8 ms·

Banning firearms in general won't work in America. There are already more guns than people in circulation, the right to own them is codified into the Constituti

Banning firearms in general won't work in America. There are already more guns than people in circulation, the right to own them is codified into the Constitution and requires an amendment to fix (and amendments are ridiculously hard to pass), and of course there's the huge section of the population that would probably rather die than let their right to own guns be infringed. Not to mention that we do have a giant border with Mexico to our south that would probably make any attempt to remove all guns from America pointless.

jazoom 9y ago
>Banning firearms in general won't work in America. Obligatory "not with that attitude".
celticninja 9y ago
>Banning firearms in general won't work in America. This is the go to reason that people give, but it just means they haven't tried. No one said it would be cheap or easy but it could be done. As for gun smuggling, the USA used to be the source of 80% of guns used in crimes in Canada and in Mexico it is 70%. https://www.quora.com/How-are-guns-smuggled-into-the-United-States https://www.quora.com/How-are-guns-smuggled-into-the-United-... https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/12/462781469/in-mexico-tens-of-thousands-of-illegal-guns-come-from-the-u-s https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/12/462781469... https://www.vox.com/2016/1/14/10771628/gun-violence-america-mexico https://www.vox.com/2016/1/14/10771628/gun-violence-america-... So actually a gun ban in the USA would help both Canada and Mexico with their gun problems. In Mexico many of these guns end up in the hands of the cartels who are much more willing to use them than your usual criminals, and whilst they would still probably be able to obtain weapons they would not be able to do so in the same sort of volume and they would also have trouble locating ammunition.
- burger_moon 9y ago
  It worked get for alcohol prohibition. I'm sure it'll be about as easy for guns.
  - fatjokes 9y ago
    Do Americans love guns that much?? I mean, there are so many other toys to play with. Does owning a gun cause a nice buzz? Is it a social lubricant that makes everybody at a party happier when you bring it out? Does it have an ancient history that spans across the globe? Does it result in a chemical addiction? Haven't found a good replacement for alcohol that wasn't more illegal or harmful.
    - obsolete_ideas 9y ago
      Guns aren't toys. They are an important tool in America's system of checks and balances: Guns are not for shooting deer; guns are for shooting politicians. The 2nd Amendment is very clear; in fact, it's probably the clearest portion of the entire Constitution: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." In order to protect the freedom of each state from the imposition of some tyranny, it must be possible to gather groups of patriots who are armed with the highest quality equipment; therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. America was born out of armed revolution against a tyrannical government, and Americans are taught that they must be wary of enemies both foreign and domestic. To Americans, the government is at best a dangerous servant, and at worst a tyrannical master. The gun is known as "The Great Equalizer" for a reason. To restrict gun ownership is to transfer even more power from the weak (the individual) to the strong (the State); that is anathema to those who understand what it actually means to be an American.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
      - fyolnish 9y ago
        When is it appropriate to shoot a politician?
        obsolete_ideas 9y ago
        I suppose the ambiguity keeps the politicians wondering. At the very least, the American Revolution serves as a precedent: Armed retaliation is justified when the government is a far-off power imposing taxation without representation. Well, Washington D.C. is hundreds or thousands of miles away from where most people live; Congress has sustained extremely low approval ratings, indicating a disconnect with their constituents; like a king, the President can increasingly write law unilaterally through executive orders; the interpretations of the Justices are progressively detached from logic, leaving many perplexed as to what "rule of law" even means; and, the Federal Reserve extracts purchasing power from every holder of dollars by "printing" more dollars, essentially taxing people without really consulting them or even engaging in public debate on the matter. So... hmmm...
seanmcdirmid 9y ago
Many of those guns are smuggled out to Latin America (guns for drugs trade), while the rest are owned by an increasingly small segment of the population. Mexico doesn’t mass produce enough guns to feed the American market in any significant way, and their gun laws are much more strict than ours. It’s the other way around: the bad guys in Mexico get most of our guns from us, the gun shops in the USA with the highest sales are near the border.
- jakeogh 9y ago
  Then Mexico should build another wall like the one on it's southern border. I'm serious, but the reason I have used from your comment is taking your assumptions as true. I'm all for the wall for a different reason; countries must control their borders or the people living there are not sovereign. I have been to Mexico a few times (it's an awesome place!), right near the border, and much further south, but I did not feel it was a safe place. I know enough people with stories that I would rather not try to tell here. In Mexico, only the criminals and police are armed. Cross the border to the US, and volla, we all are equals. You can watch nearly endless TY* of cartel shootouts in Mexico (on residential streets), that stuff is practically impossible here, the elderly person down the street has weapons capable of hitting a body 200+ meters away. Mexico will be much safer when it's not just the criminals in the general population who can defend themselves. It's going to be an interesting conversation when it's only US citizens that have DRM-free DMLS systems. *I didn't check today, but I bet the memory hole is working on that...

