You see hundreds of dead children when people oppose gun control?
I see hundreds of millions of corpses when people support it.
Not just the ones who will die, but the ones who already did in the last century alone. I see you advocating to throw my mother's and sister's bodies on top of that pile, like so many women who are beaten to death while waiting on the mandatory "cooldown period" too many states have already implemented.
You think guns are root of the problem? Between Cain and Abel, would you blame the stone?
I'll admit that guns make killing easier than using one's own hands, but knives, pressure cooker or fertilizer bombs, trucks, and simply being bigger and stronger than her, won't be going away anytime soon.
Evil will do as evil does, all we can do is attempt to deter it, and then deal with it. Not "in the event of" or if, but when.
Homogeneity, secure borders, collectivist culture, and the strange notion that a woman being strangled to death is somehow more righteous than her shooting her assailant.
And in countries that ban guns, yeah gun-related deaths go down
But break-ins, house robberies, and theft skyrocket because the theives know that the people can't protect themselves from a distance
Things arent fine in those countries, there's still murder, rape, and a number or violent crimes. I also think it's interesting that you picked the lowest of the pool of countries with extreme firearm regulation... considering the top 10 worst countries by murder rate in the world also have extremely strict gun control laws--strict to the point that it makes Australia and Japan look like Texas. The kicker is, even with the strict gun control laws in these countries, many of the deaths are still firearm related because criminals dont care about the law.
Honduras (90.4 per 100,000) ...Venezuela (53.7 per 100,000) ...The United States Virgin Islands (52.6 per 100,000) ...Belize (44.7 per 100,00) ...El Salvador (41.2 per 100,000) ...Guatemala (39.9 per 100,000) ...Jamaica (39.3 per 100,000) ...Lesotho (38 per 100,000)
Now I'm not saying this to push for more or less gun control, I'm going through all of this to clarify that the dirty little secret here is that violence and criminality doesnt directly correlate to gun control legislation. Its also just as easy to build explosives using what's underneath your kitchen sink. Or you can just hop in a car and run down 40 kids when they're leaving school at the end of the day. Until we start acknowledging that there's an inherent issue with mental health here nothing is going to change.
I'm a native Texan, I've lived here all my life and I've known 0 people killed by a firearm. I've known 34 who were killed in car accidents. Are we going to ban cars? All you folks saying a car isnt a tool meant to kill, doesnt that eliminate the intent of someone using it to kill? Is it a problem with the person driving like a maniac or with the car?
I also think its extremely interesting how schools with strong security protocols, and in some cases armed security guards or trained, onsite police officers, never see this type of violence--but that's too much of a financial investment right? You're okay with your bank having heavy duty security but not your kids elementary school? "Oh, but my kids shouldn't have to have heavy duty security." Or "I shouldnt have to/dont want to pay more taxes so the schools can do that, but I'll still complain about it. Yeah, there shouldn't be evil in this world... but there is. You want something done about it but you dont want to help pay for it, and yeah higher city taxes suck but I'm fine with them if this is where it goes.
And people can say what they want about Texas but I see a lot more togetherness and people working together for a solution on this then most other states. In dozens of cities you're seeing both conservative, liberal, Christian, Jewish, atheistz--any number of different people but all Texans--all opting for higher taxes or offering to personally donate to pay for the security and the jobs needed. People who cant afford to donate or opt for tax breaks volunteering time and services. You're seeing nonprofits donate money as well as local businesses. It's interesting that Texas gets all this hate about gun control but seems to be one of the few states doing anything about the actual problem.
I've just lost all patience for people not considering the actual problems here. Let's blame the guns, not the shooters... let's blame the materials for the explosives, not the guy who made the bombs. Let's blame the F250 not the guy who mowed down 30 innocent people. We have a mental health and a bad people problem but people want an easy solution. People want to flip a switch and for everything to be solved. If all guns, knives, and flammable materials were banned tomorrow I guarantee you we would see such creativity in the new ways and methods evil people and criminals would develop to keep killing innocents. But we have a gun problem, right?
