A proven method for reducing gun violence

[moxie]

Encourage your friends to get their concealed carry permits, whatever form they take in your state, and start carrying regularly. Then take advanced courses in defensive pistol and practice regularly. When bad guys know they might get return fire, they typically go somewhere else, or not try at all.

 

[spotch]

Violent crime rates (including firearm related murders) have been falling for decades.

As with all things, get the government out of the way and the people take better care of themselves.

Remove regulations that make it harder for people to buy/carry/use guns and we'll be fine ... no, we'll be better.

No, you don't need to put road blocks in front of the law abiding to "keep guns off the streets" or "out of criminals hands". It doesn't work.


An armed society is a polite society.

actually, if the criminal justice experts are to be believed, government is directly responsible for some percentage of the reduction in violent crime. We have had over 3 decades of "tough on crime" legislation being passed or kept in place that has had some effect on the drop in violent crime. We were actually discussing that earlier in the thread. Now the effect of this government intervention has been blunted by the fact that our prison system is broken and does a terrible job at preparing people for reintegration, but still the effect seems to be anywhere from 10-25% of the decline. And that is 100% big government intervention into the lives of its citizens. Government has done the exact opposite of "getting out of the way" for over 3 decades. And if you believe some of the people in this thread, the way to further reduce it is to expand the greatest power government can possibly wield over its citizenry, ie the power to execute them legally.

Worth keeping in mind I think.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

"Gun Crime"

Gun crime.
Gun-related-crime.
Firearms crime.
Crimes involving firearms.
Blah blah, gun, blah, blah, crime.

If I may be so bold . . .

Guns are not crime. Ownership of guns is not crime.

We have clear definitions of violent crime and murder. Yet the added label of "gun" glued onto a crime or murder description somehow imbues it with "more evil."

People who are beaten to death with clubs are not described as victims of "club crime."

People who are run over with cars and trucks are not said to be victims of "car crime."

People who are poisoned are not labeled victims of "poison crime."

You don't hear about victims of "brick crime."

Nobody is interested in discussing "rope crime."

And why is that? (You'll be shocked, I know.)

It's because the eventual goal of this "labeling" of [gun] crime is the identification of guns with crime, in other words, we wind up in a place where guns = crime.

May I suggest that "gun crime" is an invalid label, and that discussions of "gun crime" -- as though it has merit as a context for gun ownership or gun applications -- are misguided.

Shall we do a tyrant's errands for him? Shall we make it even easier for him to say things like, "as long as we're talking about crime, I have a few things to say about guns" toward the eventual acceptance of guns-as-crime?

Let us instead wonder aloud why the government schools, government social workers, and government-funded "mental health" professionals conspire to produce crops of youth and young adults with no moral compass and no appreciation of right and wrong beyond their own appetites, interdicting parental authority and reclassifying discipline as child abuse, with an almost guaranteed outcome of -- as Orwell put it -- "ungovernable little savages."

Oh, and when it becomes evident that "upbringing" is part of the problem, make sure you blame the parents, because they are, after all, encouraged by "the system" to employ as much discipline as needed, and given all the autonomy they need to raise children who understand the realities of life. As if.

For myself, I have use for nor patience with the term "gun crime."

Just thought I'd chuck that out there.

Take it for what it's worth.

 

[Whats-his-name]

I don't mean this to sound flip, but the answer is pretty clear to me: Parents need to start raising their kids right. Right, as in having a sense of morality; to know the difference between right and wrong and choosing to do the right thing. Right, in terms of taking responsibility for your own actions and not blaming others for your bad behavior when you do something wrong....... (etc.)[/I][/B]

I cannot agree more Swampy. Well said.

The UK is very much like the US with regard to bringing up children. However, there is a lot more 'interference' nowadays so while parents are to blame in many cases, some are not.

We have something which people call 'Political Correctness' (PC) - read it as Social Fascism. It means what it says. The upshot is that you are not allowed to smack children when they're naughty at home. You are not allowed to punish children at school when they're naughty, etc., etc., I'm sure you get my drift. In short, any respect for authority (think elders, parents, teachers, and so on) has been eroded by so-called do-gooders or the 'PC Brigade' (control freaks basically) as we call them. Children do know when they do wrong and do expect to be punished if caught (we were all kids once so we should all remember). However, that punishment must be within reason and if done properly then children will not revolt as they would if the punishment was over the top or too little. If adults aren't allowed to dish out appropriate punishment they will lose respect in the eyes of the kids and consequently some kids will take advantage of it. This is the fulcrum for eroding moral values in the UK at least. Children not only need moral guidance, they demand it. Sadly the 'social fascists' are depriving them of that right.

Outside sources such as really dodgy TV, internet, and other media forms that are readily available don't help. The people involved in these use the lazy (and disrespectful) excuse that it's the parents job to decide what is suitable for their kids. However, society is so saturated with immoral crap that parents need eyes and ears everywhere to shield them from it. With parents having less and less time to spend with their kids (both have to work to pay the bills nowadays) parenting has never been so difficult.

Parenting is the most important job anyone can do but as no-one gets paid for it it seems governments don't put any value on it. That attitude needs to change.