Why don't more people want to carry a gun in America?

[Slim57]

I would if I had the extra money to get a gun, I hate going out in public events knowing someone could come unhinged, we had an incident in my small town, noone got hurt but it's pushed me to really start saving if this kinda bs is already on my doorstep. For the safety of myself and others

[scentoflavender]

I think it's a mixture of fear and ignorance. And I'm not saying that in a bad way. I've had several new comers to our church who are very anti gun ( they were transplants from california). I didn't debate them, but I offered to let them come to my range and learn how firearms work, and safety practices. A few took me up on it, but most just thought I was crazy. The few hat xame still hold their opinion for hemselves, but understand why we carry, and have a better understanding of how firearms work. I'm OK if they don't like guns as long as they've actually learned how the other way of thought works.

[beebella]

Speaking for myself: If I were to actually own a gun, a part of me would have to be ok with the idea that if I ever had to use my gun, I could possibly kill somebody. And I don't know if I could live soundly with myself if it ever came to that. Even if it was in self-defense, I think the fact that I killed somebody would haunt me for the rest of my life.

[Slim57]

I feel like I could take someone out who was massacring others no problem, no hesitation, I don't know if that's a good or bad thing

[Exterminatore]

Because they’re stupid. They’re also morally bankrupt. They think good is evil, and evil is good. Since society is getting more evil by the day, they think everything is a bed of roses. They think men and whites and conservatives and Christians, and God, and Judeao-Christian morality are evil. Those are the scourges of society as they have no bail arrests and defund police. All they see is good out there in society.


The rest of us are dealing with reality and want to carry guns as we see evil is rampant and see the potential need to protect ourselves.

[goaded]

It's because they want to live their lives and let others do the same. The mass shooter in Maine on Wednesday was a "law abiding citizen" until he killed nearly 20 people. That wasn't even the first mass shooting this year in Maine, which has a population about the same as Birmingham (England). There have been at least six mass shootings in the US since then. (That's nearly as many as since 2020 in the UK, which resulted in 7 deaths.)

[Flower7]

That’s a very good quote. I agree with what she’s saying.

And wow, what a big difference in amount of shootings and deaths between the US and the UK.

[Agagagagaga]

@Flower7 Yeah. And children in the UK have to carry a knife for fear of being stabbed by a gang. You know what the US doesn’t have? An epidemic of knife crime.

[Agagagagaga]

Let’s hope no one tries to rob their house or rape them. It’d be a shame if they ran into a criminal who wasn’t “sensible.”

[petera1987]

@Agagagagaga Of course, because we all know how much more dangerous knives are than guns (eyeroll)

[Agagagagaga]

@petera1987 Um... ask someone who has been stabbed in the neck. Moron. You do realize that people can get shot at and---wait for it--the bullets miss?

When was the last time someone missed stabbing someone?

Here. Since you obviously no nothing about knife crime.

In the year ending March 2023, there were around 50,500 offences involving a sharp instrument in England and Wales (excluding Devon & Cornwall)

More than 280 people in England and Wales were killed with a knife or other sharp instrument in the year ending March 2022, leaping 19% compared to the previous period.

Wow. Look at that. And its rising, and rising, every year.

So... between having to choose between defending myself with a knife... or choosing a gun, I think the choice is pretty clear.

Because anyone can grab a knife and use it to kill someone. They are widely available. But at least to get a gun there is a cost factor, and background checks, and time. So frankly, I'm more worried about some crazy homeless bum stabbing me than I am getting shot. And I grew up around guns. Oh and I also live in the South.

But hey, you're the expert who thinks knives aren't dangerous. Or deadly.

[petera1987]

@Agagagagaga Oh okay, so being stabbed in the neck is far worse than being shot in the neck. Right, sure.
Oh, and moron, someone armed with a knife is FAR easier to either avoid or disarm than someone with a gun. A person with a gun isn't likely to miss, especially if they're at close range, and most crazy gunmen even if they do miss on the first try, will straight away pull the trigger again and that time not miss.
You're just another damn Yankee gun-nut who can't see how screwed up his own country is when it comes to violence.

