Given what has happened in the United States the past couple days, many people's attention is on guns and gun laws again, at least for the time being. And the pattern that I see right now is the same: lots of anger, blame, and defensiveness with very little in the way of meaningful dialogue.

I'd like to change this.

I probably have a somewhat different perspective on all this than most people here. I am a registered Republican, have (technically) been a member of the NRA for over a decade, own a few guns, and have participated in several local target shooting matches over the years. However, I have also voted Democrat when I felt the GOP was out of line, have disagreed with the NRA on several occasions, and am in favor of several practical changes in gun law reform due to having seen some blind spots and redundancies in my local laws.

Because of my somewhat unique experience with all this, I am willing to open a line up a sincere, honest, yet respectful conversation with all of you here. If you have a serious question or comment regarding anything related to any of this, I for one am willing to listen to perspectives different than my own. I only ask that you please show that same courtesy to me, and maybe we can all make a little progress on our obscure little message board.

Thank you.

I honestly didn't expect this to get a response at this point. Cool.

Posted by AtomicAstro

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If there is one thing I can say that genuinely does anger me in regards to this topic was that at my school and many other schools across the country they walked out in the middle of class in supposed protest. I don't even really agree that much with a lot of the protests, but man I haven't seen a weaker protest in my life. They genuinely canceled it due to ever so slight weather complications, and when they were supposed to go out in solemn silence they just dicked around and used it as an excuse to leave class. I am no golden boy or anything but god damn if you're gonna protest then fuckin' do it!

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I hear you. Because of social media, it's easier than ever to rally and organize, but nobody seems to want to form an accessible, coherent argument, instead opting to hide behind a hashtag, and leave minds unchanged. It's why Occupy Wall Street got nowhere, why Black Lives Matter is still horrifically misunderstood, and why this will flop too.

Posted by ゼンガー・ゾンボルト

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They could start by limiting it to 1 weapon per household. And do background checks on people who wants to buy one.

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Your terminology here is very limiting here. Many people do not think of them as weapons. For some, they are tools. For others, a hobby. The way guns are seen an used every day goes far beyond just a weapon for self defense, and I feel the laws should reflect that.

As for background checks, I am also in favor of universal background checks, but the standard in my state is ridiculous to the point of redundancy. I know this isn't a reality for every state, but a basic knowledge of the nature of national gun laws is critical to coming up with a workable improvement.

Posted by fiver

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or just use bombs

which are actually more efficient than guns, in terms of mass murder.

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They are. The Columbine shooters made pipe bombs, and one of the other recent mass shooters use gas grenades. Where did he get those? I haven't even heard a single comment about that!

There is way, way more to the story here, and it needs to be addressed, even if it's not convenient for anyone's personal narrative.

Posted by Decoy Blimp

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Thought I'd chime in on this (Also hi).

I'm not opposed to all guns, but rather, assault weapons. If you want a gun to protect your home, that's fine. If you want a gun for hunting, that's fine. If you want a gun for sport/target shooting, that's fine. You don't need an assault weapon to do any of those things. A pistol or a shotgun would suffice in all of those situations. While pistols, shotguns and the like are still convenient tools to murder people, it's not the same as using an AR-15 or some other automatic weapon. It's stupid that people cling to their assault weapons as if they're some kind of necessity, when at the end of the day it's not a necessity at all.

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Hi!

In short, I agree with you. However, there is one caveat to note here: the availability of assault weapons. The term "assault weapon" is a pretty vague one, but most people I have heard from generally accept it to mean a fully automatic rifle (aka a "machine gun" that fires rapidly while holding the trigger down). While this may vary by region, I don't usually see those sold in stores or even legal, at least in my area.

The question, then, becomes several: How did the person get their hands on a fully automatic weapon? Did the person pass any mental health background checks? Such questions, I believe, can be beneficial to the overall discussion and sharpen up areas where laws may be falling short.