4 ms·

The point is -- if a newbie engineer can create this in a few afternoons out of spare parts, any black-market weapon maker can contract some engineers and with

The point is -- if a newbie engineer can create this in a few afternoons out of spare parts, any black-market weapon maker can contract some engineers and with a few CNC machines and some billet aluminum and steel, can start cranking out AR-15s. Literally the only people affected by "gun bans" are the law-abiding. Any criminal gets armed with cheap black-market weapons. All the political elites and aparatchiks have armed guards. The rest of us dumb slobs get to be mowed down in the cross-fire between roving gangs, or defencelessly abused and robbed in a home invasion. Or clubbed as we protest in the streets, by our ever-caring politician's brown-shirts. Remember: every smokeless powder propellant powered firearm is basically an "air gun". The rest is ... refinement.

ioseph 5y ago
Most mass shootings in the US seem to be perpetrated by the "law abiding" gun owners. Just having less guns in circulation would go a very long way to reduce gun related homicides.
- edm0nd 5y ago
  Having less firearms is not the solution. 2/3rds of all firearm deaths in the US are from suicide. The majority of the rest are from drug/gang violence or domestic disputes. Having free healthcare in the US (esp. mental healthcare) would drastically reduce the amount of firearm deaths via suicide. Couple that with free after school jobs and skills training for those most at risk inner city youth who are the most likely to join a gang or sell drugs, would also have a large impact at reducing drug/gang firearm deaths. Those two things alone would make the largest impact. Not reducing the amount of firearms. Heck even raising the min wage to $15 would help so those kids parents dont have to work multiple jobs and can spend more time with and raising their children.
- _dain_ 5y ago
  because "mass shooting" is an artificial category that excludes most shootings with multiple victims (gang/drug violence).
  - bruprup 5y ago
    Amen. It's so annoying how people don't realize how manipulated the word "mass shooter" is.
- NoImmatureAdHom 5y ago
  "Mass" (i.e., 3 or more) shootings are <1% of shooting murders in the U.S. It's a silly thing to pay attention to, and I wish people would stop.
- laverya 5y ago
  Most mass shootings in the US are gang related using illegally-owned pistols, IIRC. At least using the definition that gets you big numbers of mass shootings.
  - asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
    > Most mass shootings in the US are gang related using illegally-owned pistols I used to think this, but then I did some research, and it does not seem to be true: https://www.gvpedia.org/gun-myths/gangs/ https://www.gvpedia.org/gun-myths/gangs/ In Canada, the number is around 20%, per: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3510007501 https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=351000... Neither most mass shootings, nor most gun murders, are committed by gang members. Although it is a non-trivial fraction.
    - bruprup 5y ago
      The article you linked says that it's a myth that most gun violence is committed by drug gangs. OP didn't argue that, he argued that most mass shootings are gang activity related. At no point does it mention mass shootings.
      - asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
        You're correct. It looks like indiscriminate mass shootings are a relative rarity among mass shootings. Thanks for pointing that out. I think for those who would ban guns, they're probably more concerned with the overall rate of gun homicide, as opposed to specifically about mass shootings. But it's a valid distinction for some purpose I'm sure.
        bruprup 5y ago
        "I think for those who would ban guns, they're probably more concerned with the overall rate of gun homicide, as opposed to specifically about mass shootings. " That's what most would claim, but the issue is mostly emotion driven and mass shootings are extremely emotional. Overall gun homicide is actually not that high, in the sense that most of it is ancillary to other crimes (burglar getting shot, drug dealers playing footsie, etc). The chances of being killed in the US by a gun are quite low. Just this weekend an Italian was knifed in NYC. I wouldn't blame guns, there were none, or knives. I'd blame the perp and society (i.e. Columbia University) for telling naive foreigners that a city like NYC is safe at night.
magicalhippo 5y ago
> Literally the only people affected by "gun bans" are the law-abiding. Any criminal gets armed with cheap black-market weapons. Norway has pretty strict gun laws, requiring active shooting club membership and documented activity for being allowed to own non-hunting weapons and strict limits on number of firearms based on competition activity level. Yet I read recently one can get a decent black market 9mm pistol for half what the cheaper models go for in the gun stores... There's also been a record number of shootings here in the capital this year. Hope it's just a coincidence...
bruprup 5y ago
Once you have high strength steel tubes freely available in a HD store, the rest is pretty easy. Also, I'm amused by the lack of concern over crossbows and archery in general by busybodies.
- aidenn0 5y ago
  Just point the busybodies at the slingshot channel[1] and they will ban them about 30 seconds after they let Herr Sprave "show them its features" 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF_OuEba3a4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF_OuEba3a4

ioseph 5y ago

Most mass shootings in the US seem to be perpetrated by the "law abiding" gun owners. Just having less guns in circulation would go a very long way to reduce gun related homicides.

