I read an article today in the Houston Chronicle that said TSA detected twice as many firearms per million passengers at airports in 2020 than in 2019. About 83% of the firearms were loaded. Dallas and Houston were in the top 10. I don't get the gun mentality. The last thing I would ever put on a travel packing list would be a gun. Maybe it's because I don't travel to places I feel a need to fight for my life. Maybe it's because I don't take pleasure killing animals. Maybe it's because I don't feel a need to own a gun. Maybe that's why the US ranks right up there with 3rd world countries on murder rates per capita, along with Russia, Ukraine, and the Middle East.
I don’t try catching my kitchen on fire but I still have a fire extinguisher in there. you just gave yourself the answer to your own question with the murder stats. I carry because I can and I carry everywhere I can because violence can be random and just like Alanis Morissette said, “It’s like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife”
Maybe our murder rates are so high because people can walk around packed and loaded. Instead of throwing a punch they just shoot the guy pissing them off.
The horses are out of the barn. Do I think it's ideal that there are more guns in this country than people? No, but I will also insure myself and family for any situation.
Packing loaded firearms into your luggage? Smh the worst is when I see all these MAGA fatties posting pics online with them strapped like they’re Rambo
How is it legal? What if a loaded gun goes off and starts a fire in the cargo of the plane? Bye bye? Can you also pack bombs in your luggage? Why not? You want to be safe and what better way than to bomb someone to bits just to make sure.
Yeah, this is straight dumb to bring a firearm to an airport checkpoint. You can't even bring a bottle of shampoo with you. Of course, this is 'Murica we're talkin' bout. I'm pro-gun ownership, but it should be utterly responsible with very high requirements (difficult as both a learning tool and a barrier to entry for casual murders) and extremely high penalties for breaking any rules. It's a right and a serious responsibility. People are triggered. Watch your back.
This. The rate of stupid people buying guns rose dramatically this year. Between the COVID apocalypse FUD and the liberals fear mongering of a Trump dictatorship pushed a lot of apathetic and anti-gun owners into purchasing weapons.
To me the gun culture speaks to a failure of our local police goodwill more than anything at least in the suburbs and in the city. I understand how when you live out in the country you'd feel the need to have a gun for protection given the length of time it takes for the police to get to your property. However in the suburbs, and in the city we should be looking at 3 to 4 minute response times which makes home security measures like alarms, cameras, and other perimeter hardening measures much more safe. So there's certainly an issue there with policing, and just an overall paranoia factor in our culture that would ever lead you to think you needed one when you go to the store, or to a Rockets game or whatever. Post 9/11 terrorism fears, mass shooter fears, and newly found political violence fears led to the spike. Then there's also the power that the Republican gun lobby has had to effect gun laws in the wrong direction at the state level. The gun lobby understood that Democrats could win at the federal level and in some states, but their power would really be felt at the state level, and if they burrowed their way into states like Texas, and Florida, it would create insane amounts of demand that would be incredibly profitable. So it's a combination of things, but more than anything I think there needs to be a mass messaging strategy to really focus on community policing so we can get the areas that matter (suburbs and the city) to de-arm themselves with active measure of trusted police response, and further use of technology innovation to harden our homes where guns become an unnecessary risk to own in your house. On the fear that leads to guns being "needed" while going out of your home, Democrats and Republicans not bought off by the gun lobby need to really focus hard on winning at the state and local level where these changes can be made to pull back on the damage the gun lobby has done at the state level. Then there is the issue of propaganda.... which is the hardest part to deprogram people's minds with the damage FoxNews and the Republican party has done to America over the past 20 years.
I agree, police response time is terrible. That said, almost all gun violence is over in a minute or two. When I lived in rural areas, I rarely felt threatened or a need to carry a gun for protection.
Fear mongering? You still are going on about how normal humans, not just liberals, feared the fascist tendencies of Trump? The dude literally tried to overturn a election because he didn't win. Are you also implying that the people who bought firearms from fears of things like right wing extremist culture becoming more mainstream, Trump's fascist tendencies can't learn basic firearm operations and safety?
thanks for the update difficult with COVID. ranges are closing. especially indoor n00b friendly ranges.
Fear mongering, yes. Trumps actions were very concerning and we as a country should absolutely act upon it. After Nov 3rd, it was very clear he was not going to become president, no matter what he tried. Yes, I had that much faith in the system. Thats not to say the next narcissistic politician wont have a better chance. Bottom line, I am absolutely against inexperience people owning guns. When it comes to guns, inexperienced people scare me the most. They can. And when they do, let them knock themselves out.
There is trust in the system knowing Trump won't succeed and then there is understanding that 60 million plus Americans to some degree condone the behavior of a wannabe fascist. So the "fear mongering" was in regards to understanding millions support the actions of Trump. Millions desire fascism. That is what is extremely concerning.
I think the majority of these cases are people being absent minded/making a mistake/forgetting a gun was in a bag.
Sure fire arms sales went up recently but they also went up and you couldn't find ammo anywhere when we elected a black man as president. That continued and all culminated with the storming of the capitol so I think it's a perfectly normal response for liberals to buy guns now. It would be stupid not to.