Nobody worships guns like America does

[hexFrank202]

How fucking dare you tell people that they their beloved hobbies are wrong and should stop and say "we're better than that".

 

[Cerebrawl]

I see the usual bullshit arguments have made their way into this thread.

"I want to be able to collect whatever I want, no matter how dangerous it might be", and "People will just find other ways to kill if we take away their guns".

I shouldn't have to explain (again) why these arguments are completely stupid.

Let me just say, if it's so amazingly fun and cool and awesome to have everyone armed, then it's funny you don't hear people who live in developed countries where firearms are heavily restricted saying "Golly gee, I sure wish me and everyone else had guns like the do in the US! Wouldn't that be fun! We could have all the school shootings that they have!"

Put simply, giving everyone guns and expecting nothing bad to come of it, is equivalent to giving everyone nukes and expecting no nuclear wars to occur.

I live in a country with about 30% armed populace, hunters for the most part. Gun control is strict but in my neck of the woods there's about as many guns owned as people living here.

We get about 1 murder using one of those guns every 3 years or so, mainly ex-husband shoots ex-wife.

There's also illegally owned guns that have been smuggled into the country, those are responsible for a much larger number of murders and nearly all the non-murder gun crime. Maybe a shooting a week or two and an average of 1.6 murders per year. Out of an average of around 95 murders per year country-wide.

An increase in legal guns does not increase crime or murder rates(I'm sure those jealous ex-husbands could've used a knife or hammer), but illegal guns owned by criminals do, it's much easier to do a quick hit and run assassination of a rival with them.

On the other hand looking at the US, legal carry has had a dampening effect on assault crime. There's less robberies and the like. This is because the risk/reward calculation for the criminals has changed, the risks have gone up. It shows in statistics too, somewhere around 400 criminals die every year from justifiable homicide from firearms, IE: self-defense. That's not counting all those that live(about 80% of shooting victims survive in the USA), or those where no shots needed to be fired(just having the gun stoped the crime).

 

[kortin]

I am astonished by people who are legitimately afraid that, if they were to visit the US, they would get shot. Like, my mind has exploded at the thought of anyone believing that. I have to ask though, are these the same people who would cross the street when they see a stranger because they're afraid of getting shived? Because if so, I completely understand. However, I would like to imagine most people are intelligent enough to realize that no one is going to hurt you just at random.

I have lived in the US my entire life and have only been in one situation in which I've heard a gun go off. And that was at a shooting range.

 

[Cerebrawl]

I am astonished by people who are legitimately afraid that, if they were to visit the US, they would get shot. Like, my mind has exploded at the thought of anyone believing that. I have to ask though, are these the same people who would cross the street when they see a stranger because they're afraid of getting shived? Because if so, I completely understand. However, I would like to imagine most people are intelligent enough to realize that no one is going to hurt you just at random.

I have lived in the US my entire life and have only been in one situation in which I've heard a gun go off. And that was at a shooting range.

Well most of us don't really expect it, indeed many of my countrymen visit the states and think nothing of it.

You do have a murder rate that is 500% of ours though. As in multiply by 5, per capita.

Also in some states tourists get targeted quite heavily, there's been more than one case of someone getting car-jacked and murdered on the way from the airport into town in Miami.

 

[Master_Fubar23]

(Yes, I know, guns don't kill people. When's the last time you heard of a crazed man with a machete massacre?)

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/02/world/asia/china-railway-attack/index.html

Literally just yesterday. Also, I have plenty of links for you if you think this is an isolated incident.

But I ask you, are we not better than that? Does it really behoove us, as a nation, to adore and worship the same devices that are being used to kill hundreds of men and women every day? Couldn't we all just invest in a pastime that is just as cool, a lot more fun, and way less violence? Like videogames, for example.

