You part of a well regulated militia? Seems people tend to overlook that little part.

Exactly. Military wannbies who do drills and practice kidnapping a govoner is not necessarily well trained militia imo.

I already stated what was meant by doing ones own research but I will explain it again for those who did not get it the first time. Research the full story , collect information from multiple sources of media. Look into all aspects of what happened. Arrive at your own conclusions to the situation.

As for being apart of a mulita , too my knowledge there is NO need for a militia at this time noir have I heard of any being formed for any reason. I do not have any military training as I was not in any branch of the military. I have taken pistol courses as part of getting my Canceled pistol license from when I lived in Michigan I since have let it expire as I don't generally carry when I am out and about. I do not long for armed combat noir do I seek it out BUT if it came too down too it I would defend myself and my home to the best of my ability. I figured you would label me as some crazy military wannabe as a way to try and invalidate my argument but the fact remains you really need to take a step back and ask yourself what's really going on. Locking your doors and hiding inside where as seems like a good idea is short sided non critical thinking. There is a saying I'm fond of "we create the things we fear the most when we let fear consume us". Keep that in mind.
Once again I wish you the best of luck and peace of mind in what ever country you choose too move too.

mhop is of course correct that only those who are entitled to vote in US elections can actually have any influence. But people from other countries can still have views and opinions, I have varying opinions of lots of governments from Canada to Afghanistan and beyond, even though the only one I can actually vote for is the UK one. And given I've been to the US (and loved it) twice, and am planning to return, how safe it is, is something I'm interested in.

He's also right that just passing laws has no effect on those who don't obey laws, and that there are other ways to mount attacks - but someone with knives will generally find it rather harder to kill multiple people from a distance - the Mandalay Bay attack could not have been carried out with knives, and attempting the equivalent of a school shooting with knives would be way less effective than with guns. But given the US now has more guns than people, it would take a very long time - decades, maybe even centuries - even if a total gun ban was passed, to actually find and remove all the already existing weapons that are out there.

There's also a cultural aspect to it. There are other countries with high levels of gun ownership, Switzerland is often quoted as an example, as every adult male, and every adult female who wants one, is given a military-grade assault rifle and ammunition by the Swiss government and required to attend annual drills on how to use them. Switzerland has no standing army, instead the idea is that if every citizen is armed, any attacker would literally have to fight their way in, house by house, against dedicated and well-armed resistance. And yet Switzerland doesn't have anything like the "gun problem" the US does. I gather it does have a fairly high rate of suicide facilitated by the weapons but no-one goes out on gun rampages shooting other people with them.

Meanwhile, for pure stats with no political leaning, this site is quite informative:

https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

The map on their front page (give it a moment to load) is all gun deaths of all types so far this year - 29,758 of them to 1st September. If you click on their "Charts & Maps" page it gives separate maps for the different kinds of events, mass shootings, suicides, officer shot, etc. As you'd expect, where there are more people there are more events, the less populated states have far lower rates.

It's a problem, and a growing one, as the number of shootings, and deaths, are rising each year. Will be interesting in the decades to come to see if there is a solution.

Just going to leave this here.
https://youtu.be/LORVfnFtcH0

Love it! Very well on point.

I've really struggled to be able to read your responses coherently, because you honestly present as the exact type of gun nut that shouldn't be allowed access to firearms: A person who looks into any type of modernized and responsible gun access control as a form of oppression, one who is willing to resort to threats to defend their position.

Further, you're also presenting yourself as someone who looks into any debate on the matter as an opportunity to escalate to the indefensible position of "Come for my guns, and I'll fucking shoot you, so get the fuck out of MY country." It really seems unhinged. I'm sure you're an otherwise sensible person, but you should know how your writing portrays you.

Your language is inflammatory and your writing, grammar and spelling is so poor that again, I have a hard time reading your comments and extrapolating whatever nuance you may have meant to convey. Proper formatting, spelling and appropriate usage of paragraphs and capitals will certainly serve your purpose better than veiled threats and wild ramblings.

So, what stands out to me is that you urged WildThang to leave the USA, multiple times. What does that help? You're not making any arguments in good faith.

For what it's worth, I live in that area too, and know others affected by the trauma of the event. Actually, there was a mass shooting at my college a few years after I left, as well. Just about everyone in this country now has a "six degrees of Kevin Bacon" relationship to some sort of mass-killing event. That is a uniquely American experience that you are so quick to defend. It's not anything to be proud of.

