southernhybrid
Contributor
I grew up in a state that had some of the strictest gun control laws in the country. I never knew a single person who owned a gun and it was extremely rare to hear of a person being shot with a gun. There wasn't the type of violence that we see today. The boys who thought they were tough in my high school were scared shitless of our vice principal. It's true that sexual assault was a problem back then, as one of my sisters was gang raped by some high school boys.
Even when I first moved to the South in the 70s, I don't remember the gun fetish being anything like it is today. A stranger once followed me to my car late at night and threatened to rape me. I was able to shame him out of raping me, but I've often wondered what would have happened if he had a gun and had threatened me with the gun. I wouldn't have been able to act so fearless if a gun had been put in my face. I never used to see people openly carrying guns, like I do now.
Americans may have always had access to guns, but imo, it's much worse now than it was in the past. It's almost like we're back to the wild Wild West, where people shoot others over simple arguments, over road rage etc.
Derec mentioned two 18 year olds getting into a fight and one getting shot. This happens in the Atlanta area almost every day. I read about two shootings that happened on Thanksgiving. Both of the victims were shot by someone they knew. I don't remember this happening in the past, or if it did, it was rare.
What about the Walmart shooting that happened 2 or 3 days ago. The shooter was a manager or team leader who shot some of the employees on his team. Why is this becoming so common? Why are there so many messed up young men? Is it social isolation or undetected mental illness that influences some of these shooters? Why is it so easy for mentally ill folks to buy guns legally? So called red flag laws don't seem adequate. The shooter in Colorado had so many obvious signs of mental illness. He had a history of being abused and bullied. He had threatened his own mother, who also suffered from a mental illness, with a bomb, but was never prosecuted or evaluated for mental illness. Why was it so easy for him to have access to a deadly assault weapon? I realize that most people who suffer from a mental illness aren't violent but with easy access to guns, it's too easy for those who are prone to violence, to act out on that impulse.
Studies have been done and it's the guns that are the only reason why the US has so much deadly violence compared to other countries. The 2nd Amendment is an atrocity, and the way that the conservative courts have interpreted it makes it even worse. Any half brained idiot can own a gun thanks to those who wrote that damned amendment. And, why is the US one of the few countries that hasn't updated its original constitution?
Btw, the tv news just said that the Walmart shooter heard his employees making fun of him, so he bought a gun and decided to hunt them down. He bought the gun the morning of the shooting. Couldn't we at least have a waiting period before someone can put his hands on a gun!
Even when I first moved to the South in the 70s, I don't remember the gun fetish being anything like it is today. A stranger once followed me to my car late at night and threatened to rape me. I was able to shame him out of raping me, but I've often wondered what would have happened if he had a gun and had threatened me with the gun. I wouldn't have been able to act so fearless if a gun had been put in my face. I never used to see people openly carrying guns, like I do now.
Americans may have always had access to guns, but imo, it's much worse now than it was in the past. It's almost like we're back to the wild Wild West, where people shoot others over simple arguments, over road rage etc.
Derec mentioned two 18 year olds getting into a fight and one getting shot. This happens in the Atlanta area almost every day. I read about two shootings that happened on Thanksgiving. Both of the victims were shot by someone they knew. I don't remember this happening in the past, or if it did, it was rare.
What about the Walmart shooting that happened 2 or 3 days ago. The shooter was a manager or team leader who shot some of the employees on his team. Why is this becoming so common? Why are there so many messed up young men? Is it social isolation or undetected mental illness that influences some of these shooters? Why is it so easy for mentally ill folks to buy guns legally? So called red flag laws don't seem adequate. The shooter in Colorado had so many obvious signs of mental illness. He had a history of being abused and bullied. He had threatened his own mother, who also suffered from a mental illness, with a bomb, but was never prosecuted or evaluated for mental illness. Why was it so easy for him to have access to a deadly assault weapon? I realize that most people who suffer from a mental illness aren't violent but with easy access to guns, it's too easy for those who are prone to violence, to act out on that impulse.
Studies have been done and it's the guns that are the only reason why the US has so much deadly violence compared to other countries. The 2nd Amendment is an atrocity, and the way that the conservative courts have interpreted it makes it even worse. Any half brained idiot can own a gun thanks to those who wrote that damned amendment. And, why is the US one of the few countries that hasn't updated its original constitution?
Btw, the tv news just said that the Walmart shooter heard his employees making fun of him, so he bought a gun and decided to hunt them down. He bought the gun the morning of the shooting. Couldn't we at least have a waiting period before someone can put his hands on a gun!
