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Dear Americans .... what are your suggestions on appeasing the gun crime in USA?

This is not about the politics because in the paste years you have had both Republican and Democratic leaders that have not managed to tackle the issue.

Here are some stats for you, based on 2022 alone:

In this year there have been 609 mass shootings, from which there have been 637 deaths (around 58 per month) and 2552 people injured.

There has not been a single week without a mass shooting.and in fact only 83 days this year have been free from a amass shooting.

More children have died in a school shooting than police officers on duty.

I find this shocking but the apathy towards change even more so.

Is it time to give up the guns?

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JesseInTX · 51-55, M

The issue is not the guns. The issue is the person. I own many guns and they don’t fire unless I pull the trigger. A person who wishes to kill will find a tool that will kill.

The mass shooting statistics are also skewed. An incident where 3 or more people are shot is considered a mass shooting by the FBI.

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SW-User

@JesseInTX but why do you need or want many guns that you don't shoot??

SW-User

@JesseInTX I'll counter that if I may...no mass killings in the UK? No guns really (other than licensed) but knives etc are available, but, no mass knifing and no attacks on school kids? It's too late to change in the USA now sadly, but the constant acceptance of people having guns I cannot understand.

BabyLonia · F

@JesseInTX ok....so how do you make sure the right people have the guns?

A person who wishes to kill will find a tool that will kill.

Then what is it in the US culture that drives such a high murder rate because on this scale US is unique. How can this be fixed ?

And where is your cut off for a mass shooting....3 people getting shot in one incident feels high enough to me

JesseInTX · 51-55, M

@BabyLonia it’s the terminology associated with events like the recent Uvalde school shooting. To say there’s been 609 mass shootings people assume that means 609 Uvalde or Buffalo. When in actual terms Chicago has 3 a weekend no one ever hears about.

BabyLonia · F

@JesseInTX but i put real numbers in my post
637 deaths...almost 60 a month
That is from "mass" shootings, not just gun shot wounds.
24 of that was children.....why does this not make you angry, instead you question terminology.

JesseInTX · 51-55, M

@BabyLonia what makes me angry is the last of respect for human life in general. Most of these “mass shootings” involve some other form of criminal behavior that leads up to the shooting. Robberies, drug deals, gang revenge.

Did you hear about the 8 year old boy killed in New Orleans last night? The 12 year old in Rochester, NY day before yesterday? The 4 college students at the University of Idaho? This is a people problem, not a gun problem.

BabyLonia · F

@JesseInTX no i did not hear of it, shootings in america are so commonplace they do not even make the news here.

JesseInTX · 51-55, M

@BabyLonia and that’s my point. The term is sensationalism. No one gives 2 shits if only one child is killed or a knife is used as was the case with the University of Idaho students. And that includes in the USA. Unless it’s a mass casualty event no one cares.

Last weekend in Chicago 21 people were shot in 15 different incidents. A 15 year old girl was killed in one. That means there were 2 mass shooting in Chicago last weekend. Unless you research it you’d never know. It doesn’t fit the narrative.

BabyLonia · F

@JesseInTX but as cited by @OldBrit

In a given year, more U.S. children will die from gun violence than will die from cancer, pneumonia, influenza, asthma, HIV/AIDS, and opioids combined.

And also

According to the Children’s Defense Fund, “U.S. children and teens are 15 times more likely to die from gunfire than their peers in 31 other high-income countries combined.”

That isn't sensationalism

JesseInTX · 51-55, M

@BabyLonia your original post highlighted mass shooting. Not gun violence. I just gave you an example of many incidents of gun violence where single individuals were injured or killed. Nobody gives a damn about those and that includes Americans. Again people only care when it’s a mass casualty event. That is sensationalism of the term mass shooting.

BabyLonia · F

@JesseInTX you say no-one... i do though and i often have said about the numbers of children dead from gun violence in america.

