School shooting at Texas Elementary school, several children reported dead

Gergar12

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I don’t support using an assault rifle for that, it should be a tool of last resort but all options should be on the table.
 

Thaluikhain

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I'm spit-balling, but I'm assuming most guns used in violent crimes of any stripe were purchased legally at some point. But are there a lot of illegal gun manufacturing rings I'm unaware off? Is there a spate of Walter Whites out there with the specific knowledge on how to make highly-affective and devastating guns working out of the secret basement of a laundromat? So, when legally-purchased weapons become the tools of violent crime, does it not follow that curbing accessibility to weapons might have a meaningful impact of the potentiality of violent crimes they're used in?
I may be wrong, but I think Schadrach is highlighting the futility of selectively targeting rifles for restrictions to curb the use of weapon in crimes, which are mostly other types of weapons, which isn't a bad point. Rifles, particularly "military style", whatever that might mean, tend to be brought up, which is fair enough, but often instead of, not as well as, other weapons. Far too often people talk about banning automatic weapons, while no civilian legal fully automatic weapons are used in crimes, because they are heavily restricted as it is, and semi-auto is great for murder.

As an aside, some hundred odd years ago, there was a move in the US to heavily restrict handguns, which is why short barreled rifles and shotguns got extra restrictions, because they are like handguns. Only the handgun restrictions didn't go through.
 

Xprimentyl

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I may be wrong, but I think Schadrach is highlighting the futility of selectively targeting rifles for restrictions to curb the use of weapon in crimes, which are mostly other types of weapons, which isn't a bad point. Rifles, particularly "military style", whatever that might mean, tend to be brought up, which is fair enough, but often instead of, not as well as, other weapons. Far too often people talk about banning automatic weapons, while no civilian legal fully automatic weapons are used in crimes, because they are heavily restricted as it is, and semi-auto is great for murder.

As an aside, some hundred odd years ago, there was a move in the US to heavily restrict handguns, which is why short barreled rifles and shotguns got extra restrictions, because they are like handguns. Only the handgun restrictions didn't go through.
Great point, but "futility" is a dismissive word when the fact so many mass shootings involve weapons no everyday citizen needs. You can do a lot of damage with a handgun; you can do a lot more damage with an assault rifle, and last I checked, not a lot of benevolent hunters are using assault rifles. We need to get beyond this hump of thinking better restrictions "fix" everything, and embrace the fact that better restrictions might "help" something. Proactivity starts with getting out of bed; if we're going to dismiss that fact simply because the sole act of getting out of bed doesn't lead to immediate improvements in every aspect of our lives, then we're not really taking our lives seriously.

Many people in the medical field claim "if I can save ONE life...", and we don't discourage their endeavors simply because they're not saving EVERY life. We accept and appreciate their efforts one day at a time, and what "little" they do, makes a world of difference for EACH life at a time.
 

Schadrach

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As an aside, some hundred odd years ago, there was a move in the US to heavily restrict handguns, which is why short barreled rifles and shotguns got extra restrictions, because they are like handguns.
This is literally why the civilian version of the P90 (the PS90) has a slightly longer barrel than the P90 (the slightly longer barrel and lack of automatic fire are the main differences between the two). The P90 is a short barreled rifle, the PS90 is something dumb like a half inch over the limit.
 

Thaluikhain

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Great point, but "futility" is a dismissive word when the fact so many mass shootings involve weapons no everyday citizen needs. You can do a lot of damage with a handgun; you can do a lot more damage with an assault rifle, and last I checked, not a lot of benevolent hunters are using assault rifles. We need to get beyond this hump of thinking better restrictions "fix" everything, and embrace the fact that better restrictions might "help" something. Proactivity starts with getting out of bed; if we're going to dismiss that fact simply because the sole act of getting out of bed doesn't lead to immediate improvements in every aspect of our lives, then we're not really taking our lives seriously.