edm0nd 5y ago
Having less firearms is not the solution. 2/3rds of all firearm deaths in the US are from suicide. The majority of the rest are from drug/gang violence or domestic disputes. Having free healthcare in the US (esp. mental healthcare) would drastically reduce the amount of firearm deaths via suicide. Couple that with free after school jobs and skills training for those most at risk inner city youth who are the most likely to join a gang or sell drugs, would also have a large impact at reducing drug/gang firearm deaths. Those two things alone would make the largest impact. Not reducing the amount of firearms. Heck even raising the min wage to $15 would help so those kids parents dont have to work multiple jobs and can spend more time with and raising their children.
_dain_ 5y ago
because "mass shooting" is an artificial category that excludes most shootings with multiple victims (gang/drug violence).
- bruprup 5y ago
  Amen. It's so annoying how people don't realize how manipulated the word "mass shooter" is.
NoImmatureAdHom 5y ago
"Mass" (i.e., 3 or more) shootings are <1% of shooting murders in the U.S. It's a silly thing to pay attention to, and I wish people would stop.
laverya 5y ago
Most mass shootings in the US are gang related using illegally-owned pistols, IIRC. At least using the definition that gets you big numbers of mass shootings.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
  > Most mass shootings in the US are gang related using illegally-owned pistols I used to think this, but then I did some research, and it does not seem to be true: https://www.gvpedia.org/gun-myths/gangs/ https://www.gvpedia.org/gun-myths/gangs/ In Canada, the number is around 20%, per: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3510007501 https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=351000... Neither most mass shootings, nor most gun murders, are committed by gang members. Although it is a non-trivial fraction.
  - bruprup 5y ago
    The article you linked says that it's a myth that most gun violence is committed by drug gangs. OP didn't argue that, he argued that most mass shootings are gang activity related. At no point does it mention mass shootings.
    - asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
      You're correct. It looks like indiscriminate mass shootings are a relative rarity among mass shootings. Thanks for pointing that out. I think for those who would ban guns, they're probably more concerned with the overall rate of gun homicide, as opposed to specifically about mass shootings. But it's a valid distinction for some purpose I'm sure.
      - bruprup 5y ago
        "I think for those who would ban guns, they're probably more concerned with the overall rate of gun homicide, as opposed to specifically about mass shootings. " That's what most would claim, but the issue is mostly emotion driven and mass shootings are extremely emotional. Overall gun homicide is actually not that high, in the sense that most of it is ancillary to other crimes (burglar getting shot, drug dealers playing footsie, etc). The chances of being killed in the US by a gun are quite low. Just this weekend an Italian was knifed in NYC. I wouldn't blame guns, there were none, or knives. I'd blame the perp and society (i.e. Columbia University) for telling naive foreigners that a city like NYC is safe at night.

magicalhippo 5y ago

> Literally the only people affected by "gun bans" are the law-abiding. Any criminal gets armed with cheap black-market weapons. Norway has pretty strict gun laws, requiring active shooting club membership and documented activity for being allowed to own non-hunting weapons and strict limits on number of firearms based on competition activity level. Yet I read recently one can get a decent black market 9mm pistol for half what the cheaper models go for in the gun stores... There's also been a record number of shootings here in the capital this year. Hope it's just a coincidence...

bruprup 5y ago

Once you have high strength steel tubes freely available in a HD store, the rest is pretty easy. Also, I'm amused by the lack of concern over crossbows and archery in general by busybodies.

aidenn0 5y ago
Just point the busybodies at the slingshot channel[1] and they will ban them about 30 seconds after they let Herr Sprave "show them its features" 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF_OuEba3a4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF_OuEba3a4