So if gun control isn’t the solution what is?

@whowasthatmaskedman

Mexico has very strict gun control laws.

Once the police and elected officials discover that just the lawless have guns and are willing to use them to harm the police and elected officials, it's unlikely that the police will try to enforce the gun laws.

Mexican police chiefs and officials who campaign on a promise to enforce the gun laws, one elected, have a life expectancy for themselves and their families that's measured in weeks.

@whowasthatmaskedman Looking at it from the outside and, admittedly, without the benefit of first hand experience with the country, I think it's not just the guns. It seems to me that America has lost its sense of community. The whole concept of "rugged individuality" has become toxic. Obviously, restricting access to guns in a similar way to our gun laws would probably be helpful, but I'm not sure if it could be done over there.

@Heartlander Where do the most homicides in Mexico take place Heartlander? Next to the US border. And where does the overwhelming majority of the guns come from that these cartels use to shoot people up? They come from the US, because they are easily accesible. The US, with their incredible lenient gun laws practically exported their problems to the neighbouring countries. Not to mention, that states with stricter gun laws have the same issue. Because the effects of lenient gun laws don't stop at the border of the states that are lenient towards Guns.

This argument of "strict gun laws don't work" and then pointing to an area that is attached to an area where they sell guns at the local wallmart is short sighted and quite stupid.

@Bushranger I absolutely agree. And if I has to point to just one element of US culture to highlight it would be the idea that winning is everything that keeps recurring in sport, business and even politics. There is little sense of community without a specific bond, such as a family, church or something similar.. In my admittedly too short a time in the country I found the individuals to be wonderful people. So its not them as such. But there does seem to be the need to win, even if it means the other person loses, that I certainly dont see in our "Fair Go" approach. 😷

@whowasthatmaskedman its not so much the guns... its the american culture who fetishizes about guns...
owning a gun isnt bad... thinking you own the gun to protect yourself and seeing it a a method to solve problem is.

in the swiss there is a gun in every household.. but noone would be as demented as like posing with the gun or view the gun as a fundamental piece to their freedom...

so the problems are american culture and how they behave with guns... not the guns itself

@FreeLilly I agree... But I dont see it as a fetish.. It is some sort of social disorder linked to the need to be a "winner" and an inferiority complex. Maybe its something similar to the need to drive big Pick ups and Muscle cars to compensate for something. But its not a positive thing. Its definitely compensating for a negative.
What I do know for sure was if there had been over two hundred mass shootings where my family and particularly children were potential targets, no way would I still be living in that country. And no way would any pro gun politician be getting my vote..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman well.. school shooting are as american as baseball and hotdogs... its just who you guys are...

@whowasthatmaskedman I think that America as a culture isn't trusting. Over here we seem to believe that people are generally good and that our government isn't out to get us. The whole idea of having to own guns to protect themselves just seems to be symptomatic of the cultural system. The general lack of concern for people seems to be exhibited in the fear of a free health care system and the need to arm themselves for protection.

@FreeLilly I think the gun fetish is a symptom of the general lack of compassion and fear of others.

@Bushranger OK.. Now thats something else. Having seen a lot of poverty in Large well to do cities.. Having listened to people talk acceptingly of crooked law, and corrupt politicians with a "Thats just the way it is" attitude that has us screaming for an integrity Commission. Having watched what passes for news and current affairs there. And knowing that an illness can break the bank and a college education can cripple your future.
I havent touched the racism I know is there, or the elitism of money. I didnt experience those first hand. But all the others you can see in McDonalds and Starbucks. Or on one of their god awful internal flights.😷

@whowasthatmaskedman I see it all as being symptomatic of a larger problem, lack of trust.

@Bushranger I agree.. But what caused the lack of trust??😷

@whowasthatmaskedman I think it started with the revolution and has fed on years of continuing distrust of both governments and others. I think it's now ingrained in the US psyche and I don't really know how it can be resolved.

@Bushranger Neither do I.. But its a corossive environment to raise kids in and crappy values they have instilled in them. I am sure glad my family and I are here.
It id tragic really. We saw what America is capable of it WW2 and again in the space race. They were world beaters. Now they just battle each other for leftovers.😷

@whowasthatmaskedman And that's the really annoying thing, the country could be so great, a light on the hill.

