(03-17-2016, 11:29 PM)Wolf Wrote: Ok, so I'm going to be the voice of dissent on this issue.

As easy as it is to say that "guns kill people, therefore no guns ever", there is something fundamentally bullshit about this argument.

Yes, it is true that America has the most guns, in fact per capital America has 112.6 guns per 100 residents, which means we literally have more guns than people. And if gun ownership means more violence just by the nature of guns existing, then America should be the most violent, gun-murdery country on the whole planet, right?

Wrong.

Actually we're not even in the top ten of total firearm-related death rate per 100,000 population per year. In fact, we're not even in the top fifteen when the subject is narrowed to homicides per 100,000 population per year.

So how is it that we have all these mass shootings even if our gun related fatality rate does not reflect the rate of gun ownership in the US? Well, for that answer you're going to have to look at what category the US is #1 in with respect to firearm fatalities.

Suicide.

The United States of America has the highest firearm assisted suicide rate of any country in the entire world and the reason for this is because we do a terrible job keeping guns out of the hands of mentally unstable people. And I think we'd all agree that, by and large, the perpetrators of gun massacres are people who can be classified as mentally unstable. So it's not so much that America has a "gun problem" as it is we have a mental health problem, and adding guns to crazy is a bad mix. That being said, gun related homicides have gone down 49% since 1993 while mass shootings have increased.

In essence, mass shootings, while unfortunate, can be combated by keeping these weapons out of the hands of, not everyday average citizens, but people with a history of mental disorders. I'm a big supporter of making sure mentally unfit people do not own firearms. And maybe, while we're at it, it will help decrease the suicide rate too.

This is the argument every pro-gun person brings up and it could not be further from the truth. "The majority of people with mental disorders do not engage in violence against others." "Fewer than 5% of 120,000 gun-related killings were perpetrated by people diagnosed with mental illness." "Adults with mental illness are more likely to be victims than perpetrators of community violence."
 
Over 60% of American's believe that owning a gun will make their lives safer but the truth is it increases the likelihood of homicide, suicide and unintentional death.