How do we stop gun violence/mass shootings

[Chainfire]

43. When I was a kid, growing up in rural America

Last edited Mon Apr 4, 2022, 12:41 PM - Edit history (1)

Most families had a shotgun and a rifle. (we had no firearms at home) Some families had an old revolver in the house. The rifle was for harvesting deer, the shotgun was for small game and the revolver spent most of its time in a dresser drawer. You had to convince a sheriff or judge that you had a good reason to carry a pistol on your person, so few people did. The guns were primarily for recreational hunting. Ammo supplies would have typically an open box of shells or cartridges, and a box of "deer" rounds would last usually more than one season.

Today, it is much different. Most people claim to have guns for "protection." I suspect that a typical neighbor will have the firearms mentioned above plus at least one semi-auto pistol and one or more semi-auto, removable, high-capacity magazine rifles; typically a lot more than just one... Instead of an open box of ammo, they will feel "unarmed" without ten thousand rounds stashed in an old ammo can, and maybe more buried out back, "just in case." Most adults will have a concealed weapons permit and will carry their guns whenever they go out in public; again to protect themselves from bad guys with guns... The additional weapons in the modern arsenal (and they are weapons as opposed to tools) are in preparation for the SHTF scenarios that they are sure are coming. After all they will have to protect their families from all of those blacks, browns and liberals who are coming for their guns and their freedom; and if not to directly "protect" their families, there will probably come a day when they need to return the people of color liberals, athiests, Jews and other Untermensch in their proper places in society.

Hateful propaganda, beginning with radio shows, and continuing on TV has fostered the change in people's attitudes. Hate radio and the NRA has done more for the gun and ammo business than all of the direct advertising that they could ever buy. Guns haven't changed as much as people.