[cycomanic]

Sometimes the US perspective of things is completely surreal for me as a European. In a country where you can buy assault rifles with minimal background checks, people worry about addresses being available because someone might be able to look up the address to kill them with a drone and a home made bomb.

[jjkeddo199]

As other commenters have mentioned, US American's ease of access to firearms does not extend to their usage. If you buy a weapon and wrongly shoot someone, there is a system in place to make sure you are found and punished. There is no such system in place for catching people flying drones.

[TheCleric]

Sure there is (if you use that drone as a weapon). It would be the same investigation as someone putting a bomb at your front door. They’d analyze the components and narrow down the people with the motive and figure out which one bought them.

[runako]

> there is a system in place to make sure you are found and punished

Famously, this system works well after it would be useful.

[Zagitta]

Have you not heard of remote-id?

It's a legal requirement for drones above 250g to broadcast not only their position but also the position of the operator and their identification number.

[csomar]

Yeah, I am pretty sure the people of Hamas are following the guidelines and have satisfied all of the regulatory requirements before flying their small grenade carry-on drones.

[red-iron-pine]

I'm pretty sure the people of Hamas aren't flying drones in Cleveland.

And the FCC is pretty damn ruthless about finding and triangulating signals that don't comply with their rules.

[jjkeddo199]

There are custom firmwares out to bypass these types of things, unfortunately.

[kajecounterhack]

> In a country where you can buy assault rifles with minimal background checks, people worry about addresses being available because someone might be able to look up the address to kill them with a drone and a home made bomb.

Drones and IUDs may be less traceable than guns and offer even less risk to the user. Currently if you're going to use a gun, you basically have to be suicidal or care zero about the consequences.

But that also brings up a good point -- people worry about addresses being available because someone might be able to use a gun and kill them as well. Or hell, just their fists.

Doxxing is dangerous, is this not the case in Europe as well?

[fullspectrumdev]

Doxing remains dangerous in Europe, the posters just trying to score cheap points.

[mikrotikker]

Remember that time a bunch of Scandinavian bikers got hold of some Carl Gustovs and used them to explode a rivals building among other things?

[edot]

> Drones and IUDs may be less traceable than guns and offer even less risk to the user.

Gotta watch out for those intra-uterine devices - they can take out a city block. ;)

[kajecounterhack]

Oops! Thanks.

s/IUD/IED/r

[janalsncm]

Depends. If you’re really looking to avoid detection then 3d printing a gun is a lot easier than a drone.

[fullspectrumdev]

As an European living in Europe I worry about addresses being available because someone suitably unhinged and upset can come to my house and stab me, set it on fire, etc.

[oaththrowaway]

Curious what you define as "minimal background checks" and "assault rifles" as

[digdugdirk]

They already said they're European. The terms you mentioned are very Americanized/America-centric phrases.

The rest of the world doesn't really have the same concern or context, because the rest of the world doesn't have the same issues or political/media environment.

[oaththrowaway]

I was quoting their terms

[YetAnotherNick]

Not American, and curious about the checks required for different weapons. I get lot of contradictory information online.

Also read in many places buying illegally is easy. How true is that?

[oaththrowaway]

To purchase a firearm from a store or any "licensed" individual (someone who has an FFL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Firearms_License) you must pass a background check done by the FBI. You can read more here: https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-an...

If you buy a gun from someone on a classifieds site or friend/family, in most states you don't have to get a background check to transfer ownership of the firearm. This is typically the "loophole" that people refer to when they want Universal Background Checks.

I'm not sure what you mean by buying illegally - whether you mean to someone prohibited from owning firearms (like a felon or something), or buying "illegal" guns... Either way there are usually stiff penalties for owning restricted devices. For example if I were to 3D print an auto-sear for an AR-15 (making it full-auto), that's a ticket to a 10 year sentence in federal prison. Assuming I don't have the permission slip from the ATF. As for prohibited persons buying a firearm, I'm not sure what the penalties are, but at the least it'd be a violation of their release?

[jjkeddo199]

Buying legally in the US isn't that hard to make it worth it to buy illegally unless you are a broke teenager buying one to try and "look cool and tough" to your friends.

[filoleg]

> Buying legally in the US isn't that hard to make it worth it to buy illegally unless you are a broke teenager

Or unless you have a felony, which would make up a much larger share of illegall firearm purchases than teenagers.

[gottorf]

> unless you are a broke teenager buying one to try and "look cool and tough

Or unless, of course, you're a criminal who is forbidden from legally buying a gun.

[micromacrofoot]

in most states someone who has multiple assault violations and a history of mental health problems can walk into a gun show with $700 and 15 minutes later walk out with a semi-automatic AR-15

[psunavy03]

That's not an assault rifle, first and foremost. Second, selling to someone with multiple assault convictions is itself a Federal felony, and not every gun owner is so careless as to want to take that risk and get pilloried in the press. You're generalizing a worst-case scenario based on a stereotype.

