🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Tired of headlines involving guns.

Tired of people dying from guns shot by someone who thought they didn't deserve to live.

Tired of people dying from guns shot by someone who had no idea where the deadly bullet was going.

Tired of suicide by gun, which is HALF of all gun deaths but never talked about.

Tired of TV shows providing us entertainment with guns.

Tired of gun debates.

Tired of gun apologists arguments.

Tired of reading news from where I've taught hoping that one of my former students isn't the latest victim or shooter. (Lester Earls nephew whom I taught was the latest such shooter)

Tired of politicians pressured by NRA money to do nothing.

Tired of zero NRA compromising.

Tired of excuses for why AR-15's are so important.

Tired of being tired.

Amen.

My conclusion about the US during the 66 year period of my lifetime is that progressives get tired more easily than conservatives.

Not because they care less or are less motivated, but because they have so many issues about which they (we) are passionate. The result of caring about an entire agenda to improve the world is the fragmentation of focus.

In sum, when every issue is prioritized as worthy of the utmost attention, and we try to push with no holds barred for fixing everything from medical care to racism to abortion to gun control to global warming to species extinction to pollution to corruption to a presidential buffoon lying about his wealth to equal education opportunity to God knows how many others, none of the issues end up being the highest priority. Compounding the fragmentation has been a demand for purism in ideological belief and perfection of character that has undercut would-be leaders far more successfully than any opponent could do.

Conservatives have had two overwhelming priorities in the last half-century: protect the 2nd Amendment, and reverse Roe v. Wade. They carefully managed their political strategies to achieve these goals by taking control of state politics in vast swaths of the country because they noticed that the Senate has equal representation from evey state. Progressives thought national polling results would inform national direction. Polls don't make laws, amend the constitution, or vote on Supreme Court justices.

I have the greatest sympathy for everyone who is tired of the killing. I just believe that we progressives have to understand it is just one of many issues that we will remain exhausted about until we understand that our energies need to be united toward a common goal.

@mayjay

Good response. I'm a lifelong republican conservative, who through life circumstances has become very less conservative in some areas like guns, immigration, civil rights, etc. I feel I have no one to vote for anymore because the senators in my state are trumpers, democrats control congress in my district. The trumpers will never nominate a presidential candidate that I would see eye to eye with. Yet I am a life long conservative on pro life issues, gay marriage, and some other issues.

But the guns are just the biggest to me. It's a little more personal for reasons explained above. But we drive through a neighborhood frequently to get to church that has much gun violence in it. So it's a threat even. We can at least try to do something to prevent yesterdays tragedy. Tammy Duckworth who is Illinois' senator, and was permanently disabled in Iraq while serving in the military said the sound she heard at the shooting yesterday reminded her of Iraq. The gunfire was so rapid it sounded like machine guns. This is insanity that we allow this to continue.

@wissox "This is insanity that we allow this to continue".

That says it all, brother. We ALLOW it. I interrupt people all the time (dear God - all the time?) when they are talking about the sickness and depravity of mass killers. I say - quit wasting your breath. Quit working yourself up. Nobody gives a ****. Your government doesn't. The NRA doesn't. The only people who care are the families of those who are getting shot and those of us who empathize with them.

Why do other countries not have this issue? It seems to be pretty much an American sickness. I don't care if a person has 1,000 guns. But let them be 12ga, 20ga, 410ga shotguns. I'll take my chances against that. Who in the hell needs an AK-47 or an AR-15? A sick, twisted person - that's who. I don't want to hear about the second amendment. When that was written they were using MUSKETS! Ok - use all the damn muskets you want. I'm good with that.

For those of us who are inclined, we need to pray for America. We're quickly disintegrating into the worst country on the planet.

@nuleafjhawk Great post. Yes pray, but answered prayer may mean common sense legislation that doesn't impinge on our friends right to shoot their shotguns yet limits these weapons of war that nut jobs are legally getting their hands on.

I'm not an expert at all (but I'll still comment :)) but other countries don't have a problem with this because they limit firearms. Pretty sure UK makes it really tough to own a gun, and lo and behold the country has far less in a year than Chicago has accumulated in this year already.

@wissox I heard a stat 25 - 30 years ago that stated in the previous year (whatever year it was), Canada had 50 gun related deaths. The U.S. had 50 in the first HOUR of that following year.

Yeah, butt unliek thoze countreeez we 'Meracans neede gunz to keap the Injuns from steelin' th' wimminfoke!

