#gun debate

[tendie-defender]

Maybe I had AI all wrong?

This one seems to be based as fuck.

#gunblr #guns #gun #gun control #ar15 #9mm #5.56 #glock #gun debate #freeblr

[unimatrix-420]

If the issue Republicans have with abortion is really that "it's murdering an innocent baby," then you'd think they'd be more enraged when children already born are gunned down in school.

#politics #social issues #gun control #firearms #gun debate #republicans #abortion #pro choice #womens rights #womens reproductive rights #mass shootings #school shootings

[uboat53]

I've had quite a few discussions on the topic of gun control lately, as those of you who follow me may be well aware, and, in doing so, I've found that I keep running into the exact same mental blocks and misconceptions in the pro-gun people that I debate. In the interest of not repeating myself thousands of times more in the future, I figured I'd write this out once so I can refer to it instead. Hopefully it'll be helpful to others in similar discussions as well.

A. "If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns!" or "It doesn't matter what laws you put in place, criminals will always be able to get guns"

It should make them really easy to spot then! Seriously, though, where do illegal guns come from? There's lots of people today for whom gun ownership is illegal, minors, felons, domestic abusers, etc, and yet lots of those people are able to get guns anyways. Let's take a look at how that happens.

First, there's the ones that just slip through the cracks. When a gun is sold by a licensed dealer, they check the NICS system is supposed to flag any reason why a person should be denied a firearm. The system is notoriously spotty; a 2014 study found 7.8 million outstanding warrants in state records but only 2.1 million in the NICS system [1], for example. For this reason, lots of people who should be prevented legally from owning guns are still able to buy them from licensed dealers.

Secondly, there's straw purchasers. Basically, a person with a clean record buys the gun from a licensed dealer and then either gives or sells the gun to a person who cannot legally purchase it. There's no hard figures on how often this happens, but a 2010 study showed that up to 20% of firearms dealers were willing to participate in a straw purchase [2] and a 2011 study found that more than 2/3 of firearms dealers had experienced attempted straw purchases [3].

Thirdly, there's the fact that, if you buy a gun from someone who's not a licensed dealer, 31 states require no background check at all and many others require a background check only for certain types of weapons [4].

Finally, there's plain theft. An estimated 380,000 guns are stolen every year according the NIH [5] and a quarter of licensed gun dealers reported experiencing firearm theft in the previous five years [3].

So where do illegal guns come from? Overwhelmingly, they come from legal guns!

In other words, if we were to outlaw guns entirely, it would be incredibly difficult for outlaws to get guns in the first place. Of course, we're not even talking about outlawing guns at this point, just closing a lot of the gaps I mentioned above. Either way, I hope this clears up why that's a bad argument; illegal guns are primarily coming from holes in our legal system of selling guns and closing those holes can, in fact, make it more difficult to get them.

B. "It's a slippery slope…"

This is basically the argument that any regulation, registration, or licensing requirement must be just the first step to total confiscation of all guns. This pretty ridiculous on its face and, for a great example of this, let's look at cars.

Every single car is required to be registered and every single driver is required to be licensed. Cars are also the subject of tons of regulations from speed limits to insurance requirements to manufacturing requirements like airbags, seatbelts, and crash tests.

Yet, despite all of this, cars have not only not been banned and confiscated, they are overwhelmingly the most common method of transportation in the United States with almost 92% of households owning at least one car [6]. There's no reason to believe that it would be different with firearms.

C. "There are 2.5 million self-defense uses of guns per year"

This statistic gets thrown around a lot so it's best to know where it comes from and all of the problems with it. The 2.5 million number comes from a study by Dr. Gary Kleck in the early 90s [7]. Kleck relied on a relatively small sample of self-reported self-defense incidents and extrapolated to the larger population. More recently, Dr. William English did a much larger survey with similar methods and came up with a number closer to 1.5 million [8]; lower, but still substantial.

The problem, though, is that these are all self-reported self-defense uses. The National Crime Victimization from 1992, around the same period Kleck conducted his study, concluded that there were likely only 65,000 defensive gun uses based on a much larger sample [9]. There's also been a good deal of research into what kind of incidents gun owners report as self-defense [10] and, when you investigate the actual circumstances of those incidents, it turns out that a lot of them, likely the majority, are not actually self-defense uses, but illegal escalations [11].