[goaded]

@Agagagagaga The US had 1630 knife murders in 2022. That's more per capita than those 280 in a population 1/5th that of the US. The roughly 13,000 firearm murders in the US were on top of that, compared to the UK's 30, give or take.

www.statista.com/.../
www.ons.gov.uk/.../march2022

[Juxtapose]

Actually he wasn't, he was making threats beforehand so be wasn't innocent. People from the military were actually looking for him.

And I don't care if I have to duck drive by shootings everyday, I would rather deal with that than have to deal with being unarmed against the government. The government can do worse things to you than any criminal organization could ever dream of.

[Juxtapose]

But I've never seen a shooting in my entire life and never will. I'm going to go through my life walking around being perfectly fine while you Europeans think America is some war zone lol.

[goaded]

@Juxtapose As far as I can see, yes, he was a "law-abiding citizen"; people had raised concerns about him, but there was no warrant out for his arrest and he'd never been convicted of anything.

www.bangordailynews.com/.../
www.nytimes.com/.../...ng-gunman-army-suspect.html

"I've never seen a shooting in my entire life and never will."
So what you're saying is that you have no need for a firearm.

[Juxtapose]

Of course I could use a gun! The government could go rogue or I could need to fend off multiple muscular attackers. The main purpose of the Second Amendment is to protect us against the government.

[goaded]

@Juxtapose Only on behalf of your duly elected state government, anything else is sedition. And you're the one who said "I've never seen a shooting in my entire life and never will.", now you think the government will go rogue while not realising you're already on the side of the rogue politicians. In a democracy, you accept the results of elections, win or lose.

[Juxtapose]

I'm pretty sure the king called what the colonies were doing sedition and all kinds of other bullshit as well.

The government works for the people at our leisure. We can fire them anytime we want, by force if necessary.

[goaded]

@Juxtapose Yeah, but there weren't democratic elections, were there? As long as there are democratic elections in the states and federally, you have your chance to change the government; taking power by force is sedition.

"We can fire them anytime we want, by force if necessary."
No, you fucking can't. That's illegal. What you can do is try to vote them out at the next election. Maybe you can get them impeached and removed from office, but you sure as hell are not allowed to remove them by force.

Remember when Republicans used to lie about being the party of law and order? They don't even bother doing that any more.

[Juxtapose]

First of all I'm not a damn republican, I'm an independent that is left-leaning. I have literally never voted for a democrat or a republican but I may vote for Trump.

Second of all, we can absolutely get rid of the government by floors. I'm also sure the crown had all kinds of bullshit about there being legal processes and whatnot. If a government is corrupt enough you will not be able to use the system to overthrow them.

The Second Amendment is explicitly for the purpose of the people to defend themselves against the government and also be able to overthrow the government.

[Juxtapose]

*government by force

[Juxtapose]

When Adolf Hitler was in power, do you think your government processes would have been helpful in getting rid of him? What should have happened is people should have violently overthrew him.

[Juxtapose]

Frankly if people were more educated I would expect a revolution about once every generation given how quickly corruption takes root.

I'm sure you remember the Jefferson quote of the tree of Liberty needing the blood of patriots and tyrants from time to time and how rebellion can be good periodically.

[Juxtapose]

[goaded]

@Juxtapose Yeah, he was very happy to let people die for his ideals. At the time of writing, it had been 100 years since the last English revolution. Now it's been getting on for 350. Democracy: it works.

You'd vote for a man who tried to steal the presidency and caused the only non-peaceful transition of power in the history of the United States.

[Juxtapose]

America is not a democracy, it is a Democratic Republic.

I don't want to hear shit from you about Trump when Biden has been the most corrupt president I have seen within my entire lifespan and you happily ignore it.