I'd like to know who thought these "safety" routines were a good idea. A kid is more likely from a bee than from a shooting. Yes, it sucks when it happens, but traumatizing millions of kids and teachers every year isn't exactly the brightest idea. These drills aren't like a fire drill, where it's just remembering the exit paths and the teachers keeping everything orderly; these drills are designed to simulate unpredictable chaos and psychological terror and in the drills there's no route out. It's like practicing to wait to be shot. What the fuck.
My sister's school adopted a different thing.
First priority is to run. Into the wood line, to a vehicle, or across the street into the burbs.
Second is hiding. When the assailant is too close to risk running.
Last is fight. Supposedly the principal outright said "Probably dying is far better than definitely dying". I agree.
@funkmasterrex Its surface level protection/perception. If an armed assailant has gotten to a point where he's walking through hallways shooting through doors something wrong has already happened with security. The other issue here is that any shooter going to an active school in the middle of the school day to kill children knows they're there and "being quiet and pretending not to be there" wouldn't fool anyone. Having reinforced doors/locks does though which is what a lot of schools have started installing. Having a lockdown drill once or twice a year to practice getting to a more secure area is fine, but some schools doing it once a week have been proven to do nothing more than increase anxiety and stress in children that can actuall become long-lasting and lead to permanent, negative psychological effects.
For us the exit strategy would be to jump in the creek (at my HS), as everything in every other direction was a parking lot or field for 200 yards.
I can't imagine having to even entertain that thought back in HS.
I remember keeping a proper knife in my bag or jacket and a baton and some other stuff in my car.
Probably wasn't smart, but when the schools were scaring the shit out of us I decided I'd rather die fighting than cowering in some corner, or leaving my friends and underclassmen to die.
This train of thought also inspired me to take first responder courses that ultimately helped me with through BCT and Medic training.
The weight of cold steel was far more comforting than my Government teacher lecturing us about the constitution needs to "Change with the times".
Low crawling with that many people stampeding for cover doesn't sound like a bright idea. The vehicles acting as cover would be nice, but you'd have to get there first. The only way to get there would be through 4 (one in the library, one next to the gym, and two the side of the main classroom area of the 20 some-odd exits. The rest means you're going through fields to get to the parking lot. I mean, obviously the building wasn't designed with the thought of school shootings in mind. It wasn't even designed with the distance it would take to walk to different classes between passing periods in mind. Another funny part, the entire cafeteria has a glass door wall where students were supposed to be allowed to go outside and eat, but because both the lunch lines being too long, and because anyone opening the doors would let in a bunch of bugs most of the year, they just sealed the doors. Those doors would be the best exit, as they are right next to the creek (hence the bugs).
I see hundreds of millions of corpses when people support it.
Not just the ones who will die, but the ones who already did in the last century alone. I see you advocating to throw my mother's and sister's bodies on top of that pile, like so many women who are beaten to death while waiting on the mandatory "cooldown period" too many states have already implemented.
You think guns are root of the problem? Between Cain and Abel, would you blame the stone?
I'll admit that guns make killing easier than using one's own hands, but knives, pressure cooker or fertilizer bombs, trucks, and simply being bigger and stronger than her, won't be going away anytime soon.
Evil will do as evil does, all we can do is attempt to deter it, and then deal with it. Not "in the event of" or if, but when.
But break-ins, house robberies, and theft skyrocket because the theives know that the people can't protect themselves from a distance
First priority is to run. Into the wood line, to a vehicle, or across the street into the burbs.
Second is hiding. When the assailant is too close to risk running.
Last is fight. Supposedly the principal outright said "Probably dying is far better than definitely dying". I agree.
I can't imagine having to even entertain that thought back in HS.
Probably wasn't smart, but when the schools were scaring the shit out of us I decided I'd rather die fighting than cowering in some corner, or leaving my friends and underclassmen to die.
This train of thought also inspired me to take first responder courses that ultimately helped me with through BCT and Medic training.
The weight of cold steel was far more comforting than my Government teacher lecturing us about the constitution needs to "Change with the times".