Also interesting, and indirectly related, is some research that shows that gun owners may actually be MORE likely to lose property in the event of a crime than those who use another type of weapon [12].

In other words, the number of times that gun owners use their guns to illegally intimidate other people likely outweighs the number of times that they use their guns in self-defense, but both are being reported as self-defense uses in the Kleck and English surveys.

D. "Only guns prevent government tyranny!"

This is pretty much the universal statement that gets thrown out once other evidence is debunked, and it's also provably wrong. Here's the thing, the number of privately owned guns has no correlation to the freedom or lack thereof in a country and, in fact, every single country that is freer than us has much stricter gun control laws.

It doesn't matter, by the way, which definition of freedom you use. I tend to use the ranking put together by Freedom House [13], but you can use any of them.

One argument that does get thrown around is the one put together by Dr. David Koppel in his study of the relationship between private gun ownership and liberty in which he concluded that greater gun ownership was associated with more freedom when gun ownership reached a high level [14]. However, it deserves pointing out that he reached this conclusion by averaging large categories of countries and including the United States, a statistical outlier in gun ownership, in the highest category of freedom. If one were to re-run his same study without the United States, his conclusion is no longer accurate.

It's also worth pointing out that he doesn't compare the United States to other countries in the highest category of freedoms, lumping them instead into a single category as "the top quintile of liberty". This is comparison, which I recommended above, would also show little correlation between gun ownership and individual liberty in a country.

E. "Why all the focus on guns, why aren't you trying to ban knives too?"

So this is the standard "whataboutism" argument that those opposed to gun control will resort to and the answer is simple: guns are much more powerful means of killing than just about any other instrument you can name.

Quite simply, there are more than twice as many homicides in the United States by firearm as there are by every other method combined [15]. Unless the argument is that the vast majority of murderers in the United States are deliberately choosing a less effective method, it seems that the people doing the killing think that this is the right tool for the job.

However, you should know that there's no need for such hypotheticals or data because, in the end, the person making this argument already knows that it's a false equivalence and there's an easy way to smoke them out. All you have to do is say something along the lines of "oh, so it won't be a problem if we ban guns because you'll be perfectly happy to use <> for self-defense since it's equally effective, right?"

Trust me, they'll choke very quickly and make it very clear that they are very aware that guns are more effective at killing people.

Sources

[1] https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/bjs/grants/250533.pdf [2] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11524-010-9489-6 [3] https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/19/6/412.full [4] https://www.findlaw.com/consumer/consumer-transactions/private-gun-sale-laws-by-state.html [5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5385318/ [6] https://www.forbes.com/advisor/car-insurance/car-ownership-statistics/ [7] https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/carrying-guns-protection-results-national-self-defense-survey [8] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3887145 [9] https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/incidence-civilian-defensive-firearm-use [10] https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/gun-threats-and-self-defense-gun-use-2/ [11] https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/6/4/263 [12] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091743515001188 [13] https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores [14] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1090441 [15] https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-8.xls

#gun control #gun control debate #gun debate #politics #us politics

[han-solo-cant-dance]

When I worked at a large grocery store this winter I had a panic attack because two adult men were making jokes about shooting people and said "everybody get down" right next to me. I was terrified and went in the back and cried, reported them to my manager, and in the end nothing happened because they were only joking. I have spent my entire childhood practicing active shooter drills at school and took gun safety as a child so me and my brother wouldn't ever hurt ourselves with our dads hunting rifle. My friend from college just messaged us to tell us she was okay when she was at a theatre a week ago and a shooter came and shot someone. There were bomb threats and shooting threats at least once every year in high school where cops rushed in and yelled at us to put our hands up and dump our back packs and purses.

I understand and my heart goes out to those who struggle on the 4th of July weekend because every firework that goes off at night makes my heart race and I end up having a sleepless night. I feel lucky to have never been in a truly dangerous shooting scenario and yet I still get scared when I hear the loud bangs outside.

Is it possible to have ptsd from the possibility of being shot? Idk but I know that growing up in these circumstances can't be healthy.

#4th of july #fireworks #ptsd? #i really dont want to call it ptsd but idk what else to call it other than fear #usa needs to do better #gun debate #gun control #tw shooting

[thetreeofliberty]

Some people today just don't understand that there are people willing to stand their ground.

