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posted by on Monday January 09 2017, @08:49PM   Printer-friendly
from the second-amendment dept.

The love of guns in the United States has been well documented, as have multiple mass shootings across the country such as those in Orlando, San Bernardino, Newtown, and Virginia. The ease of access to guns in American society comes at a shocking cost.

As of September 2016, almost 11,000 people have been killed as a result of gun violence. Despite this high death toll, mass shootings in America show no sign of disappearing.

The Stateside obsession with guns can appear baffling to UK observers unfamiliar with its origins. So just how did this gun culture become so deep-rooted in the American psyche?

BBC source: Why Are Americans so Obsessed with Guns?

Wikipedia: Gun politics in the United States


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  • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Tuesday January 10 2017, @08:15AM

    by deimtee (3272) on Tuesday January 10 2017, @08:15AM (#451942) Journal

    1/ I read your first link. The article says Trump wants them to have weapons, many times. But if you take out their commentary, and only read the actual quotes you get :

    ”I don’t want more nuclear weapons”
    “We owe $19 trillion, we have another $2 trillion because of the very, very bad omnibus budget that was just signed. … We are supporting nations now, militarily, we are supporting nations like Saudi Arabia, which was making, during the good oil days, which was a year ago, now they’re making less, but still a lot. $1 billion a day. We are supporting them, military, and they pay us a fraction, a fraction of what they should be paying us, and of the cost. We are supporting Japan. … Excuse me, we’re supporting Germany. We’re supporting South Korea.”
    “No, not some. I hate proliferation. I hate nuclear more than any.”
    “How many countries have it? Iran is going to have it, very — with…one of the dumbest deals I’ve ever seen signed ever, ever, ever by anybody. Iran is going to have it within ten years. Iran is going to have it.”
    “At some point we have to say, you know what, we’re better off if Japan protects itself against this maniac in North Korea.”
    “It’s going to happen, anyway. It’s only a question of time. They’re going to start having them, or we have to get rid of them entirely.”
    “I don’t want more nuclear weapons. We can’t afford it anymore.”
      “[W]hen you see all of the money that our country is spending on military, we’re not really spending it for ourselves. We’re protecting all these nations all over the world. We [can't] afford to do it anymore.”
    “I would rather see Japan having some form of defense, and maybe even offense against North Korea, because we’re not pulling the trigger.”

    Sound to me more like he thinks it's inevitable rather than desirable. Don't you want a president who faces reality?

    2/ Does not the President have the duty to defend the USA? Any President who flatly rules out the use of a weapon is either lying or failing in his duty.

    Maybe he is just blowing everyone's minds because he is saying what he thinks is true, whereas all the pundits are basing their estimations of his beliefs on adjusting for the usual amount of political bullshit.
    (Tech analogy: you have a meter that always reads exactly 3 volts high, you use it check AA batteries. 4.6 is good, 4.4 is on the way out. One day you get a battery that bypasses the 3 volt error and reads 1.5V. Standard response is "WTF, that's crazy!!".)

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @09:06AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @09:06AM (#451953)

    > Sound to me more like he thinks it's inevitable rather than desirable. Don't you want a president who faces reality?

    What kind of bullshit apologia is that?
    Even if he thinks its inevitable that doesn't make it "reality" it means he's ready to give up and let it happen.
    I do not want a president who gives up. Especially when it comes to nuclear proliferation.

    > Maybe he is just blowing everyone's minds because he is saying what he thinks is true,

    Ok, you are one of those idjits who voted for him aren't you? Because "blowing everyone's minds" about nuking europe is the kind of thing only a delusional fool would find admirable.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 12 2017, @10:08AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 12 2017, @10:08AM (#452896)

      You have reading comprehension problems don't you. Get someone smarter to explain it to you.