All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Wildling]

America is a truly laughingstock failed state when it comes to civilian gun violence if Zelensky takes time out from Russia trying to murder him/subjugate his country to say Texas is not okay.

But hey let's defend anti-trans comedians all day long.

[Zelena]

The mentally ill people problem needs to be addressed. The guns problem needs to be addressed. The problem is a lot of people don't tend to obey the gun laws in the USA. Stringent gun laws only work in Japan, because most people obey the law and the government was very strict in enforcing the law. But it doesn't mean Japan doesn't have any mentally ill people. In Japan, a deranged man stabbed 19 people to death. Imagine how it would look worse if that lunatic had a gun.

I agree with you, Zauriel… Mass shootings and mental health are two different topics. Sanity isn’t the thing that prevents you from shooting people, it is the state of a person that feels good with himself/herself and the people around him/her. We should able to feel compassion towards people who suffer whatever the reason and prevent this suffering if possible. But it’s hard to feel compassion towards a young one who has killed children and who is ready to kill you… Removing weapons would help disturbed people and avoid unnecessary deaths.

[Zelena]

It depends on the context. The odds that an individual will be affected are pretty low. It's still going to happen every now and then in a big country with lots of guns and violent maniacs.

If I cross the road without looking on the left and on the right, the odds are that the cars will still stop or avoid me.
Nevertheless it doesn’t mean I will do it.

I’m personally satisfied by the fact I didn’t grow up in the USA… And that I don’t live there at the moment.

[numberthirty]

I agree with you, Zauriel… Mass shootings and mental health are two different topics. Sanity isn’t the thing that prevents you from shooting people, it is the state of a person that feels good with himself/herself and the people around him/her. We should able to feel compassion towards people who suffer whatever the reason and prevent this suffering if possible. But it’s hard to feel compassion towards a young one who has killed children and who is ready to kill you… Removing weapons would help disturbed people and avoid unnecessary deaths.

I'm not so sure that it is.

Every single one of them might be someone that we failed/didn't do right by.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Only soulless Qpublicans can look at this cover and not feel one iota of guilt over how their Second Amendment fetish and unwavering allegiance/compliance to the NRA led to assault weapons like AR-15's being made available to mentally unstable people like the Ulvade shooter. I absolutely do NOT want to hear GQPers say they’re pro-life after Tuesday's nightmare.

[Zelena]

I'm not so sure that it is.

Every single one of them might be someone that we failed/didn't do right by.

The liberty to carry weapons is the liberty to kill children…

No need to criminalize mental-ill people… Everyone can fall in this category at any time…

[Tami]

Day after Uvalde shooting, deputy reportedly shows AR-15 photos at Fort Worth school

Photos of an AR-15 style rifle, the type of gun used during Tuesday’s mass school shooting in Uvalde, were reportedly shown at a Fort Worth elementary school on Wednesday during what was supposed to be a career day presentation. According to a Fort Worth schools employee, a Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office deputy presented during a career day event on Wednesday morning at E.M. Daggett Elementary School. The presentation appeared to include pictures of AR-15 rifles, according to a photo shared with the Star-Telegram.

In the photo, an image of a poster titled “A Liberal’s Guide to the Deadly AR-15” is highlighted on Google Images. The poster describes the different components of the rifle. Also seen in the photo is a tab open to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office’s website.

A spokesperson for the Tarrant Count Sheriff’s Office said the deputy’s presentation did not include anything about AR-15s, but that further information on the incident wasn’t immediately available. The school district employee said the rifle type, which has been at the center of gun control and mass shooting debates for years, was being discussed with young students. In a statement to parents, Daggett Elementary Principal Kendall Miller wrote that he was informed that “one of the presentations by a local public safety agency included information that was not age-appropriate.” Miller apologized to parents for the situation.

[Tami]

Gov. Hochul Proposes Raising the Age to Buy AR-15 Rifles. That’s Easier Said Than Done.

For the second time in little more than a week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul stepped to a podium to take a stand on the uniquely American epidemic of mass shootings.

“How does an 18-year-old purchase an AR-15 in the state of New York? The state of Texas? That person’s not old enough to buy a legal drink,” Hochul said at a news conference outside Albany Wednesday.

“I want to work with the Legislature to change that. I want it to be 21. I think that’s just common sense,” the Buffalo Democrat added, signaling her intention to raise the state age to buy certain semi-automatic weapons.

Hochul’s remarks came less than 24 hours after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers and 11 days after another 18-year-old murdered 10 Black people at a grocery store in Buffalo in a racist attack.

According to local reports, both men had purchased the AR-15 style rifles used to carry out the murders in their home states shortly after their 18th birthdays.

But raising the age to purchase AR-15s and similar weapons is easier said than done.

This part is insane

But even more worrisome are court battles in other states that passed laws raising the age to purchase firearms — including semi-automatic weapons — to 21.

