Because it has been shown to work.

@bobhoff59 Not in the USA, we've been having the same debates for decades here with minimal progress.

Countries that have confiscated weapons after sweeping bans have significantly fewer gun deaths, although other deaths do increase. Overall it still saves lives.

It's inconvenient but in a representative style government, you can't just dismiss what most people want.

Other problems we have formal and informal interventions and seem to strive for maximum freedom with consequences for irresponsible behavior. Maybe if we tried a similar approach to gun violence, we'd finally make progress?

@educatedredneck "Countries that have confiscated weapons after sweeping bans have significantly fewer gun deaths, although other deaths do increase. Overall it still saves lives."

Can you source that please cos I think it sounds like codswallop. ANd how the fuck do guns SAVE lives?????.

No wonder China doesn't have to be aggressive, they'll just sit back and watch the US self-destruct.

@MsDemeanour Maybe I wrote that poorly, I'm pretty sure you're not getting what I meant. I'll rephrase but yes I can source what I'm saying.

Countries that have enacted sweeping bans and confiscated weapons have fewer gun deaths.

Countries that do those things have also increased non-gun deaths. This is pretty logical, when people want to commit suicide or hurt others cannot get guns, sometimes they'll use knives, bats....and sometimes they'll hurt people but they won't die or they won't even hurt themselves or others.

The net effect from countries that have sweeping gun bans and confiscated guns, despite increased non gun deaths, is a net decrease in total deaths.

Guns CAN help save lives. Apparently under Obama, we studied defensive use of guns and that hadn't been studied much before. Those incidents often go unreported to police or aren't tracked as a gun incident. It does seem like defensive use is significantly more than most had estimated, although the net effect in the USA is still more gun deaths than nearly all OECD countries.

I've read that more recently all violent deaths, including gun deaths, has spiked as the UK has cut down on policing. I'm not sure why the UK is cutting policing.

I don't think anything I'm saying here is all that controversial, but I'll source anything you want.

My primary question still stands though, I really don't understand why legislation is pretty much the only solution for US gun violence. We don't treat other problems with that type of tunnel vision. We push education, training and safer practices for other issues, but those initiatives aren't a priority for gun issues.

If you want a genuine, nuanced and looooong discussion, I'll source everything I'm saying but I've found very few on either side of any topic really want to read through several links and have nuanced discussions for days or weeks on end.

@educatedredneck Do you have referendums in your country?

@MsDemeanour Referendums like specific voting issues on a ballot? Yeah, I live in Utah right now (land of Mormons) and we're voting on medical marijuana in November, hope it passes.

Why do you ask?

BTW, did my longish reply clear anything up?

Respect from me.

@icolan I think there is a middle ground where responsible gun owners would not have to give up all of their guns. And that starts with addressing entitlement, mental health, and gun safety. Entitlement::you don’t get to kill people because a girl/woman won’t go out with you. Mental health: the Arorua, Co shooters parents tried to get him help, but our mental health system is too broken to help. not register guns like we do cars? And not require a license that mandates proficiency on that weapon?

@icolan it does or should

fences and door locks only keep the good guys out too.

@icolan yes, though it will take sensible gun owners to be part of the conversation.

@icolan if you read the article on my link the author includes licensing/registration.

@icolan, @MsDemeanour BS-fences and locks and lighting all contribute as deterrents. this is proven. burglars want easy opportunities.

to say we need fewer guns is such an arbitrary statement when the issues are much more complex.

@CrankyAntie we need fewer guns! Guns in the hands of disgruntled people is dangerous! I have witnessed to many people killed by guns in my own family and heard personal stories from other people! Few people live in the ‘wild Wild West,’ that need guns for protection! A lot of gun violence is perpetrated within households! Mentally ill people are hard to pin down before hand, and the law does not allow people to be detained, just because somebody thinks a person is ‘off his rocker’ and even if he were mental health treatment is not the same as fixing a broken leg!

@Freedompath to say "fewer" is arbitrary and blindly does not address any of the problems you list-or any other problems. If we can start solving issues, we may, in effect, end up with fewer guns but I'm not sure that by itself is a logical goal.

@CrankyAntie I would feel safer...I have a high tolerance for fear, I have been raped, robbed and beaten and I feel uneasy out in the world now, because of so many people with guns. Guns are a final solution!

@WillP2020 I ‘know what I am talking about,’...were you speaking for yourself? Putting other’s down is not productive and does not indicate reason and logic!

@Freedompath I too have been raped. and victimized. and I'm a gun owner. I've been around guns my entire life. While I believe we need sensible gun regulation and enforcement, I don't believe we need to eliminate guns. Though I do wish right wing folks would not fall blindly to the fearmongering of the NRA. I also wish that people would realize that our neighbors and peers have a right to not be afraid of us gun owners... unfortunately, most right-wing gun owners do not care. They're selfish and irrational. But there are many of us who own, who shoot, and who believe in sensible regulation. I also can realistically state that carrying should not be taken lightly-people need ongoing training, practice, and governance.

A background check should return as slowly and as thorough as a job background check.
How many mass shooters use the Insanity plea? Not many. Not applicable. White males make up the majority of mass shooters in this country. And it's sickening. How many times have we witnessed white parents giving easy access to gun's to their angry white son's. . Too damn many.

