Look, for better or worse I think we might be better off with just no private gun ownership, but I will tell you why I think the anti-gun part of the country is

Look, for better or worse I think we might be better off with just no private gun ownership, but I will tell you why I think the anti-gun part of the country is so riled up: It’s not the murder rate itself. That doesn’t matter as much to people emotionally. They know it happens, but for the most part it is so concentrated in areas people mostly want to not think about that they ignore it. I have never heard of anyone say that they want to outlaw guns because of handgun murders in the inner cities (which is obviously a problem, obviously wrong, and obviously fucked up in its own way). I think the main reasons people want guns gone is because of school shootings. And the percentages and chances here don’t play as much of a role as the fact that most people like kids and don’t want them to get shot and that it’s not the kind of tragedy you can easily write off. When some random person is murdered by some other random person I think people assume either bad luck or bad judgement. But most people aren’t willing to accept that children could have their lives cut short and that preventing this should a top priority compared to private gun ownership. I am sympathetic to the idea that a targeted minority or an oppressed group greatly benefits from gun ownership. If the day Zimmerman followed Martin and Martin was the one with the gun then both might well be alive or at least the person being attacked would be. Or every time a woman can fight off her domestic abuser with the help of a gun. But how do you do the cost benefit analysis on that calculation? I think it’s difficult but the majority rarely thinks of the needs of a minority. On the other hand everyone thinks about children whether they want to or not. Lastly and slightly off topic: I am baffled by the fact that mosr police officers are pro-gun. If I was afraid for my life on my job I would want the threat at least reduced if not eliminated. Outlawing private gun ownership will reduce private gun ownership and more importantly their availability to criminals who the police might apprehend. So why would they not want to have that happen?