't break speed limits; they don't jay-walk; they don't litter. They have rules about when you're allowed to run your washing machine, and people actually obey them. I'd be surprised to hear about a Swiss shooting someone in self-defense.
If we are talking Switzerland's low crime rate and attributing that to universal gun ownership I am currently in Singapore and it also has one of the lowest crime rates, is very clean and law abiding but gun ownership and access is severely limited. Also this idea of personal ownership of small arms as a guarantee of protection against the government went out the door with Shays Rebellion. Small arms might be good for holding a run of the mill street cop off for a few hours but a SWAT team would probably be enough to put an end to a small group of Patriots armed with easily available guns and rifles. Calling out the US military would be overkill. Consider that Saddam gave practically every Iraqi family an AK-47, not the semi-automatic model you can legally get here but a fully automatic one, and that didn't slow down the US military nor did those Iraqis use their Kalishnikovs to overthrow the tyrannical regime they lived under. My own view is that the 2nd Amendment is an anachronism in an age of highly mechanized standing armies and national guards. That said I am not for repealing it. Guns are more about culture and I don't think the US is anywhere near a crisis state regarding problems or benefits of guns to merit changing the Constitution.
comparisons to other countries is dumb. The USA is violent. See American football, most violent sport (behind bull riding) and it is by far the most popular. Our entire culture is based on violence. Other countries love our movies because we have super huge explosions and violent graphic shootings. Trying to compare other countries gun laws to our own correlated to violent crime is impossible. Japan has massively high suicide rate without guns. USA would still have massive violence without guns. And all of the cop haters would love it when the cops get the massive shot of ego boost knowing they are the only ones with guns. You seriously want that? Dumb thread is dumb, no one is taking guns away. Every politician knows this is a dead debate. Gun owners are organized, paranoid and willing to call, write letters, and most importantly vote your asses out of office if you **** with us. Good luck.
Surely your post is based on the assumption that 'culture' cannot be changed? Isn't this sort of implying that other countries love violence as well? But where are their guns?
Culture evolves. I don't know if it can be changed. If you had to change the culture before you could get the necessary votes to change the Constitution, what would you do to effect that cultural change?
Step 1: Kevin Smith makes a movie that just constantly ragged on people owning guns. Step 2: Have 4chan spread an internet meme mocking guns. Step 3: ??? ... Step 10,000: Amend the Constitution.
Got an AK-47, well you know it makes me feel alright Got an Uzi by my pillow, helps me sleep a little better at night There's no feeling any greter Than to shoot first and ask questions later Now I'm trigger happy, trigger happy every day Well, you can't take my guns away, I got a constitutional right Yeah, I gotta be ready if the Commies attack us tonight I'll blow their brains out with my Smith and Wesson That ought to teach them all a darn good lesson Now I'm trigger happy, trigger happy every day
It isn't like the Constitution means anything. Its just a damned piece of paper, to paraphrase our last President.
I have no illusions of an armed militia overthrowing the government (not a snowball's chance in hell against an unsupported US army). However, gun ownership is a symbol of freedom, as much as say... The Statue of Liberty. People see it as a restriction on powers of the government. You can argue what qualifies as freedom of speech but having a gun is tangible and unambiguous. It's either a gun or not.
For 2 years, then what happened? Hell of a lot easier to shoot someone than to choke/stab/run over someone. I understand there are cultural differences which account for the discrepancies in crime rates world wide. That being said, guns are the principal tools used for violent crimes in this country. I don't see why gun control laws aren't more stringent. It's too easy to get a gun in most states.
So... there is a long term trend in declining murder rates, going back well before guns were outlawed. Guns are outlawed and immediately there is a big uptick in the murder rate. Eventually the long term downtrend reasserts itself and continues. And your logical explanation is that the gun ban is excused for the short term uptick, but is in fact responsible for the long term trend that existed before the ban? Are you familiar with the concept of The Wisdom of Repugnance? Its what the bigots use to justify their hatred of gay people. You are disgusted by guns on a visceral level. Don't mistake that for truth.
why is alcohol legal is causes liver damage? why are cigarettes legal they cause down syndrome and lung cancer? why are knives sold at stores for kitchens you can stab somebody with it? why is weed about to be legal even though the smoke is linked to lung cancer? why do cops act like terrorists? why do black and latino cops kill a defenseless homeless white man(helly thomas) without being shot themselves? No matter what some of you idiots say, cops are just criminals with badges. They do not care about protecting people,they brag about hurting people. They "let the courts figure out who is guilty'..Cops do not give a **** if someone is guilty while they are beating the crap out of someone. I hate freakin cops. Theres a police man on my street that says hi to my wife everytime she walks by his house..I told her to quit waving at that pig because he thinks he is god for carrying a badge. why does america bomb the **** out of countries and kill thousands of innocent people that didnt even attack us on 911? Hey ignorant OP, if you are going to ban guns, then ban everything else including fire steriod using cops(there is no drug test for cops) ,alcohol,cigarettes,weed,and impeach Obama and any future president that uses weapons to kill innocent people. Another thing the OP is completely ignorant of is that on the black market criminals can get guns easily, so if he makes guns "illegal" then the criminals can have a field day breaking into peoples homes without fear of being shot.
http://www.guninformation.org/ Yeah, I'll be sure to not mistake misinformation from lobbyists for truth. You were saying?
for the record, the OP does have one point right.. if you live in a white neighborhood, yes I said it, you dont need a gun for home protection. You can go on texasguntrader and sell yours for a very good margin unlike pawn shops that rip you off. on the otherhand the OP is wrong. if you live in a apartment,or ghetto, you need a gun. For the simple fact some of them hire illegal immigrants as workers, and they literally break in to "work on the Ac" when really they thought you were gone. This used to happen to me. Ive come home and found things stolen and I know for a fact the maintenence man did it since there was no break in. They could easily rape my hot wife and then flew to mexico to avoid arrest. Even if they are arrested, cops wont do anything except deport them. Thats why you need to blow their brains out because one day some illegal will get a small bonor and try to hump your wifes booty. Thats when a gun is useful.
