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While I’m uncertain of whether what I’m about to ask is proper due to the nature of these news, it’s something I’ve been asking myself for some time and I’d lik

While I’m uncertain of whether what I’m about to ask is proper due to the nature of these news, it’s something I’ve been asking myself for some time and I’d like to know what thoughtful people think on this matter. Would banning guns make the USA a more or less violent country?

potiuper 5y ago
A civil / guerilla war would happen - more violent.
Vosporos 5y ago
Not necessarily, Switzerland & Finland also have high gun ownership rates. What needs to be done a real education in terms of firearm handling, more restrictions when it comes to ammunition and get out of the culture that firearms are for republicans, rednecks and hillbillies, and be over with the cult of guns.
- stevehawk 5y ago
  do you really think the people firing those guns did it because they didn't know about gravity? or do you think they did it because they didn't care?
- jcims 5y ago
  I generally agree, I'd much rather create a society that can be trusted with dangerous things than to nerf everything. >real education in terms of firearm handling We used to do this as part of physical education in the midwest US. We had a 1-2 week course on gun safety and would shoot shotguns and rifles (no pistols though). >get out of the culture that firearms are for republicans, rednecks and hillbillies Agree but this means shushing the people that reject firearms based on that specific association. >be over with the cult of guns There isn't just one 'cult of guns' in the US. The vast majority of gun owners are just normal people, but cult-wise there's the tacticool mall operator type with $8K of gear and cringeworthy social media, the Charlton Heston old guard that fondles their Colt single action on Sunday afternoons, the brooding emo outcast that constantly makes vague threats from mom's basement and the hood rats and gang bangers that dgaf about anything. Statistically its the last two that have had the biggest effect on mass shootings [1] and homicide rates [2], but addressing it head on is super complex and politically dangerous so nothing really gets done. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shootings_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shootings_in_the_United_S... [2] https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-2.xls https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-...
- EEBio 5y ago
  Both the Swiss and the Finns have a compulsory military service. This is not your average gun safety course. Having so many guns lying around, I would hope one has to go through all the hoops that the Swiss and Finnish gun owners have to, including the initial screening. In other words, high gun ownership rate is not the problem. The regulation is (or lack thereof).
xxpor 5y ago
In the immediate aftermath, or long term? And to follow up, what's the probability that the US still exists in its current form after the immediate short term? Even as someone that would support repealing the 2nd amendment entirely in an ideal world, I'm not ignorant of the absolute political shitstorm it'd cause. Civil war round 2 type stuff.
- MadSudaca 5y ago
  I was thinking more long term. Thinking about the social dynamics that would ensue by having a USA without guns. For example, one argument that is often given in favor of gun ownership is self-defence. By denying guns for the “good guys” only the “bad guys” would have them, because they’d acquire them illegally.
  - xxpor 5y ago
    I think the reason why it's so easy to get an illegal gun is because the legal gun market is so large, which supports manufacturers existing in the first place. If tomorrow guns were banned, and we melted down every existing handgun in the US, there wouldn't be anyone left making guns and selling them to civilians on an industrial scale.
    - Nextgrid 5y ago
      Guns being banned also means that every gun, gunshot and associated paraphernalia stands out much more.
vijaybritto 5y ago
Yup it surely would take away a lot of firepower there by reducing violent gun crimes a lot. But not crimes in general
selfhifive 5y ago
I'm assuming drug rings and other miscreants who are really motivated will always find a way to acquire guns like they do in every country with gun laws.
- jamescontrol 5y ago
  Less guns, less shootings, less gunshot deaths, it is that simple. But how to get to less guns in a country like the US, that’s the real puzzle.
- X6S1x6Okd1st 5y ago
  This would be a lot more convincing if you included details like a country that isn't in the Americas (this is notable because guns flow from the US to Latin America in a reverse flow from the drugs that flow) that has strong gun laws and lots of gun violence.

potiuper 5y ago

A civil / guerilla war would happen - more violent.

Vosporos 5y ago

Not necessarily, Switzerland & Finland also have high gun ownership rates. What needs to be done a real education in terms of firearm handling, more restrictions when it comes to ammunition and get out of the culture that firearms are for republicans, rednecks and hillbillies, and be over with the cult of guns.

stevehawk 5y ago
do you really think the people firing those guns did it because they didn't know about gravity? or do you think they did it because they didn't care?
jcims 5y ago
I generally agree, I'd much rather create a society that can be trusted with dangerous things than to nerf everything. >real education in terms of firearm handling We used to do this as part of physical education in the midwest US. We had a 1-2 week course on gun safety and would shoot shotguns and rifles (no pistols though). >get out of the culture that firearms are for republicans, rednecks and hillbillies Agree but this means shushing the people that reject firearms based on that specific association. >be over with the cult of guns There isn't just one 'cult of guns' in the US. The vast majority of gun owners are just normal people, but cult-wise there's the tacticool mall operator type with $8K of gear and cringeworthy social media, the Charlton Heston old guard that fondles their Colt single action on Sunday afternoons, the brooding emo outcast that constantly makes vague threats from mom's basement and the hood rats and gang bangers that dgaf about anything. Statistically its the last two that have had the biggest effect on mass shootings [1] and homicide rates [2], but addressing it head on is super complex and politically dangerous so nothing really gets done. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shootings_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shootings_in_the_United_S... [2] https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-2.xls https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-...
EEBio 5y ago
Both the Swiss and the Finns have a compulsory military service. This is not your average gun safety course. Having so many guns lying around, I would hope one has to go through all the hoops that the Swiss and Finnish gun owners have to, including the initial screening. In other words, high gun ownership rate is not the problem. The regulation is (or lack thereof).

xxpor 5y ago

In the immediate aftermath, or long term? And to follow up, what's the probability that the US still exists in its current form after the immediate short term? Even as someone that would support repealing the 2nd amendment entirely in an ideal world, I'm not ignorant of the absolute political shitstorm it'd cause. Civil war round 2 type stuff.

MadSudaca 5y ago
I was thinking more long term. Thinking about the social dynamics that would ensue by having a USA without guns. For example, one argument that is often given in favor of gun ownership is self-defence. By denying guns for the “good guys” only the “bad guys” would have them, because they’d acquire them illegally.
- xxpor 5y ago
  I think the reason why it's so easy to get an illegal gun is because the legal gun market is so large, which supports manufacturers existing in the first place. If tomorrow guns were banned, and we melted down every existing handgun in the US, there wouldn't be anyone left making guns and selling them to civilians on an industrial scale.
  - Nextgrid 5y ago
    Guns being banned also means that every gun, gunshot and associated paraphernalia stands out much more.

vijaybritto 5y ago

Yup it surely would take away a lot of firepower there by reducing violent gun crimes a lot. But not crimes in general

selfhifive 5y ago

I'm assuming drug rings and other miscreants who are really motivated will always find a way to acquire guns like they do in every country with gun laws.

jamescontrol 5y ago
Less guns, less shootings, less gunshot deaths, it is that simple. But how to get to less guns in a country like the US, that’s the real puzzle.
X6S1x6Okd1st 5y ago
This would be a lot more convincing if you included details like a country that isn't in the Americas (this is notable because guns flow from the US to Latin America in a reverse flow from the drugs that flow) that has strong gun laws and lots of gun violence.