jazoom 9y ago

>Banning firearms in general won't work in America. Obligatory "not with that attitude".

celticninja 9y ago

>Banning firearms in general won't work in America. This is the go to reason that people give, but it just means they haven't tried. No one said it would be cheap or easy but it could be done. As for gun smuggling, the USA used to be the source of 80% of guns used in crimes in Canada and in Mexico it is 70%. https://www.quora.com/How-are-guns-smuggled-into-the-United-States https://www.quora.com/How-are-guns-smuggled-into-the-United-... https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/12/462781469/in-mexico-tens-of-thousands-of-illegal-guns-come-from-the-u-s https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/12/462781469... https://www.vox.com/2016/1/14/10771628/gun-violence-america-mexico https://www.vox.com/2016/1/14/10771628/gun-violence-america-... So actually a gun ban in the USA would help both Canada and Mexico with their gun problems. In Mexico many of these guns end up in the hands of the cartels who are much more willing to use them than your usual criminals, and whilst they would still probably be able to obtain weapons they would not be able to do so in the same sort of volume and they would also have trouble locating ammunition.

burger_moon 9y ago
It worked get for alcohol prohibition. I'm sure it'll be about as easy for guns.
- fatjokes 9y ago
  Do Americans love guns that much?? I mean, there are so many other toys to play with. Does owning a gun cause a nice buzz? Is it a social lubricant that makes everybody at a party happier when you bring it out? Does it have an ancient history that spans across the globe? Does it result in a chemical addiction? Haven't found a good replacement for alcohol that wasn't more illegal or harmful.
  - obsolete_ideas 9y ago
    Guns aren't toys. They are an important tool in America's system of checks and balances: Guns are not for shooting deer; guns are for shooting politicians. The 2nd Amendment is very clear; in fact, it's probably the clearest portion of the entire Constitution: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." In order to protect the freedom of each state from the imposition of some tyranny, it must be possible to gather groups of patriots who are armed with the highest quality equipment; therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. America was born out of armed revolution against a tyrannical government, and Americans are taught that they must be wary of enemies both foreign and domestic. To Americans, the government is at best a dangerous servant, and at worst a tyrannical master. The gun is known as "The Great Equalizer" for a reason. To restrict gun ownership is to transfer even more power from the weak (the individual) to the strong (the State); that is anathema to those who understand what it actually means to be an American.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - fyolnish 9y ago
      When is it appropriate to shoot a politician?
      - obsolete_ideas 9y ago
        I suppose the ambiguity keeps the politicians wondering. At the very least, the American Revolution serves as a precedent: Armed retaliation is justified when the government is a far-off power imposing taxation without representation. Well, Washington D.C. is hundreds or thousands of miles away from where most people live; Congress has sustained extremely low approval ratings, indicating a disconnect with their constituents; like a king, the President can increasingly write law unilaterally through executive orders; the interpretations of the Justices are progressively detached from logic, leaving many perplexed as to what "rule of law" even means; and, the Federal Reserve extracts purchasing power from every holder of dollars by "printing" more dollars, essentially taxing people without really consulting them or even engaging in public debate on the matter. So... hmmm...

seanmcdirmid 9y ago

Many of those guns are smuggled out to Latin America (guns for drugs trade), while the rest are owned by an increasingly small segment of the population. Mexico doesn’t mass produce enough guns to feed the American market in any significant way, and their gun laws are much more strict than ours. It’s the other way around: the bad guys in Mexico get most of our guns from us, the gun shops in the USA with the highest sales are near the border.

jakeogh 9y ago
Then Mexico should build another wall like the one on it's southern border. I'm serious, but the reason I have used from your comment is taking your assumptions as true. I'm all for the wall for a different reason; countries must control their borders or the people living there are not sovereign. I have been to Mexico a few times (it's an awesome place!), right near the border, and much further south, but I did not feel it was a safe place. I know enough people with stories that I would rather not try to tell here. In Mexico, only the criminals and police are armed. Cross the border to the US, and volla, we all are equals. You can watch nearly endless TY* of cartel shootouts in Mexico (on residential streets), that stuff is practically impossible here, the elderly person down the street has weapons capable of hitting a body 200+ meters away. Mexico will be much safer when it's not just the criminals in the general population who can defend themselves. It's going to be an interesting conversation when it's only US citizens that have DRM-free DMLS systems. *I didn't check today, but I bet the memory hole is working on that...