I don't bloody understand mass shootings

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > I don't bloody understand mass shootings

Von Humboldt: Jan 13, 2009

Liquid Communism posted:

gently caress you. That's why.

This is your answer. Liquid might just be loving around with with you, he might not, but the sentiment is why we can't even manage a discourse about guns in this country. Gun control is not a political issue. It is a personal, emotional one. When you bring up control, a lot of people get incredibly defensive. It looks crazy and illogical to much of the world, but you're the crazy and illogical one to them - they're being perfectly rational. You're not trying to solve a violence problem - you're trying to gently caress with their dearly held personal rights, including the right to protect their family, their belongings, or themselves. You're trying to tweak a protected Constitutional Right, something enshrined as something all Americans are entitled to - including our (all too frequently real) gun owner. When you debate with them, you're debating with their personal beliefs and their personal rights, which goes as well as you might expect.

"But can't we just discuss some tweaks? Surely there is a way to approach it so we can talk about some control," you might say. Problem is, you're still trying to get people to compromise on personal belief. Even many people that might otherwise be open to discussion have listened to years of talk from other gun owners and organizations hammering away that any control is an incremental step to total removal. They hear you go "well, maybe we could just restrict a few things..." and hear the sound of a chipping noise at their personal freedoms.

That's it. Gun control is not political, it is personal and emotional. Those that do not want gun control are devoted; those that do not are fighting an uphill battle as a result.

# ¿ Dec 3, 2015 06:58

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 16, 2024 12:50

Von Humboldt: Jan 13, 2009

Khizan posted:

More guns. If everybody was armed they could have shot the perpetrator before he had time to kill so many people.

No, I'm not joking; that is literally what their answer is. They think that the solution to mass shootings is a bunch of people with minimal qualifications and range time returning fire with deadly weapons in public areas.

This, or that the violent and reprehensible actions of a few are not justification for curtailing the rights of law-abiding, gun owning citizens. Frequently, the shootings are also pointed to as examples of how gun control does not, in fact, work.

# ¿ Dec 3, 2015 07:18

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > I don't bloody understand mass shootings