[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Using Australia as the example is a bad idea. Their social system is different from ours, as is their culture. Americans suffer from Tall Poppy Syndrome - where we are taught that standing out in a crowd is a good thing. Attention-seeking is celebrated. In Australia, people want to just be, and not focus their energy on being noticed.

Australians are more likely to experience first-hand other parts of the globe. Americans generally don't leave their own hemisphere. Only 1/6 of Americans have ever travelled abroad. 1/3 of Australians have.

Australian culture embraces the concept of fair play, while Americans will likely "do whatever it takes" to get a jump on their competition.

These cultural differences are significant enough to have an impact on the acceptability of stricter gun control measures.

Excellent post. Kudos!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Well, as H.L. Mencken said, "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public". That also goes for American media. Especially for American media. The days of Howard K. Smith and Uncle Walter (the most trusted man in America) Cronkite are ancient history. News "reporting" today is more on the level of National Enquirer bilge than it is responsible reporting.

My own personal opinion is that media inevitably reflect the politics of the medium in question. You can see that in the reporting, especially in how words are used. Two mediums might be reporting the same story in virtually the same manner. Let's say that, for the sake of example, the story is about a person nearing the end of his career in the public eye. One story refers to the person as a "venerable statesman", the other as an "aging politician". Those are the ONLY two words that are different. I don't know about you but the first gives me the impression of, say, a Winston Churchill. The second? Teddy Kennedy. We both have the same information, but our emotional reaction may be decidedly different based on those words.

There are numerous other examples of how our emotions are channeled. Media is dangerously expert at it. There are a lot of obvious ones. The ones that are really scary though are the ones that we CAN'T spot. It is why, like you, I get most of my news from foreign sources.

...or just shut news out altogether.

I feel that Facebook is FAR more dangerous than any TV channel. Even a TV channel that I avoid.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Tvflguy

Would YOU put a sign on your front door. “Gun/free Zone”. Hmm.

Heh.

Minnesota became a "shall issue" state about 20 years or so ago. Many people, including my wife and myself, got our carry permits at that time. As you can imagine the issue was very political right up to the time it passed. Some few businesses even went so far as to put up those "No Guns Allowed On These Premises" signs.

The signs came down right quick when it became obvious that THOSE business were the ones being targeted by the bad guys.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

I feel that Facebook is FAR more dangerous than any TV channel. Even a TV channel that I avoid.

Agree completely.

"Social media". The ultimate oxymoron.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

I feel that Facebook is FAR more dangerous than any TV channel. Even a TV channel that I avoid.

Agree completely.

"Social media". The ultimate oxymoron.

[Papa_lecki]

Originally Posted by Number 10 GI

Doesn't change the fact that if someone needs a gun to commit an act of violence and can't get it legally, they will be able to get from an illegal source.

We have a higher rate of gun deaths vs other industrialized countries, but we also have a higher rate of deaths by other means. Why is that? As I have stated numerous times on these threads about guns, we have a violence problem and it doesn't take a rocket scientist or even the IQ of a stupid chimpanzee to see that. Yet this country won't address that fact or make any attempt to fix the problem.

Half the US gun deaths occur in 100 cities, where about 25% of the population lives. It’s definitely a violence problem, and a lack of respect for life. (Data is from 2015 - it might be more skewed now - I know in Phila gun deaths are up about 100% since 2015, probable the same in most cities)

Here’s the research
Want to fix gun violence in America? Go local. | US gun control | The Guardian

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Number 10 GI

You are advocating restrictions on the 2nd Amendment, how does that fit with the constitution? In case everyone has forgotten the right to bear arms is a "Right" just like the 1st and the others.

Actually, the 2nd Amendment said that STATE militiamen were entitled to "bear" their arms. Their arms were black powder muskets that were single shot and required a long time to reload and malfunctioned often. They had an accuracy range of about 50 meters. Nothing in the 2nd Amendment said that "individuals" should "bear arms". That is just the NRA's convenient interpretation.
..........Today's arms shoot with each trigger pull for a possible rate of fire of 45 shots per minute with little recoil and accuracy out to about 500 meters.
............The 2nd Amendment was purposely written ambiguously for its long-ago time. It did NOT come down from GOD and written in stone, like MANY WOULD LIKE US TO BELIEVE.

[Papa_lecki]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Using that logic, we should remove stop lights at intersections, and speed limits on interstates. And let's get rid of property lines, all they do is dare people to trespass.

Legalize (not just decriminalize) all drugs. No more prescriptions needed. If you want antibiotics, go ahead and buy some. If you want opioids, they're yours for the taking.

Minimal government right? That's the American way. So let's do this. Or are y'all just pretending because you have your mind set on one specific thing and can't let go? Have you doubled down SO hard, that your ego won't allow you to say "y'know what - maybe it's time for a change since the way it's been happening for the past 20 years isn't working all that great afterall?"

I figure, by my logic, you put a stop sign AND a red light at the intersection. Most people will stop. But even with both, there will be those who blow through the intersection.
More laws don’t mean people will automatically follow the laws.

We have laws, but I can still go into south central LA, south Chicago, west Philly and buy a gun illegally.
I almost guarantee, you can not get a gun illegally in The Villages, because most residents follow the law.

[biker1]

No, it is actually the Supreme Court's interpretation in 2008.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Actually, the 2nd Amendment said that STATE militiamen were entitled to "bear" their arms. Their arms were black powder muskets that were single shot and required a long time to reload and malfunctioned often. They had an accuracy range of about 50 meters. Nothing in the 2nd Amendment said that "individuals" should "bear arms". That is just the NRA's convenient interpretation.
..........Today's arms shoot with each trigger pull for a possible rate of fire of 45 shots per minute with little recoil and accuracy out to about 500 meters.
............The 2nd Amendment was purposely written ambiguously for its long-ago time. It did NOT come down from GOD and written in stone, like MANY WOULD LIKE US TO BELIEVE.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Number 10 GI

The United States government is a representative republic, not a democracy. Your civics class should have covered this. Believe me you wouldn't want to live in a pure democracy where majority rule decided everything.

