Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Thursday December 10 2015, @06:52PM   Printer-friendly
from the click-and-shoot dept.

Mike McPhate reports in The New York Times that two home shopping industry veterans, Valerie Castle and Doug Bornstein, are set to premier GunTV, a new 24-Hour shopping channel for guns, that aims to take the QVC approach of peppy hosts pitching "a vast array of firearms," as well as related items like bullets, holsters and two-way radios. The new cable channel hopes to help satisfy Americans' insatiable appetite for firearms. The channel's forthcoming debut might seem remarkably ill-timed, given recent shootings at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs and at a social services center in San Bernardino, California but gun sales have been rising for years, with nearly 21 million background checks performed in 2014, and they appear on track to a new record this year. The boom has lately been helped by a drumbeat of mass shootings, whose attendant anxiety has only driven more people into the gun store.

The proposed schedule of programming allots an eight-minute segment each hour to safety public service announcements in between proposed segments on topics like women's concealed weapon's apparel, big-game hunting and camping. Buying a Glock on GunTV won't be quite like ordering a pizza. When a firearm is purchased, a distributor will send it to a retailer near the buyer, where it has to be picked up in person and a federal background check performed. "We saw an opportunity in filling a need, not creating one," says Castle. "The vast majority of people who own and use guns in this country, whether it's home protection, recreation or hunting, are responsible .... I don't really know that it's going to put more guns on the streets."

Critics suggest that Gun TV could make the decision to purchase a weapon seem trivial—on the same level as ordering a Snuggie or a vertical egg cooker. "Buying a gun is a serious decision," says Laura Cutilletta, senior staff attorney at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. "If you are going to buy a gun for your home, it's not a decision you should be making at three in the morning because you are watching TV."


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday December 11 2015, @02:12AM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 11 2015, @02:12AM (#274765) Journal

    Europe. People like to cite one European country or another to the United States. "Great Britian has only 5% of our gun deaths!" Or some similar nonsense. When comparing, one must compare the fifty states and the District of Columbia to all of Europe. The sizes and populations are far more comparable than any single European country.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday December 11 2015, @08:48AM

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Friday December 11 2015, @08:48AM (#274886) Homepage
    Nope, because the data is always given per 100,000 of population, therefore all countries apart from the absolute tiddlers are comparable directly.

    Congratulations on being able to think of something else to put on the left hand column of the table, now the data for the right hand column please - with citations?
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday December 11 2015, @02:57PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 11 2015, @02:57PM (#274983) Journal

      Well, then, if you insist on deaths per 100,000, that's fine. But - INCLUDE ALL OF THE US AND ALL OF EUROPE, or else break it down.

      You do realize that the highest murder and gun death rates in the US are in Democratic strongholds? If you want to compare the United States to Great Britain, then you have to take one of the less lethal states to compare.

      http://www.ammoland.com/2015/12/three-u-s-islands-with-strict-gun-control-and-their-murder-rates/ [ammoland.com]

      http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-homicide-per-capita-20151117-story.html [baltimoresun.com]

      The first article demonstrates that the availability of guns is far less important than the availability of murderers when a killing is desired.

      The second shows that Baltimore, like it's liberal sister city Chicago, has an extremely high murder rate. If we can eliminate liberal cities from the US murder rate, then we will be on par with your "civilized" nations.

      • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday December 11 2015, @04:33PM

        by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Friday December 11 2015, @04:33PM (#275015) Homepage
        > If you want to compare the United States to Great Britain, then you have to take one of the less lethal states to compare.

        Nope. That's called "cherry picking", and is right out. Either do stats properly or don't do it at all.
        --
        Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
        • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday December 12 2015, @01:55AM

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 12 2015, @01:55AM (#275252) Journal

          That is exactly what I've just said - you're cherry picking small segments of Europe, and comparing those small segments to the entire United States.

          If you're going to cherry pick your favorite parts of Europe, then I get to cherry pick my favorite bits of the US. I'm glad you're being honest now!

          • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Saturday December 12 2015, @01:28PM

            by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Saturday December 12 2015, @01:28PM (#275391) Homepage
            Which of these four facts are you unaware of:
            1) The EU is not a country;
            2) The US is a country;
            3) Even if individual US states are compared to individual EU countries, the US will still lose the comparison (unless of course more gun crime is better, in which case, the US is winning bigtime);
            4) Despite being asked for data and citations 4 times, you've still not presented a single fact, you've just wiggled annoyingly and ineffectually.
            --
            Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
            • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday December 12 2015, @02:03PM

              by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 12 2015, @02:03PM (#275397) Journal

              I have made a very clear statement and claim:

              You are the one who chooses to cherry pick those nations in Europe which support your point of view. The fact is, you compare those cherry picked countries against an entire nation. Neither the US nor Europe is a single, homogenous population enjoying a single religion, ethnicity, culture, or history.

