General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The latest murderer [View all]Tommy_Carcetti
(44,552 posts)It's okay to discuss ways to help people with mental illness. Of that, I'm sure both you and I agree.
But you can't discuss people with mental illness getting access to guns. Apparently, that's verbotten.
Why is okay to discuss one problem but not the other? As if discussing the former absolves us from ever having to discuss the latter, which is a very real problem (See Holmes, Loughner, etc.)
The conversation is not governed that way. It doesn't have to follow your terms and conditions. We shouldn't have to stick our head in the sand regarding very real problems just because it offends some people's sensibilities about their prized possessions.
Guns are far and away the favored tools in most murders, including mass murders. They are efficient and can be used at a safe distance. It is easier to kill with a gun, a tool designed with the intent to kill/injure/simulate killing/injuring, than just about any other tool. They do not require close personal proximity, such as cars, knives or other blunt/sharp instruments. They do not require complex assembly, as do bombs. I'm not saying we need to outlaw guns in their entirety, I'm just saying that they need to be held up to higher scrutiny than objects that were not designed with the intent to be used as a lethal weapons, i.e. cars.
Repeat after me: Cars are not guns. Cars are not guns. Cars are not guns........