How about we ask why does America worship cars? Cars kill four times as many people than guns do so should we as a nation ban cars? So how about instead of asking "as a nation", we should ask "as an individual" shouldn't you respect not only the rights of others but also respect the fact that they enjoy buying guns? Why do you want to trample on others enjoyment or what brings joy to someone's life? Also, if you want to talk about reducing or getting rid violent hobbies, would we as a nation need to get rid of boxing? Its a hobby where people are literally assaulting one another. How about wrestling? OH, and how about hunting? If we as a nation banned guns, I assume the next thing people would do to hunt is use bows and arrows but the fact that killing a creature in any way shape or form is in fact violent. So ban hunting and possibly archery if the nation starts worshiping archery? I mean the kinetic energy behind an arrow fired from a composite bow is pretty scary.

Some people have gun collections, like stamps, only hundreds of times more wasteful. That is their constitutional right.

Some people have game collections which compared to stamps is hundreds of times more wasteful. Although, maybe you think people's happiness is a waste too? The whole point of collections is to hold onto an object and have it collect dust so logically speaking all collections are wastes of space. However, if said collection bring happiness to someone then I believe that the collection whatever it may be is not a waste.


It really just seems like you believe guns are evil, which is sad. : ( But one last thing, you ask as a nation are we not better... really we aren't. The only things we as Americans do better than the rest of the world is keeping Americans in prison and having the biggest military budget.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I am astonished by people who are legitimately afraid that, if they were to visit the US, they would get shot. Like, my mind has exploded at the thought of anyone believing that. I have to ask though, are these the same people who would cross the street when they see a stranger because they're afraid of getting shived? Because if so, I completely understand. However, I would like to imagine most people are intelligent enough to realize that no one is going to hurt you just at random.

I have lived in the US my entire life and have only been in one situation in which I've heard a gun go off. And that was at a shooting range.

Well most of us don't really expect it, indeed many of my countrymen visit the states and think nothing of it.

You do have a murder rate that is 500% of ours though. As in multiply by 5, per capita.

Also in some states tourists get targeted quite heavily, there's been more than one case of someone getting car-jacked and murdered on the way from the airport into town in Miami.

Your murder rate may be significantly lower than ours, but our violent crime rate is lower than every other country excluding Japan and Canada. So while people in the US are more likely to be murdered, they're also less likely to be robbed, mugged, or assaulted. Also, part of the murder rate for the US is muggings/assaults/robberies gone bad in which the mugger is killed by his intended victim, which increases both the violent crime and murder statistics. And lets not forget the fact that the US has a much bigger population with more urban centers, which tends to breed more violence. If you stay out of the ghettos in the US you're pretty much as safe as can be.

 

[Matthew Jabour]

If I had to cite the biggest area of friction between me and my relatives, it would be gun laws. I hold the opinion that maybe it would be nice if people stopped shooting each other for a few minutes, while they hold that they have a right and a need for guns - which is true. However, they have also convinced me of one other thing; that in America, we worship guns like nobody else does.

Now, I concede that in some situations, a small handgun is the best option for self-defense, maybe with a laser sight if you don't trust your accuracy. But for the love of god, why would you need an assault rifle? Or a shotgun? Or multiple quantities of each one? Have you pissed off any Terminators lately and need to be absolutely sure you're safe?

I can't tell you how many times I've seen a Facebook post praising the latest model assault rifle, or a comment about 'Gone to get a new pump-action shotgun!" or some new accessory like glow in the dark bullets or something else that's completely arbitrary. It's ludicrous how crazy people get over guns here.

Why do people in this country love guns so much? Because they feel threatened? No. Because there's some left-wing conspiracy to 'take our guns away'? Not that, either; if the government announced a ban on traffic cones, would everyone start hoarding those? Because they want to kill someone? Probably not (although, if your son takes one of your guns and shoots up a school, that mission is accomplished regardless.) So the only reason I can see is: because they're cool. People spend hundreds of dollars to purchase these high-performance killing machines for the sole purpose of hanging them on their wall and admiring them. Some people have gun collections, like stamps, only hundreds of times more wasteful. That is their constitutional right.

But I ask you, are we not better than that? Does it really behoove us, as a nation, to adore and worship the same devices that are being used to kill hundreds of men and women every day? (Yes, I know, guns don't kill people. When's the last time you heard of a crazed man with a machete massacre?) Couldn't we all just invest in a pastime that is just as cool, a lot more fun, and way less violence? Like videogames, for example.

