[arcticbull]

Brazil and Mexico are on the way to becoming failed states. If America moves towards a Mad Max future you can have your gun back. Until then, let's leave the shooting to the people trained to do so instead of literally anyone who wants to shoot. All the experts I've seen interviewed say people think they'll be awesome in a high-pressure situation like a shooting but unless they're actually trained specifically for it they'll likely harm people they didn't intend to.

[leereeves]

There are places in America that aren't much better than Brazil or Mexico. There are other places in America where help is hours away and defending yourself is the only option. And places where hunting is still a means of feeding families, as well as the primary method of managing animal populations.

By all means, ban guns in New York and San Francisco if that's what the people of those cities want, but don't impose your needs on people who live completely different lives.

[arcticbull]

If there are parts of America as lawless as Brazil and Mexico you need to re-evaluate your priorities. Giving those people guns and wishing them the best is just horrifying. Figure out how to repair the situation instead. Mad Max wasn't meant to be instructional, you know.

I'd also suggest your opinions about America are pretty divorced from the realities on the ground.

[leereeves]

> I'd also suggest your opinions about America are pretty divorced from the realities on the ground.

St Louis and Baltimore have murder rates as high as the worst countries in Latin America; much worse than Mexico or Brazil, and many more American cities murder rates are as high as Mexico or Brazil.

If you have effective ideas to improve that I'm sure they'd love to hear from you, but personally I'm not smart enough to fix every problem in society.

[arcticbull]

Great, the reason they’re shooting each other isn’t due to not having enough guns. Solve the real problem don’t throw up your hands and say shoot yourselves. Total anarchy isn’t better.

The reality is the shootings are a symptom of a real, meaningful social problem. They’re not the cause in and of themselves. At best allowing people to intimidate each other with weapons is masking the real problem and prolonging the pain of those suffering — while simultaneously giving untrained and unqualified vigilantes easy ways to hurt people. At worst, you’ve just made it easier for people to murder unchecked. We’ve had fairly lax gun policy for centuries so it’s pretty clear your plan to just arm everyone and hide in the sand from the real cause hadn’t worked so far, so why should it start now, all of a sudden?

[CarlSchmitt]

I live in a rural area with bears, mountain lions, and wolves...so I'll be keeping my guns for as long as I'm out here...I've killed 2 skunks in the last 3 months that would have killed my chickens...the parent comment on rural areas rings true to me.