Pathetic... Even The 'Democratic Underground' Is Afraid Of The NRA

[krispos42]

79. I've never said the reason for the decline was more guns.

I said that DESPITE all the guns, the homicide rate dropped in half, which disproves the theory that it's the common availability of guns, or that the people that own guns are likely to kill simply because they have guns.


Actually, throughout the past several years, my posts on the issue have contained points 5, 6, a bit of 3, and the notion of the 3-strikes-and-you're-out laws. You can file that under point #7, perhaps.

Since most murders have fairly extensive criminal records and work up to murder, putting them in jail until their middle-aged if they have a habit of committing felonies will logically reduce the number of graduates on the street.


My point about potential slaughter was that feelings dominate. I was not arguing the relative usefulness of cars versus guns, but pointing out that when we drive, particularly on crowded streets and highways, we stop seeing the potential slaughter of a bad accident. You're in control, you're in your cocoon of steel and airbags, and everybody is doing pretty much what you expect them to do. And you usually go years between accidents.

And when it does happen, if you're uninjured you can probably go back to driving the next day, after a stiff drink and a night's rest. But some people can't handle the stress, and they lose the ability to drive because they cannot stop seeing the potential. They over-react to every movement of a car... lane change, acceleration, braking.

Well, same thing. Day to day the fact that one household in three has guns is simply not present in your life. That house has an average of maybe 7 guns, divided between shotguns, rifles, and handguns. There's an excellent change that a weapon easily capable of mass murder is in a house within visual range of your front door, and FUCK, what is that guy's mental state anyway? But you're in your life bubble, they're in their live bubble, and despite the potential to go out with a gun and slaughter people, that potential is very very rarely realized.

But when it is realized, people start asking for laws and such.


I actually think that household guns for self-defense has remained pretty steady over the last few decades, and concealed-carry licensing is not in near enough numbers to do much to affect the overall homicide rate.