How to fix school shootings

The answer isn’t to ban assault rifles! The answer is simple you hire retired army vets for every public and private school in America. You heavily arm these army vets and I guarantee you won’t have another school shooting.

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RosaMarie · 41-45, F

I have been a conservative leaning libertarian most of my life. I want very much for us all to have more rights and more freedoms. That being said, I'm also an engineer. I study data all the time. I look into data for cause and effect. So let's talk and data, and let's talk about cause and effect.

Prior to 2008, it was very hard to get a semi automatic high capacity rifle like an AR-15. That year, the US supreme court ruled on the second amendment for the first time in 70 years. Prior to that, local laws and state laws limited some access to some guns. One of these laws was a federal ban on assault rifles.

In the 90s, there were around 100,000 of these guns sold each year. 2.8 million were sold in 2020. 1 million plus each year since 2015. That's not open for debate, it's just a fact. It doesn't care about what you or I feel.

In the same time frame, mass shootings have gone up. The numbers can change depending on the exact criteria you set to define a mass shooting. But regardless of the criteria, the trend always looks the same.

For reference:
https://rockinst.org/gun-violence/mass-shooting-factsheet/

As more high capacity semi automatic rifles are sold, the rate of mass shootings goes up. That's cause and effect. I spent most of my life wanting us all to be responsible. We should be mature enough to handle the great responsibility that comes with great freedom. Unfortunately, the data doesn't care about my feelings either. It's clear that we, as a society, are not better off with the freedom to own these kind of weapons. I am a gun owner. I love freedom. But I'm also very aware of data and bias. What I want and what I spent most of my life believing just isn't supported by data. We should not have to have daily mass shootings. We used to not have that.

When the gun laws changed, the danger to society changed. We tried to show that we were responsible enough to have unlimited access to guns of all types. We tried, but we failed. We need to be honest with ourselves and follow the data. The data says that if we limit the sale of certain kinds of weapons, we will return to a time when these shootings were the rare tragedies instead of the everyday norm.

fanuc2013 · 51-55, F

@RosaMarie That is untrue that "high capacity" rifles were hard to get prior to 2008. M1 carbines have been available since the 1950s sometimes offered on the surplus market for as little as $15. AR 15s have been on the market since around 1960. And those are just two models I can think of right now. Better check your data, better still, consult someone that really knows about firearms.

Virgo79 · 61-69, M

@RosaMarie only thing is you don't take into account for anything else happening at that time that may also have an effect.

RosaMarie · 41-45, F

@Virgo79 such as?

BizSuitStacy · M

@RosaMarie [quote]Prior to 2008, it was very hard to get a semi automatic high capacity rifle like an AR-15.[/quote]

Not true. The AR-15 has been available to the consumer since 1963. Only during a 10 year ban between 1994-2004 was the purchase restricted. And during that 10 year span, the ban had no effect on crime or violence.

[quote]That year, the US supreme court ruled on the second amendment for the first time in 70 years.[/quote]

You're referring to Heller v DC. And you're wrong..it was the first time ever that the SCOTUS actually ruled on the 2nd Amendment. The "first time in 70 years" is a quote you borrow from a long time ago. It references Miller v USA in 1939, now 84 years ago. The SCOTUS did not rule on the 2nd Amendment. It determined that the law banning the sale of a sawed off shotgun across state lines was constitutional, and that Miller's 2nd amendment rights hadn't bern violated. The gun control crowd loves referencing Miller (though not by name specifically) as some kind of benchmark decision on the meaning of 2A, and that somehow, the Heller case somehow reversed that.

[quote]As more high capacity semi automatic rifles are sold, the rate of mass shootings goes up. That's cause and effect[/quote]

All you've done here is establish correlation, not causation. Modern semi automatic firearms have been around for well over 100 years. Mass shooting are a far more recent phenomenon. If guns were causing mass shootings, they would have begun before the turn of the 20th century.

[quote]It's clear that we, as a society, are not better off with the freedom to own these kind of weapons.[/quote]

No...it's not at all clear. The truth is that "assault weaoins" as defined by liberals account for less than 1% of all firearm homicides annually as per Dianne Feinstein - the assault weapons ban queen.

Any nut can kill a bunch of people concentrated in a crowded space. And they can do it with any type of weapon. The Virginia Tech shooter...the deadliest school shooting ever used a Glock 9mm handgun and (17) ten round magazines.

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robb65 · 56-60, M

@fanuc2013 I remember seeing the M1 carbines in sears catalogues when I was a kid.

fanuc2013 · 51-55, F

@BizSuitStacy And during the so-called , "Assault Weapons Ban" anyone could buy a rifle, say an AR15 for example, with a couple cosmetic features changed, and was actually the same rifle! But the liberals won't tell you that fact!

robb65 · 56-60, M

@fanuc2013 I bought an actual military issue "assault rifle" during that time frame for $125. Mine came packed in cosmoline with the bayonet attached. A few weeks later they decided they couldn't be sold with a bayonet attached but they could still sell them with the bayonet in the box. Aaand a few weeks after that they decided the dealers couldn't sell it with the bayonet still in the box but if you'd come back the next day you could buy the bayonet separately. And for some reason the "ban" only affected the Chinese version of that rifle while the Russian version fell under "curios and relics."

fanuc2013 · 51-55, F

@robb65 Exactly! The "Ban" was actually a joke!

BizSuitStacy · M

@fanuc2013 one of my favorite things to do is to ask liberals which gun below is more dangerous. You can guess which they usually choose. LOL

fanuc2013 · 51-55, F

@BizSuitStacy Good Example!!!