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If fixing the problem that caused their deaths is "political" I don't think the murdered would mind.

marknutter 14y ago
If everyone agreed on what the fix is, you might be right. But since they don't, and it will likely result in political fighting, it's probably not appropriate to tie it to a moment of silence.
- GiraffeNecktie 14y ago
  If it takes a discussion with people taking opposing viewpoints, let's get started. Now.
  - davidw 14y ago
    But please not on Hacker News. Thanks.
    - rdl 14y ago
      I'd agree generally except that posting an inherently political call to action on the site essentially makes it the natural forum to discuss it. And, the tech community (specifically, Ron Conway) are probably the strongest promoters of this particular program right now, which is interesting given that the tech community has rarely been politically influential. At most it has been able to address things like crypto, CDA, and SOPA/PIPA; minimally effective so far at patents and immigration.
  - pc86 14y ago
    The last time legislation was posted in a knee-jerk fashion was 2001. Are you a fan of the Patriot Act? Nothing will be lost by having a sensible discussion and resisting the urge to pass whatever half-baked legislation gets written up the quickest.
- rm999 14y ago
  Even the NRA is (unsurprisingly) a supporter of 'gun violence prevention'. This moment of silence isn't advocating any specific solution, I don't see the controversy. I think almost every reasonable person can agree with "let's stop gun violence".
  - marknutter 14y ago
    Let's stop death!
  - rdl 14y ago
    It is advocating the specific 3 proposals (100% NCIC checks on all transfers, criminalizing federally straw purchases, and 10rd magazine restrictions and AWB), actually. (EDIT: I guess that's Demand a Plan, but they're being promoted by exactly the same set of people in all the same places, and Demand a Plan includes the moment of silence, so it seems fair to consider them the same thing.)
    - rm999 14y ago
      None of that is mentioned in the linked page or the pledge. What I see is: >In the coming weeks and months, we must come together around common-sense solutions that will prevent the gun violence that has become all too frequent in communities across the country. We welcome everyone to this dialogue—we want to hear from gun owners who think it's time for a change as well as folks who are still on the fence. From some quick google searching it seems you are referring to the different "demand a plan" campaign. That was never linked to in this moment of silence. edit: to your edit, I'm pretty sure it's a different group of people, even if they are related.
      - rdl 14y ago
        Edit to edit: you're right based on what it says now. I could swear that yesterday there was a more clear link between the two -- I really think it has been edited. Also, they seem to be somewhat more open to gun owners talking to them. I do not remember the "we want to hear from gun owners" line being there. If I'm misremembering, that's my fault, but if they actually responded to criticism and edited their message/approach to be more inclusive, I'm impressed. They probably have 30-50% of gun owners supporting them anyway, but could get to 70-80% by being rational about specific policies they want.
- theorique 14y ago
  Yeah, that's kind of what I meant. "It's what the victims would have wanted" turns them into a cipher for your political cause. (I'm personally an NRA member and about as pro-gun as you can be ... but I'm sure there are many reasonable compromises that gun lovers can make in terms of lawful gun regulation. Our goal can be to ensure crazy people have reduced access to the guns that should only be in the hands of law-abiding sane people)

If everyone agreed on what the fix is, you might be right. But since they don't, and it will likely result in political fighting, it's probably not appropriate to tie it to a moment of silence.

GiraffeNecktie 14y ago
If it takes a discussion with people taking opposing viewpoints, let's get started. Now.
- davidw 14y ago
  But please not on Hacker News. Thanks.
  - rdl 14y ago
    I'd agree generally except that posting an inherently political call to action on the site essentially makes it the natural forum to discuss it. And, the tech community (specifically, Ron Conway) are probably the strongest promoters of this particular program right now, which is interesting given that the tech community has rarely been politically influential. At most it has been able to address things like crypto, CDA, and SOPA/PIPA; minimally effective so far at patents and immigration.
- pc86 14y ago
  The last time legislation was posted in a knee-jerk fashion was 2001. Are you a fan of the Patriot Act? Nothing will be lost by having a sensible discussion and resisting the urge to pass whatever half-baked legislation gets written up the quickest.
rm999 14y ago
Even the NRA is (unsurprisingly) a supporter of 'gun violence prevention'. This moment of silence isn't advocating any specific solution, I don't see the controversy. I think almost every reasonable person can agree with "let's stop gun violence".
- marknutter 14y ago
  Let's stop death!
- rdl 14y ago
  It is advocating the specific 3 proposals (100% NCIC checks on all transfers, criminalizing federally straw purchases, and 10rd magazine restrictions and AWB), actually. (EDIT: I guess that's Demand a Plan, but they're being promoted by exactly the same set of people in all the same places, and Demand a Plan includes the moment of silence, so it seems fair to consider them the same thing.)
  - rm999 14y ago
    None of that is mentioned in the linked page or the pledge. What I see is: >In the coming weeks and months, we must come together around common-sense solutions that will prevent the gun violence that has become all too frequent in communities across the country. We welcome everyone to this dialogue—we want to hear from gun owners who think it's time for a change as well as folks who are still on the fence. From some quick google searching it seems you are referring to the different "demand a plan" campaign. That was never linked to in this moment of silence. edit: to your edit, I'm pretty sure it's a different group of people, even if they are related.
    - rdl 14y ago
      Edit to edit: you're right based on what it says now. I could swear that yesterday there was a more clear link between the two -- I really think it has been edited. Also, they seem to be somewhat more open to gun owners talking to them. I do not remember the "we want to hear from gun owners" line being there. If I'm misremembering, that's my fault, but if they actually responded to criticism and edited their message/approach to be more inclusive, I'm impressed. They probably have 30-50% of gun owners supporting them anyway, but could get to 70-80% by being rational about specific policies they want.
theorique 14y ago
Yeah, that's kind of what I meant. "It's what the victims would have wanted" turns them into a cipher for your political cause. (I'm personally an NRA member and about as pro-gun as you can be ... but I'm sure there are many reasonable compromises that gun lovers can make in terms of lawful gun regulation. Our goal can be to ensure crazy people have reduced access to the guns that should only be in the hands of law-abiding sane people)