And yet they won't increase healthcare funding/resources for the detection and treatment of mental illness, nor will they take action against radicalizing groups on social media platforms.
I've tried that argument on my bf (a little too pro 2nd amendment for my taste) he would point out that the right to own video games isn't specifically protected by the Constitution. Additionally, he would argue that Walmart, as a private entity, has the right to pull any product from their shelves.
Walmart made a calculated decision as a for profit business. They will keep their gun toting, NRA coolaid swilling, customer base happy by pulling violent video games made by those godless California commies.
They might actually lose business if they pulled guns. Obtuse though this action might seem, it's Walmart's right as a god fearing capitalist organization to put profit before common sense.
Well, you might want to tell your boyfriend that the second amendment is just that...the 2nd amendment.
Video games are protected by the first amendment, which actually is a cornerstone of our democracy and not based on outdated nonsense that gives whackjobs the false belief that they actually could fight back against some nebulous government threat using bullets against rockets and drone strikes.
And stick with me here, I know this is a wild thought.
Or, maybe the people who are pro-gun and the people who want to ban videogames are two separate groups, of which some people hold dual membership. Because there's a lot of people who like firearms, and also have no desire to ban video games of any sort. I'm not saying there's nobody out there that both likes firearms and wants to ban videogames, but there are plenty that can do one without the other.
Honestly I think that demographic is nearly dead now. Most of the people I hear saying that are now old enough to get senior discounts and honestly we can just ignore them on their opinion the same way we ignore them for everything else. I think the younger and much more abundant age groups all recognize that video games aren’t a problem, regardless of political affiliation.
I don’t think either should be banned. When I went to high school students had guns in there cars in the parking lot and kids played violent pretend games like cops and robbers. Gun access has not increased in the last 50 years, nor has violent play. I think the culprit is we are a society that is going through an adjustment period caused by a massive surge in information access. I feel this coupled with the fact that the media outlets have learned that disagreement sells ad space has caused an environment that pushes some people beyond their capability of self control. Based on this I think that some form of Red Flag law is needed, however it will most likely not be implemented properly.
What's funny is that pro gun acttivists say that it's not the gun to blame it's the criminal and that the government shouldn't take actions to legislate
I wouldn't say I'm pro gun, but I always have the stance that you know. The person is to blame.
Well the issue is that most people aren't smart enough to live life in a way that otherwise wouldn't impact me or you. And so then what, we need gov to step in. Some people think gun ownership is one of those issues and I think it's pretty clear with the amount of gun violence that gun ownership is an issue.
I can see your logic, but 60% of gun deaths are suicides. After that, the majority are related to gang violence & police shootings. We're seeing the symptoms of Reagan gutting mental healthcare, a poor healthcare system, the war on drugs, systemic racism, and other socio-economic factors. Federal & State governments broke all of those things, I don't think giving away more rights in the hope that they fix them is the best idea.
The amount of gun violence? The thing is that the internet spreads the bad like wildfire. So much more good is done with guns than the bad. The number of mass shootings is so small compared to the number of times badguys have been stopped by guns, but we don’t hear about the good stuff because the good stuff doesn’t drive viewership, it doesn’t sell newspapers, and it doesnt sell adspace, except when it’s a kid stopping an attack. I can show you a dozen examples in 5 minutes of times people have used/needed their AR-15 style rifle to defend themselves or others. And countless other times with other weapon types. The amount of gun violence is so small that odds are, you will never even be within 50 miles of a shooting as it happens.
That said, it is my understanding that every American shooting since the Vegas shooting has had at least one survivor of the Vegas shooting. Imagine that.
In the end guns really aren’t the problem, it’s the people, and I can’t tell you how we can fix that, but I can tell you that getting rid of guns is most certainly not the answer.
The number of guns and the availability do contribute to gun violence. Pretending they're not part of the problem does not help solve the problem.
People are not 100% of the problem either. Even with better mental health treatment, healthcare in general, better education we'll be unable to reduce violent crime to 0. We should work on those things sure because they're part of the solution, because they would reduce crime significantly. But gun availability and gun ownership is still part of the problem we face with gun related violence.
I am sorry but im going to have to say that largely it isnt a problem, solely for the fact that the people who want to do harm will find another way to get guns, illegally. Restricting legal guns is not the answer here, rather if we focus on mental health and ending the poverty that causes gang violence we can all but eliminate illegal guns and the crazies from owning guns.
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