DEAR AMERICA: Here's Why Everyone Thinks You Have A Problem With Guns

[Robert_Sock]

America is truly an exceptional nation.

It’s not because of our education system, our economy or our scientific establishment.

No, America is really only exceptional when it comes to the number of guns, the frequency of gun murders, and the shockingly high number of annual gun deaths.

Other countries don’t have the problems that the United States do. Other industrialized countries don’t have tens of thousands of gun deaths per year, or regular mass shootings, or a population as armed as it is violent.

Other countries don’t have America’s gun problem.

Here, we take a look at the data that shows why America is so unlike the rest of the world when it comes to the popularity and the abuse of guns. We’ll look at the role that policy makers play in the gun control debate, and we’ll look at what can be done.

It isn’t pretty, but it’s important. Hundreds of thousands of American lives hang in the balance.

Read more: businessinsider.com/americas-gun-problem-explained-2013-4?op=1#ixzz2R8gcAvpi

 

[RobbyS]

Robert_Sock:
Look at it this way: When US forces invaded Iraq, they found a population with almost as many small arms a the United States. it was for this reason, as well as the reluctance of the US to use enough troops, that the Baathist minority was able to keep their rebellion going until the “surge” made them decide to negotiate a peace. The Taliban is still fighting in Afghanistan because they are armed. Moral of the story” an armed populace is able to stand up to the best military in the world. Wew stood up the the British and won our independence because the French furnished us with enough guns. Napoleon was unable to subdue Spain because the British gave the ‘gueriilas guns. It can be argued that if Sherman had not conducted total war in the American South, that the North would not have won the war. As it was, if the Confederates had had a few more generals like Bedford Forrest, rather than Lee and others trained in Napoleonic tactics, that they could have been as successful as the Spanish.

 

[Robert_Sock]

Should American’s worry about our government going to war with them. Even if it did, it probably has weapons that can greatly outdo small arms. Or are you worried about the military might of some government waging war among the American people? Surely, America’s military might would outdo the advancement of nearly any other nation on the face of this earth.

 

[triumphguy]

Ya never know - with all the snow we’re having we Canucks might just invade you-all

 

[pete_29]

Should American’s worry about our government going to war with them. Even if it did, it probably has weapons that can greatly outdo small arms. Or are you worried about the military might of some government waging war among the American people? Surely, America’s military might would outdo the advancement of nearly any other nation on the face of this earth.

Why are you so afraid of law abiding citizens who happen to own firearms?

 

[Robert_Sock]

Why are you so afraid of law abiding citizens who happen to own firearms?

The article spells out all my concerns. Just click on the link.

 

[TimeEntrance]

I noticed there were no studies comparing those that listen to rap music with those that listen to jazz and classical music and and correlating the effects of media with violence in that way.

Japan has a much more homogenous society too. I’m not sure they have as significant an inequality in wealth distribution either. I also wonder how extensive their media culture of romancing the outlaw and Wall Street type tycoon is relative to the U.S. fascination and glorification of this?

I ask as a huge fan of Mob Wives. Probably the best reality TV show to ever hit the air as far as I’m concerned.

One thing that I have found interesting though, no matter how violent Mexico, Brazil, and Colombian and Central American towns are… they don’t have the frequency of mass shooting unrelated to drug wars as the United States does. Why? The people there have literal abject poverty going on.

I’m thinking it has something to do with how human worth and “place” in society is viewed and established in the United States. I think there are negative psychological effects that result. But it does not matter. I doubt it will ever change.

 

[IrishRush]

Ya never know - with all the snow we’re having we Canucks might just invade you-all

Having read so many of your posts, I can tell you this - no need to invade, just come on down! Consider yourself invited.
But be warned - there’s lots of snow here too…

 

[Kithrus]

America was born on the gun, average people standing up and taking arms to the guy in charge cause he was mean and nasty.

Then said people formed a government and basically wrote in ‘if we mess up like the last batch did feel free to take us out’.

Ever since then the right to bare arms has been a big thing in the states. If you take away their guns they see it as a sign that your trying to prevent them from rising up if you muck things up.

Paint it anyway you like that’s how it is.

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

Having read so many of your posts, I can tell you this - no need to invade, just come on down! Consider yourself invited.
But be warned - there’s lots of snow here too…

I live in Florida. They invade once a year, during the winter. Three months later, they go home.

 

[IrishRush]

At the top of one of the charts it said this:

Revisiting this chart, it’s abundantly clear. Countries with high murder rates have them because of a high gun murder rate. It’s the guns.

It’s not the guns. No more than it’s the cars in drunk driving deaths. It’s the people behind the guns. And I bet you would find that the VAST majority of the gun deaths are happening at the hands of people who did not go through legal channels to get their guns.

The evidence presented by the gun control side is always skewed to promote their side.
The evidence presented by anti-gun control is always skewed to promote their side.

And if you take a good look at the increase in gun ownership numbers, you can likely link it to an increase in rhetoric by the pro gun control folks in the government. More laws and more regulations are not going to help here. Keeping the guns out of the hands of criminals is what’s really needed, not more controls on law abiding citizens.

