4 ms·

> Literally tens of millions of responsible Americans walk around, every day, carrying semi-automatic weapons, and this is not a problem. The idea that 'this i

by pryce 9y ago

> Literally tens of millions of responsible Americans walk around, every day, carrying semi-automatic weapons, and this is not a problem. The idea that 'this is not a problem' is exactly the thing under dispute, so I don't think it should be cheerfully asserted Objectors to this climate of easy access to firearms -wrong or right- will point to things like: * criminal gun violence and mass shootings (a phenomenon that is staggeringly rare in most other comparable nations) but also to * accidental gun deaths, frequently including of children, to * suicides facilitated by this easy access to firearms, to * the trigger-happiness of American cops being directly related to the significant likelihood that anyone those cops interact with is armed, compared to countries like the Australia, Japan, or New Zealand. They also point to a political climate in which research into gun violence is blocked, and where measures such as universal background checks are supported by huge number citizens, but the political situation prevents these from being enacted.

donw 9y ago
> The idea that 'this is not a problem' is exactly the thing under dispute, so I don't think it should be cheerfully asserted. There are sixteen million Americans with concealed-carry licenses, plus fourteen states that allow for "constitutional carry" (e.g., no license required). (Keep in mind that I do think that we should require training and licensing for concealed carry, although this needs to be balanced with not imposing an undue economic burden or disenfranchising minorities) According to the Violence Policy Center -- a very solidly anti-gun group -- there were 27 murders committed by licensed concealed carriers in 2017 across the United States. That's a murder rate of 0.16 per 100,000 people. By comparison, the total UK murder rate for the same year was six times that. Likewise, the Czech Republic, which also has a lower murder rate than the UK, has "shall-issue" concealed carry licensing for gun owners -- just like Texas -- and the majority of Czech gun owners have such a license. I think it's fair to say that concealed carriers are not the problem.
- pryce 9y ago
  Bear in mind, my above comment highlighted that for objectors the issue is far wider than murder, and also involves the presence of accessible weaponry's influence on: accidental deaths, suicides, and drivers of militarization of police, all of which were introduced before your response - and absolutely none of which would even be visible through the statistical lens you have chosen to employ.

by pryce 9y ago

donw 9y ago

> The idea that 'this is not a problem' is exactly the thing under dispute, so I don't think it should be cheerfully asserted. There are sixteen million Americans with concealed-carry licenses, plus fourteen states that allow for "constitutional carry" (e.g., no license required). (Keep in mind that I do think that we should require training and licensing for concealed carry, although this needs to be balanced with not imposing an undue economic burden or disenfranchising minorities) According to the Violence Policy Center -- a very solidly anti-gun group -- there were 27 murders committed by licensed concealed carriers in 2017 across the United States. That's a murder rate of 0.16 per 100,000 people. By comparison, the total UK murder rate for the same year was six times that. Likewise, the Czech Republic, which also has a lower murder rate than the UK, has "shall-issue" concealed carry licensing for gun owners -- just like Texas -- and the majority of Czech gun owners have such a license. I think it's fair to say that concealed carriers are not the problem.

pryce 9y ago
Bear in mind, my above comment highlighted that for objectors the issue is far wider than murder, and also involves the presence of accessible weaponry's influence on: accidental deaths, suicides, and drivers of militarization of police, all of which were introduced before your response - and absolutely none of which would even be visible through the statistical lens you have chosen to employ.