[goaded]

@Juxtapose Oh, FFS, *Democratic* Republic. It's a type of democracy, just like the UK has a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, which is also democratic.

You're simply lying about Biden. What is he supposed to have done that's corrupt? Lent his brother money (while he was out of office)? Talked to his son on the phone? There's zero evidence of corruption, despite what Comer keeps claiming. (What happened to his whistle-blower? Turned out to be a Chinese spy on the run from the law, wasn't it?)

[Juxtapose]

Actually I was wrong, America is a Constitutional Federal Republic.

I'm not even going to bother trying to explain because it's not obvious to you by now we just see things differently.

[Juxtapose]

*if it is not obvious to you now

[Juxtapose]

But fuck it, here:

oversight.house.gov/.../

[goaded]

@Juxtapose You do realise that there's no actual solid evidence of Joe Biden doing anything wrong in any of that, right? There's innuendo, indications that his family members were profiting off his name (outside of government), and outright lies.

The $200,000 cheque, for example, Comer pretends he has no evidence that Joe previously loaned his brother that amount, but "banking records reviewed by CNN, which Comer’s committee possesses, provide substantial evidence in support of the Democrats’ assertions that there was indeed a $200,000 loan from Joe Biden to James Biden less than two months before the James Biden “loan repayment” check to Joe Biden for the same amount. " edition.cnn.com/.../index.html

But you'll pretend that that makes Joe corrupt, while Kushner, who was actually part of the government (despite being ineligible for security clearance) "earns" tens or hundreds of millions a year FOR LIFE off a $2 BILLION "investment" by the Saudis and doesn't have to worry about his massive debts on 666 Fifth Ave. courtesy of the Qataris. Trump's money making scams while president are too many to list.

Nothing to see, there, obviously.

[Juxtapose]

CNN is not a valid source, they already known propaganda arm of the USA government and are not to be trusted.

[Juxtapose]

*are a known

[Juxtapose]

@Exterminatore @exitseven off the top of your guy's heads, how solid is the case against Biden? Against Trump?

[goaded]

@Juxtapose Ad Hominem is a fallacy. The records exist that show Joe, via his lawyer, lent his brother the same amount as was repaid just six weeks before. And this was all while he was out of office, in 2018.

oversightdemocrats.house.gov/.../republicans-fail-to-find-any-evidence-of-wrongdoing-by-president-biden-in

[Juxtapose]

Nope, I don't believe a single damn accusation being brought against Trump because this has been shown to me to be a witch hunt. This is like the covid-19 stuff, you're better off just not believing anything the official authority say because it's a poisoned well. You may as well be listening to the Chinese Communist party and take cues from them on Liberty.

[Juxtapose]

These people accusing Trump literally could not even properly identify a podcaster and used him as a false piece of evidence. They are incredibly sloppy and desperate.

[goaded]

@Juxtapose "I don't believe a single damn accusation being brought against Trump"

Well, that's no surprise, and it's pointless to argue with someone who can't face facts.

[Exterminatore]

@Juxtapose

Tbh, I’m not sure. I haven’t followed either. Trumps cases are all a political witch-hunt to keep him from running again.

As for Biden’s case…he’s never going to be held accountable for anything.

Knowing this I haven’t bothered to invest the time following either.

[exitseven]

I bought guns a year ago because of the way things are going in this country and it seemed like maybe soon we will not be able to buy guns. I think there are plenty of people that have bought into the narrative that guns kill people. It turns out that cars kill way more people that guns. We need to outlaw cars. Then we need to outlaw people.

[goaded]

Cars have a purpose other than killing. So do knives. Other than poison and guns, so does everything else that's used to kill people.

[exitseven]

@goaded Guns have a purpose other than killing unarmed people. They are used for what most people buy them for, they own guns for protection.

[goaded]

I never said their only purpose was killing people, whether they are armed or not. I said their only purpose is for killing. Apparently, you think scaring people is an equally valid "purpose".