Just two weeks ago, a panel of federal judges in California struck down a law that banned the sale of semi-automatic weapons for those under 21, calling it unconstitutional. In a 2-to-1 ruling, a Trump-appointed majority argued that the 2019 law infringed on the Second Amendment rights of young people.

“America would not exist without the heroism of the young adults who fought and died in our revolutionary army. Today we reaffirm that our Constitution still protects the right that enabled their sacrifice: the right of young adults to keep and bear arms,” wrote Judge Ryan Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

[Panfoot]

You're talking about Trump who was more a populist candidate than a true Republican. And just because some might perceive him as a "bad apple" he doesn't represent all Republicans

Nothing has changed in the Republican platform since Trump was elected and then lost, Republicans have always been trying to strip woman's rights, overturn gay marriage, anti voting laws and other such dirty election tricks(hey remember that President Nixon guy? If I recall right he had some issues relating to the election...). Actually I'll give Trump *one* thing for changing the Republican party, he just made it more acceptable to do it all in the open, that's it. So again, **** off with your both sides bullshit.

[Tami]

Posted a poll on Twitter: If it was within your power to do so, would you get rid of or change the 2nd Amendment?

[Zelena]

Gov. Hochul Proposes Raising the Age to Buy AR-15 Rifles. That’s Easier Said Than Done.

“I want to work with the Legislature to change that. I want it to be 21. I think that’s just common sense,” the Buffalo Democrat added, signaling her intention to raise the state age to buy certain semi-automatic weapons.

To add something to Gov. Hochul’s opinion, there’s a interesting article about something I heard some time ago.
When the Brain Starts Adulting

The adult brain is better wired for cognitive control compared to the adolescent brain, which is more influenced by emotions, rewards, and social acceptance when it comes to making decisions.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Posted a poll on Twitter: If it was within your power to do so, would you get rid of or change the 2nd Amendment?

I’d voted for changing the 2nd. I have no problem with people wanting to bear arms, but, there should be limits. I’m okay with homeowners and business owners having handguns and shotguns to protect their property, but, there is no sane reason John and Jane Q. Public should own assault rifles like the AR-15 which was used in the Ulvade shooting and scores of other incidents.

[Tendrin]

(CNN)Atlanta. Orlando. Las Vegas. Newtown. Parkland. San Bernardino. Uvalde.

Ubiquitous gun violence in the United States has left few places unscathed over the decades. Still, many Americans hold their right to bear arms, enshrined in the US Constitution, as sacrosanct. But critics of the Second Amendment say that right threatens another: The right to life.
America's relationship to gun ownership is unique, and its gun culture is a global outlier.
As the tally of gun-related deaths continue to grow daily, here's a look at how gun culture in the US compares to the rest of the world.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/26/world..._medium=social

[CSTowle]

You're talking about Trump who was more a populist candidate than a true Republican. And just because some might perceive him as a "bad apple" he doesn't represent all Republicans

Kind of hard to tell. When the GOP fall all over themselves to get his endorsement, excuse and forgive everything he does, buys into and spreads his big lie about a stolen election and forgive and call the terrorists of the 6th heroes because they attacked to keep him in power.

So anyone that says the GOP is not a party of Trump or that they are all not just is bad are fooling themselves for some reason, are lying, or just dont pay any attention at all.

Your party overwhelmingly endorsed him with their votes and the candidates that back him. Get out of here with that.

are you living like 5 years or more behind the rest of us? Trumpism or MAGA IS the mainstream republican party. He IS the GOP, the Liz Cheneys and Adam Kizingers are the outliers.

I agree with every quote beyond the first, there comes a point where you've been licking the guy's (we'll be nice, and say) boots for so many years that if you weren't the Party of Trump 10 years ago that doesn't matter because you are now.

With evangelicals and others ignoring his personal history, actions, and statements to call him a "man of god", fiscal conservatives ignoring his many bankruptcies and fraudulent con games trusting him with the economy, and constitutional fundamentalists and other "traditionalists" following him as he shreds norms, ignores laws, and works to undermine our entire political process and do irreparable harm to our democracy that may never fully recover (and likely will get worse before it has a chance to get better) for short-term political gain.

Not to mention allowing his coziness with dictators to move the Republicans from the "better dead than Red" Party to a pro-Russian party that's spent the last several months wrestling with the Ukraine situation, not being sure who to back (if they're in a publicly accountable position, internet "critical thinkers" are pretty sure which side to back).

[Zelena]

What has to say a Britishman who lost a loved one about gun’s controls:

My daughter was killed at Dunblane. I know that gun controls save lives. Mick North

The British experience proves that gun control does work, but this is a lesson Americans seem reluctant to learn. Whenever, in the years immediately after Dunblane, I was asked to comment about US school shootings, which were happening with increasing frequency, I naively expressed the opinion that as soon as Americans realised what had been achieved after our own school shooting there would be a rush to adopt similar measures. I couldn’t have been more wrong, and with gun laws becoming even more lax too many of their citizens continue to pay the price with their lives.