Many people in the medical field claim "if I can save ONE life...", and we don't discourage their endeavors simply because they're not saving EVERY life. We accept and appreciate their efforts one day at a time, and what "little" they do, makes a world of difference for EACH life at a time.
True, futility wasn't a good word for me to use. I'm not against restrictions for rifles, I'm against restrictions specifically targeting rifles, or certain features on rifles like bayonet lugs, or rifles with parts made by certain manufacturers, and stopping there. Restrict handguns and shotguns and maybe blackpoweder weapons as well. Though, to be effective you'd want all the states (at least in contiguous US) to have much the same laws.

As an aside, hunters actually do often use stuff like AR15s, because it's good for hunting things similar in size to humans. Not to say that's a good reason against restricted them, though.
 
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Silvanus

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What if you get arms from military warehouses and deflecting soldiers m.

Like anti air and anti tank guided missiles.
Then the guns in peoples' private ownership would be largely irrelevant, and the uprising itself would be primarily manned by defecting soldiers.
 
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Elijin

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Fucking hilarious to see Gergar doing this. Has an extensive post history of getting hard fantasizing about deploying US as world police and their military hardware decimating anyone, if they only had the balls.

Also spends pages arguing plucky homegrown 2A enthusiasts could dismantle said military.
 

The Rogue Wolf

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Fucking hilarious to see Gergar doing this. Has an extensive post history of getting hard fantasizing about deploying US as world police and their military hardware decimating anyone, if they only had the balls.

Also spends pages arguing plucky homegrown 2A enthusiasts could dismantle said military.
There's a reason I put them on ignore a long, long time ago.
 

Thaluikhain

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Fucking hilarious to see Gergar doing this. Has an extensive post history of getting hard fantasizing about deploying US as world police and their military hardware decimating anyone, if they only had the balls.

Also spends pages arguing plucky homegrown 2A enthusiasts could dismantle said military.
The idea that it's important that the US runs the world, but simultaneously also that the US government is overthrown is also a tad odd.
 

Gergar12

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Then the guns in peoples' private ownership would be largely irrelevant, and the uprising itself would be primarily manned by defecting soldiers.
No you still need to clear rooms.

Fucking hilarious to see Gergar doing this. Has an extensive post history of getting hard fantasizing about deploying US as world police and their military hardware decimating anyone, if they only had the balls.

Also spends pages arguing plucky homegrown 2A enthusiasts could dismantle said military.
The US military is no longer the gulf war monster it used to be. Without an increase in the recruiting population, and critical mass it will get weaker. Also I suspect it will play out like Syria where many will defect.

Plus many people either can’t or won’t join.
 

Gergar12

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This is a Russian Lancet drone/loitering munition, Russia only has a few of it against the US and its Switchblade 600, and it has destroyed SHORAD platforms, tanks, and self-propelled artillery. It's a little more than a slightly more complicated RC plane with a bomb on its head. It files too low for anything other than maybe an electronic warfare vehicle, SHORAD, machine guns with thermal vision, and possible directed energy weapons to kill it. It's so cost-effective that you could just send 40 for each tank, IFV, and mobile artillery and it would still be economically viable.

I guarantee you that in the future when we could be swimming in semiconductors those things will be everywhere. They will be striking jets on the ground, ships at sea near the coast, tanks on the move, and even aircraft carriers will be rendered mission kills if they get too close to a hostile platform.

Do not underestimate the US citizenry, they will find ways to make hundreds of thousands if not millions of these given enough time.
 

Schadrach

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Great point, but "futility" is a dismissive word when the fact so many mass shootings involve weapons no everyday citizen needs. You can do a lot of damage with a handgun; you can do a lot more damage with an assault rifle, and last I checked, not a lot of benevolent hunters are using assault rifles.
No shootings happen with legally owned assault rifles in the US. Literally none. I suspect you mean "assault weapons", but that term has no fixed definition - it means whatever the current author wants it to mean.