The 2nd amendment is in place for a reason.

Our constitution works. If the Constitution of the USA is so difficult for some people to live with, maybe they should begin weighing the pros and cons of living here and making some difficult choices. If you don’t feel safe here, and the changes being made (or not made) are not satisfactory to you, there are other options.

 

[triumphguy]

Having read so many of your posts, I can tell you this - no need to invade, just come on down! Consider yourself invited.
But be warned - there’s lots of snow here too…

Thanks!

I live in Florida. They invade once a year, during the winter. Three months later, they go home.

I hope they pick up after themselves - but if not don’t blame us westerners - that’s the easterners and Quebecois who go to Florida.

 

[IrishRush]

America was born on the gun, average people standing up and taking arms to the guy in charge cause he was mean and nasty.

Then said people formed a government and basically wrote in ‘if we mess up like the last batch did feel free to take us out’.

Ever since then the right to bare arms has been a big thing in the states. If you take away their guns they see it as a sign that your trying to prevent them from rising up if you muck things up.

Paint it anyway you like that’s how it is.

Amen!! You cut right to the chase with this.
Well said!

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

From the article:

In contrast, the U.S. has a gun homicide rate of 3 per 100,000 — six times as large as Canada, 23 times as large as Australia, 43 times as large as the U.K., and more than 300 times as large as Japan.

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

Thanks!

I hope they pick up after themselves - but if not don’t blame us westerners - that’s the easterners and Quebecois who go to Florida.

They can take the winters here just fine. The heat is another thing.

 

[Monte_RCMS]

Those other countries were monarchies, where everyone was trained from birth to kow-tow to the kings.

In those other countries, the people are subjects.

And in those other countries, the subjects were subject to giant world wars that killed tens of millions of the people and demolished their cities.

And prior to the world wars, they had other giant wars … France invaded Russia! England and France attacked one another. France invaded Spain. The Germans and the Russians used Spain as a proving ground for new mass murder weapons. England and Germany used poison gas on one another in France. Germany initiated unrestricted submarine warfare on England.

The border between France and Italy changed so often, no one had a clue as to what their nationality was.

Sweden invaded Europe.

The Mongols invaded Europe and held Russia for 300 years.

The Moors invaded Spain and held Spain for 800 years.

Turkey invaded Europe and were stopped only by the Polish Army at the Battle of Vienna.

Naval battles everywhere.

The Battle of Lepanto was the biggest naval battle in world history! And if the Italians had lost, Christianity would have been wiped out! [And it was the only time that the Christian fleet ever pulled together!!] [And it wasn’t “the Italians”! It was the “city-states”! … because Italy wasn’t unified yet.]

From 1492 to the mid-1800’s the Corsairs dominated the Mediterranean, seizing ships, putting crews and passengers into slavery, and looting the coastal towns of Europe.

The Spanish Armada! versus the English Navy.

Hundreds and hundreds of wars all over Europe.

The potato famine in Ireland!

Conditions were so terrible that millions upon millions of Europeans fled to the United States! …

The issue of personally owned guns is trivial by comparison.

And we hold up Europe as an example to be emulated?

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

Those other countries were monarchies, where everyone was trained from birth to kow-tow to the kings.

In those other countries, the people are subjects.

There is a lot of information in the article.

 

[R_C]

Why are you so afraid of law abiding citizens who happen to own firearms?

Because often they turn into mass-murderers of innocent bystanders? And because gone are the days of the adventurous trappers and the heroic minutemen, and now we have at least a dozen of “well-regualted militias” (including many local police departments, national guard, armed forces, et cetera) so that we no longer need the local concerned citizen to own an *arsenal *

Seriously, it’s so amusing to me that we struggle so much to promote a culture of life and bring forth laws that would render abortion illegal, and yet when it comes to firearms a vast amount of US Catholics for whatever reason switches mindset and walks the opposite way. It’s not even a matter of the right to own guns, but of the massive deregulation that currently exists…do you realize that in the US there was in 2007 an average of 88 firearms per person (followed by Yemen)? Not even Rambo at his prime would carry 88 firearms, and against whom do we need to “defend” ourselves by means of such firepower?

I do often hear: “it’s the people behind the guns”. Sure, it’s the people. An additional reason to prevent weapons with massive firepower to be in their hands at all, and to at most allow them to own (if anything) a handgun for the defense of their family and property, given a more strict system. Instead, for most United States citizens, purchasing a handgun is as simple as going to a local gun store, choosing a particular firearm, showing photo I.D., filling out the background check form, and then paying for the gun upon approval from NICS (usually instantaneous). Furthermore, there does not seem to be any law limiting the number of guns or the amount of ammunition a person can own. So much for “put the sword back”!

I personally don’t judge anyone who owns or decides to own firearms, no matter how many. All I say is: it does seem like we have a problem.

 

[Lost_Sheep]

There is a lot of information in the article.

A lot of mis-information too.

 

[mountee]

Why are you so afraid of law abiding citizens who happen to own firearms?

I completely agree:thumbsup: