What's really killing Americans. HINT: It's not guns!

Originally posted by novuslibertas
reply to post by snarky412

 

What if I get killed by a weapon? I never made one.

The person is the weapon, the person is very powerful and can choose to use his power for good or evil. The gun or any other inanimate weapon does not give a person reason to choose to wield his power menacingly, but only gives him the avenue by which to wield his power menacingly. The ultimate problem lies in just why it is that a person would choose to hurt or kill others.

You can say that it is not your fault that a person is angry so why do you get shot when they vent their anger? Is it through inaction that we can have blame placed upon us? There is a major problem that exists in the world around us, the problem of hatred. Reality is not going to let us get away with ignoring this problem, if you choose to ignore this problem then you have chosen to accept that you might become a result of this problem. If we do not want to go about our lives with the fear of possibly getting shot by someone we've never even met then we absolutely must address the issue of why. Why do people become so irate that they are willing to resort to such violence?

It's not really a question of blame, but of reality. In reality if there is a problem, regardless of who's fault it is, we will face the consequences of that problem until it is solved. If we do not want to see such violence or be a victim of such violence then the underlying problem must be addressed otherwise we will continue to face the consequences.

Originally posted by novuslibertas

I understand your point.
I cannot change anything in your country, even if I wished so. It would be crazy to try and talk to every murderer and see if I could solve their problems. However I do not think that talking to every murderer is needed. In my opinion the problem would be solved by restricting guns for "casual" people (average joe). I understand criminals can still get guns on the black market. Which is an aspect we won't be able to change, because it's the nature of some of us. By restricting guns for "casual" people (average joe) there will be another barrier that would have to be crossed, a certain incentive would have to be given to get access to a gun and execute your murderous plans. In other words murder with guns could be punished harder (punishment in America is relatively already harsh compared to that of my country). The only problem I see is that some Americans (correct me if I'm wrong) see a big problem with self protection in this case as they want to buy guns to protect themselves against these criminals with guns of the black market.

There is two reasons to own guns to protect oneself from the bad people..and second to prevent a tyrannical Government, hence why it is written in the constitution and not just some liberty.

During my 28 years in the military my re-enlistment oath started every time with...

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic

Above EVERYTHING I will defend the CONSTITUTION

Anyone who attacks the CONSTITUTION is an enemy, foreign and domestic....

So we take guns away from the average Joe....that is an attack on the second Amendment...attack on our Constitution...

You can take tea away from Brits easier than guns from Americans....

reply to post by Xtrozero


There is another reason to own firearms and I'm not terribly surprised that I don't see more gun owners bring this up. For the record I am not a gun owner myself.

At any rate the other reason to own firearms is, drum roll... Entertainment!

Like I said, I'm not a gun owner myself, but I have gone to the firing range with a friend and also wielded a rifle against a few eggs and I'll be damned if hitting the target or watching a few eggs explode isn't a good time. There is great value to be placed upon entertainment. Life can be stressful at times and it is paramount that we have entertainment to relieve that stress. Everybody is different, not everybody enjoys basketball or a good video game, we have such a wide variety of past times because we all have different likes and dislikes. Hunting for sport, skeet shooting and target practice are a past time that many use to bring some enjoyment into their lives. Should we take these enjoyments away from those who need them I fear the problem of violence would only be exacerbated because we will now have those who cannot relieve their stress with their favorite past time causing the stress to build until it is released in an explosive outburst.

I think gun advocates use the protection argument most often because they view it as a more important need for weapons, but personally I see the entertainment value as being an equally prevalent need. There is no denying that entertainment has value, just check the price of a super bowl ticket. Without entertainment, whatever your particular cup of tea, we find ourselves missing an outlet to relieve ourselves of some of the things that upset us.

Does the skeet shooter or hunter need a semi-automatic rifle? Does the video gamer need the turbo control pad? Does the basketball player need the specialized footwear? These things are part of the experience for some people.

In truth if sport hunting and the like are not your particular cup of tea then you probably don't understand why people need their guns. Simply because it's not in your taste does not mean it is not necessary, only that it is not necessary for you.