[exitseven]

@goaded I do not have firearms to scare people. I thought long and hard about this and I had to go into this with the idea that if somebody invaded my home I would have to shoot to kill.

[goaded]

Even if they're unarmed? Even if they've not entered the house?

[worldscolide]

I carry. My state is constitutional carry.. And i have a concealed permit.. I have one in my wife's car one in my car, and one that i carry on my person at all times. I refuse to be a victim. And i refuse to let the government run by worthless piece of shit leftists disarm me.

[worldscolide]

oh and my wife carries. Both of us are VERY well trained in the use of fire arms.

[spartan55]

@worldscollide
How do you feel about open carry?

[BoopBoopBeep]

@spartan55 I know you didn't ask me, but I'ma chime in there. I don't like open carry because I like the bad guy not knowing if I'm a threat. As soon as you see me carrying, you know WHERE my weapon is as well as that I have one, and I don't see the need to tip my hand.

[spartan55]

@BoopBoopBeep
My sentiments exactly. If I'm a violent criminal my first round is going towards the armed threat. I'd much rather have the drop if needed.

[BoopBoopBeep]

@spartan55 Yep yep... plus they can wait til that arm is doing something, come up behind you with a knife and upgrade to YOUR gun if they have even a basic understanding of how a retention holster works, and well... I'll keep my toys, thank you.

[Agagagagaga]

@worldscolide Don’t tell @goaded Jeol

[worldscolide]

@Agagagagaga @goaded is not from this country and does not live here, he has ZERO Right to an opinion regarding our laws. ZERO.

[Fireguy17]

There might be more people carrying than you think.
Most people don't advertise that they carry.
And in some areas it is more prevalent than in other regions of the country.

[Anonymous]

My brother carries but I don't. Our father always said that if you carry a gun, you'd better be prepared to use it if something bad happens. I just don't think I would have the nerve to use it even if I was being attacked, so the attacker would probably take the gun from me and use it on me, which would be worse than if I had no gun in the first place.

[spartan55]

That's why you have to train, get a holster that fits your needs and fits your firearm... too many people buy a firearm and never train.

[normalice]

The belief that a culture of everyone carrying guns everywhere turning out well hinges on the belief that everyone is smart enough to exercise good judgement and I don't have that belief. As long as the stakes stay low I think giving everyone equal power is importent but when the stakes are life and death at the individual level, that is too much.

[Surely]

You might be surprised at how many people conceal carry and not be allowed to because of previous crimes they committed.
I should carry more often.

[Lionman95]

I would say it depends on your perceptions of guns. You think of a gun as a tool for your safety. I see a gun as a source of danger. Seeing a person carry a gun makes me avoid them especially if I don´t know them.

[MysticDevice]

Most people haven't had a close call that made them feel the need.

And there a lot who do but are afraid or embarrassed to admit it for fear of ridicule and shaming.

[Levin]

How much is a gun, fellow?

Anyway, something probably gone wrong if you feel the need to carry an assault rifle to feel safe.

[Slim57]

What's assault rifle got to do with anything? I'm talking a handgun, and it would feel much safer than someone without a gun in a bad situation

[Levin]

How much is a hand gun? and what if the bad person had an assault rifle and he was at range?

[goaded]

@Slim57 So you'd be OK if people were only allowed to have hand guns, other than farmers and hunters? It's a start.

[Slim57]

@goaded No. I think people should be able to have whatever they want except a fully automatic. That you probably feel the same way for why people shouldn't have semi automatics

[jahaims]

If you can't afford a firearm I'm guessing you have little to no experience with them. If you can't afford ammo to practice you shouldn't carry. Carrying without knowing how to use a firearm is more dangerous than not carrying.

[Slim57]

I've got plenty of experience with guns and how to handle them from parents, friends, and family, so no

[jahaims]

Learning the basics of using a firearm is much different from being skillful enough to be able to safely carry. Shooting is a diminishing skill. If you can't afford the ammo to practice, then carrying is pointless.

