4 ms·
It wasn't meant as a straw man, it was meant as a way to identify a boundary. The most restrictive regulation possible would be a total ban, and only a total an
by antidoh 14y ago
It wasn't meant as a straw man, it was meant as a way to identify a boundary. The most restrictive regulation possible would be a total ban, and only a total and successful ban would prevent people from using guns in massacres. So "regulation" while well intentioned is practically meaningless. Those people would still be mentally ill, and outlawing guns or some lesser regulation would not have addressed the actual problem.
And yes, a knife in the situation is less dangerous. But the person is still mentally ill, a danger to themselves and those around them.
It's medical treatment that's needed, in the worst cases combined with confinement.
Gun regulation is not medical treatment. Gun regulation is a separate issue, admittedly related, just as knives and baseball bats are related.
- mpweiher 14y agoAgain, total prevention is a straw man. No-one is claiming that total prevention is an achievable goal. (Massive) reduction is. I am a pilot. It is said the FARs (Federal Aviation Regulations) are written in blood. We still have fatal accidents from time to time, but they have been reduced by an almost incredible amount, especially considering how much air travel has increased. Yeah, you could argue that the fundamental problem is that people want to travel and that the laws of physics are not favorable for the safety of air travel (gravity and all that). However, throwing your hands up in the air and saying we can't do anything without addressing the fundamentals is fundamentally and provably wrong.
- antidoh 14y agoI'm not throwing up my hands and saying do nothing. I'm suggesting that we address the fundamentals, which in this case is mental illness.
- mpweiher 14y agoWhat I am saying is that mental illness is not the fundamental issue of the case. Somebody going mental with a nerf gun just isn't the same sort of problem. At all. Not that mental illness isn't also a problem.
- mpweiher 14y agoEvidence to the contrary: http://smallbutkindamighty.com/2012/12/16/guns-dont-kill-mentally-ill-people-do-wait-what/ http://smallbutkindamighty.com/2012/12/16/guns-dont-kill-men...