School Shooting

[Hauldren Collider]

The NRA's reaction is not seriously different than it has been for any other tragedy.

[Kuciwalker]

I'm simply using the bloody shirt of this incident everyone else is to point them into the direction of a rights abridging measure that might actually have an effect on the frequency of the black swan event currently capturing their attention. After all the linked studies would seem to indicate more mental-health services and more relaxed involuntary-commitment standards have a greater effect on the murder rate than banning certain types of scary weapons.

It's not a black swan.

[Imran Siddiqui]

What is your other end goal?

Another 'end goal' should be the happiness of the people. Too much freedom (in the extreme cases if it leads to chaos) can detract from that. There needs to be a balance between the 'ends' (I'd also add the dignity of the individual should be one of the goals as well). If one of the 'ends' screw over the other ones, there is a need to readjust. And, yes, I realize that makes them more means to a societal end that balances individual creativity and freedom with societal happiness and individual dignity.

(this isn't even getting into liberty to vs. liberty from arguments)

[Felch]

I don't think that happiness of the people is really something that government can promote, aside from protecting their freedom to do what makes them happy. Individual dignity is essential to a free society, but it's a vague term. That is to say, I see nothing wrong with taxing the rich to keep the poor from starving or freezing to death. I like labor unions, even if I resent their politics. I think that it's better for everybody to be comfortable than for a few people to live in luxury. What I don't like is using individual dignity as a back door to censorship, or otherwise to infringe on the rights of others.

[Uncle Sparky]

You think it's okay to sue a political opponent in order to silence their speech?

Absolutely not. They can talk, shout, speak, mime, sing catchy tunes, and express themselves through interpretive dance if they want, with the same gusto and authority as, say, the Westboro Baptist Church. However, take every penny the NRA have, and give it to the victims and their families.

[Kidlicious]

@ whole thread

[onodera]

Would someone explain to me why you can't ban semi-auto rifles? I'd also ban semi-auto handguns, but this would be hard to pull off.

[regexcellent]

Would someone explain to me why you can't ban semi-auto rifles? I'd also ban semi-auto handguns, but this would be hard to pull off.

Most rifles are semi-auto by a wide, wide margin. The rifles people use for hunting, target shooting, whatever. They have a lot of advantages for instance not having to be modified for lefties (that right there is a big deal to me as I am left handed).

[molly bloom]

I joined ROTC in order to join the National Guard. I already have a gym membership. The physical training in my school's ROTC unit is surprisingly well-run and that's a big side benefit.

Uh huh. Didn't sound like that the last time I read a post of yours explaining why you were in the R.O.T.C. . Not that I can be bothered searching for one of your past inane posts.

Successful troll is successful.

F.cking hilarious. Great place to post drivel like that- let us know when you're planning on getting a sense of propriety, perspective or maturity.

[molly bloom]

Gun control doesn't ****ing work.

All evidence in countries not subject to the propagandizing of the N.R.A. to the contrary. How would the killer have acquired the same weapons, legally or illegally, in this country do you imagine ?

But the supply of guns in the world and in this country are so huge that you'd just be changing the direction of flow, not the availability to criminals.

So don't bother with, for instance, the war on drugs, the war on terror, trying to control alcohol sales and consumption.... geez, Louise.

[molly bloom]

What happened to them is a terrible tragedy, just as it's tragic when little kids are hit by drunk drivers—something which happens much more frequently. I'm not about to advocate increasing restrictions on alcohol.

So liquor sales aren't subject to controls in the United States ? And drunk driving isn't a crime ? And there aren't regular campaigns about alcohol abuse and driving under the influence ?

How many people could the young man have killed in the same amount of time with his mother's car, drunk or sober ? Ignoring the salient fact that a car has a main use which isn't killing or injuring people.

[molly bloom]

Europe is actually pretty poor.

Perhaps someone responsible for this ill-considered unsupported coprolite might reconsider before asking somebody else this, even rhetorically:

Are you actually retarded?

[molly bloom]

Cars? Knives? Sharp Pencils? Rat Poison? Nail Gun?

The use of a car extends to more than a battering ram for people at a bus stop as I recall. Sharp pencils have yet to be implicated in any mass killings, or serial murders. Rat poison, as its name implies, is usually employed to kill rodents- although Warfarin is also a blood thinner and used medically. Again, popular for murders in the Victorian era, but not implicated in any mass murders that I can recall. A nail gun featured in the film 'The Toolbox Murders' as I remember, but appears to be frequently employed in construction.

You could theoretically kill someone by forcing them to drink vast amounts of fresh water from a baby's bottle, but trying to kill a whole school room of children with that technique would be rather difficult.

Guns conversely do seem mostly to be used for shooting projectiles, often at people- although I'm sure there are those who are tempted to stir their polenta with a Colt 45, or dig the garden with the stock of a double barreled shotgun.

[ricketyclik]

Go Molly!

[molly bloom]

I don't understand why you're being a cretin on purpose.

Force of habit and custom.