That's 364 mass shootings IN SCHOOLS.

Not every kid enrolled has been affected. Just every one who was present on the day THEIR SCHOOL had a mass shooting.

About 1,000 students per school, on average. Elementary schools are smaller; they bring the average down. High schools are much bigger. They bring the average up.

So yeah, about three hundred sixty thousand students have been affected by mass shootings IN THEIR OWN SCHOOLS since the Columbine High School shooting.

I think we are meant to understand the word "affected" to mean any or all of the following:

• being scared shitless in a place that is supposed to be a safe space
• forced to hunker down in classrooms
• need to barricade doors
• be absolutely silent while a killer stalks you
• hear gunfire on school grounds
• witness fellow students being shot
• witness teachers being shot
• being shot and surviving
• being shot and dying
• being evacuated while holding up hands
• having to return to school
• attending memorials for murdered schoolmates
• nightmares, PTSD
• needing counseling
• watching helplessly while the Republican Party blocks any and all meaningful gun legislation
• realizing that that kowtowing to the gun lobby is more important than students' physical and mental well being
• etc.

Obviously a student or teacher who is shot and killed is not evacuated with their hands in the air.

And the dead don't get PTSD.

@Flyingsaucesir just because you say in schools doesn't mean you're right. That statistic is any and all shootings on a school campus. That would include a negligent discharge in the parking lot after school hours. The statistic has been debunked and marked as a lie the day it was made. The way its put together is fundamentally flawed purposely by gun control lobbyists.

@Tejas Obviously the gun lobby has gotten into your head.

@Flyingsaucesir you mean me supporting constitutional rights is being a sheep now? What a joke. Constitutional carry is in 29 states now, it appears the gun control lobbyists are losing their support for showing their lack of knowledge of firearms and lying about statistics. The truth will set you free

@Tejas It's "red" states that have the most lax gun laws, the highes gun death rates, the lowest vaccination rates, and the highest COVID death rates. Coincidence? I think not.

@Flyingsaucesir so basically you're blaming poor people black people and the most populated region in the us for all this? Blue state's big cities have high crime rates too, with strict gun laws and still high gun crimes. It's proven that gun laws don't save lives it just turns law abiding people into criminals for owning tools.

@Tejas Read 'em and weep:

[pewresearch.org].

@Tejas The states with the highest gun death rates: Montana, Wyoming, Texas, Alaska, Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Alabama: all RED states.

@Tejas Here are stats from 2020, 2021, and 2023. Notice how the gap between red and blue states widened AFTER vaccines became available. This is not about income level; the vaccines are equally available in all states. It's about buy-in to conspiracy theories (greater in red states), or faith in science and public health protocols (greater in blue states). These are choices that everyone is free to make.

[cdc.gov]

[statista.com]

@Flyingsaucesir I never claimed red states didn't have a high gun death rate, we have more guns in these states so common sense we would have more deaths. Over half of those are suicides btw. I mentioned "big cities". Personal liberty is more cherished in some of these states, so that would explain a few of your arguments. Southern states are also generally more diverse meaning multiple cultures and povs. I also argue just because some people die from guns doesn't mean a gun ban 1. would do any good 2. Be the moral thing to do. Cars are an objectively good thing but many people die in wrecks etc due to cars. And I wouldn't advocate for the banning of cars either.

@Flyingsaucesir most anti gun laws that are being pushed right now are mostly banning semi auto rifles along with detachable magazines etc. Rifles make up the lowest percent of gun deaths. That would be like banning house cats because tigers kill people. If you have a real argument against second amendment rights I'll hear it, but this just ain't it bud.

@Tejas

A. I guess the whole Uvalde* fiasco escaped your attention

B. "...we [in red states] have more guns in these states so common sense we would have more deaths."

It's not just that you have more guns; it's that your laws regulating them are very lax.

• You can substitute any of the following for Uvalde:
  Sandyhook Elementary massacre
  Tops supermarket massacre
  Las Vegas concert massacre
  Pulse nightclub massacre
  a parade in Penn massacre
  El Paso supermarket massacre

If you want to really stack up bodies, an AR-15 assault rifle is the right "tool" for the job.

@Flyingsaucesir from your own article. Says the amount of murders is not at an all time high, even though gun ownership is on the rise. It also states suicides are at a close peak. During the pandemic the murder rate increased significantly which explains higher than usual gun violence in the recent years.