If anyone ever tries to argue that, "No one needs high capacity magazines," send them to watch this video, and instruct them to shut the fuck up forever.

#stand your ground #patriot #America #2a #2nd amendment #gun rights #gun debate #Youtube

[morganbritton132]

Eddie’s live-streaming while he paints a miniature. In the background, Steve is telling Robin everything that happened with their neighbor, Dan, and Ozzy’s swimming pool.

Robin: Wow, that guy sucks

Robin: You want me kill him for you? Because I’ll definitely kill him for you

Steve: Robbie

Steve: If I wanted someone to kill him, I’d ask a professional

Steve: Like Nancy

#She has guns. Multiple #The chat is like: ?????? #and Eddie is like: ??????? #it’s up for debate if Nancy and Jonathan killed their boss in Season 3 counts because I think he was too far gone for it to count #eddie munson tiktok saga #eddie munson #steve harrington

[fake-stats]

According to a recent study, 66% of Americans say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports banning all forms of gun ownership.

#gun debate #gun ownership #us politics #2nd amendment #fun facts #statistics

[small-spanish-face]

Shelly de Killer seeing how the woman he literally just shot in the shoulder keeps walking towards the courthouse as if nothing happened:

#ace attorney #aa #aa2 #aa2 spoilers #shelly de killer #shelly de killer appreciation blog #oh I know he was PANICKING #he was probably debating wether he had to call Phoenix again to tell him that he should forget about the 'gift' LMFAOAOAOAOA #tw gun violence #tw gunshot #just in case

[stopthatfool]

Consistently shocked by the idea that people think Bradley Rooster Bradshaw is chill and laid back. He’s actually shockingly unchill. He is the opposite of chill. He did not inherent any of his parents chillness. He’s a loser who’s too invested in everything.

Like ya hi I’m Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw and I cut off my remaining family, surrogate father, and support system for 15 years cuz he pulled my naval academy papers because he didn’t want me to die like my biological father and because my mother wanted me to be free of the navy’s confinements and to exist outside of a system that physically uses me for their own power and political gains— gains I will never experience and feel for myself. A system that sees me as no more than a number, a soldier, something easily replaceable, as a body to be sacrificed in a war that i did not start nor will i finish.

“Bradley's chill.” No he’s not. He’s a beast. He’s a 30 something year old man whose entire purpose revolves around holding a grudge and proving his surrogate father wrong. This beast who literally said this to his surrogate father— "No wife. No kids. Nobody to mourn when you burn in." Beastly. Ghastly thing to say. 15 years and he still hates the guy who's been there for him since day one. He’s a guy who refuses to even begin to understand where Mav was coming from or to even think of what his mother wanted. He’s evil. And I love him.

Hi I’m Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw and when someone brings up a well known, easily accessible fact that my father and surrogate father used to fly together I will try to cause physical harm against them and my friends will have to physically hold me back. I’m Bradley Bradshaw and I was willing to put my entire career on the line (the one in which I put my family aside for) so I can attack and beat this guy up.

I love his big ol’ Bambi eyes… he’s evil and fucked up and he’s not chill. Yes he wears jorts and tropical shirts, but that just means he’s gay and a fucking liar. Just cuz he looks like some surfer dude does not mean that he’s actually laid back like one. He’s lying to himself— trying to convince himself he is something that he is not and never will be. He is unchill. He’s lame. He has undiagnosed anxiety and it physically expresses itself through anger and loserly-ness. He cares so much to the point of self sabotage. He will always be unchill, no matter how much he tries to change that fact.

Y’all ever want to cradle a grown man in your arms? (graphic design is my passion)

#comic sans #is this controversial #debated about posting this.. i've been sitting on these thoughts for a hot minute... but i gotta share #also this isn’t a call out to anything/one specifically. like i mean this. i just felt like making fun of him. #it's mostly just an excuse to talk about him and make that stupid photo #i shouldn't have access to photoshop #also not saying that hangman was in the right in that scene #just saying that if Bradley were actually chill… he would’ve reacted differently #like sure bradley's chill about what coffee he drinks in the morning or if lunch plans change #but he’s unchill about everything else #top gun maverick #top gun #top gun rooster #bradley rooster bradshaw #he's so annoying i lub him #bradley brad bradshaw my beloved #stopthatfool's adventures with photoshop #computer now riddled with blurry pngs #fuck it posting this

[channnel]

My random burst of energy led me to this.