[Drewtate]

A lot of public events ban you from carrying. I don't want to carry a gun but do sometimes depending.

[Bethany22]

I don't know how we manage here in Canada. We seem to find other ways of managing conflict

[Slim57]

What are the gun laws in Canada?

[Bethany22]

We aren't allowed to have guns

[Slim57]

Okay I thought so

[worldscolide]

Hitler once said "To conquer a people one need only disarm them" Seems your government has taken a page from his book.

[Bethany22]

@worldscolide That's a different way of looking at things!

[worldscolide]

Agreed. One of the MAJOR reasons that the US prefers to stay armed is one, For personal protection, and two, To keep our government in check. A government which is not afraid of its people, will stop serving its people and start serving its own interests.

[worldscolide]

Unfortunately the US Government is becoming more and more like some of the other governments of the world. Trampling on our rights and the like.

[goaded]

" We aren't allowed to have guns " Is that so? I thought there were nearly as many in Canada per person as in the US.

Bowling for Columbine: "Moore contrasts his portrayal of the U. S. attitude toward guns and violence with the attitude prevailing in areas of Canada where gun ownership is at similar levels to the U. S." That was before 20 years of fear-mongering in the US, though.

[spartan55]

Throughout history the first step of every single dictatorship is to disarm the citizens.

[goaded]

@spartan55 No, the second step (at least in former democracies) is to stop elections. The first step is to pretend they're not valid.

[spartan55]

@goaded
Let me amend, it's A step...

[goaded]

Please, somebody, tell the idiots who've blocked me that violence is not the way while there are still elections. Democracy is the best solution to dictatorships, which is why they hate it, stop it, or circumvent it like Putin.

[goaded]

@spartan55 I think you'll find they only disarm the people who disagree with them.

[spartan55]

Hockey 🏒 game grudge match?

[Agagagagaga]

You mean like when that guy was going on a stabbing spree a few months ago? @Bethany22

[goaded]

@Agagagagaga You mentioned me to worldscollide, but that's pointless since the loser has blocked me. If you want to say something to me, say it to me.

[worldscolide]

@Agagagagaga Goaded's response, calling me a loser, is exactly why i blocked him. On literally every thing i posted and comment i left, he chose to insult me. I got tired of it, especially since the mods chose to ignore it, so i blocked him. And it seems he has not changed.

[goaded]

Oh, and no, he didn't block me because I insulted him. Quote me.

[worldscolide]

Actually I did...

[goaded]

Quote me.

[worldscolide]

You literally did this

"@Agagagagaga You mentioned me to worldwide, but that's pointless since" "the loser" has blocked me. If you want to say something to me, say it to me.

You've done that repeatedly in the past. Or you've insulted my intelligence. Or my country. And no I'm not going to quote it cause it was fucking years ago. And irrelevant.

[goaded]

Yeah, not just now, the supposed reason you blocked me. Or you could just unblock me and have a conversation.

[worldscolide]

I won't have a conversation with someone who chooses to insult me. End of story.

[goaded]

Well, then, that changes nothing. Fair enough.

[Avicenna]

Good question, especially since we've recently seen that there are lots of Nazis in the US...

[petera1987]

It truly is incredible that you people actually believe it's normal to walk around in public with a deadly weapon.

[Nemesis2k7]

That insecure, you need a gun? Or are control issues and putting fear into others, more important, than just living life?

America needs better gun control.

[Slim57]

What does insecurity have to do do with wanting to carry a firearm to protect yourself and others from some lunatic on a rampage, why would you not want to be armed in a situation like that, I guess you would just run or hide and hope you don't get shot huh?

[TallAnon]

People rather not kill other people

[OddBeMe]

You seem really paranoid.

[Slim57]

Why wouldn't anyone be?

[OddBeMe]

Crime is lowest point compared to last 30 years. Mild uptick coming out of Covid and recession. But I’d be more afraid of my kid shooting his friend in the face.