this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2023
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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

In the UK knife crime is a big issue for those in poverty or those in struggling cities. Having access to weapons of course increases risks of people dying ot those weapons, but removing guns isn't going to just convince everyone trying to lash out to just lie down and suffer in silence.

I don't live in a contry with civilan access to guns, and I don't live in a situation where I feel the need to protect myself with weapons, so I'm not gonna stake a claim in the gun control debate. But if you ban every weapon ever conceivable, without addressing why people are becoming violent to begin with, people will just result to using their own hands (or perhaps more realistically, going above the legal means. Like with Shinzo Abe's assassination).

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

At least with a knife, you can't mow down a room full of people. Here in the U.S. dozens of people can be killed in a short time by a single person due to guns. We give them out like candy.

Both access to guns (force multiplier) and the underlying issue (poverty, lack of social mobility, etc) need to be addressed.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well, yeah. I'll take your word on the issue of US gun control.

However, if we want to tackle both these issues it's probably a bad habit to redirect the conversation to gun control when we are talking about the motivations a situations that are generating the violent outbursts to begin with, since gun control gets a hell of alot more talk anyway, while societal issues keep getting pushed away from the collective spotlight, and are usally coming from underprivileged postions that stuggle to get a word in to begin with.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I agree, which is why I usually bring up both when it makes sense to do so.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I wasn't aware candy required going through a background check and being a legal adult.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

ok, kill as many people as he did with a knife.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Right, let's keep pretending it's about the weapon over actual program solving.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

It is about the weapon. If someone wanted to inflict a lot of damage, they would use bombs. That has happened several times in the past but doesn't compare to the number of mass shootings. Why? Because guns are simply just plentiful and easy to get, and too many apologetics keep allowing them to be plentiful. It really is that simple. Yes it doesn't fix society's underlying issues but that is a MUCH harder problem to solve than simply getting rid of (as many) guns (as possible), or at least not just allow so mamy people to own them willy nilly.

The goal is to drastically reduce the number of innocent lives being taken ASAP, not to argue about weapons or social ills or all of this other nonsense.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Because guns are simply just plentiful and easy to get, and too many apologetics keep allowing them to be plentiful.

You seem to be close to a moment of understanding here but not quite getting it. You seem to recognize that there are other tools available to affect such disastrous outcomes we'd be doing nothing to address, but to also pretend that there's no indication nor chance anyone would use any of these other tools.

You seem to recognize the futility of the whack-a-mole game while recognizing its existence.

Yes it doesn’t fix society’s underlying issues but that is a MUCH harder problem to solve than simply getting rid of (as many) guns (as possible), or at least not just allow so mamy people to own them willy nilly.

It really isn't. How much effort do you believe will be required to bring about an amendment to the constitution of the United States?

How much less effort will be required to bring about simple legislative changes? By simple comparison of the two vectors of change, one of them is unquestionably easier than the other. Spoiler: It isn't undoing the 2nd amendment.

Interestingly enough, you seem to double-down on the previous recognition the problem - pressures toward mass violence - would be left unaddressed but with the vast majority of options for mass harm still very much present and ignored.

The goal is to drastically reduce the number of innocent lives being taken ASAP, not to argue about weapons or social ills or all of this other nonsense.

Which is more effective: A change which is quite impossible to bring about, or a change which can be brought about with some difficulty and compromise?

Which is more effective: A change which removes one of unbounded options to bring about a given end, or a change which reduces the count of people seeking to bring about a given end with any tool available?

We both know you know the answer.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

That not the point. Ideally we just wouldn't have people doing this to begin with, right?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Yeah, you treat the symptom, but in an effective way. It's called mass shooting, because so many people die, when guns are involved. You do not have this, if there is someone trying the same with a knife. Banning guns is a band aid during the time necessary to fix the underlying problem.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's also impossible given the state of partisan gridlock and the constitutional amendment necessary.

Fortunately, actually solving problems here is far simpler than asinine bans.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There will still be kids slipping through. They also say it themselves:

Too often in politics it becomes an either-or proposition. Gun control or mental health. Our research says that none of these solutions is perfect on its own. We have to do multiple things at one time and put them together as a comprehensive package. People have to be comfortable with complexity and that’s not always easy.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

There will still be kids slipping through. They also say it themselves:

Indeed.

So, what's more effective?

Reducing the scope of those seeking to commit such atrocities to a small fraction of those now, or hoping for improvement via symptom whack-a-mole?