              I don't need any sort of data or citations to establish those basic facts.

              In this nation, we have pockets with a lot of violence, in Europe they have pockets with a lot of violence. In the US we have safer areas, and in Europe they have safer areas.

              It is common practice for progressives to point to the United Kingdom as some sort of standard, which we should strive to match. Unfortunately, the UK does NOT have any enviable standards.

              4bitnews.com/uk/uk-cops-cover-20-crimes-including-sex-offences-violent-crime/
              http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/1846158/Cops-cover-up-crime-figures.html [thesun.co.uk]
              http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/justice/1850578/Labour-accused-of-covering-up-violent-crime-figures-to-meet-targets-after-police-figures-show-22-rise-Crime-in-the-UK.html [thesun.co.uk]
              http://crimesofempire.com/2015/03/21/the-british-establishment-cover-up-must-end-right-now/ [crimesofempire.com]

              Using a slightly different search term:

              http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2702998/Migrant-crime-cover-up-row.html [thesun.co.uk]
              https://themuslimissue.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/the-living-hell-for-swedish-women-5-muslims-commit-nearly-77-6-of-all-rape-crimes/ [wordpress.com] (I was using Great Britain - Sweden slipped in there.)
              http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/kouri/060220 [renewamerica.com] (Europe in general)
              http://kravology.com/the-european-rape-epidemic-and-its-systematic-coverup/ [kravology.com] (Europe again)

              Granted, your pet peeve seems to be GUNS ARE EVIL! You're afraid of guns, we get that. But WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE WHETHER YOU ARE KILLED BY A MADMAN WITH A GUN OR A MADMAN WITH A KNIFE????

              I'll bet that a large number of people have choked out their final breaths, lying in a gutter in an alley, wishing that they had been carrying a gun, which would have trumped their murderer's knife.

              You fear guns. I do not. I fear criminals. I fear madmen. I fear zealots, religious or not. I fear a number of things, but I do not fear guns.

              Tell me - if I do not force you to own or carry a gun, WTF gives you the right to deny me the right to own or carry guns?

              I've mentioned a couple of times, I'm 60 years old. I'm still pretty strong and healthy - a doctor would probably tell you that I'm in great shape for 60. But, the doctor can't bullshit me - I'm not as strong as I was twenty years ago, or thirty, or forty. When I go to Shreveport, I pass through some shady areas. Shreveport has a high crime rate, as well as a high murder rate. A couple decades back, they rivaled Chicago's crime and murder rates. Why must I put myself at the mercy of the criminal element, just because you are afraid of guns?

              At age 60, I've never been charged, much less convicted of, a violent crime. For almost fifty years, I've owned a variety of weapons, and never once have I misused a weapon.

              But, today, because you fear guns, I must give my guns up?

              PREPOSTEROUS!

              Let me turn your logic around on you. A lot of black people are convicted of violent crime. Why don't we just lock up all black people? You want to criminalize guns, and lock up gun owners - are you comfortable with locking up all black people?

              Not all Muslims are extremists, but progressives tell us that all gun owners are dangerous. Comfortable?

              Not all Satanists sacrifice babies at Black Mass - but your MSM wants to paint all gunowners as - what, exactly? Baby eaters?

              Your fear of guns is far less rational than America's fear of Muslims. I can demonstrate that Muslims have killed Americans. You cannot demonstrate that any gun has ever ventured out on it's own to kill Americans.

              Read the links. Europe is not the safe place that you wish it were, and you cannot make the United States the safe place that you imagine.

              • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday December 14 2015, @10:25AM

                by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Monday December 14 2015, @10:25AM (#276049) Homepage
                Lack of actual data noted. That's 5 strikes, now.

                Nice frothing at the mouth though, but it nearly made the straw man too wet to burn.
                --
                Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
                • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday December 14 2015, @10:54AM

                  by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday December 14 2015, @10:54AM (#276054) Journal

                  http://www.mcsm.org/miscreports/lott5_27.html [mcsm.org]

                  http://www.rense.com/general32/nine.htm [rense.com]

                  Oh - a reminder. Criminal's deaths are part of the gun death statistics. That is, the armed robber who attempts to rob a bank, and is subsequently killed by either a guard, a cop, or an armed citizen, is counted among the gun deaths. And, he should not be counted, or rather, he should be counted in a separate statistic. Justified homicides and unjustified homicides should always be clearly separated.

                  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday December 14 2015, @11:58AM

                    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Monday December 14 2015, @11:58AM (#276073) Homepage
                    Are you a fucking retard or something? Neither of those links contains any comparison to any European country or countries.

                    6 strikes.
                    --
                    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves