Yeah, I’m aware, I’ve played H3VR and have friends who are, as I just learned, not gun nuts, but gun nerds I guess. While I can understand being into guns due to all the things you mentioned, and I’ve enjoyed shooting them before, I personally can’t get over having killing machines as a hobby, not to mention the data on the relative lack of shooting in countries where you can’t as easily own these things. So, I practice what I preach, and have chosen to not get into the hobby.
That said, even I have my grandpa’s old pump shotgun on a shelf (without any ammo in the house), as I have enjoyed shooting trap on occasion, and it was free, though I haven’t thought to touch it since I inherited it over two years ago.
not to mention the data on the relative lack of shooting in countries where you can’t as easily own these things.
With over 600,000,000 guns and literally trillions of stacked rounds in 45% of the US pop’s hands (approx 156,600,000 people) with no registry to know who/where, with a general unwillingness to relinquish them, that ship has sailed, pandora’s box has been opened, even if they stopped gun sales today they’ll be easy to get for our entire lifetime and more. We literally have more small arms and ammo than most of the worlds military and police forces combined. Might as well join the club.
And more often than not the presence of a gun is enough without having to actually kill anyone, anyway, as it was the only time I had to “use” mine. He pulled a knife, I touched the grip of my licenced ccw firearm, he decided “maybe not this one” and walked away, I went about grocery shopping as intended. Thank “Bob” I didn’t have to shoot him, but also I don’t like stabwounds.
And sometimes, as fucked up as it sounds at first, sometimes people need killing. Self defense and defense of loved ones specifically, preventative of an immediate threat, not preemptive of a non-immediate threat, nor punitive, and always as a last resort, but had the knife weilder decided to press the issue, I’d rather him than me, given the choice. I’m not the one attacking people, I just need to get bread so I can make a meager sandwich for my lunch at work tomorrow without being gutted.
And btw:
That said, even I have my grandpa’s old pump shotgun on a shelf
You’ve already joined the club, you’re one of the 156,600,000. Welcome! As long as you use it safely, responsibly, and legally (incl self defense, “Bob” forbid), it’s nice to have you aboard. But make no mistake whether you have shotshells or not, you have the shotgun and that does make you a gun owner. As the Ramones said (quoted from the 1932 movie Freaks), Gabba gabba we accept you, one of us, one of us!
The argument that “Oh well, guns are too much of a problem, might as well not solve it ever” is a crazy argument. Australia managed to fix the issue. It would take time, and guns that weren’t turned in would continue to pop up, but over time we’d see fewer shootings. Even if it took multiple lifetimes for frequent shootings to stop, it’d be worth doing. I’d turn in my grandpa’s shotgun without even thinking about it.
I’m also not saying that it’d go over well in the US, there might even be a revolt, but even though I like shooting guns, I’d vote for it, as I dislike people dying more than I like shooting. I’d loosely compare the mindset of “don’t take my guns” people to the mindset of anti-maskers, refusing to do this obviously helpful thing to help the greater good because it slightly inconveniences them. Maybe not so coincidentally anti-maskers and gun nuts tend to share political beliefs.
At the very least, we could do a better job of regulating them. For example, as a gearhead, requiring every single gun to be licensed like a car makes sense to me. I wouldn’t even be against a yearly tax on gun ownership of a few bucks, as you see with automobiles. And, of course, if you’re caught with an unlicensed gun it’s straight to jail, much like if you’re driving without a license.
More likely I might just end up moving somewhere else that doesn’t have this issue, if my lifestyle ever can support that.
Australia only took 20% of the guns, yet to take 20% of the US’ guns at the same price they did (in 1996, without even accounting for inflation) literally pulls up in my calc with scientific notation. Their new buyback is only estimated at costing $15 billion despite having significantly less guns than even last time, when they still had less than we do now at their “more.” What’s more nearly half of the guns they got in were “shotguns and pea rifles (.22lr),” only 204 were automatic. You’re, by your own metric, “part of the problem” unless you relinquish Pappy’s shotgun at the next available buyback (or just cut the receiver in half yourself.) Well, what are you waiting for? You’d “turn it in without even thinking about it” yet you’ve had two years to destroy it or relinquish it in one of the buybacks the US already regularly does yet you have it. Get on it then.
People will still die even if you could thanos snap the entire concept of guns out of existence, the only difference being those stronger and faster will more easily be able to exert their will over those smaller, slower, disabled, etc. The soul crushing surveillance state is more effective in curbing crime than stripping people of their right to protect themselves tbh, of course either way you’re losing rights to privacy or protection and neither are frankly ideal, I’d rather possibly be murdered tbh.
I’m gonna push back on “slightly inconvenienced.” Going by my prior example, “being robbed and stabbed in a walmart parking lot” wouldn’t go under “slight” on my inconveniences list. Them not having my brand of potato bread so I have to get white bread is a slight inconvenience, stab wounds are a little more than “slight.”
