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Not mass shootings, they're all gangland shootings. I'm not defending them but the US is on a completely different level. People who want less gun restrictions

Not mass shootings, they're all gangland shootings. I'm not defending them but the US is on a completely different level. People who want less gun restrictions in Sweden keep bringing up this argument that "the gangs are armed". And yes, they are, but the lunatics are not. Whenever a lunatic has done something in Sweden it has been either with a hatchet, a truck, a knife, a sword. Very rarely with a gun.

legitster 3y ago
Well, also, while there are certainly lots of guns in Sweden, they are mostly long guns. A big reason gun violence is so pervasive in the US is the proliferation of pistols. It's so much easier to conceal and smuggle handguns so they have an order of magnitude larger "surface area" for danger.
marssaxman 3y ago
> Not mass shootings, they're all gangland shootings. That is essentially true in the US as well. Non-gang-related shootings get enormous amounts of attention, but in statistical terms they are next thing to meaningless.
onemoresoop 3y ago
Not that I wouldn't want gangs disarmed and disbanded, I surely do if possible they are dangerous and do terrible things, but mass shootings are not really their thing, the largest chunk of gang violence is inflicted on other gangs.
908B64B197 3y ago
> Whenever a lunatic has done something in Sweden it has been either with a hatchet, a truck, a knife, a sword. Very rarely with a gun. That's sure to bring comfort to the victim's family. "Your son was brutally murdered with a sword. You can be thankful to the government for our strong gun laws that prevented your son from dying from a shooting like it could have happened in the USA".
jimt1234 3y ago
I get bothered when people dismiss gun violence as gang-related, as if it doesn't matter because the victims are in gangs. We're all human beings, and we all deserve to live. Yes, people involved with gangs, pretty much by definition, are more likely to be a victim at some point, but it doesn't mean we as a society should just dismiss them, like they're meaningless, they all deserved to die. It just seems so heartless. In the US, it's almost automatic when someone points out all the gun-related deaths: "A large portion of gun deaths are gangs in Chicago!" Probably true, but so what? People are still dying.
- type0 3y ago
  Since it mostly affects lower socio-economic classes it is also easier to disregard for those who don't live in those marginalized areas. I absolutely hate it when we as society dismiss increasing deaths from drug overdoses. Sweden and US are both terrible at this, there are lessons to be learned from both Switzerland and Portugal, but no one cares.

legitster 3y ago

Well, also, while there are certainly lots of guns in Sweden, they are mostly long guns. A big reason gun violence is so pervasive in the US is the proliferation of pistols. It's so much easier to conceal and smuggle handguns so they have an order of magnitude larger "surface area" for danger.

marssaxman 3y ago

> Not mass shootings, they're all gangland shootings. That is essentially true in the US as well. Non-gang-related shootings get enormous amounts of attention, but in statistical terms they are next thing to meaningless.

onemoresoop 3y ago

Not that I wouldn't want gangs disarmed and disbanded, I surely do if possible they are dangerous and do terrible things, but mass shootings are not really their thing, the largest chunk of gang violence is inflicted on other gangs.

908B64B197 3y ago

> Whenever a lunatic has done something in Sweden it has been either with a hatchet, a truck, a knife, a sword. Very rarely with a gun. That's sure to bring comfort to the victim's family. "Your son was brutally murdered with a sword. You can be thankful to the government for our strong gun laws that prevented your son from dying from a shooting like it could have happened in the USA".

jimt1234 3y ago

I get bothered when people dismiss gun violence as gang-related, as if it doesn't matter because the victims are in gangs. We're all human beings, and we all deserve to live. Yes, people involved with gangs, pretty much by definition, are more likely to be a victim at some point, but it doesn't mean we as a society should just dismiss them, like they're meaningless, they all deserved to die. It just seems so heartless. In the US, it's almost automatic when someone points out all the gun-related deaths: "A large portion of gun deaths are gangs in Chicago!" Probably true, but so what? People are still dying.

type0 3y ago
Since it mostly affects lower socio-economic classes it is also easier to disregard for those who don't live in those marginalized areas. I absolutely hate it when we as society dismiss increasing deaths from drug overdoses. Sweden and US are both terrible at this, there are lessons to be learned from both Switzerland and Portugal, but no one cares.