I don't necessarily think the guns themselves need to be banned, but if someone claims they use their AR15 for hunting, there's not a reason any style of gun to need more than a 10 round magazine. The only time I've ever fired more than 10 rounds with a rifle or pistol is at a gun range. I've never needed more than a single 10 round magazine when hunting. The only type of gun I've ever shot more than 10 rounds when not at a range was hunting with a shotgun when bird hunting.

Limit magazine capacity and how many magazines can be bought in a time period. Develop a tracking system similar to certain medicines where you have to scan your license to verify the time frame.

Next, mandatory 7 day federal background checks, including all social media platforms, no matter where you purchase a gun from including gun shows. This won't catch everyone obviously if they have no record or nobody in their family has a record, but it would give a chance to catch more red flags and reduce the number of people who obtain a gun who shouldn't have one. If a person buys a gun at a gunshow, which frequently skirts background check laws, they still have to wait 7 days before the seller can ship to the buyer at the buyer's expense.

Next, mandatory yearly gun safety courses including a written test and range test to ensure people know how to properly amd safely care for and operate their weapons. If you fail either portion of the test, you have to surrender your weapons. One thing that scares me about how loose Texas gun laws are is that now you don't need a permit to carry which can lead to more people gaining access to guns who shouldn't have one.

Obviously these won't prevent every possible incident, but these three things are pretty reasonable to most people and pretty easily enforceable which would in theory significantly reduce the risk or more mass shootings happening.

@Texas-Hawk-10 Good ideas, but that protocol would depend on national records being kept. The die-hard right will cause the Jan 6 riot to look like a Cub Scout visit if Congress ever creates any national database of gun or ammunition purchases or applications to purchase.

That is their biggest fear, and why a bunch of yahoos with 6-packs hooked on their flak jackets (fishing vests) roam the Idaho woods pretending they can keep the feds at bay when The Great Confiscation allegedly urged by every Democratic prez since Carter finally takes place.

Depends on the game. If I'm hunting hogs, you bet I want >10 rounds in the mag. Deer? Just 10 will suffice. Now, not that many people hunt with a semi-auto anyway. I prefer an old fashioned bolt-action due to weight.

Bans won't do much of anything because the cat is out of the bag. There are anywhere from 400-500 million firearms in America right now. The famous Australian buyback program (because it was "mandatory") only clawed back 25% of weapons and the evidence that it accomplished much of anything besides light a bunch of taxpayer money on fire is relatively weak (https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/downloads/working_paper_series/wp2008n17.pdf). ↗ Now, that's much more difficult to extrapolate to the U.S. because 1) there are MANY more firearms and 2) we don't know who owns what. That makes any straight up ban or confiscation inoperable unless you abandon the 4th Amendment (no thx).

And, the gun issue broadly has two prongs. One, the mass shootings we see in schools and at large gatherings. Two, the normal, every day gun crime. These two issues require significantly different policy responses. The second is more straightforward. If you really want to do something about it, you have to attack the illegal handgun market. You have to prosecute offenders for possession and straw buyers. We don't really prosecute straw purchasers now. Why? They're usually family members or intimate partners of the person who can't legally purchase. So you could be throwing a mother into prison and the kids in foster care. And prosecuting mostly young, black men for gun crime. I'm not sure anyone is comfortable really looking at these costs and doing what it takes.

The mass shooting thing is much more complicated. Red flag laws might make some sense. I'm interested to see what states do with the additional federal money that's coming to develop these programs. I also worry about violation of civil liberties (the ACLU agrees here). So the devil's in the details there. Related, the new legislation puts juvenile records into the NICS system for buyers between 18 and 21. This makes some sense vs.
a ban on them buying weapons. It catches those with violent convictions and protects Mr. Smith who wants a handgun for protection. A waiting period also makes sense in some circumstances.

The biggest thing BY FAR from the available evidence is restricting who has access to firearms within the home. Kids without safety instruction are without question carry the largest risk of an adverse outcome with a firearm. Ensuring adults who can lawfully own firearms are required to safely store and maintain their firearms will reduce death and injury by more than any of the sexy proposals out there. https://www.rand.org/research/gun-policy.html ↗

2 guys with AR15s almost shot up a fireworks show here in richmond that my family has attended in years past. Shouldnt rely on a hero tip to prevent mass shootings.

https://www.nbc12.com/2022/07/06/police-received-tip-planned-fourth-july-mass-shooting-richmond-multiple-arrests-made/ ↗

@approxinfinity Well, at least this time someone did it.