@Flyingsaucesir The Uvalde "fiasco" as you put is actually an argument for more gun ownership in my opinion. You bringing it up is simply emotional, it only furthers my argument and with just a bit of thought shits on yours. As i said before lax or strict gun laws aren't a huge factor in why there is gun violence, as I pointed out big cities in blue states have strict gun laws and still high gun violence.

@Flyingsaucesir an AR 15 and rifles in general are the Lowest percentage of gun violence.

@Tejas I guess the lessons from Uvalde and many, many other incidents really are lost on you.

The fact is, the idea that a good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun is simply a red herring, completely without merit. The bad guy almost always shoots one or more people before he is stopped.

Higher powered weapons kill more effectively.

Higher capacity magazines facilitate more shots, more killing.

If an 18-year-old is not mature enough to buy or imbibe alcohol, what makes you think they are mature enough to buy or wield weapons of mass murder?

Since when does anybody need a military-style assault rifle for personal protection? They don't unless they live in eastern Ukraine.

Why should there be gun show loopholes in the existing laws? There is no good reason.

Why shouldn't someone guilty of domestic violence have their guns confiscated? It makes perfect sense.

Why shouldn't everyone who wants to buy a gun be subjected to an extensive background check and a reasonable waiting period? They should!

Why should people other than sworn officers of the law be allowed to openly carry guns in public places? If you want to live like they do in Mogadishu, you should move there.

Let's be clear about what we mean by reasonable gun laws:
No open carry
No assault rifles
No high capacity magazines
No gun show loopholes
No gun sales to people under age 21
No guns for violent felons
No guns for domestic abusers
No guns for mentally impaired
Universal background checks
Concealed carry with permit only

These measures still leave a lot of room for responsible people to own guns for personal protection and/or sport.

@Flyingsaucesir a good guy with a gun stops the bad guy quite often way more than you think. Far from a red herring. We trust 18 year Olds with weapons of war daily, its called our military. Assault weapons are automatic not like civilians have. Many of the things you mentioned are redundant as we already have background checks, most dealers at gun shows are ffl licensed. As you mentioned the police are not always there or arrive in time if at all, so carrying is a must for some people. Most of your argument is gun control propaganda that has almost no reason, you'd realize that with a little thought. The second amendment wasn't written for sport/hunting or for personal protection. It was written for protection of our rights against our government.

@Tejas "A well-regulated militia...." And they had muzzle-loading muskets in mind, not semi-automatic weapons with high capacity magazines.

18-year-olds in the military receive extensive training, and are under strict supervision. Unless they are in or transiting to or from a combat zone, their weapons are stored in an armory, locked up and guarded 24/7.

You should know this.

The 2nd Amendment does say John Q. Citizen can or should be allowed to have an assault rifle.

BTW, a semi-automatic AR-15 is definitely an assault rifle, just as a bolt-action Enfield is, and an M1 Garand is. It doesn't have to be fully automatic to be an assault rifle

You should know this.

You are still faced with the fact that red states with their lax gun laws have many more gun deaths per capita than blue states.

And the USA has way more gun violence per capita than any other developed nation.

And the vaccination rates in red states are way lower than in blue states.

And the COVID-19 death rates are way higher in red states than in blue states

And these things are all related. People in red states apparently tend to buy into conspiracy theories, and the fear and hated sold by the NRA, the gun lobby, and the Republican Party.

We would have already made common sense legislation universal, but for the disproportionately large representation red states have in government. A tiny state like North Dakota has two senators, same as a massive state like California. And the House is way overdue for expansion. California should have many more representatives in Congress than we do at present.

And the Supreme Court is supposed to have one justice for each Circuit Court of Appeals. Right now there are only 9 justices, but there are 13 Circuit Courts.

Change is a comin'!

I'm speaking as a lifelong gun owner/operator, btw.

You are on very shaky ground if all you can do is parrot the tired dogmas of the likes of embezzler Wayne "hand-in-the-till" LaPierre, a self-dealing slimeball if there ever was one.

@Flyingsaucesir some of the things said here are just factually incorrect. During the time the constitution was written it was fully ment as a means to overthrow a tyrannical government, evidence being the current events happening at the time. During that time it was also legal to own warships and for individual citizens to own firearms. Even by the most broad term a bolt action is not an assault weapon, you are speaking from ignorance. I don't understand why you keep comparing gun owners to anti vaxers and conspiracy theorists, that is a disingenuous argument. You should know that. I've said before yes there will be deaths with gun ownership wether it be accidents suicides or murder, that doesn't change the fact it is a fundamental good.