2036: Losing My Religion

[WSEIII]

I thought about voting no, but then I thought what's scarier than a blind person with a gun. Self defense wise I'd recommend a tactical pen.

[robotparker]

Does anyone else feel like the paranoid world of the NRA is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy? Try this on for size: imagine you're the federal government and one day you notice that a few million of your people declare that they're going to arm themselves so that they can overthrow you someday if you piss them off enough. Would you laugh it off like all of us are doing, or would you think that maybe some of these neckbeards are dumb enough to try it and start tapping some phone lines? Which, of course, just pisses the neckbeards off more, so they go off and stockpile more guns and ammunition. Now they really seem like they could snap at any minute, so you step up your surveillance game. You get caught again, and the neckbeards go bananas and buy even more firearms. Do you see where this is going?

[Enunciated Piffle]

Interesting. I can see that.

There's also a ton of money involved. Guns and ammo are expensive. Redneck shit-holes, (let's use MT cuz that's what I'm familiar with) have SOLD OUT of guns whenever President Obama even mentions them. This is usually after a Sandy Hook or University or Army Base or other shooting.

Montana has the lowest population, but many many gun owners. Do you know how fucking crazy it is for every pawn and gun and sporting goods store NOT to have a gun? Also, within three days, re-stock, only to SELL OUT again?

Thems Sant-ee Claus level sales!!!

To me, it's just brilliant fear-based marketing. The NRA doesn't protect rights; they push guns.

[bithead]

About an hour after I finished listening to this episode, this news article showed-up in my feed:

Florida woman shoots grandson, 7, after mistaking him for intruder | Reuters

If we can't trust granny with a handgun, then who CAN we trust with one?

[Mattman]

Oh America - all problems can be solved with guns. This is why your police look like Navy Seals in Ferguson right now. How soon do you think it will be before shooting back is the response to police killings like Michael Brown?

And of course I voted for blind people to have guns - "no discrimination" should be the most important rule in society. Of course proper gun control would be good too, but Americans are never going to agree with that.

UK police may be a rare exception as they are unarmed as a matter of course, but fatal police shootings (justified or not) are less than 35 in 10 years. And all discharges are investigated. In 2011/12 there were over 12,000 incidents where firearms were issued, only 5 were discharged and only 2 fatalities recorded.

Violent crime still happens of course, but I prefer our police with a truncheon and a whistle for their patrols. Leave the firearms to the specialists.

[Keith]

Hmm... I find your numbers suspect. No pun.

But as for your first point about how long it will take before The People shoot back: I say never.

[Scat]

Originally Posted by Keith

Hmm... I find your numbers suspect. No pun.

Here
Trigger happy Britain? How police shootings compare - Channel 4 News

[Mattman]

Originally Posted by Scat

Here
Trigger happy Britain? How police shootings compare - Channel 4 News

That IS where I got the numbers I quoted. Another source with more detail.

http://www.inquest.org.uk/statistics...lice-shootings

So from the start of 2012 until today, only 1 fatal police shooting has happened in UK.

[Paraquat]

I am listening now and had to pause this episode at 39:25.

Chemda - obviously a blind person is not going to buy a firearm for his dog because that constitutes a straw purchase.

[Zomniac]

Just wanted to point out, it is actually legal for a blind person to OWN a car in all 50 states. They would also be legally allowed to drive said owned car provided they do so on their own property. A blind person could possibly get a driver's license, IF they passed the visual portion of the test... and of course, the driving portion.