Your sentiments echo the absolutely vile comments of the Highland Park offender's parents, who have refused to acknowledge any culpability in the matter, despite the total failure of a father (a MAGA nut) who petitioned to allow his son to have access to the assault weapons at the age of 18, when the punk had already made numerous threats to himself and others.

911 had even been called to the house multiple times and the authorities knew this little piece of shit was on record as being dangerous. Despite all that, the parents provided this douchebag with the opportunity to access the assault weapons that shot and injured more than 3 dozen people, killing 7, including toddlers and grandparents.

Is that not a loophole that should be addressed? Or are you too worried about "criminals" to engage in a gun control debate that is sensible and balanced?

Do you engage in your every daily activity as though you're surrounded by "criminals?" Or do you just think other parts of the country are like that because of your sheltered perspective? People like George Zimmerman and those twats who murdered Ahmad Arbery share that mentality. Since you're from Florida, I genuinely am curious to know your opinion on those two cases. I know there are a ton of sympathizers for George Zimmerman, who has built a career out of his notoriety for shooting an unarmed young man. Is there such sentiment for Arbery's killers, who faced their charges and were found guilty by their peers?

I lived in Chicago for many years, and still spend plenty of my time there enjoying the culture and livelihood of the city, never once feeling unsafe. That said, the crime and gun violence situation is severe and nuanced, and the factors that will ultimately improve that problem are systemically pervasive and will take enormous effort to overcome. You, in fact, are the one embracing the lie that your media sources have fed you about large democratically-led cities. They're not war zones. Post whatever statistic you choose, but there's a huge difference between Fallujah and Chicago.

I support the 2nd amendment, though I don't engage with firearms in any way. I think it is in fact one of the most uniquely American facts of life, and I agree that an attempt to remove all firearms from the hands of American citizens at this point is unrealistic, at best. I know numerous responsible gun owners whom I would trust around me with their weapons. But I don't know everyone.

The non-existent barrier to firearm access must be addressed. Just because people are able to obtain weapons illegally does not refute my previous statement. The two issues both deserve attention. They can both be dealt with, but when the gun lobby approaches the conversation in bad faith, as you have done repeatedly now, progress screeches to a halt and the violence continues. You, and those who share your opinion are in fact the ones causing the United States to be the only country in the world where mass-shootings occur with this frequency.

If you can't approach a serious debate without challenging the opposing position to get the fuck out of "your" country, then you don't deserve to be heard. How utterly sad and despicable.

-Also telling people who don't live or vote here that their opinion is invalid comes across as bigoted and close-minded - nobody even brought that up - so why did you?