Actually, I would prefer to live in a pure democracy. I would prefer that ordinary citizens voted on every issue. It would be preferable to laws being passed by lobbyists for rich organizations (like the GUN makers and the NRA). With the electronics technology that we currently have and verification capability, we could probably vote CONSTANTLY on current issues. That would be a TRUE majority-rules-type of government and would eliminate the incredible CORRUPTION in Washington and in the States.
.........All important issues would be decided by the majority of the people - NOT by a Supreme Court that was controlled by who died when and what administration made the most appointments during their term. No need for lifetime appointments. Just put ALL important issues up to a US-wide election, majority rules!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Number 10 GI

It is a pretty well established fact that criminals don't get their guns legally. There are criminal enterprises that provide guns to criminals in this country and in probably every other country in the world. Criminals know who these suppliers are because a gun is a tool of their trade. They have no problem obtaining a gun.

There are smugglers that routinely smuggle illegal firearms into Mexico, and Central and South America, many of which are full automatic firearms. China is one of the biggest sources for these firearms per the ATF and FBI. You can ban the AR15 or any other gun there is and criminal organizations will provide them to who ever has the money to buy them. The latest cowardly child murderer legally bought two high end AR15 rifles that retail for over $2,000 each so he could have easily paid the inflated price a smuggler would charge.
So how would a ban on certain guns or universal background checks prevent this cowardly child murderer from getting what he needed? Just like in any podunk farm town in the most remote areas of fly-over country, you can get any illegal drug your addiction desires and the junkies know where to get them. The same will be with guns.

We have a violence problem in this country that we better acknowledge and do the things necessary to change that instead of useless emotion based knee jerk reactions.

Did you notice I didn't call the murderer a "shooter" like the "if it bleeds it leads" sensationalism oriented media label them. I called him a cowardly child murderer because Shooter gives the connotation of a skilled assassin like in violent video games. The crime he committed should be called what it is, the act of a deranged coward. The medial feeds these evil people's need for recognition and in my opinion should be condemned as well as the killer.

One must be careful when knocking the media because ALL the world's dictators' 1st steps were controlling the media.
.........Agreed that we have a VIOLENCE problem in the US!
..........Disagreed that ALL CRIMINALS do NOT acquire their GUNS legally. The shooters at Robb Elementary and Tulsa BOTH bought guns legally - and without a waiting period in the Tulsa case. GUNS can be acquired by anyone legally with the money to pay for them at any GUN SHOW. Gun accessibility is just too EASY!

[haysus7]

Maybe start by being kind and trying your best

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

I figure, by my logic, you put a stop sign AND a red light at the intersection. Most people will stop. But even with both, there will be those who blow through the intersection.
More laws don’t mean people will automatically follow the laws.

We have laws, but I can still go into south central LA, south Chicago, west Philly and buy a gun illegally.
I almost guarantee, you can not get a gun illegally in The Villages, because most residents follow the law.

Seriously? You can't even get them to follow the local rules, and you think they're all following the actual law? They don't stop at stop signs. They drive their non-LSV golf carts on and across 466A. They drink and drive. They text and drive. They drive while on their cell phones. They violate the deed restrictions with their too-tall shrubs and too-many garden gnomes. They park non-handicap-plaque cars in handicap spaces. They jaywalk. And yes - you can absolutely buy a gun illegally in the Villages.

They have bar brawls. They steal from each other. They rob from each others' homes. They sell visitor passes to locals for personal profit. They get arrested for assault. They are on the sex offender list. And all this is just the ones that actually get reported. I can only imagine how many don't get reported.

I mean - do you really not know that there are criminals living in the Villages?

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Number 10 GI

Doesn't change the fact that if someone needs a gun to commit an act of violence and can't get it legally, they will be able to get from an illegal source.

We have a higher rate of gun deaths vs other industrialized countries, but we also have a higher rate of deaths by other means. Why is that? As I have stated numerous times on these threads about guns, we have a violence problem and it doesn't take a rocket scientist or even the IQ of a stupid chimpanzee to see that. Yet this country won't address that fact or make any attempt to fix the problem.

There is kind of a logical fallacy somewhere in this post. I agree with the statement that the US has more violence that other G-7 nations. It is a fact that we are the most incarcerated industrialized nation. So, we must be the most violent. And we are likely VERY bad at rehabilitation of criminals. If we subtracted out the incarcerations for non-violent drug possession and drug dealers, we might be more in line with other G-7 nations as to the numbers in prison. Even so, I would still assume that the US is at the top of a list of countries for total violence.
.........as to the reason for all this US violence........there would probably be so many factors that it would fill a book.
..........back to the logical fallacy of the post.........If the US has the status of MOST violent nation..........would NOT it be logical that the US as a most violent nation would WANT to have the MOST GUN control to offset that violence.
...........When you combine US propensity for violence with EXTREME availability of GUNS - you have a RECIPE for a
DISASTER - like the last 2 weeks of MASS MURDERS in schools and hospitals.
...........If a person wanted to lower GUN crime without limiting the availability of the criminals and mass murderers to get their wea[ons of choice, the AR-15 style 223 rifle and the high capacity pistols - then the alternative would be to pay MORE taxes for MORE and BETTER qualified and trained Police personnel. And also do NOT sell body armor to civilians.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Tvflguy

Would YOU put a sign on your front door. “Gun/free Zone”. Hmm.

A crazy homeowner might put up a sign like that as a TRAP for a criminal.