Countries like Switzerland don’t have mass shootings like the USA, yet they have tons of guns. The lack of mental health support and the orphan crushing machine are a HUGE part of the mass murders here in America.
Switzerland has pretty restrictive laws about the ammunition that people use in their guns as well. Most of the gun owners have little to no ammo available to them at any given time. And most of those Swiss gun owners have also been conscripted into the armed forces and been through rigorous training and the use of firearms.
Can confirm. You can see more about Switzerland’s gun control here:
Huge difference between Switzerland and the US. Switzerland has a lot of weapons because, more or less, everyone is in the army and they keep their service weapons at home. And there are very strict rules regulating those weapons as opposed to the non-existent regulation in the US.
From Switzerland: “Depending on the type of weapon, you will require a sales contract, a weapon acquisition permit or an exemption permit.”
Semi-automatic weapons require a permit, and fully automatic weapons and firearms with large capacity magazines are banned and only allowed under special, petition able circumstamces.
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For military service issued weapons: The Swiss don’t allow their citizens access to ammunition (they used to issue a single magazine IIRC), all weapons are only distributed based on compulsory military service, and are to remain locked away except for when transported to the firing range for your annual qualification or practice.
Also, I do t think they allow swiss to keep their rifles anymore; I believe they are currently stored in the armory.
This. I’m a liberal and I definitely think we need tighter restrictions on guns in the U.S., but people today seem to have forgotten that we’ve had essentially the same gun laws for forever and mass shootings have only been a weekly occurrence for about 10-15 years. It’s not the guns or the gun laws or even mental health issues (depending on how you want to define them); it’s some fucked up aspects of our culture.
Exactly. Access to guns isn’t the issue, lack of education and failed parenting is. I’m pretty fucking liberal but even in the single generation I’ve been alive I’m pretty sure parenting has gotten significantly worse. I go out of my way to make sure my kids let me know if stuff is bothering them and explain how to respond to things that frustrate them. I’m sure this is going to go into parents working 24/7 but that also isn’t anything new.
seem to have forgotten that we’ve had essentially the same gun laws for forever
this completely disregards the Assault Weapons ban and it’s repeal. Which match with the numbers in a stark manner.
Agreed. The root cause is multifaceted. People seem to ignore the fact that the shooters are almost 100 percent male, with the vast majority being disaffected loners, white, and young. What has caused these men and boys to fantasize about killing masses of people? It’s far more complicated than folks like to admit. We want a simple scapegoat, so we blame guns.
Using your timeline of mass shooting increases, an immediate reason to consider should be the assault weapon law expiring in 2004. Data would back that up. We haven’t had the same laws forever. https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/06/15/did-the-assault-weapons-ban-of-1994-bring-down-mass-shootings-heres-what-the-data-tells-us/
Your own source shows that mass shootings weren’t as high as they are now prior to the assault weapons ban, thus demonstrating it wasn’t repeal of the law that caused the recent uptick. If it was, we’d see a similar amount of mass shootings prior to its enactment as well.
I’m a liberal and I definitely think we need tighter restrictions on guns in the U.S., but people today seem to have forgotten that we’ve had essentially the same gun laws for forever
Sure but the same party that works so hard against increased legislation for gun control gutted our mental health infrastructure and votes against funding and rebuilding it at every opportunity. They aren’t interested in solving either end of the problem.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_Health_Systems_Act_of_1980
https://sociology.org/content/vol003.004/thomas.html
This last one is a ddg search - you can just pick which article you want to read about Republicans voting against mental health funding.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=republicans+vote+against+mental+health+funding
You’re missing my point. Mental health issues aren’t the primary problem when it comes to firearm violence and deaths. Republican resistance to laws that attempt to address mental health issues deserves pointing out, but not so much in this context, because that’s not the main issue at hand. Liberals can be commended for attempting to do something about the problem more than Republicans are, but what I’ve seen of their views on the topic indicates to me that they too are missing the point. The problem isn’t guns or severe psychiatric problems; there’s a cultural element that no one (including Democrats, for some reason) aren’t willing to address. Until we identify and focus on the actual problem, no progress will be made, because we’ll just continue to fight about stuff that isn’t that relevant.
Okay fine, it’s some fucked up aspect of American culture. Honestly, blame it on whatever you want because until that problem is fixed, the current gun laws are clearly inadequate and need to be immediately addressed.
They can have their dogshit gun laws back when they’ve finished solving the problem, be it mental health or Marilyn Manson.
