There have been 45 mass shootings in the US in 2016

[Deleted member 1]

No, you're absolutely right. And I apologize. I went back and reread my comment and it sounded really shitty when I did that, so I'm sorry. That was not my intention. I'm just very blunt, and it gets me in trouble.

You have a very valid point and I'm sorry I came across the way I did. Thank you for handling it properly when I did not. It just sounded better in my head than it did when I typed it.

Aint a thing man. I like your directness and, even though it seems we disagree some, debate is all good. Appreciate the thread and making me think.

 

[soundoff71]

I'm one of the crazies in question. =)

I do my part by voting and not having a gun myself. The whole 3 boxes to affect change thing (ballot box, soap box, ammo box, in that order).

Your point is not lost on me. I could do more. I just realize that I'm in the minority on this issue. I realize that most people do not read the Constitution the same way as I do. That's fine. Discussions are great.

I think my comment was another issue with me being blunt. You asked the question and I answered.

I'm with you on this one.

FRAT:

I lost one friend to a gun suicide. Another was killed in a drive-by. Another guy I knew did too much acid, & decided to shoot his brother-in-law at the Christmas table. Last year, my friend had guests visiting him. His neighbor's gun went off while he was cleaning it. The bullet went through the wall, through a bunch of books in his bookshelf, & into his guest's shoulder. This guy has four kids. Luckily no one died.

Oh, & since race was brought into the discussion, my friend who killed himself was white guy. The drive by victim was a mixed kid (black & white). And no, he wasn't in a gang, but the guys who shot him were. Wrong place, wrong time. The murderer was white. The accidental shooting involved whites.

Regardless of race, I'm not a big fan of guns, to say the least. Call it anecdotal, call it bias, say what you will. Either way, please be respectful.

For what it's worth, I wasn't close to the guy who killed himself, but he was a friend & it's still sad. The guy who killed his brother-in-law was a friend at one time, but I stopped hanging out with him when he started getting too crazy. Looks like it was the right call. The friend I lost in the drive-by still haunts me to this day. I didn't know my friend's guest, but it was scary.

The truth is, we have no idea what policies would be effective to curtail gun violence. I wish the CDC was allowed study it, but there's too much money involved to allowed that to happen any time soon. Poverty/socio-economic conditions do seem to play a huge role. I would say a lack of common sense, a false sense of security, and easy access do, too.

As for 2A, it comes down to how it's interpreted. Obviously I have my bias, but my understanding till the 80's, the courts had found that the first part of 2A, the “militia clause” trumped the the “bear arms” clause. That changed in the 80's with the GOP, the NRA, & the Heller ruling. Now before anyone jumps on me, I'm not a constitutional scholar. That's just my bro-lawyer interpretation of it, which could very well be wrong.

Anyway @Arcee, you're not alone. I'm not a big fan of guns, either.

 

[kneeblock]

So how much is gang violence would be my question.

The USA has almost no crime in most areas (by that i mean same as all the rest of developed western world, etc) and then, literally, a Somali crime rate in a small number.

To treat "mass shootings" in one category of crazy theter shooters and gang violence is to fully fail go understand the problem...and thus will fail at an actual solution. It's tantamount to just mentioning gun deaths.. Means nothing. Most white gun deaths are suicide. Almost all black gun deaths are homicide.


"Mass shooting" is a loaded term that obfuscates the issue.

Wow that stat on white suicides makes me think Chomsky may be right.

Donald Trump Is Winning Because White America Is Dying

 

[Punch]

Wow that stat on white suicides makes me think Chomsky may be right.

Donald Trump Is Winning Because White America Is Dying

I don't get the fear of what's different. Just doesn't compute to me.

 

[sparkuri]

Dear God not again...