Rifles overall are responsible for a similar number of homicides annually as being beaten to death with a blunt object, even fewer than being beaten to death bare handed and for every rifle homicide in the US about 5 people are stabbed to death. Handguns are the big killer (almost half of US homicides, assuming no gun of unknown type was a handgun), to such a degree that it's almost comical. Like even if every homicide with a gun of unknown type (basically someone shot with a round that both pistols and rifles routinely use but no weapon was recovered, for example .22LR) was a rifle, the number of homicides with handguns would still be twice that of rifles.

As for hunters using assault rifles, of course none of them do (seriously, to own one you either have one that's at least 37 years old or have special licensing and taxes and are one of the few sorts of people the ATF actually keeps an eye on). They do however use "assault weapons", depending on the definition in use (again, because that term has no fixed definition). For example, a lot of proposals specifically target the most common rifle design in the US, one that is used in a lot of public mass shootings because people doing those kinds of shootings are generally not buying a gun for the event but using guns already available to them and it is again the most common rifle in the US. That being the ArmaLite Rifle-15 (still called by the original abbreviation after ArmaLite sold the design to Colt) and it's offbrand variants.

A big part of the reason for the prevalence of that specific rifle is that it's modular (to such a degree it's sometimes colloquially called the "Lego gun") - you can switch parts out to suit what you need. The most common calibers they are sold in are not appropriate for hunting deer (but are fine for small game and the like), but it's not terribly difficult to swap out the parts necessary to change the caliber.
 

Schadrach

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Also spends pages arguing plucky homegrown 2A enthusiasts could dismantle said military.
I mean I've seen plenty argue that a bunch of unarmed, out of shape yahoos nearly overthrew the government just a few years ago...surely it would be easier to succeed if everyone involved were armed.
At the same time, our military has been historically bad at dealing with guerilla tactics and enemies among a mostly non-combatant populace and that's exactly what an uprising in the states would be.
 

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I mean I've seen plenty argue that a bunch of unarmed, out of shape yahoos nearly overthrew the government just a few years ago...
Who has argued that, exactly ?
 

Xprimentyl

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I mean I've seen plenty argue that a bunch of unarmed, out of shape yahoos nearly overthrew the government just a few years ago...surely it would be easier to succeed if everyone involved were armed.
Lol, they didn't nearly overthrow anything. But what would have been the plan had the succeeded by your logic? That the government/military would simply just cede power to those "out of shape yahoos" and their "better ideas" for the country? Give Trump the presidency, and then what? I don't know what point you're trying to make, but had all of those yahoos been armed, the only differing result would have been more violence and casualties, mostly on their side were the military to get involved. Say what you will, but I'd wager my last cent on hundreds of trained and better-equipped soldiers literally doing what their job entails in protecting our freedoms and the integrity of our nation over a bunch of idiots with what could only be jokingly called a loose plan. January 6th wasn't the Boston Tea Party; it was a bunch of easily misled fanatics doing really dumb shit, and if that to you lends any credibility to what they're ultimately capable of, you must agree, it'd still be on such a small scale as to be little more than an inconvenience (if a tragic one) in the larger picture of this nation.

Unless you can say honestly that there was EVER a chance on January 6th, 2021, that this guy and those like him stood a chance of affecting ANY change to suit their ends. They wanted chaos; they got chaos. Now they're going to jail, and the wheels of government continue to turn as they have since before January 6th.

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Thaluikhain

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No shootings happen with legally owned assault rifles in the US. Literally none. I suspect you mean "assault weapons", but that term has no fixed definition - it means whatever the current author wants it to mean.
And the definition often includes stuff like bayonet lugs. Cause people being stabbed instead of shot is serious business.

At the same time, our military has been historically bad at dealing with guerilla tactics and enemies among a mostly non-combatant populace
In distant nations nobody cares about where the locals don't speak English or share the same culture, mind. They'd have to take it seriously on US soil.

(Mind you, the US police forces also tend to totally fail at this)