Bonus: Imagine a Hoarders episode where they visited someone whose gun collection had gotten out of control. Now imagine the sheer magnitude of backlash that would come out of that.

The thing is that the right to bear arms is something most "civilized" countries won't allow. It's also a big part of Americana due to the very point that an armed populance is by definition never truly at the mercy of the government and authorities. At the end of the day you always have the right to go down shooting. The authorities can handle an armed individual, or even a small group of armed individuals, but when it comes to large scale, popular uprisings, or people becoming genuinely threatened by the laws, it's something the government can't generally handle. Sure, in theory if the government decided to unleash tanks and jet fighters on a large scale revolt, they could massacre people, but in doing so would level their own country, and the America they would wind up ruling over wouldn't be close to what they want.

It should also be noted that the right to bear arms is part of what makes the US the most free nation in the world. A lot of countries dispute this claim, but part of the problem is the people there don't even fully understand their own situation. For example the UK and Canada are countries that oftentimes have tried to dispute the whole "America is more free than anyone else" claim, but in reality not only are those populations largely disarmed in comparison, they also have far more draconian law enforcement of a sort that just wouldn't fly in the US. The UK for example has large amounts of public surveillance, and Canada has it's police in possession of "black warrants" which pretty much allow them to suspend the usual rights of Canadians at any given time (even if the use has to be justified after the fact). A point I bring up occasionally in the context of how the US can have tighter security without turning into a Nazi-like state, going by the example of some of our allies. What's more I'd actually be more comfortable with the government of the US doing a lot of this stuff as things stand now given the armament of the population, than I would be with comparatively defenseless populations.

It should also be noted that "The Right To Bear Arms" has protected people from a ton of things without them ever realizing it, especially on a state or local level. See, politicians can pass whatever laws they want, but at the end of the day the police actually have to go out and enforce those laws. While generally pro-police, one important balance in the US that I believe in is that with an armed population it means the police themselves tend to become a sort of arbiter of fairness in laws. At the end of the day some cop has to risk getting his head blown off to do his job, he doesn't have the advantage many police around the world do of being armed when the population in general is reliably vulnerable. This means at the end of the day a cop is not going to put his butt on the line to shake people down over some politician's novelty law or personal power trip. The police themselves have to believe there is some value in what they are doing. If some politician does something like ban cell phones in their town without the approval of the people who live there, at the end of the day it comes down to the cop deciding whether it's really worth trying to shake people down for their phones, knowing that some dude might just pull out a gun to protect their property, be a bit faster, and put a hole the size of a beer can through the officer's head. If you've ever looked at "strange but true laws" that have wound up on the books, some of the crazier ones never went anywhere because at the end of the day the cops can't act like a Waffen SS unit and practically go running around enforcing any law they are told to. Politicians hate it, but in the end it's always something of a negotiation with the police at the bottom of the barrel who actually have to be willing to take the risks.

When it comes to the various mass shootings and such in the US, the bottom line is that it's bad, but it's actually a small price to pay compared to the things that would happen without this level of armament. A lot of people do not realize what a powerful safeguard our armament has been over the years. What's more, while a gun makes things easier, lack of one is not going to make someone intent on mass murder any less likely to do it. Look at Asia for example where we've had people scoring massive body counts by going berserk in subway stations, or the gassings in Japan (again also in Subways, which are great areas for this kind of thing due to lots of people being penned into an area without an easy method of escape).

I'd also point out that the US's level of armament is not all that unusual, just within the first world. Throughout a lot of nations military service is part of citizenship, and most of the population is armed. One of the big concerns over dealing with The Middle East (and why I was against "winning the peace" and engaging in police actions) is simply how well armed a lot of the tribes and such out there are, to the point where you can't simply identify insurgents by them possessing assault rifles and the like. Some nations like Finland as well also have a very high level of individual armament.