“Obviously helpful” I disagree with too quite frankly, I’m not going to shoot up a school (unless a school is literally trying to murder me but somehow that seems unlikely), so then who am I “helping” by relinquishing my gun, the guy who wanted to stab and rob me in the walmart parking lot? Well forgive me for saying, but I don’t think I’m inclined to help that guy, I’d rather make it as difficult as possible by defending myself, preferably through intimidation rather than actual use of force (which again is what happened), but still.
Interestingly enough,
For example, as a gearhead, requiring every single gun to be licensed like a car
You DON’T have to have a licence for every car you buy (nor a background check), moreover you DON’T need a license to buy a car at all, and you DON’T even need one to drive on private roads. You DO need a license to drive on public roads and you DO need a license to carry a gun in public however (in most states), so congratulations your goal is already met (in most states).
Taxing guns is in effect “guns only for the privileged.” All it does is disenfranchise further those who likely need personal protection the most. Call me crazy but I can’t get behind “guns only for those who can afford an arbitrary tax” as I believe those in poverty should be able to protect themselves as well.
And “caught with an unlicensed gun” let me ask, do you think this will be enforced evenly, or do you think police will use this as an excuse to continue overpolicing and overcharging disenfranchised minorities (exactly like they currently do with drugs)? Something tells me that this is just going to be another thing to charge the blacks for and every now and again a white guy will get caught up in it. Idk if it’s just “the entire history of policing in this country dating as far back as the 1700s” or what, but I don’t think this is finally the year we turn it all around.
And finally, all that is not to say “let’s not do anything,” but rather “further legislation on top of the 50,000+ current gun laws in this country isn’t ever going to be nearly as effective as addressing the root causes (of which there are multiple) of the violence.” Even if we thanos snapped away the concept of firearms (as if they wouldn’t be reinvented, they were made in ancient goddamn China it isn’t that hard), we’d STILL have to address those root problems. The gun crime is a symptom not the disease.
Good luck moving! Hope you have a marketable skill though, turns out America isn’t the only country that is difficult to legally immigrate to either. You selling that shotgun before you move though? I might be interested for the right price. Help with the moving costs and such, more than the buyback would too, and I’ll give it a good home where it’ll be lovingly cared for instead of desecrated. I’m looking for a browning a5, or a trench gun, or a 2x barrel side by side. Do it all legal like, you drop it off at a nearby FFL (I’ll help you find one if need be) and I’ll give you the address of mine, they’ll background check me and everything.
Yeah, I’m aware, I’ve played H3VR and have friends who are, as I just learned, not gun nuts, but gun nerds I guess. While I can understand being into guns due to all the things you mentioned, and I’ve enjoyed shooting them before, I personally can’t get over having killing machines as a hobby, not to mention the data on the relative lack of shooting in countries where you can’t as easily own these things. So, I practice what I preach, and have chosen to not get into the hobby.
That said, even I have my grandpa’s old pump shotgun on a shelf (without any ammo in the house), as I have enjoyed shooting trap on occasion, and it was free, though I haven’t thought to touch it since I inherited it over two years ago.
Well, if it sets your mind at ease:
With over 600,000,000 guns and literally trillions of stacked rounds in 45% of the US pop’s hands (approx 156,600,000 people) with no registry to know who/where, with a general unwillingness to relinquish them, that ship has sailed, pandora’s box has been opened, even if they stopped gun sales today they’ll be easy to get for our entire lifetime and more. We literally have more small arms and ammo than most of the worlds military and police forces combined. Might as well join the club.
And more often than not the presence of a gun is enough without having to actually kill anyone, anyway, as it was the only time I had to “use” mine. He pulled a knife, I touched the grip of my licenced ccw firearm, he decided “maybe not this one” and walked away, I went about grocery shopping as intended. Thank “Bob” I didn’t have to shoot him, but also I don’t like stabwounds.
And sometimes, as fucked up as it sounds at first, sometimes people need killing. Self defense and defense of loved ones specifically, preventative of an immediate threat, not preemptive of a non-immediate threat, nor punitive, and always as a last resort, but had the knife weilder decided to press the issue, I’d rather him than me, given the choice. I’m not the one attacking people, I just need to get bread so I can make a meager sandwich for my lunch at work tomorrow without being gutted.
And btw:
You’ve already joined the club, you’re one of the 156,600,000. Welcome! As long as you use it safely, responsibly, and legally (incl self defense, “Bob” forbid), it’s nice to have you aboard. But make no mistake whether you have shotshells or not, you have the shotgun and that does make you a gun owner. As the Ramones said (quoted from the 1932 movie Freaks), Gabba gabba we accept you, one of us, one of us!
