Originally
posted by
Verenimija:
One of the problems with a "military style assault weapon" ban is that there is no definition of that. Just what looks scary? My standard duty weapon while I was in the military was a Beretta 92F 9mm handgun. So that is a military style assault weapon. Ban it? Nah, it's not a scary black rifle with a big magazine. Another problem is what constitutes high capacity? Is 30 too high for you? I can empty 30 rounds through my .40 handgun in the same (perhaps less) time someone can empty 30 5.56 rounds through an rifle. I'd guarantee that I'd be a lot more accurate and deadly at a range of 20 meters or less too.
Obviously if you ban something, evil will still find a way. Machete, chainsaw, axe, acid, it makes no difference. What's the acceptable number of people to count as bad? You said 4 people, so in that case did you ban machetes so it doesn't happen again? Why are machetes ok and the death of 4 people not actionable for you?
Again, you are putting words in my mouth. I never said anything about assault weapons or what the definition should be. Thats completely up to yours and every government, or perhaps state, if they want to make that distinction at all. I never made it even once on this thread, yet twice now I have been refuted with the same thing. You got a list of arguements to draw from that someone wrote for you that you just try to match with what I say? Well you countered something I didn't say.
Machete ban or at least machete control might be something worth debating if this happens regularily and regularily causes other problems, which it doesn't. If it did I'd hope a democratic society would be able to deal with such a debate in a productive way to construct rules that would limit bad use while allowing as much good use as possible, perhaps limiting the sales of machetes to recently convicted violent criminals, or perhaps only sold to those with licences given mainly to parties with plausible needs for such devices. Either way, we are not there, and neither are you.
The fatalities from firearms in the US are higher than other high income countries, a factor 10 higher than the average of other high income countries per capita. That is homicide plus suicide.
The total suicide rate in the US is average compared to other high income countries, while the firearm related suicides were 8 times higher
If we count only homicides by guns, its 25 times higher than other high income countries. You have a sligthly higher non-firearm homicide rate than average, but the total homicide rate, driven by firearm homicides, is 7 times higher in the US than the same high income countries.
For 15-24 year olds the gun homicide rate is 49 times higher in the US than in other high income countries on average.
https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(15)01030-X/fulltext
You constantly say that if you issue gun control the criminals will still have guns, but in all other countries with similar income levels as yours, who all have either somewhat more gun control than the US or significantly more so, that is not the case. More stringent control of legal firearms somehow lead to far fewer homicides by firearms (96% less on average).
You can still hunt in all those countries. You can also go to a shooting range and fire your guns to your hearts content in all those countries. You can do trap shooting in all those countries. But 85% less homicides, and 4% as many gun related homicides.