Daily Discussion: Gun control

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Daily Discussion: Gun control

Okay, I know it’s Friday, but serious discussion time. With the recent shootings in Colorado, gun control has once again become a hot issue, so I thought we might discuss it here. We’re smart people. We can fix this.

Here’s my two cents:

I’m of a pretty liberal persuasion, but I’ve noticed that on the issue of gun control, I’m out of sync with the older liberals of the Baby Boomer generation. Many Baby Boomers I’ve spoken to are much more anti-gun and would like to see a permanent assault gun ban. I, on the other hand, and I’ve noticed many around my age range (20s and 30s), whether liberal or conservative, don’t see guns as a great evil and don’t really support further gun control regulations— to 99.9% of the gun-owning population are responsible and sane people who enjoy hunting or shooting for sport.

If there was a permanent assault rifle ban, would it have made any damn difference in the death toll at that theater? Not at all. He still had one, maybe two Glocks, a shotgun and a cache of homemade grenades at home he could have used for additional carnage. Crazy people will do crazy things, and there have always been crazy people, and you can’t regulate for a very, very tiny sliver of the overall population who are determined and crazy as fuck.

So why is it that America, even with overall crime having been on a steady decline for decades, still reign supreme in worldwide gun violence? Canada has the same, if not more number of guns and gun owners. Guns are outlawed in many parts of Europe, and in most large urban areas on the continent, and there is very little gun violence. But even still, when someone is determined enough, they can find what they want.

So what’s the deal? America, we’re just paranoid as hell. We’re fed a nearly constant stream of fear. Your neighbor, that black kid from across town, terrorists, police, cyber criminals and hackers, deadly viruses, cancer, Mexicans, Hollywood, Muslims, atheists, gays, the godless, lobbyists, corporations, the government at all levels, aliens, people you can’t imagine… there’s someone out there for somebody that’s trying to get you or screw you over in some way. We just need to stop being so fucking afraid.

Or fuck it. Take away everyone’s weapons, and we’ll all become badass martial artists. A nation of Bruce Lees.