What makes the US fairly unique is that we're an armed people that ironically has an internal voice calling for disarmament and regulation. This has lead to a situation where you literally have a bunch of victims of their own creation running around alongside people who are heavily armed. The irony of some anti-gun guy getting gunned down or murdered in a home invasion for their own defenselessness is not lost on a lot of people. Some nations that have done better with a fairly well armed population don't generally deal with the issue of a portion of it disarming itself and being public about it, which kind of acts as a sort of "hey we're vulnerable" symbol to the predators who will otherwise avoid the unknowns or those who are quite frank about being armed and having weapons around their house. Like it or not, an up to date NRA sticker can be a better deterrent than one for a home security system, someone breaking into that house probably realizes that if they fuck up the guy living in the NRA house probably has a gun, knows how to use it, and has been prepared for exactly this kind of thing, so if they wake him up and aren't ready they could be looking at
a firefight. In comparison some dude with "Obama 2012" on his car alongside a "Co-exist" sticker and a catchy anti-gun slogan probably isn't armed, so if you can take him down before he gets to a phone, or just put a gun in his face if he wakes up your probably golden. This means we don't exactly reap all of the benefits of having a heavily armed population as far as stability and such. Not to mention our out of control media loves to sensationalize things and air our dirty laundry globally to get viewers, when something bad happens in most countries they try and do damage control and keep it confined if they can, in the US people want to yell it from rooftops. Love it or hate it, in some countries a mass shooting might not be well known outside of the area if the police kept a lid on it well, in the US on the other hand, well... the media holds all the cards for that kind of thing, and generally speaking if they can't get the facts they will make something up and dare people to correct them by ending the information control, and the US is very bad about penalties for that kind of thing.

Amazing. Despite quoting my entire post, you appear to have read none of it.

You seem to have mistaken me for someone who wants to get rid of guns. I specifically stated that owning a gun is not a bad thing. What my actual post said was that America worships its guns to an almost fanatic level. Your only point against that sentiment seemed to be 'Well, the Middle East has more guns!', which is not a particularly strong point.

Do not prop up a strawman and recite some rehearsed credo. If you have an argument for me, I will gladly accept it.

 

[Cerebrawl]

I am astonished by people who are legitimately afraid that, if they were to visit the US, they would get shot. Like, my mind has exploded at the thought of anyone believing that. I have to ask though, are these the same people who would cross the street when they see a stranger because they're afraid of getting shived? Because if so, I completely understand. However, I would like to imagine most people are intelligent enough to realize that no one is going to hurt you just at random.

I have lived in the US my entire life and have only been in one situation in which I've heard a gun go off. And that was at a shooting range.

Well most of us don't really expect it, indeed many of my countrymen visit the states and think nothing of it.

You do have a murder rate that is 500% of ours though. As in multiply by 5, per capita.

Also in some states tourists get targeted quite heavily, there's been more than one case of someone getting car-jacked and murdered on the way from the airport into town in Miami.

Your murder rate may be significantly lower than ours, but our violent crime rate is lower than every other country excluding Japan and Canada. So while people in the US are more likely to be murdered, they're also less likely to be robbed, mugged, or assaulted. Also, part of the murder rate for the US is muggings/assaults/robberies gone bad in which the mugger is killed by his intended victim, which increases both the violent crime and murder statistics. And lets not forget the fact that the US has a much bigger population with more urban centers, which tends to breed more violence. If you stay out of the ghettos in the US you're pretty much as safe as can be.

Actually I'm pretty sure our violent crime rate is lower as well, it's just harder to get direct comparison statistics. I'm in Sweden btw, our crime rates are similar to Japan.

Also funny how you made statements about our violent crime rates without first finding out what country you're actually talking about.

But having a look at a comparison chart, we have slightly more assaults(+7%) and significantly less robberies(you've got 55% more). Oh and 10% of your prison population, per capita.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I am astonished by people who are legitimately afraid that, if they were to visit the US, they would get shot. Like, my mind has exploded at the thought of anyone believing that. I have to ask though, are these the same people who would cross the street when they see a stranger because they're afraid of getting shived? Because if so, I completely understand. However, I would like to imagine most people are intelligent enough to realize that no one is going to hurt you just at random.

I have lived in the US my entire life and have only been in one situation in which I've heard a gun go off. And that was at a shooting range.