⁽ᴰᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵐᶦⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᵍᵒᵖᶦˢˢ ᵍᶦʳˡ ᵖᶦᶜ, ᴵ ʳᵃⁿ ᵒᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᶦᵈᵉᵃˢ⁾

#my art #mdhm game #my dear hatchet man #mdhm jules #mdhm alan #alan orion #jules griffith #claude merle #james harrison #quick doodle #I saw the art and my immediate thought is to draw them with this base #the gopiss girl part was supposed to be a brochure for a debate club but i got bored and just put that in. #i dunno #hope you like it #mdhm fanart #i should have made jules do the finger guns instead like the base intended but nooooo my mind decided to put a gopiss girl pic

[tendie-defender]

There are more AR15 owners then there are people who have a newspaper subscription nation wide.

There are more permitless/constitutional carry states.

We own more guns and more ammunition than our own army.



Whether they like it or not we are winning. 

#gunblr #guns #gun #gun control #ar15 #9mm #5.56 #glock #ak #7.62x39 #gun debate

[nopumpkinsleftunfucked]

What if I give him a gun hihi! I saw the Kermit meme and had a vision

French language funfact: We also use 'ratatata' for automatic guns but 'pan' for single shots!

#bullfrog #captain laserhawk #my art #pumpkin.txt #ubisoft #netflix #meme #i had infinite debates about how to make it funnier alas i haven't found what i wanted #couldn't find a gun ref that worked here so you get my incapability to draw these on my own instead

[uboat53]

“Rates of common property crimes in the United States are comparable to those reported in many other Western industrial nations, but rates of lethal violence in the United States are much higher.” -- Franklin Zimring and Gordon Hawkins, "Crime is Not the Problem" (1999)

Just a reminder, Americans are not uniquely violent or criminal and we never have been. What makes America a uniquely murderous place is that we have easy access to the most effective tool for killing.

Source

#gun violence #gun debate #gun control

[oatm1lkcowboy]

pov u are foolish gamers

#tw // gun mention #so that debate huh #qsmp #qsmp gegg #gegg #qsmp slimecicle #qsmp elections #qsmp eggs #slimecicle fanart #slimecicle #charlie slimecicle #han doodles #my art

[imtomiee]

Lana del ray literally wrote a song about him

Now I know why everyone is so obsessed with him in the story....

If I was there I would've passed out 😳

edit: WAIT WAIT I FORGOT HE IS A CHEATER WAI-

#kim gabryong #jake kim #lookism #lookism490 #Spotify #jake i want your father im sorry 😞 #still gun is my fav bbg (debatable❤️) #wait I forgot he is a cheater omg I take it back

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 51

Hear me out: Either due to a prank originally or them both being genderfluid, Bruce and Kate swap vigilante outfits. Batman is Batwoman for a night and Batwoman is Batman, not that the goons know that. The thing is though… it’s kind of fun. So they do it again, and again. The criminals don’t know if they’re going to get kick in your teeth Batman or shoot your kneecaps Batman, they don’t know if they’re going to get flirt while terrorizing your gang Batwoman or terrifyingly silent while snapping someones leg Batwoman. It’s fun for them, and sometimes on slower nights they’ll swap in the middle of patrol. No one can figure out who the bats are, even in rumors or conspiracy theories. People trying to psychoanalyze them are pulling out their hair, the batkids when they find out are going wild with ideas on how to make it worse. 

Of course, come the Justice League, they continue to do their whole switching vigilante-sonas. 

#batman au #prompts #personally i like the genderfluid idea of them just using batwoman or batman depending on which they feel at the time #Sometimes Gotham will get Batwoman in two different places sometimes two batman or sometimes a mix #Sometimes just one #batman #bruce wayne #batwoman #kate kane #justice league #dc #dcu #Y'know what would be hilarious #Battle of the Cowl but All of the kids join in the swap where No One knows what batman they'll get #People are still debating on if it's just one person or multiple #conspiracy theorists claim cloning or metas who can create copies #will they get flirty batman or gun batman or acrobat batman or silent batman or tiny batman or #Honestly Bruce and Kate deserve to be genderfluid #Let them flip off the concept of gender and be whatever they want