5 ms·

What makes you think the guns were legally purchased?

• greesil 5y ago
  What makes you think they weren't?
  • cryptonector 5y ago
    The fact that they were discharged negligently or even purposefully in a residential area rather than in a gun range. People who legally own guns generally want to retain their right to own firearms, which means they tend to take firearm safety seriously. They buy their guns at gun shops that often also sell gun safety training, so they tend to get that training as well. People who own firearms illegally, on the other hand, are already breaking the law, so they probably won't mind breaking a few more. They buy their guns from shady people in dark alleys -- no gun safety training on offer there.
    • greesil 5y ago
      How are the guns originally obtained? A factory makes them, they get sold somewhere. Ghost guns are a thing, but that also has a legislative solution.
      • iratewizard 5y ago
        It depends on where you are. How does heroin come into the country? How do illegal immigrants? How does weed end up in Georgia? Incompetent / malevolent government (see ATF gun shop "stings"). Illegal crossing at an unmaintained border. Varying states rights that allow systematic arming of gangs. And theft.
        • greesil 5y ago
          Ah yes all government policies are inherently doomed to failure and can't have any significant impact. I had forgotten, thank you for reminding me.
          • iratewizard 5y ago
            Ah yes, reality is inconvenient when you are trying to solve an issue from your armchair with the mental hardware of a midwit.
            • greesil 5y ago
              All issues are unsolvable if we don't bother to try.
              • iratewizard 5y ago
                And other inspirational quotes for NPCs
                • greesil 5y ago
                  Roll a d20 for a saving throw against apathy.
      • cryptonector 5y ago
        Guns get stolen. In a country with 300 million guns and a very porous border with lots of criminal activity along that border, there are going to be many, many illegal guns. There are a lot of controls on new firearms transactions now, but there weren't always, and even now, some States allow private transfers w/o a background check (I believe Florida does, where it suffices that the seller not have reason to believe that the buyer is disqualified from owning a firearm, but IANAL and also am not a Floridian). It's entirely possible that just based on stolen guns, and transfers made back before background check were required, that there might be several million firearms in the hands of persons not permitted to own them. Even if it was just one million, that would be thousands in certain cities. Add to this that drug traffickers along the southern border have ways to sneak in enormous amounts of illegal drugs, and you have to imagine they would also bring some firearms too, no? so probably quite a few over the past 40 years. Here's a link I just found searching for this: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/guns/procon/guns.html https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/guns/procon/g...
        • greesil 5y ago
          Yeah I read that one too. That information reflects the current state of affairs, with our current laws and level of enforcement. Imagine a better world. You can look at what other countries do and are successful with as role models.
          • cryptonector 5y ago
            It looks like that's an 8 year old article.
  • xyzzyz 5y ago
    Criminals typically use illegally obtained guns, even if they are still legally allowed to possess one. They also typically carry them concealed without permit, where it is required. It is rare that when a crime involving use of a firearm is done, the firearm in question is legally possessed, and extremely rare for the gun user to be carrying valid concealed carry permit.