How did I miss this? I've been waiting for it. Several points worth mention (according to me):
When people think of mass shootings they think of the spectacular ones (schools, churches, shopping centers) but the FBI sets a very low bar for calling something a mass shooting. Years ago, I did a search on mass shootings where I live. Four gu…
How did I miss this? I've been waiting for it. Several points worth mention (according to me):
When people think of mass shootings they think of the spectacular ones (schools, churches, shopping centers) but the FBI sets a very low bar for calling something a mass shooting. Years ago, I did a search on mass shootings where I live. Four guys in a parking lot where a drug deal went south. Another (unsolved) someone went into a home and shot four people. The number of mass shootings cited are not necessarily what people are thinking of when they think of mass shootings.
The age of adulthood Michael mentioned is a sticky one. I returned from Vietnam as a sergeant with a couple of rows of ribbons. I was 20, at that time too young to buy alcohol (or vote) so my wife bought it for me. The problem with what age for what is that your prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain for clear adult thinking) is undeveloped until about the age of 25. Governments want young men in the military precisely because of that. I was willing to do things that a 30-year-old man would say "hell no!" to. The government wanted us to kill people. I think there is logical argument for drinking, voting and buying certain firearms at 25 though I'm not advocating it. In a few words, I don't think that a one age fits all occasions is a reasonable argument.
You mentioned the Marines, so you know I'll chime in (I haven't watched the video). I'll probably get long winded with this.
As a Marine I was governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), not the US Constitution that I had sworn to defend. Stateside on a base, firearms were locked in an armory. In bootcamp we locked our rifles to our racks with Master bicycle locks, but we had no access to ammunition. The jelly doughnut private in the movie Full Metal Jacket had a magazine on twenty rounds but in reality, that was not going to happen (jelly doughnuts either). As a Marine while on a Marine base I did not have the access to firearms that I have now as a civilian. The base had controlled access, armed guards at entry points and roving security. There are no Marines out defending my home.
In Vietnam I was in possession of my rifle at all times. Took it to shit and shower. Inside the wire we carried magazines but didn't put them into our rifles or chamber a round until we went thru the wire. We were well trained and disciplined, something that cannot be said for all Americans. But we also had perimeters with armed Marines with fully automatic rifles, grenades, grenade launchers and at night, Claymore mines. I don't have that around my house and that's not around our schools, churches or shopping centers.
I'll have to watch the video later but without seeing it I can safely say that comparing the civilian world with a Marine Corps base has issues.
I don't have any firearms that hold over 10 rounds and have a gun safe that is bolted to a wall. Should it be OK for the police to come in and inspect for that? I'm not a fan.
Firearms for the day the shit hits the fan? Years ago, a Mormon friend said, "What are people going to do with their guns, go out into the desert and hunt to feed themselves and their families?" My reply, "You have a year's supply of food for your family of five. Some of them are probably planning to come to your house to take it. Can you defend it?" The police won't be there to defend you or your family.
The issue that I see that I agree in part with Michael to the call of "We've got to do something!!!" is "What." As the late Fred Reed wrote, "If it's politically possible, it won't work. If it will work, it's not politically possible." Trust, or the lack of it, is the showstopper. Can you fruitfully negotiate where there is no trust?
The problem is that short of magically making all firearms vanish, and it would take magic in America, what effective thing is left? But then of course we'd have to have knife control like in London. Then we would need to ban the sale of propane tanks, fertilizer, gasoline, chlorine at swimming pool supply stores, etc. to prevent other forms of mass murder. Yes, that could be called hyperbole, but just as in the Arab story of the Camel's nose, incrementally banning tools (that's what guns are) could very well lead to us sleeping in the sandstorm while the camel enjoys our tent.
How did I miss this? I've been waiting for it. Several points worth mention (according to me):
When people think of mass shootings they think of the spectacular ones (schools, churches, shopping centers) but the FBI sets a very low bar for calling something a mass shooting. Years ago, I did a search on mass shootings where I live. Four guys in a parking lot where a drug deal went south. Another (unsolved) someone went into a home and shot four people. The number of mass shootings cited are not necessarily what people are thinking of when they think of mass shootings.
The age of adulthood Michael mentioned is a sticky one. I returned from Vietnam as a sergeant with a couple of rows of ribbons. I was 20, at that time too young to buy alcohol (or vote) so my wife bought it for me. The problem with what age for what is that your prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain for clear adult thinking) is undeveloped until about the age of 25. Governments want young men in the military precisely because of that. I was willing to do things that a 30-year-old man would say "hell no!" to. The government wanted us to kill people. I think there is logical argument for drinking, voting and buying certain firearms at 25 though I'm not advocating it. In a few words, I don't think that a one age fits all occasions is a reasonable argument.
You mentioned the Marines, so you know I'll chime in (I haven't watched the video). I'll probably get long winded with this.
As a Marine I was governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), not the US Constitution that I had sworn to defend. Stateside on a base, firearms were locked in an armory. In bootcamp we locked our rifles to our racks with Master bicycle locks, but we had no access to ammunition. The jelly doughnut private in the movie Full Metal Jacket had a magazine on twenty rounds but in reality, that was not going to happen (jelly doughnuts either). As a Marine while on a Marine base I did not have the access to firearms that I have now as a civilian. The base had controlled access, armed guards at entry points and roving security. There are no Marines out defending my home.
In Vietnam I was in possession of my rifle at all times. Took it to shit and shower. Inside the wire we carried magazines but didn't put them into our rifles or chamber a round until we went thru the wire. We were well trained and disciplined, something that cannot be said for all Americans. But we also had perimeters with armed Marines with fully automatic rifles, grenades, grenade launchers and at night, Claymore mines. I don't have that around my house and that's not around our schools, churches or shopping centers.
I'll have to watch the video later but without seeing it I can safely say that comparing the civilian world with a Marine Corps base has issues.
I don't have any firearms that hold over 10 rounds and have a gun safe that is bolted to a wall. Should it be OK for the police to come in and inspect for that? I'm not a fan.
Firearms for the day the shit hits the fan? Years ago, a Mormon friend said, "What are people going to do with their guns, go out into the desert and hunt to feed themselves and their families?" My reply, "You have a year's supply of food for your family of five. Some of them are probably planning to come to your house to take it. Can you defend it?" The police won't be there to defend you or your family.
The issue that I see that I agree in part with Michael to the call of "We've got to do something!!!" is "What." As the late Fred Reed wrote, "If it's politically possible, it won't work. If it will work, it's not politically possible." Trust, or the lack of it, is the showstopper. Can you fruitfully negotiate where there is no trust?
The problem is that short of magically making all firearms vanish, and it would take magic in America, what effective thing is left? But then of course we'd have to have knife control like in London. Then we would need to ban the sale of propane tanks, fertilizer, gasoline, chlorine at swimming pool supply stores, etc. to prevent other forms of mass murder. Yes, that could be called hyperbole, but just as in the Arab story of the Camel's nose, incrementally banning tools (that's what guns are) could very well lead to us sleeping in the sandstorm while the camel enjoys our tent.