this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2023
23 points (87.1% liked)

politics

25668 readers
2372 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Recent polling suggests that Americans are very worried about gun violence. A Quinnipiac University poll taken from Oct. 26 to 30, right after the Maine shooting, found that 46 percent of registered voters worried about becoming a victim of a mass shooting themselves. That matches a high set in July 2022 in the wake of the Uvalde, Texas, shooting at Robb Elementary School, and is 9 points higher than a low of 37 percent in December 2017, the year the survey began asking the question.

Americans also feel pessimistic that anything will change. Indeed, 68 percent don’t believe the federal government will do anything to reduce gun violence within the next year, per the Quinnipiac poll.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

So the people getting shot on the regular are what, sacrifices to patriotism? Soldiers dying in defense of the American way? The tens of thousands of deaths by suicide each year are the price we pay for freedom?

And are you seriously okay with that?

[–] BaldProphet@kbin.social -1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I don't see firearms as the cause of those deaths. No data shows more than a correlation between firearms and firearm-related deaths. I believe there are other issues that are causative.

Additionally, I don't see firearm-related deaths as worse than deaths in other categories. Are we more concerned with firearm-related deaths than with deaths with known causes, such as unaffordable healthcare, heart disease, or unsafe driving? Firearm-related deaths accounted for 1.5% of all deaths in the United States in 2022. Rifles, including AR-15-patterned rifles and other types, accounted for 0.02% of deaths that year, while handguns accounted for 0.25%. Meanwhile, 21.88% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.53% were caused by cancer, and 5.47% were caused by strokes (these percentages are approximate).

Instead of addressing the 1/50th of one percent of deaths by illegally infringing upon an enumerated right, we should address real causes of mortality by increasing access to affordable healthcare, solving the affordability crisis, and improving access to mental healthcare. Those truly concerned for the safety of children in schools should do away with "gun-free zones" (I call them "Shoot here without fear" zones) and insist upon modern physical security standards and better funding for schools. We have awful schools! Millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted attempting to legally defend indefensible Second Amendment infringements that could otherwise be spent improving our schools and the education of our children.

If you really think that guns are a problem and you really want to address the problem, why the AR-15 "assault weapon" fetish? Why do you gun grabbers focus on everything except for facts?

Data sources in this comment:

  1. https://www.statista.com/statistics/195325/murder-victims-in-the-us-by-weapon-used/
  2. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7218a3.htm
[–] Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I would buy that if gun lovers voted like they cared about schools, health care, and affordability. But you don't. You pay lip service and post screeds on the Internet and vote with people who will make things objectively worse on all those fronts.

Nothing has changed since Columbine, and nothing will, because you don't act like you honestly care people are dying.

[–] BaldProphet@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I would buy that if gun lovers voted like they cared about schools, health care, and affordability. But you don't. You pay lip service and post screeds on the Internet and vote with people who will make things objectively worse on all those fronts.

How do you know what gun owners vote for? You're making an ignorant assumption about what gun owners vote for. Gun owners exist in every single demographic. There are Black gun owners, Indigenous gun owners, Jewish gun owners, Latinx gun owners, LGBT gun owners.

We own guns because we desire the ability to protect ourselves and we understand the history of gun control in this country: To disarm and victimize undesired groups, in particular, Blacks.

I see the push for gun control to be hand-in-hand with the movement to criminalize self-defense. This is reprehensible.

[–] Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Gee, why would I think that?

In the United States in 2022, 48 percent of Republicans reported that they owned at least one gun, and 66 percent said that they lived in a household with a gun. In comparison, only 20 percent of Democrats owned at least one gun, and 31 percent lived a gun household.

This conversation was old after Sandy Hook. You've already answered my question: You don't honestly care that Americans aren't safe anywhere because of guns because that's the price of freedom. Thanks for at least being honest.

[–] BaldProphet@kbin.social 0 points 2 years ago

You don't honestly care that Americans aren't safe anywhere because of guns because that's the price of freedom. Thanks for at least being honest.

Your dishonesty is tiring and pathetic. Don't presume to read my mind, and don't put words into my mouth.