Well most of us don't really expect it, indeed many of my countrymen visit the states and think nothing of it.

You do have a murder rate that is 500% of ours though. As in multiply by 5, per capita.

Also in some states tourists get targeted quite heavily, there's been more than one case of someone getting car-jacked and murdered on the way from the airport into town in Miami.

Your murder rate may be significantly lower than ours, but our violent crime rate is lower than every other country excluding Japan and Canada. So while people in the US are more likely to be murdered, they're also less likely to be robbed, mugged, or assaulted. Also, part of the murder rate for the US is muggings/assaults/robberies gone bad in which the mugger is killed by his intended victim, which increases both the violent crime and murder statistics. And lets not forget the fact that the US has a much bigger population with more urban centers, which tends to breed more violence. If you stay out of the ghettos in the US you're pretty much as safe as can be.

Actually I'm pretty sure our violent crime rate is lower as well, it's just harder to get direct comparison statistics. I'm in Sweden btw, our crime rates are similar to Japan.

Also funny how you made statements about our violent crime rates without first finding out what country you're actually talking about.

But having a look at a comparison chart, we have slightly more assaults(+7%) and significantly less robberies(you've got 55% more). Oh and 10% of your prison population, per capita.

I was basing what I said on FBI crime statistics, which put only two countries above the US as having lower violent crime rates, Japan and Canada, and I was already fairly sure it wasn't either of those based upon what you said about your gun ownership rate (Japan's is significantly lower, and Canada's is higher than what you claimed was in your country). Of course it's possible that the FBI calculates violent crime statistics differently than your country does, which would explain the discrepancy.

Also yeah, our prison population is completely out of control. It's partially the fact that our drug laws are kind of screwed up, and even nonviolent offenders can often get serious time in prison for selling illegal drugs, and partially just because we have a serious organized crime problem, and lots of gangs.

Edit: Yup, looked up violent crime statistics for Sweden, and you have a higher violent crime rate per capita than the US because you have more assaults, aggravated assaults, sex crimes, rapes and burglaries. The US on the other hand has more homicides, and robberies. It's possible that the data is skewed though because Swedish people are more likely to report crimes that are more minor (for assaults), and because Sweden counts multiple rapes differently than the United States. Still, as far as the data goes, Sweden has more violent crime on paper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Sweden
http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Sweden/United-States/Crime

 

[Cerebrawl]

I think it's also about victims being more willing to report crimes such as rape. There's much more support for victims, and less victim blaming, and much less stigma, it's not taboo to report that you were raped, as it is in many religious communities, and yes, it counts each instance separately, so when we catch a pedophile, they may be on trial for hundreds of counts of rape on one or more victims. (Though personally I think the sentences are much too lenient).

So basically 3 times as many victims dare to come forward in our country compared to the US, but due to differences in how they are counted, it's listed as 162 times as many crimes. This is a system-mismatch, it's not being compared on the same terms.

To quote the source itself:

Rape victims: People victimized by sexual assault (as a % of the total population). Data refer to female population only. Crime statistics are often better indicators of prevalence of law enforcement and willingness to report crime, than actual prevalence.

 

[SoranMBane]

Of course America loves guns more than any other country. This is a nation that was literally created by guns during the American Revolution, which is why the 2nd Amendment exists in the first place. Isn't it only natural that, after that kind of genesis, there'd be some subset of our culture that idolizes guns as a symbol of power and independence?

It's the same reason that the British monarchy still carries on the honorary practice of knighting people with swords. In both cases, it isn't necessarily about glorifying the violence those weapons can inflict, it's because the weapons are inextricable parts of the histories and heritages of both nations; the American way is just a lot more informal about it. Consciously or not, the people who collect guns as a hobby are merely preserving that heritage. As long as they don't actually hurt anyone (and most won't, because most people aren't psychopaths), I don't see anything particularly wrong with that, even if I don't see much appeal in guns myself outside of my love of violent video games.

 

[Thaluikhain]

A. assault rifles are illegal in the US. I am assuming you meant assault weapons, which are not assault rifles (in fact they include pistols and shotguns).