Bullshit

Why do you ignore the words “A well regulated militia”???

There are sensible speech laws. It’s illegal to yell fire in a theater. It’s illegal To lie under oath or for the pupose of swindling someone. It’s illegal to threaten someone. All these things show that the first amendment is not absolute. So it follows that the second amendment is also not absolute. There is a line, as I’m sure you agree, people should not own nuclear weapons. Where that line is, that’s what the discussion is about.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m on your side of this. I’m a gun owner and I’d like to keep them, but I think it’s disingenuous to quote the a portion of the second amendment and call it a day when the issue is far more complicated than that.

So there isn’t a problem with existing US gun laws?

@Science-guy so explain to me how stricter gun regulations would have prevented any of these. In the vast majority, it was a student. No where in the US is it legal for a minor to own or possess these wepons.

@Science-guy a militia is comprised of volunteers who must bring their own arms. When a militia is required, it can be regulated.

Plus, home defense is not the job of any militia, just those that live there. Not very able to defend ones home without arms. Hence the right to keep and bear shall not be infringed.

@Eazyduzzit nothing like a well thought out response.

@Ringo6 and yet I can surmise there are thousands of rooms full of guns in this country that never cause harm every day.

Interesting all the emotional responses about this on this site. Would expect more rational thinking here.

@indirect76 not complicated at all. The document was written in plain English. It took fear and lawyers to decide it was complicated, just like most rules and laws.

I don't care if my neighbor wants a howitzer in their front yard as long as they don't use it to hurt others. Heck, many schools in this country have cannons on their football fields that are shot off for touchdowns. Those could just as easily be used to harm but are not. Fear is a poor reason for decisions.

@msar0414 perhaps through regulations governing the accessibility of firearms? In Canada, owning any firearm comes with lockable storage requirements. I am unsure why there is a debate with this. The US is the outlier in gun deaths per capita in the world by a significant margin.

@Science-guy we spread violence all over the world. No wonder people here think it's the solution.

I do not care for this policy but it is what it is. When was the last time you heard a president focus on peace, and what to do to increase peace in the world? A long time for me. Why should we expect peace at home if we don't extend it to the rest of the world?

@NotConvinced ...Cars. Yes cars that are well regulated. Cars have requirements to operate such as a driver’s license. A license that was provided after taking a test of some sort. Cars require insurance. Cars require a license plate or tag in your jurisdiction. All very well regulated. Now how do we get these regulations onto guns so that the “well regulated militia” component of the 2nd amendment is well satisfied? ?

@Science-guy not everyone believes one must pay for license, registration, and insurance to travel in a vehicle? Driving is for commerce. Traveling we all have a right to despite what we use to do so.

@Deanervin exactly what I thought of your when I called bullshit. When you parrot NRA talking points after children are gunned down while trying to get an education, I'll call bullshit every time!

@NotConvinced and you have to register and license your car. The same should be the case for your guns.

@NotConvinced then they go to jail. It is a sensible way to improve responsibility of gun owners.

@bobhoff59 have to? Don't be so sure. Plenty of court precedent suggesting otherwise. Known as the right to travel. Look it up.

@Deanervin if you get caught twice driving unregistered your car is impounded. If you get caught twice driving without a license you go to jail.

@NotConvinced very very few get away driving with an unregistered vehicle.

@NotConvinced you must be good at forging a sticker for your license plates. Twice in my life I simply forgot and for no other reason then police noticing I had an out of date registration sticker on my vehicle I was pulled over and ticketed. So I guess I was talking about honest people not dishonest people like yourself.

@bobhoff59 not if you know your rights and how to defend them.

@Deanervin You do not have a right to drive an unregistered car and or without a license. If you think you dou show me ther article in the constitution that says so. Good luck with that.

@NotConvinced so dishonest it is, got it.

@bobhoff59 right to travel. Driving is a commercial act, meaning conducting business. Traveling is not something one needs ask permission to do. Be a slave if you like. It is a choice.

@NotConvinced as you ask permission (license, registration) to move around? Maybe "boss" doesn't mean what you think it means?

@NotConvinced another ad hominem attack. I guess I shouldn't expect much from those who love their shackles.

I get sick and tired of the mental health excuse. Fewer shootings would take place if guns weren't so easy to obtain.

Problem with stricter gun laws is the simple fact that criminals don't obey laws.

Every developed country on earth has mental health issues, but the don't have mass shootings every month. What's the difference I wonder.

@JanGarber What would you propose in this particular instance? What law would have stopped this latest school shooting?

Almost every other developed country has universal health care that addresses mental health issues. These problems are largely ignored in this country.
We have also developed a culture of violence. Individually, and as a nation, our answer to conflict is a fight.

we have multiple issues. see the article I posted for explanation around the gun specifics.

@JanGarber me too. I have been around guns my entire life and am an owner and depression runs in my family. But I'm not shooting anyone, and my firearms are locked up in safes. the extremes on all sides of this issue are not being objective.

@msar0414 So are you saying that the US has more criminals per capita than any other nation? I do agree that criminals do not obey laws and regulations but why the disproportionate stats on gun violence as compared to other reporting countries?

@Eazyduzzit could be all the drugs/meds these kids are placed on due to parental failure at, wait for it ..... parenting! ... just a thought , but also proven in all the other cases of school shootings . . .