[micromacrofoot]

it's not a worst-case scenario, it's a very obvious loophole that should be closed — private gun purchases should require waiting times and background checks

"not technically an assault rifle" doesn't matter in the slightest, no one's impressed by this constant pedantry... yes, yes, it's an ArmaLite 15 and isn't technically an assault rifle because it's only semi-automatic. This changes absolutely nothing, mass shooters are essentially cosplaying during mass shootings with this thing because it looks like an assault rifle and it's easily accessible.

the proliferation of modern small arms is one of the worst things to happen in human history

[psunavy03]

You can't misrepresent important facts and then claim someone correcting you is engaging in pedantry. That's flat-out gaslighting.

[micromacrofoot]

the facts being "looks like an assault rifle but isn't technically an assault rifle"? that's immaterial to the point, and it's clear you have no desire to engage in a good faith conversation, see ya

[yieldcrv]

yeah the random killings and random violence are quite low in comparison to domestic violence. while disgruntled people you may know are a bigger vulnerability surface but the social connection makes it easier for the assailant to get caught. so the potential assailants (everyone) has an incentive to think of things more elaborate than picking up their semi automatic gun

[talldatethrow]

Since guns are easily available, it's harder to kill someone.. since they might have a gun.

In Europe, all you need to kill your enemy and his family is two guys and a baseball bat or a knife. In America, you atleast need a gun since odds are they have a gun at home.

[alex_lav]

It’s hilarious and excruciating for many Americans too.

Source: get me out of here

[psunavy03]

Then leave.

[alex_lav]

Trying, friend! Appreciate the words of support!

[psunavy03]

Tell me you know nothing about US gun laws without telling me you know nothing about US gun laws. Some states have stricter laws than Switzerland and Czechia.

[defrost]

Not to mention the US having more than one state and open inter state borders ... which somewhat negates the "some states" line of argument.

[psunavy03]

And Europe has the Schengen area; I assume you're familiar?

[defrost]

Has Texas agreed to adopt the strictest gun control measures in the US sates?

I assume you understand the question re: Schengen.

[psunavy03]

Schengen allows for border crossings with no checkpoints just like US states. Which means the "different states have different laws" canard is no different than Europe. What's to stop someone from leaving Switzerland or Czechia with a firearm until they get caught?

[defrost]

Schengen doesn't have a Texas - Switzerland raised the bar on semi automatics to match Schengen law - it's a more uniform zone than the USofA is wrt gun law.

[marfil]

As a European who has been living in the US for a decade, yeah, you're pretty spot on. Americans are a scared people, probably the most scared I've ever seen. Afraid of the gov't, the neighbors, and random people they don't even know. I've gotten a ton of hate as a foreigner and I am not surprised a hateful, greedy and selfish population like here is afraid somebody will take them out with an improvised device.

[dwringer]

Generally making disparaging bigoted comments about a nationality is to be avoided here. It's certainly not productive to this discussion to label anyone as hateful, greedy, and selfish, and it runs afoul of the HN comment guidelines.

There are plenty of ways to contribute to discussion without making remarks that are emotionally charged and inflammatory.

[PrimeMcFly]

Non-American also been living here for a decade, and can only say your experiences are not representative, and you seemed to have picked a poor place to live.

[psunavy03]

Or they're just prejudiced, and taking the worst possible view of their neighbors, who are in all likelihood perfectly normal people.

[justrealist]

And yet, you live here.

Annals of revealed preferences.

[marfil]

Oh no, don't get me wrong, I've been dying to leave, nothing I would like more. But I am sure you've heard of the term economic slavery, and that's what I have become. Don't make enough to make the ends meet, and don't make enough to leave. Have to pay the debts before I can give up the passport.

[slingnow]

You poor soul. Moved to such a terrible nation full of those awful people you described and now you seem to be completely powerless to leave. And I'm 100% sure this is everyone elses fault.

At what point do you look inward for someone to blame for your circumstances?

[marfil]

I was forced to move here when my parent got married. Never wanted to come here, didn't have a choice, tried to like it and I don't think that's humanly possible. Don't be a dick.

[justrealist]

Debt does not stop you from leaving, if you have a second passport.

[marfil]

US is one of the only countries in the world where you still have to pay US taxes no matter where you live or work and what passports you have, as long as you are a US citizen, and you can't give up US citizenship, which is also a paid process, unless you've paid all taxes.

[red-iron-pine]

But you said you're European. Are you a US citizen?

You can renounce a citizenship. They added an exit-fee recently. Plus if you've been living in the US working for a US company you've been paying taxes, no?

Or else you're under the table and not paying taxes, in which case this is all moot.

[justrealist]

1. Only on income over $120,000 (it's inflation indexed), so it doesn't matter for the OP.

2. The US does not collect, if you don't want to come back to the US it doesn't matter.

[PrimeMcFly]

I'm sorry but that's just nonsense.

Worst case you can always go back to whatever country you're a citizen on, go on welfare and start over from scratch.

[thieving_magpie]

I'm sure we could pull some money together to get you out of economic slavery. Don't want that on our conscience

[matheusmoreira]

> Afraid of the gov't

They should be. As should you.