Assault rifles aren't illegal in the US, they are heavily restricted.

However, yes, not the same as assault weapons, I was going to bring that up myself if you hadn't.

...

Also, about shotguns for home defense, because of shotgun spreads. That tends to be very exaggerated, at close ranges the spread isn't much...still more than a bullet which doesn't have one, of course, though.

 

[shootthebandit]

I have immense distrust for anyone who collects weaponry be it guns or samurai swords. I just find it inherently sinister

The UK is pretty much gun free so its something thats never bothered me. I find it quite unnerving in america knowing anyone could be carrying a firearm at any time. Sure anyone could have a knife in the UK but the threat of a knife is somehow less intimidating than a firearm.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I have immense distrust for anyone who collects weaponry be it guns or samurai swords. I just find it inherently sinister

The UK is pretty much gun free so its something thats never bothered me. I find it quite unnerving in america knowing anyone could be carrying a firearm at any time. Sure anyone could have a knife in the UK but the threat of a knife is somehow less intimidating than a firearm.

I find your views ironic given what you've chosen to call yourself on this site.

 

[White Lightning]

Let me just say, if it's so amazingly fun and cool and awesome to have everyone armed, then it's funny you don't hear people who live in developed countries where firearms are heavily restricted saying "Golly gee, I sure wish me and everyone else had guns like the do in the US! Wouldn't that be fun! We could have all the school shootings that they have!"

I live in Canada and I would love to collect guns to use at a range, hunt with, and be able to decorate my home with.

Just because no one is saying it to YOU doesn't mean people aren't saying it at all.

Anyways, I don't see why people get so up in arms (lol) about this for. If a criminal is determined to get a gun he's gonna get it, laws or no laws. I'm sure there's gonna be the one guy who says something about kids taking a parents gun and shooting people; wouldn't the more appropriate answer for this to find out why they want to shoot someone? It boils back down to determination. Just because your parents don't have a gun doesn't mean you can't go up and stab the guy with a kitchen knife.

 

[newfoundsky]

If I had to cite the biggest area of friction between me and my relatives, it would be gun laws. I hold the opinion that maybe it would be nice if people stopped shooting each other for a few minutes, while they hold that they have a right and a need for guns - which is true. However, they have also convinced me of one other thing; that in America, we worship guns like nobody else does.

Now, I concede that in some situations, a small handgun is the best option for self-defense, maybe with a laser sight if you don't trust your accuracy. But for the love of god, why would you need an assault rifle? Or a shotgun? Or multiple quantities of each one? Have you pissed off any Terminators lately and need to be absolutely sure you're safe?

I can't tell you how many times I've seen a Facebook post praising the latest model assault rifle, or a comment about 'Gone to get a new pump-action shotgun!" or some new accessory like glow in the dark bullets or something else that's completely arbitrary. It's ludicrous how crazy people get over guns here.

Why do people in this country love guns so much? Because they feel threatened? No. Because there's some left-wing conspiracy to 'take our guns away'? Not that, either; if the government announced a ban on traffic cones, would everyone start hoarding those? Because they want to kill someone? Probably not (although, if your son takes one of your guns and shoots up a school, that mission is accomplished regardless.) So the only reason I can see is: because they're cool. People spend hundreds of dollars to purchase these high-performance killing machines for the sole purpose of hanging them on their wall and admiring them. Some people have gun collections, like stamps, only hundreds of times more wasteful. That is their constitutional right.

But I ask you, are we not better than that? Does it really behoove us, as a nation, to adore and worship the same devices that are being used to kill hundreds of men and women every day? (Yes, I know, guns don't kill people. When's the last time you heard of a crazed man with a machete massacre?) Couldn't we all just invest in a pastime that is just as cool, a lot more fun, and way less violence? Like videogames, for example.

Bonus: Imagine a Hoarders episode where they visited someone whose gun collection had gotten out of control. Now imagine the sheer magnitude of backlash that would come out of that.