@whowasthatmaskedman ok you are saying the constant is guns I’m saying the constant is gun free zones and soft targets. While you are looking to restrict liberty I’m looking at an employment opportunity that actually would work and make sense. Those who intend to do evil will change their means. A knife attack in China killed 14 a truck in France killed 86. So we’re going to ban knives and trucks? You can not regulate yourself into safety but you can arm yourself to fend off evil. Fact of human nature is there are those who are always going to kill and cause destruction. Would you rather be a sitting duck or have the appropriate means to defend yourself against an attack? I’d rather defend myself the way nature and John Moses Browning intended.

@Ozuye502 I guess we are just not going to agree. I certainly wont attack you personally, or your position. Under the laws of your land you have those rights.
But I will say that I feel the comparison of firarm killings with knife or vehicle attacks is a cheap shot. Knives and vehicles are not primarily designed as killing weapons. Nor do they kill over extended distances from the perpetrator. A gun is something specifically designed to project deadly force over a distance.. As such it is my view that only qualified people should be allowed to handle them. Now I get that ship has long sailed in America.. But I choose to live in a country where we love our kids more than our guns and dont need to be packing heat to get hard.😷

@whowasthatmaskedman now I get it you are looking at it and we are having an intellectual conversation around gun rights. Now you rejected the idea of using armed individuals to protect children from the actions of an evil individual? These individuals would be highly trained in a uniform no different than a police officer. Now I’m not attacking you on a personal level but I’ve seen the videos of the Covid camps in Australia… what do you think would happen here if that tactic was implemented? We have plenty of situations where government was forced to stand down because citizens took up our arms and stood our ground against them. It’s not about loving our guns over our children in fact it’s the opposite it’s about protecting our children from threats both foreign and domestic. It’s a failure of our government to provide the appropriate security measures the same security measures I have in my home. Do I have an ar 15 no but I have an ar 10 (uses a bigger cartridge) that same ar10 also puts food on my table and in my freezer.
There’s over 1million defensive uses of a firearm in the us yearly. And some years it’s over 3 million. That’s lives saved by firearms. Most of those a round is never discharged.
Where is that stat on the news?
As far as using the argument of other methods of carrying out an attack on civilians is just pointing out that human kind is naturally violent and I can stop a truck attack with a firearm I can stop a knife attack with a firearm cops and civilians have stopped mass shooting with a firearm. Making the individual helpless does nothing but make the situation worse.
But I’ll agree that we will not see eye to eye on this

@Bushranger I Agree! It's a car, big box parking lot culture. Also parenting is very bad here. A lot of Catholics believe in authoritarian parenting, where kids should be "respectful" but many parents yell and beat the kids, are overprotective, and don't listen to them.

Also people are exhausted because they don't have any vacations, they don't believe in unions, or equality, and the capitalistic environment breeds poverty and monopoly abuse.

@Ozuye502 Two small points: There never have been and arent "Covid Camps" in australia, not that America is in a position to lecture anyone on that.
The highly trained uniformed individual we have here ARE the police.
You have a nice day prepping now..😷

@Ozuye502 You're right that alternative weapons can be used, but how many mass attacks have happened in, for example, Australia this year?

I'm allowed to own any number of firearms with restrictions on semi and full automatic and handguns. They would also need to be stored securely when not in use. So there are restrictions, but those restrictions are designed to reduce the misuse of firearms and to reduce the supply into the criminal community. Many of the illegal guns have been stolen from legitimate owners.

Yes, there is still gun crime in Australia and handguns are out there. Like drugs, a complete ban won't stop them from getting into the wrong hands. But the majority of gun crime is gang related. To be honest, I don't personally know anyone who wants a firearm for protection. And this is where I believe our countries differ. We tend to trust each other more. That's not meant to be an insult, please don't take it that way, it's just an observation on how our teo countries have developed differently.

@Carazaa I think your last paragraph is more to the point. A blind belief in capitalism and individual freedom leading to a disregard and often fear of others.

@whowasthatmaskedman winning has always been part of american culture. mass shootings hasn't.

@boudinMan Its true that winning is a big part of any successful culture.. But America has placed a premium on winning at any price, which a recent President turning into "If I can get away with it, I'm a winner." The problem there is it creates one winner and potentially a lot of losers paying for that victory. And some of those losers decide that if they are going to loser, they are going to show others how they feel..
The solution isnt less guns. more police or bulletproof Backpacks. The solution is to stop creating those people..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman well, i disagree. i think the problem is no discipline (especially in schools), labeling everyone (LGBTQI, etc.), feelings of isolation cuz they don't know where they fit into that crazy mix, no father figure in many cases, an anything goes culture, social media, etc.