My spelling and grammar are just fine I think you meant to attack my sentence structure or paragraph format but being dismissive of my spelling and grammar will not invalidate my argument. Also Caution everyone else seemed to read it just fine. Wild Thang linking a you tube video that does not play as its age restricted and saying it proves your point does nothing to actually say what your point is. I have presented my opinion and argument as clearly as I can. Caution (with the ironic name) you infer derogatory and inflammatory statements from only part of my responses and calling me a bigot does nothing to disprove an opinion and a rational take on the gun violence here in the USA. It was Wild Thang who originally talked about moving abroad not liking the state of affairs here in the U.S. I never told them to "get out" that's putting words into my mouth. If you had bothered to read my messages as a whole you would see that I am presenting some options to Wild Thang as NO ONE should live there life in fear of going outside. I don't expect someone on the internet to have any kind of actual points too there argument but just calling me all types of derogatory terms is pretty childish. I wish the best to Wild Thang what ever they decide too do. I hope they find the peace of mind they seek. For the record I never took sides on any of the major gun related debates there is no absolutes.
"I've really struggled to be able to read your responses coherently, because you honestly present as the exact type of gun nut that shouldn't be allowed access to firearms: A person who looks into any type of modernized and responsible gun access control as a form of oppression, one who is willing to resort to threats to defend their position."
I never threatened anyone noir would I , threats made over the internet are meaningless and totally invalidate ones argument. Yet again you put words into my mouth and infer meaning. You assume you have me figured out from a back and forth over the internet, that's short sided thinking. The truth is far from what you think I'm more of a middle ground type of person on this I am fine with the measures of firearm control we have they work for the law abiding citizen and keep us in check , you know that system we have of checks and balances. There are of course those who slip through or game the system. You can't account for every possible situation. "
"Do you engage in your every daily activity as though you're surrounded by "criminals?" Or do you just think other parts of the country are like that because of your sheltered perspective? People like George Zimmerman and those twats who murdered Ahmad Arbery share that mentality. Since you're from Florida, I genuinely am curious to know your opinion on those two cases. I know there are a ton of sympathizers for George Zimmerman, who has built a career out of his notoriety for shooting an unarmed young man. Is there such sentiment for Arbery's killers, who faced their charges and were found guilty by their peers?" Again your putting words into my mouth and Assuming my state of mind. NO I don't go about my daily business assuming I'm surrounded by criminals, that's the kind of thinking that leads to P.T.S.D and paranoia.
Again your looking at my statements like its US versus them. That was a Lose -Lose situation that person was innocent and lost there life. Although he was not found guilty of the charges George Zimmerman will have to live the rest of his life with the guilt knowing he took an innocent life. No matter how that appears that does something too a person, ask any soldier returning from War. I have never defended taking a life so carelessly EVER.
"-Also telling people who don't live or vote here that their opinion is invalid comes across as bigoted and close-minded - nobody even brought that up - so why did you?"
There have been numerous instances where people from foreign countries try and say what's going on in a country they have never actually been too or for that matter even live in. Yes everyone is entitled too there opinion. But there is a limit between rendering an opinion and Flat out making up lies about the state of a country to influence its population and image world wide. Weather its Europe, Africa , the Middle East, South America, Hell even Canada, it is impossible for someone to say with 100% certainty what the current state of affairs is in those places Unless your there. Now I don't pretend to know what's going on in every state in the US either but it supremely bugs me when I hear people from other countries trying too say what's going on over here when really they are only spitting back what they see on the main stream news outlets and half of it is bad info in the first place. Yes I am not a huge fan of the main stream news media they have been caught lying and stretching the truth too many times I take what they report with a grain of salt. It is all just pieces of info that are apart of the larger picture or story. I have made my points and rendered my opinion I am done wasting energy on this thread. If all you do is take what I said, pick it apart, and infer half truths about me then you are no better then the main stream media outlets that deal in lies and propaganda. IF you wish too count this debate as "won" then by all means pat yourself on the back and say you won. In reality there is no winning or losing we as a country and a society have too move forward toward balance and unity. Divided we fall , United we stand.

Alrighty.

Once again -

If you break up your rambling walls of text into coherently structured paragraphs, it will be easier for everyone to read your statements. I may be the only one who said something about it (and believe me, saying that I "struggled to read your words" was my respectful way of suggesting that you have poor grammar), but it's common courtesy to communicate in a manner with people that is easily read or understandable.

Do you have a profession that requires you to communicate in writing? Do you prefer to read things that are written in the manner that you write? I promise you, I'm not trying to be condescending; If you don't write in huge unreadable chunks, your message will be received more readily and more credibly.

It's not just sentence structure or paragraphing. It's grammar and spelling as well. (grammar as defined includes sentence and paragraph structure, anyhow) You've got numerous common incorrect spellings throughout your entire post history on this thread. Not that I spell everything perfectly all the time - I type fast and make mistakes, also - but I know the difference between "to" and "too" along with "your" and "you're", and I pay attention to my punctuation and capitalization, so as not to come off as aggressive. You do sound especially defensive. (Why is my name ironic? It's from a band I was in 20 years ago)

Like I said, I figured you're probably an otherwise reasonable dude, and if you insist that you have middle of the road opinions on things like gun control debate... I promise you I'm not trying to "put words in your mouth," but the things that you wrote are inflammatory, and you should know that, because you're not a bad person, are you?

I'm reasonably patriotic. When someone tells me they have an issue with our country, so much so that they may leave it, I don't see that as an opportunity to say disrespectful things about their perspective. And yes, suggesting that this is the only good country in the world and all other countries "aren't as great as you think, so good luck out there," IS in fact disrespectful. Telling them that their options are to live in fear or GTFO is rude.

"Putting words in my mouth," is a total cop-out. You wrote what you wrote.

Consider this a radical opinion, but I think a basic literacy exam should be part of the requirement to purchase a firearm. (I guess that's where I disagree with the 2nd amendment as it's currently written)