Looks like gun control is going to be a major issue for the Dems. Watching ABC this morning present on Biden’s gun policies.

The reporter talked with a black female police chief (sorry, didn’t catch the city) who reported that 97% of gun violence victims were POC. Nobody asked, and so it was not answered, how many of the trigger fingers belonged to POC? But I think a generic answer would be “a lot”. A disproportionate lot.

The measure proposed by Biden are the usual - more comprehensive background checks and an “assault weapons” ban. The former is more of the same, the latter attacking a tiny percentage of guns used in assaults.

No question that a comprehensive gun ban would reduce “gun” violence - just like the bazooka ban has reduced bazooka violence - but how much would it reduce overall violence? Changing the weapon does not change the person, or the situation. Instead of a mugger jamming a gun in my ribs, they will use a knife.

Instead of focusing on the weapon, they should be focusing on the reasons that violence happens. I think they should look at some of their own policies, such as no cash bail, no enforcement of certain crimes, defunding the police, reducing the tools available to police, ending limited immunity. They need to look at their own war on police.

(07-25-2021 09:16 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  No question that a comprehensive gun ban would reduce “gun” violence

Actually, that's not necessarily true, no matter how intuitive it might seem.

Yes, there are places that have comprehensive gun bans and low rates of gun violence. But they had the low rates of gun violence before they had the gun bans, so not because of them.

Also, there are places that had high rates of gun violence, implemented comprehensive, almost draconian, gun bans, and still have high rates of gun violence.

(07-25-2021 10:18 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(07-25-2021 09:16 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  No question that a comprehensive gun ban would reduce “gun” violence

Actually, that's not necessarily true, no matter how intuitive it might seem.

Yes, there are places that have comprehensive gun bans and low rates of gun violence. But they had the low rates of gun violence before they had the gun bans, so not because of them.

Also, there are places that had high rates of gun violence, implemented comprehensive, almost draconian, gun bans, and still have high rates of gun violence.

I did not say it well. My point was that even the extreme action of eliminating guns would not reduce violence - muggers still gonna mug, carjackers still gonna carjack. Only the tools of violence would change. It’s as if the old west sheriffs were trying to control cattle rustling by outlawing cattle.

That Chief did not say how many of the shootings of POC were by racist white cops out to murder POCs.

So what has changed In the last year?

Some people like to go where the science takes them.

So I decided to check the crime stats of my county (>90K population, voted 77% for Trump).

I would estimate that 50-70% of the country has at least one gun.

Results? last year: 1 murder, 62 crimes of violence, including rape. No idea how many of the 62 - or the one murder - involved guns of any kind, much less "assault weapons".

I conclude that guns do not cause violence. If they did, we would have much more of it here.

They certainly can be used by those predisposed to it, but ...so can other weapons.

gunman beaten to death with bricks

Biden calls for more comprehensive background checks on people picking up bricks.

"Brick violence has to stop."

(07-26-2021 01:48 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  gunman beaten to death with bricks

Biden calls for more comprehensive background checks on people picking up bricks.

"Brick violence has to stop."

Need to ban assault bricks in particular. The worst of the worst.

(07-26-2021 02:41 PM)tanqtonic Wrote:  

(07-26-2021 01:48 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  gunman beaten to death with bricks

Biden calls for more comprehensive background checks on people picking up bricks.

"Brick violence has to stop."

Need to ban assault bricks in particular. The worst of the worst.

Don’t bring a gun to a brick fight.

(07-26-2021 02:41 PM)tanqtonic Wrote:  

(07-26-2021 01:48 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  gunman beaten to death with bricks

Biden calls for more comprehensive background checks on people picking up bricks.

"Brick violence has to stop."

Need to ban assault bricks in particular. The worst of the worst.

Someone obviously needs to actually read the article and learn about bricks - these were landscaping bricks. I mean, there's no such thing as assault bricks. Assault bricks are just a boogeyman for people against bricks in general.




(I hope the sarcasm was obvious above)

(07-26-2021 04:28 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(07-26-2021 02:41 PM)tanqtonic Wrote:  

(07-26-2021 01:48 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  gunman beaten to death with bricks

Biden calls for more comprehensive background checks on people picking up bricks.

"Brick violence has to stop."

Need to ban assault bricks in particular. The worst of the worst.

Someone obviously needs to actually read the article and learn about bricks - these were landscaping bricks. I mean, there's no such thing as assault bricks. Assault bricks are just a boogeyman for people against bricks in general.




(I hope the sarcasm was obvious above)

I don't care what kind of bricks they were - we need to keep them from hurting more people. I hate bricks. They have no use other than killing people.

I have a right to my bricks and will start stockpiling them immediately. Come And Take Them!!