Now I own seven guns, and I voted for Obama. Contradiction? Nay, I say. Some of the most liberal people I know own guns. What does that tell us? It indicates to me that gun ownership is not a political issue, gun ownership is a cultural issue. Guns are prevalent in our country for a reason. Because we like them. A lot. We have deemed guns to be culturally acceptable, no matter the repercussions.

diplomacy is the answer to all but the most extreme situations

atxgunguy wrote: She's been an anti-gun/Clintonion/bleeding heart liberal up until recently when she's rationalized that me having a licensed to carry permit and more guns than hands isn't the worst thing in the world.

That being said, should we make it harder for them? By all means, we should. Things like overturning the prohibition on gun violence research by the CDC, banning gun sales to those on the terrorist watch list, expanding background checks to close the gun show loophole, and instituting national “permit-to-purchase” laws just makes sense. The fact that I can buy a gun from a stranger off the internet with no restrictions seems a little nuts to me. If you have the cash, someone, somewhere will sell you a gun, no questions asked, and it’s all legal. If we licensed all gun owners and required continuing education on basic firearm safety and proficiency, it might help to prevent some jackass from accidentally shooting his kid in the face. In fact, I believe all gun owners have a moral responsibility to seek out a reputable organization and take a class. Preferably several classes. When your ability to take a life increases, you have a greater responsibility to prove proficiency with the tools that might take that life.

Catalyst wrote:

atxgunguy wrote: She's been an anti-gun/Clintonion/bleeding heart liberal up until recently when she's rationalized that me having a licensed to carry permit and more guns than hands isn't the worst thing in the world.

I see more gun purchases in your future!

atxgunguy wrote:The author is (clearly) from Austin. I feel compelled to invite him to our next LGC Texas event.

Catalyst wrote:

atxgunguy wrote:The author is (clearly) from Austin. I feel compelled to invite him to our next LGC Texas event.

You should.

atxgunguy wrote:

Catalyst wrote:

atxgunguy wrote:The author is (clearly) from Austin. I feel compelled to invite him to our next LGC Texas event.

You should.

There's a contact email in the article. Once we get a firm date, I'll send him an invite.

inomaha wrote:Not bad. It drifted and got longer winded towards the end so the last paragraph ending felt out of place.

That being said, should we make it harder for them? By all means, we should. Things like overturning the prohibition on gun violence research by the CDC, banning gun sales to those on the terrorist watch list, expanding background checks to close the gun show loophole, and instituting national “permit-to-purchase” laws just makes sense. The fact that I can buy a gun from a stranger off the internet with no restrictions seems a little nuts to me. If you have the cash, someone, somewhere will sell you a gun, no questions asked, and it’s all legal. If we licensed all gun owners and required continuing education on basic firearm safety and proficiency, it might help to prevent some jackass from accidentally shooting his kid in the face. In fact, I believe all gun owners have a moral responsibility to seek out a reputable organization and take a class. Preferably several classes. When your ability to take a life increases, you have a greater responsibility to prove proficiency with the tools that might take that life.

I could almost live with most of these if they would guarantee they were going to stop there. The national "permit-to-purchase" isn't a bad idea as long as it allows me to cross state lines and buy guns from other states. It would take care of the "no questions asked" face to face transactions too. I don't like the watch list at all. Four hour $10 concealed carry classes run by the state would be good, with the studying part done by the students prior to class. I don't agree with the all gun owners part of it as it sets up an unreasonable barrier to entry.

I bought a firearm off the internet last week. I was asked for my handgun purchase permit, just to be certain, even though black powder guns aren't considered firearms and I could have them mailed directly to my house. I can order up to 50 lbs of black powder too. Arbitrary rules and regulations.

RobertS wrote:

inomaha wrote:Not bad. It drifted and got longer winded towards the end so the last paragraph ending felt out of place.

That being said, should we make it harder for them? By all means, we should. Things like overturning the prohibition on gun violence research by the CDC, banning gun sales to those on the terrorist watch list, expanding background checks to close the gun show loophole, and instituting national “permit-to-purchase” laws just makes sense. The fact that I can buy a gun from a stranger off the internet with no restrictions seems a little nuts to me. If you have the cash, someone, somewhere will sell you a gun, no questions asked, and it’s all legal. If we licensed all gun owners and required continuing education on basic firearm safety and proficiency, it might help to prevent some jackass from accidentally shooting his kid in the face. In fact, I believe all gun owners have a moral responsibility to seek out a reputable organization and take a class. Preferably several classes. When your ability to take a life increases, you have a greater responsibility to prove proficiency with the tools that might take that life.

I could almost live with most of these if they would guarantee they were going to stop there. The national "permit-to-purchase" isn't a bad idea as long as it allows me to cross state lines and buy guns from other states. It would take care of the "no questions asked" face to face transactions too. I don't like the watch list at all. Four hour $10 concealed carry classes run by the state would be good, with the studying part done by the students prior to class. I don't agree with the all gun owners part of it as it sets up an unreasonable barrier to entry.

I bought a firearm off the internet last week. I was asked for my handgun purchase permit, just to be certain, even though black powder guns aren't considered firearms and I could have them mailed directly to my house. I can order up to 50 lbs of black powder too. Arbitrary rules and regulations.

I don't want to have to pay for a permit to buy a gun. That's what the background check is for. It costs $25-$35 for the BGC. If I fail it, the store keeps my money.

But in this scenario, I'd have to buy a permit to buy a gun and pay a BGC fee. If we aren't careful, they'll impose gun control by making it almost impossibly expensive, to the point that only the wealthy will be able to defend their lives.

Violence runs through US society like an electric current offering instant pleasure from all cultural sources, whether it be the nightly news or a television series that glorifies serial killers.

At a policy level, violence drives the arms industry and a militaristic foreign policy, and is increasingly the punishing state's major tool to enforce its hyped-up brand of domestic terrorism, especially against Black youth. The United States is utterly wedded to a neoliberal culture in which cruelty is viewed as virtue, while mass incarceration is treated as the chief mechanism to "institutionalize obedience." At the same time, a shark-like mode of competition replaces any viable notion of solidarity, and a sabotaging notion of self-interest pushes society into the false lure of mass consumerism.

Focusing merely on mass shootings or the passing of potentially dangerous gun legislation does not get to the root of the systemic forces that produce the United States' love affair with violence and the ideologies and criminogenic institutions that produce it.

Imperial policies that promote aggression all across the globe are now matched by increasing levels of lawlessness and state repression, which mutually feed each other. On the home front, civil society is degenerating into a military organization, a space of lawlessness and warlike practices, organized primarily for the production of violence.

The rise of violence and the gun culture in the United States cannot be separated from a transformation in governance in the United States. Political sovereignty has been replaced by economic sovereignty as corporate power takes over the reins of governance.