The Gun Problem We Don't Mention

[Maggie Mae]

https://public.tableau.com/views/TheGunProblemWeDontMention/TheGunProblemWeDontMention?:embed=y&:display_count=yes&:showTabs=y&:showVizHome=no

[Fascinated]

Those are shocking statistics!  Just, wow.  But, yes, let's not mention it. Might be bad for the gun business. 

[Imagine20]

I wonder how many suicides by gun are well thought out in advance and how many are heat of the moment. 

[JillyO]

7 hours ago, Imagine20 said:

I wonder how many suicides by gun are well thought out in advance and how many are heat of the moment. 

I'm strongly assuming many of these are heat-of-the-moment suicides. Of course, gun nutters will argue that if these people didn't have guns to kill themselves with, they'd find another way. Which I am sure is true in some cases. But definitely not in others. Just because you are at a particularly low point in your life and don't see any way out in a particularly desparate moment doesn't mean you actually want to kill yourself, or would still do it the next day. So yes, in my book, not having access to guns so easily would definitely prevent a lot of suicides.

[adidas]

We have strict gun laws here (you can still own one, but you have to do a course, get a license, have background checks etc) because of a mass shooting. Since then, gun deaths have dropped dramatically (with no increase in other types of deaths) and we haven't had another mass shooting. There is still gun violence, but it is relatively rare.

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/australia-gun-control-shootings-2015-10

[sophie10130]

They say that a lot of gun violence is heat of the moment, which is why there are the "cooling off periods" on gun sales. Like you apply for a license and then you have to wait 3 days before you get the gun.

off topic: I also recently saw a woman trying to get legislation passed to ban gun sales if you are currently going through a divorce. Her estranged husband bought a gun and shot her during their divorce and she is now wheelchair bound.

[Kailash]

I would be interested to know how long a person has owned a gun before they shot themselves. I only personally know of one person who committed suicide by shooting herself, and she had owned the gun for months, if not years, before she died. In her case, I think it was an idea she'd definitely had for awhile, and was not an impulsive decision.

I had no idea that so many people used guns on themselves. In my state, there are more than 3 times as many suicides than death by homicide. (If I did my math right.) But until I read the link posted above I had no idea.

[caszandra]

In the UK strict gun laws were put in place after the Dunblane school massacre in which a school teacher and 15 of her pupils aged 5-6yr old were shot dead and 15 more were injured while doing a gym class.  This year is the 20th anniversary and I can still remember it like it was yesterday, two of my cousins were the same age as the children who were shot and when the news first broke the media didn't give the school name just that it was a primary school in Scotland, the hour it took to find out that it wasn't at either of my cousins school was horrific, then the feeling of devastation for the families involved vying with the relief that my cousins were ok.  I hope never to feel that sense of horror again, no matter where in the world something like this happens and I'd just like to send my condolences to anyone, anywhere that this has been affected by gun crime that could be stopped by enforcing stricter gun laws.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_school_massacre

[bashfulpixie]

I feel like here in the US if they were ever going to accomplish anything with regards to gun legislation it should have been after Sandy Hook.  Since nothing happened then, I don't have much optimism unfortunately.

I wish more sensible heads would prevail.  But the gun lobby is way too strong here and too many nut jobs that think stronger gun laws means taking away all guns.

[caszandra]

1 minute ago, bashfulpixie said:

I wish more sensible heads would prevail

@bashfulpixie I wish that for your country as well, how anyone can continue to think stricter gun laws are bad even after the mass shooting of kid's who had just gone to school where they should be SAFE FFS is totally alien to me.

I have just spent the last 10 minute's sobbing after watching this, please for all that is holy regardless of the religion, please do not let this happen to anymore families.

 

[AlysonRR]

:-( I agree that the US has missed it's opportunity. That's not saying that there might not be another time for us, but Australia and the UK took their cues, and we somehow missed ours...

 

 

[bashfulpixie]

Not somehow: the NRA, gun lobby and ammosexuals rallied together with their big ass mouths (and lots of money in the right pockets) and killed any chance of anything being done.

[sisterwives]

The thing is, I'm pretty anti gun but no one will ever listen to the arguments because there's no proof or studies being done to look into this tragic public health issue. The NRA has lobbied well enough that there is actually a BAN on gun violence research. Recently 2000 physicians and researchers got together to put pressure on congress to lift the ban so they can more thoroughly look into why this keeps happening. But the NRA will never let it happen.

The most ironic part of this all is that the NRA doesn't allow guns into their conventions. Their organization will never have to suffer as a result of their lobbying; universities, elementary schools, work places, etc carry the brunt of it.

[OkToBeTakei]

Interesting. I've had many a debate on this site about gun control ... Most with Maggie and I locking heads. That's ok.

I would imagine as with any society with easy access that that particular statistic will be higher, although I am totally winging with my opinion.

Suicide, a quick decision with an available quick answer. Do the statistics change though without access to a quick solution?

The methods to kill yourself are varied. In my experience, those that do either do it in two ways. Very, very measured or impulse.

Gun control won't fix that in my view.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

On 30/1/2016 at 7:16 AM, sisterwives said:

The thing is, I'm pretty anti gun but no one will ever listen to the arguments because there's no proof or studies being done to look into this tragic public health issue. The NRA has lobbied well enough that there is actually a BAN on gun violence research. Recently 2000 physicians and researchers got together to put pressure on congress to lift the ban so they can more thoroughly look into why this keeps happening. But the NRA will never let it happen.

The most ironic part of this all is that the NRA doesn't allow guns into their conventions. Their organization will never have to suffer as a result of their lobbying; universities, elementary schools, work places, etc carry the brunt of it.

What sort of twisted "logical" reasoning do they use to justify such an absurdity? 

[Alicja]

When LaPierre came out with that tragic, tragic statement after Sandy Hook, I lost all hope in intelligent conversation about guns in this country. Putting mentally ill people on a registry won't help. Getting mentally ill people proper treatment will.

[Maggie Mae]

On 1/31/2016 at 4:45 PM, OkToBeTakei said:

Interesting. I've had many a debate on this site about gun control ... Most with Maggie and I locking heads. That's ok.

I would imagine as with any society with easy access that that particular statistic will be higher, although I am totally winging with my opinion.

Suicide, a quick decision with an available quick answer. Do the statistics change though without access to a quick solution?

The methods to kill yourself are varied. In my experience, those that do either do it in two ways. Very, very measured or impulse.

Gun control won't fix that in my view.

I don't know. I think with the incredibly high rate of suicide in my state, that it might be a better argument for a buy back program for some people. And I think a buy back should be the first step toward reducing the number of guns. 

3 hours ago, laPapessaGiovanna said:

What sort of twisted "logical" reasoning do they use to justify such an absurdity? 

"A gun is not a disease." Congress has a ban preventing the CDC (Center for Disease Control) from studying the relationship between gun ownership and gun violence. 

That doesn't mean private companies can't do their own study. But they don't have a financial incentive to do so. 

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

On 2/2/2016 at 8:51 AM, laPapessaGiovanna said:

What sort of twisted "logical" reasoning do they use to justify such an absurdity? 

They never say.  The gun lobby is so powerful that they do what they want when they want and how they want. They have this country wound so tight that any thought of gun regulation turns into an all out war on freedom. It is so stupid.  I do wish someone with some serious cash would back a study on the correlation between ease of access to guns and the increase in gun violence.