After the eighth school shooting in seven weeks – some gun control proposals

I think we have more of a trust issue with the AR-15. Pistols are police guns and... I don't know. I don't know that much about guns, Mac. All I know is those ARs aren't being sold at a lot of stores anymore, the stores have changed their own policies without legislation getting involved in so far as age goes, and I'm not okay with pistols either, but what are you going to do? You can't take them away, and I think you're throwing that in everybody's face. It's like "nah nah nah nah nah, you can't take it".

I am hoping we're going to see some changes. I think lots of people are. I don't see any reason for you to feel defensive about any of it.

 

Yes, really.

The fact is that handguns have been used more often than rifles in mass shootings by a 5 to 1 ratio.

WEAPONS USED IN MASS SHOOTINGS

 

But you said I made it up. I was going by sources I cited. So I didn't make it up. I think the discrepancy may have to do with the definition of mass shootings. Earlier, Meagain suggested 4 as the death toll cutoff for mass shootings. That would eliminate a dozen of the examples listed in your chart. Also, possibly the difference results from the fact that your source is over five years old, and AR15s have become topical as a result of more recent mass shootings.

 

Except on schools where they (the majority of the community and school organisation) prefer no guns at all (law enforcement and possibly security staff excepted), and incorporated that in their policy, I reckon.

 

Kinda my point. Schools should be willing to allow these volunteers to be trained and armed.

 

Arguable in a lot of instances. If a big majority in a community wants access to guns limited and areas like schools and restaurants etc. standard kept gun free it should be adhered to.
The time of gunslinging cowboys is over. It only looks otherwise in this day and age because of the gun nuts. So improved gun control is what is needed.

 

"OMG calm down! Nobody wants to ban your guns and take them away"

Survey: Majority of Democrats want to ban semi-automatics, half want to ban all guns

 

Okay, so let's go by the arbitrarily arrived at number of four deaths to qualify as a mass shooting. That still shows that handguns were preferred over rifles by a 3 to 1 ratio. So your statement that the AR-15 is the favorite weapon of mass shooters is hearsay.

If you believe that similar statistics from the last five years would show that rifles were preferred over handguns, I would be interested in seeing that.

 

Seems like there are some staunch conservatives in this forum. Aren't they antithesis of a "hip" person? What are they doing here? Trolling?

 

Playing devils advocate.

 

Specifically, my "hearsay" is from the New York Times and Business Insider. If you scroll upward, you'll find them. For further reading, see:
The AR-15, the gun behind some of the worst mass shootings in America, explained
Why the AR-15 keeps appearing at America's deadliest mass shootings
In Florida, an AR-15 Is Easier to Buy Than a Handgun
Here's What You Need To Know About The Weapons Of War Used In Mass Shootings | HuffPost
The AR-15 is the gun of choice for mass shootings and it’s easier to buy in Florida than a pistol
https://www.usnews.com/news/nationa...ecame-one-of-the-most-popular-guns-in-america
But all this is irrelevant, because my post you were taking issue with said AR15s were a favorite, not the favorite weapon of mass shooters. I think I've documented my point abundantly and demonstrated I didn't "make it up." To me, it's not a point worth arguing further.

 

I even started a thread on this point. For further exploration, see "Are Hippie Republicans Oxymorons?"

 

Literally!

 

On facebook today, I saw....

"A teacher opens fire in a Georgia school, so the only answer is to arm all the kids."

 

Putting people into generalized groups I see.

Always about identity politics, isn't it?

 

This is why we all have to tread very carefully on political issues. I personally see myself as hippie first and foremost, politics comes in at a distant 4th or 5th ordinal. Someone who says something conservative doesn't define them as "A Conservative" anymore than someone who says something about cooking makes them a chef.

This is where our propensity for tolerance as hippies really comes to fruition. Since when were hippies so extreme that they forced black and white choices with no gray in between? That seems to be where we're headed and it's disappointing. I voted for Obama twice, but that doesn't mean I won't call him out for his bullshit (a trait of ALL politicians). I was seriously disappointed on his utter lack of accomplishment with the war on drugs. He did virtually nothing (unlike Bill Clinton who escalated the drug war).

This last election was our chance to really stick it to the entrenched establishment. For me it seemed like Bernie was the only logical choice for dismantling the worst examples of our oppressive government. However, he was undermined, by a prime example of our oppressive system; the Clinton Political Machine. This left me with only 1 possibility to undermine the establishment, so I held my nose and pulled the lever for Trump.

Does that make me a conservative? Hell no. Does it make me a republican? Hardly, but then, I'm not beholding to the democrats either. I wish I could vote on issues, but that's not how a representative system works. What's funny to me is how easily I am judged by people I barely know because of what I watch or listen to. I read dozens of news sources everyday from Fox and Breitbart (oh the horror) to Slate and Salon. Why?

It's simple, if I don't listen to both sides, I can't possibly be trusted to make an informed opinion about either. I listen (and laugh a lot) to Rush a few times a week, but I also listen to NPR. These days it seems like every time a cake falls it's Trump's fault. That gets boring fast. But so too does listening to conservative shills like Coulter and Malkin (though I'd love to catch a buzz with both).

I think as hippies we'd all be a great deal happier if we didn't let the rabid, infectious partisan fanaticism take root in our sanctuary. We're all entitled to our opinions, but that doesn't make it cool to start calling each other childish names because of those opinions. And really, if you have to use tactics in place of facts to "win" an argument, have you actually won at all?

 

When you say something like: ". . . and are therefore a favorite weapon in mass shooting," it gives the impression that you are deliberately ignoring the fact that it is handguns that are the favored weapons in mass shootings. But now that I know that you know better, I won't trouble you again.

 

Most people who were busy with these practices in this and similar threads were actually the right wing gun lovers who see citizens arguing for gun control as being played by the Democrat party. Interesting you ignore them all on that but jump right onto this one

 

Sometimes the words 'a' and 'the' make all the difference.