Well, is there some inherent evil in liking something because it is "cool"? A gun is useful. You can take your kids to the range and fire off a few rounds with them (It is an amazing thing to watch your daughter hit her first target). You can use them to hunt food, which I think is a bit more humane than slaughter house meat. I mean, I would rather be shot through the head and go down in a split second than my throat slit and die from blood loss.

The truth of the matter is, in my area at least, owning a rifle is not about defense or because rifles are cool. It is because owning a rifle is a mark of self sufficiency and bonding. Granted, there are other ways people are sufficient and there are other ways to bond. . . but why not keep what works, and add to it? Start a garden with your kids, and go hunting with them? Coach a little league team, and then take your kid to the range. . . something you both enjoy?

Honestly, I don't think there is any real argument against responsible gun ownership.

There were 11,419 deaths in the United states from gun related incidents in 2013 according to this site[1]. There were 34,080 deaths in automotive related incidents in 2012 according to wikipedia.[2] There are 270 million(!!!!) fire arms in the United States according to the Blaze[3]. There are about 250~ million vehicles in the United States according to this rather odd infograph I found when researching this response[4].

There are more vehicles and more deaths each year from vehicles. How many people get excited about owning their first car? Or a better car? Or a better looking car? Cars are considered cool as well, and cause more deaths each year than fire arms. Cars are stolen more, they are used irresponsibly more, and are more prone to abuse than firearms.

The most fatalities from a single car accident was 217 with 200+ injuries[5]. The most deaths resulting from a single none military related incident with a firearm (school related at least) was the Virginia tech massacre at 31 deaths.[6]

More damage can be done by one irresponsible person with a car than with a firearm. It is literally safer to own a firearm than own a vehicle.

So, why are people so against firearms? Because they are scared. That is the only reason. Yes, every school shooting could have been prevented if there were no guns. However, every car accident could have been prevented if there was no car. And much more people consider cars cool, than guns cool.

1. http://guns.periscopic.com/?year=2013
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year
3. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/19/how-many-people-own-guns-in-america-and-is-gun-ownership-actually-declining/#
4. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_cars_are_currently_in_the_US?#slide=11
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Alfaques_Disaster
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre

 

[Spade Lead]

Sure, people could turn to books, art or video games instead, but I doubt they'd get the same satisfying level of feedback that comes from stripping, re-assembling, cleaning and loading a rifle, then taking careful aim and hitting a small, distant target. I don't think it would be as entertaining.

Because humans are stupid

You seem strangely familiar.

Let me tell you, movies, TV, and books have nothing when compared to going out and shooting with friends. It is a VERY social, Extremely entertaining hobby. I have been trained by the military in the use of Personal Defense Weapons, but plugging away at a stuffed Bulldog in my best friend's back yard because his raging ***** of a girlfriend dumped him while he was in bootcamp was more awesome than shotgunning skeets off the bow of my ship. Of course, living in the country makes this hobby easier to enjoy than places like Los Angeles. I also have two little girls in the house, so I would rather have the weapon in the house for defense than be without.

If you are against guns, are you also against modified cars, considering car accidents kill more people than guns every year?

 

[Yuuki]

With America it's not their obsession with guns that surprises me. It's how FANATICAL they get when there is even the slightest mention of introducing stricter gun laws.

 

[shootthebandit]

I have immense distrust for anyone who collects weaponry be it guns or samurai swords. I just find it inherently sinister

The UK is pretty much gun free so its something thats never bothered me. I find it quite unnerving in america knowing anyone could be carrying a firearm at any time. Sure anyone could have a knife in the UK but the threat of a knife is somehow less intimidating than a firearm.

I find your views ironic given what you've chosen to call yourself on this site.

I orginally wanted dontshootthebandit but PSN decided that was too many letters. I just thought shootthebandit sounded pretty cool so I stuck with it. Dont get me wrong I love movies and games with guns and violence but that isnt real life. As soon as I think of a gun in a real situation its genuinely terrifying. Im guessing americans have become accustomed to it but for me the thought that anyone I see on the street from a student to his sainted grandma could have a gun in thier pocket genuinely terrifies me. Not only that but the ones who seem to promote gun freedom seem like a bunch of right-wing facists and these arent exactly the people you want to be arming to the teeth