SW-User

@BabyLonia I care too, just the same as when the kids in London stab each other, young teens, life snubbed out before it starts. It's the justifying of having a gun I just don't get "it's my right"

JesseInTX · 51-55, M

@BabyLonia @SW-User
This post highlighted mass shootings. And cited the numbers above, 609 total, at least one a week and only 83 days this year without one. I simply pointed out what constitutes a mass shooting according to the FBI to explain the context. Everyone hears the term and assumes a mass casualty event. When that is nowhere near the truth. The term itself, “mass shooting”, is sensationalized world wide. Talking about gun violence is a completely different subject. Again as I said before, it’s not the tool that kills, it a person who kills.

SW-User

@JesseInTX mate, inotterwords headline Dear Americans .... what are your suggestions on appeasing the gun crime in USA? yes mass was mentioned but seriously it's all about the guns from our side and just why you need them? How many people fire their guns in defence? any stats for that

JesseInTX · 51-55, M

@SW-User that was the title but the body of the post was about mass shootings. I have 3 friends who have drawn their handguns in self defense this year alone. Two of the attackers retreated but one friend did discharge his weapon. But some added context…in 2005 my home was broken into. I had my weapon on me and when I entered I was confronted by 3 men and a woman. I shot 2 men and the woman. Complete self defense and I was no billed by a grand jury. That qualified as a mass shooting. Though none of the pieces of sh*T died.

BabyLonia · F

@JesseInTX so do you not think there is an issue with mass shootings in America?

You skirt round these real numbers as if they do not matter, i discussed mass shootings and you brought up gun violence.

What is your cut off for a mass shooting?

Is 637 dead not sensational enough on its own?
Instead of talking about the problems with these shootings you are discussing the semantics of what makes up a mass shooting....therein lies the problem

NerdyPotato ·

@JesseInTX ok, it's fair that not all 609 mass shootings had 20 lethal victims. So your point is those didn't lead to 12k deaths? @BabyLonia also mentioned 637 deaths and 2552 injuries, but I don't see any comment on that other than that number actually being much higher if you count smaller gun incidents too. That's even more reason to acknowledge it's a problem, but you don't. Let alone sharing your suggestions for a solution, which was the main question of this post.

JesseInTX · 51-55, M

@BabyLonia refer to my previous reply about the lack of respect for human life in general.

JesseInTX · 51-55, M

@NerdyPotato refer to my previous reply about lack of respect for human life in general. No one gives 2 shits when it’s a single individual shot and/or killed. It is not a gun problem, it is a person problem. It take a person to pull a trigger, plunge a knife into someone, drive a car at a high rate of speed through a crowd. The tool does not matter. The person chooses his/her actions.

NerdyPotato ·

@JesseInTX fair enough. That still leaves the question why USA citizens value human life so much less than in any other country though, and a suggestion how to change that.

JesseInTX · 51-55, M

@NerdyPotato the majority of these “mass shooting” incidents are related to criminal activity before the shooting occurs. See a previous reply. I am not a psychologist so I cannot cite any particular study, but violent crimes have increased with the breakdown of structures families here. I remember going to HS in the 80s with a rifle in my truck and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. I, like all the other trucks, were going hunting after school. If you had a disagreement with someone then you had a fight in the parking lot but no one ever thought “I’ll get my gun and kill that MFr”.

NerdyPotato ·

@JesseInTX divorce rates have gone up in other countries too, but murders have not. So that can't be the only factor.

This comment is hidden. Show Comment

NerdyPotato ·

@JesseInTX you're not entirely wrong as you do need both. But that combination can be broken by taking out either of the equation. A tool can't kill without a person, but a person has a much harder time killing large numbers without a tool too. And yes, there are knifes and cars. But guns are much more effective than knives and cars can fairly easily be kept away from masses of pedestrians.

JesseInTX · 51-55, M

@NerdyPotato see my comment about 2005. I took a gun to school in 1986. Yes guns are much more effective. No doubt, but they are not the only tool.

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