The argument that “Oh well, guns are too much of a problem, might as well not solve it ever” is a crazy argument. Australia managed to fix the issue. It would take time, and guns that weren’t turned in would continue to pop up, but over time we’d see fewer shootings. Even if it took multiple lifetimes for frequent shootings to stop, it’d be worth doing. I’d turn in my grandpa’s shotgun without even thinking about it.
I’m also not saying that it’d go over well in the US, there might even be a revolt, but even though I like shooting guns, I’d vote for it, as I dislike people dying more than I like shooting. I’d loosely compare the mindset of “don’t take my guns” people to the mindset of anti-maskers, refusing to do this obviously helpful thing to help the greater good because it slightly inconveniences them. Maybe not so coincidentally anti-maskers and gun nuts tend to share political beliefs.
At the very least, we could do a better job of regulating them. For example, as a gearhead, requiring every single gun to be licensed like a car makes sense to me. I wouldn’t even be against a yearly tax on gun ownership of a few bucks, as you see with automobiles. And, of course, if you’re caught with an unlicensed gun it’s straight to jail, much like if you’re driving without a license.
More likely I might just end up moving somewhere else that doesn’t have this issue, if my lifestyle ever can support that.
Australia only took 20% of the guns, yet to take 20% of the US’ guns at the same price they did (in 1996, without even accounting for inflation) literally pulls up in my calc with scientific notation. Their new buyback is only estimated at costing $15 billion despite having significantly less guns than even last time, when they still had less than we do now at their “more.” What’s more nearly half of the guns they got in were “shotguns and pea rifles (.22lr),” only 204 were automatic. You’re, by your own metric, “part of the problem” unless you relinquish Pappy’s shotgun at the next available buyback (or just cut the receiver in half yourself.) Well, what are you waiting for? You’d “turn it in without even thinking about it” yet you’ve had two years to destroy it or relinquish it in one of the buybacks the US already regularly does yet you have it. Get on it then.
People will still die even if you could thanos snap the entire concept of guns out of existence, the only difference being those stronger and faster will more easily be able to exert their will over those smaller, slower, disabled, etc. The soul crushing surveillance state is more effective in curbing crime than stripping people of their right to protect themselves tbh, of course either way you’re losing rights to privacy or protection and neither are frankly ideal, I’d rather possibly be murdered tbh.
I’m gonna push back on “slightly inconvenienced.” Going by my prior example, “being robbed and stabbed in a walmart parking lot” wouldn’t go under “slight” on my inconveniences list. Them not having my brand of potato bread so I have to get white bread is a slight inconvenience, stab wounds are a little more than “slight.”
“Obviously helpful” I disagree with too quite frankly, I’m not going to shoot up a school (unless a school is literally trying to murder me but somehow that seems unlikely), so then who am I “helping” by relinquishing my gun, the guy who wanted to stab and rob me in the walmart parking lot? Well forgive me for saying, but I don’t think I’m inclined to help that guy, I’d rather make it as difficult as possible by defending myself, preferably through intimidation rather than actual use of force (which again is what happened), but still.
Interestingly enough,
You DON’T have to have a licence for every car you buy (nor a background check), moreover you DON’T need a license to buy a car at all, and you DON’T even need one to drive on private roads. You DO need a license to drive on public roads and you DO need a license to carry a gun in public however (in most states), so congratulations your goal is already met (in most states).
Taxing guns is in effect “guns only for the privileged.” All it does is disenfranchise further those who likely need personal protection the most. Call me crazy but I can’t get behind “guns only for those who can afford an arbitrary tax” as I believe those in poverty should be able to protect themselves as well.
And “caught with an unlicensed gun” let me ask, do you think this will be enforced evenly, or do you think police will use this as an excuse to continue overpolicing and overcharging disenfranchised minorities (exactly like they currently do with drugs)? Something tells me that this is just going to be another thing to charge the blacks for and every now and again a white guy will get caught up in it. Idk if it’s just “the entire history of policing in this country dating as far back as the 1700s” or what, but I don’t think this is finally the year we turn it all around.
And finally, all that is not to say “let’s not do anything,” but rather “further legislation on top of the 50,000+ current gun laws in this country isn’t ever going to be nearly as effective as addressing the root causes (of which there are multiple) of the violence.” Even if we thanos snapped away the concept of firearms (as if they wouldn’t be reinvented, they were made in ancient goddamn China it isn’t that hard), we’d STILL have to address those root problems. The
guncrime is a symptom not the disease.Good luck moving! Hope you have a marketable skill though, turns out America isn’t the only country that is difficult to legally immigrate to either. You selling that shotgun before you move though? I might be interested for the right price. Help with the moving costs and such, more than the buyback would too, and I’ll give it a good home where it’ll be lovingly cared for instead of desecrated. I’m looking for a browning a5, or a trench gun, or a 2x barrel side by side. Do it all legal like, you drop it off at a nearby FFL (I’ll help you find one if need be) and I’ll give you the address of mine, they’ll background check me and everything.