Soldato
The same thing was said after after Sandy Hook. It was accurate then too. Depressing state of affairs.
Today's mass shooting in the US
- Thread starter Rroff
- Start date
The same thing was said after after Sandy Hook. It was accurate then too. Depressing state of affairs.
Soldato
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- 27 Apr 2013
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Given that almost all the people who commit these crimes have mental health issues, would it not be easier to ban people with mental health issues?
Soldato
they did
the current lunatics in charge rescinded it because it was an obama policy...
Soldato
America likes its guns too much, it's a huge industry and that'll never change...
Personally, I don't mind guns, went shooting when we were over in the states the other year.
They just need to make it harder to get guns and make sure that all states have the same laws, otherwise you can get a gun friendly state where people buy guns, and then go to the state next where they don't like guns and do home invasions because there's less chance of someone in the neighboring state having a gun...
Personally, I don't mind guns, went shooting when we were over in the states the other year.
They just need to make it harder to get guns and make sure that all states have the same laws, otherwise you can get a gun friendly state where people buy guns, and then go to the state next where they don't like guns and do home invasions because there's less chance of someone in the neighboring state having a gun...
Caporegime
In the context of campaign donations, it is absolutely massive.
But compared to the amount of money religious institutions have in America it's miniscule. What else should churches have money for if it's not to be spent making people's lives better and safer?
But that's a whole other debate and probably reflects my cynicism about religion generally.
To be fair, churches do have a ton of money - but I'd be surprised if they spend as much of it on political lobbying and basically buying off congress, as the NRA do,
Which is my point really. They should spend all their time, effort and money on making people's lives better given they've accumulated all that wealth from their congregation. Whichever sky fairy they believe in won't.
Soldato
Their power does not lie in donations though. Top republicans have always been staunch supporters of the NRA, not due to the amount of money donated but because it has the ability to mobilize many voters for support. Future up and coming republicans don't stand a chance of moving up to the top of the party if they wish to alienate the loyal voters that the NRA has previously mobilize for them.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/5/16430684/nra-congress-money-no
Anti-gun lobbies have tried to buy out republicans with more generous donations but it hasn't worked.
Basically, supporting guns wins you more votes in the US than money and being anti-gun as far as the republicans are concerned
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/5/16430684/nra-congress-money-no
Anti-gun lobbies have tried to buy out republicans with more generous donations but it hasn't worked.
Basically, supporting guns wins you more votes in the US than money and being anti-gun as far as the republicans are concerned
The problem is that who decides who has mental health issues? Are they open to being bribed or extorted so Politician X could decide that leader of opposition group Y can't have a gun? A legitimate citizen could be labeled as mentally ill and be told they cannot legally buy a gun, that's a problem as far as the NRA are concerned and it's why they oppose any restrictions.
I wouldn't be surprised if a significant number of NRA members had good reason to think they might be diagnosed as being mentally ill.
Soldato
If you think that you need to own an assault rifle (or ten) in a representative democracy, you are mentally ill IMO. Let alone revolvers, automatic pistols etc.
One of the things that amazed me, is how congress actually voted to make it harder for health officials to conduct research into gun violence, in terms of just collecting data and facts, in order to draw conclusions. It's totally off the wall stuff, it's like they're actually doing everything they possibly can to ensure there are problems.
No one needs to own anything beyond the essentials, yet we all still do. People may own 10 "assault" rifles because they like guns, they enjoy shooting, it's their primary interest and hobby and they have a passion for it. It's that simple.
Things can change almost overnight - especially when people are complacent. Get the wrong person in power and people reticent to do anything and that representative democracy can change fast.
The difference being that PCs, golf clubs, snooker cues, footballs, etc don't enable mass murder.
At some point the good of society has to come before individuals' wants.
Soldato
Yep, it's basically democracy in action. The NRA members are passionate about guns, so they are easily mobilised and motivated to engage their elected representatives. Whereas the anti gun supporters aren't. The NRA vote against gun control constantly, not just talk about it for a couple of weeks after a mass shooting.