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I am from Poland. I am 39. I am male. I have never seen a gun other than on a policeman or a soldier. There are ways to get a gun illegally, even here. But mos

I am from Poland. I am 39. I am male. I have never seen a gun other than on a policeman or a soldier. There are ways to get a gun illegally, even here. But most people do not have easy access to guns. Neither the Police expects you to have one (so they don't pull their gun on slightest pretext) nor people who are stupid can use them by accident. There are shootings. But these are rare and usually involve only police and bad actors. But there are no school shootings, there are no people killed by roadside because they look like they tried to pull their gun, there are no people killed by their children by accident, and so on. The scariest thing I have seen is US Police officer pulling their gun for a regular traffic stop (because the windows were tinted) and then killing the driver (because he looked like he is "reaching" for a gun). It is sick and it is not right and it is all caused by gun proliferation.

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mike_d 5y ago
"Poland therefore becomes only the second EU member state included in the report to lose its full democratic status. The other, Hungary, lost its “consolidated democracy” rating five years ago, and has now fallen far enough to no longer be classified as a democracy at all." https://notesfrompoland.com/2020/05/06/poland-no-longer-rated-as-full-democracy-in-new-freedom-house-index/ https://notesfrompoland.com/2020/05/06/poland-no-longer-rate...
- selfhoster11 5y ago
  I'm no fan of the current government, but Polish attitudes to guns remained unchanged since we joined the EU, at minimum. They certainly predate this government. Bringing up the democratic status in this particular conversation doesn't add to the understanding of the issue.
  - lokedhs 5y ago
    Also, Poland is a just the country mentioned because its their one the OP lives in. The exact same statement could be made using almost any other country in the world.
- deleted 5y ago
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- throwaway81523 5y ago
  > https://notesfrompoland.com/2020/05/06/poland-no-longer-rate https://notesfrompoland.com/2020/05/06/poland-no-longer-rate... That doesn't say anything about guns. And the US isn't that much of a democracy either these days, despite having most of the window dressing.
- lmilcin 5y ago
  While I agree with this and I am seriously irritated at the current populistic, anti-democratic government and people who vote for them not seeing the damage that is being done, I fail to see the connection with discussion about guns. If anything if an undemocratic country like Poland can make streets safer than the supposed paragon of democracy, it should be even more argument against unrestricted availability of firearms. Unless you are of the opinion that these deaths are somehow necessary for democracy.

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mike_d 5y ago

"Poland therefore becomes only the second EU member state included in the report to lose its full democratic status. The other, Hungary, lost its “consolidated democracy” rating five years ago, and has now fallen far enough to no longer be classified as a democracy at all." https://notesfrompoland.com/2020/05/06/poland-no-longer-rated-as-full-democracy-in-new-freedom-house-index/ https://notesfrompoland.com/2020/05/06/poland-no-longer-rate...

selfhoster11 5y ago
I'm no fan of the current government, but Polish attitudes to guns remained unchanged since we joined the EU, at minimum. They certainly predate this government. Bringing up the democratic status in this particular conversation doesn't add to the understanding of the issue.
- lokedhs 5y ago
  Also, Poland is a just the country mentioned because its their one the OP lives in. The exact same statement could be made using almost any other country in the world.
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throwaway81523 5y ago
> https://notesfrompoland.com/2020/05/06/poland-no-longer-rate https://notesfrompoland.com/2020/05/06/poland-no-longer-rate... That doesn't say anything about guns. And the US isn't that much of a democracy either these days, despite having most of the window dressing.
lmilcin 5y ago
While I agree with this and I am seriously irritated at the current populistic, anti-democratic government and people who vote for them not seeing the damage that is being done, I fail to see the connection with discussion about guns. If anything if an undemocratic country like Poland can make streets safer than the supposed paragon of democracy, it should be even more argument against unrestricted availability of firearms. Unless you are of the opinion that these deaths are somehow necessary for democracy.