I underestimated the Marilyn Manson problem, which itself is a massive issue with attention-whore narcissists in general but distilled into a no-talent onanist fame-whore of almost (kan)ye proportions.
We need to remove these people to a safe space - safe for us - and resolve the issues clinically before returning them.
They can have their dogshit gun laws back when they’ve finished solving the problem
You don’t mean that though. No liberals do. That’s why conservatives won’t budge on this issue, because they know whatever ground they give will never return and liberals will always be pushing for more.
And honestly, the mass shooting stuff is our best chance at convincing conservatives to change, because they’re actually occasionally affected by that crap. Even with the increases in mass shootings, the vast majority of gun violence is down to crime, which mostly affects poor, non-White people living in urban areas.
This issue is really complex. It’s affected by different cultures in the U.S., political alignments, demographics and wealth levels. The mental health stuff is only really relevant if you’re talking about how psychological and sociological issues contribute to extremism and social isolation, but most people just picture some schizo on a bad day, which is a microscopic drop in the bucket (and most people with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia are not actually vioelnt, that’s a bad stereotype).
I understand why most liberals want to get rid of guns; it’s just that that’s not actually the problem, and conservatives know it, so they fight back hard and we get nowhere. Sadly, I think more conservatives have to become victims before there’s any traction in terms of putting appropriate safety measures in place that still afford conservatives the freedom to practice their favorite hobby.
So it goes. Meanwhile, we’re killing the planet. Small potatoes in the long run…
It’s multiple issues:
- Lack of access to mental health services.
- 24/7 commercial news geared more towards fear than information with no fair and balanced doctrine for reporting.
- A widening wealth gap depriving those at the bottom of the income ladder the dignity of a stable life.
- Private ownership of said media suppressing unfavourable stories.
- Civil forfeiture and warrior cop training creating a mafia attitude in US Police departments.
- A lack of realisation that the historical context for gun ownership in the US was to keep the natives off the land cliamed by a settler because the British didn’t want to repeat Spain’s mistakes.
- More willing to accept licensing and denial of access to a car as punishment for breaking driving laws despite that the car is more fundamental to existing in modern US than the Gun.
- Treating the constitution like a holy manuscript rather than it’s original purpose of being updated/replaced every 5 to 10 years.
- A broken electoral system in dire need of reform.
- Underfunding education.
- Lobbying so rampant they might as well host the bidding for Washington representatives on eBay.
The list is very very long. The USA’s cultural fabric that is the people’s common heritage is being stretched and torn by those who believe they can make a profit from the scraps.
The USA is a young anglophile country, you’ve only had one civil war, I reckon you’ve got at least another one coming.
More willing to accept licensing and denial of access to a car as punishment for breaking driving laws despite that the car is more fundamental to existing in modern US than the Gun.
Licensing to carry exists in most states, though some have removed that. We also do typically remove access to guns (or at least the CCW depending on state and infraction) as punishment for breaking gun laws.
The rates of gun ownership between Switzerland and the USA are vastly different. USA ownership is almost double that of Switzerland.
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21379912
I’m not denying your take that it’s a multifaceted issue, but equating the gun ownership between Switzerland and the USA doesn’t paint an accurate picture.
Despite the USA having double the gun ownership that Switzerland does, the USA has more than 20 times the number of mass shootings. There’s definitely more to this issue:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_Switzerland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States
If we’re throwing out Wikipedia links, here are the actual laws in Switzerland, many of which the pro-gun community in America staunchly oppose adopting, including the mandatory military service that would actually qualify gun owners to be part of a “well regulated militia”.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_Switzerland
The Swiss also don’t celebrate weapons as much as the US Americans.
I struggle to find the correct word. Celebrate isn’t it, but I’m too tired to think about a better one and I don’t want to start a comment war here. You’ll probably understand what I meant.
I think a large part of it is the politicization of firearms that has made gun ownership a lifestyle choice for unstable people.
You’ve got a bunch of crazy conspiracy theorists being told that the liberals are out to kill their god and take their weapons, so they stock up on weapons that they use when they finally crack.
We’ve manufactured a system where the mentally unstable are actively encouraged to arm themselves.
I use the word ‘clutch’ often, as a baby with a blanket or an old nerd with vi. They’re unwilling to find a better solution than a gun, and the gun lobby tells us it’s all okay as long as we have our Glock.
…come to think of it, so much rap music seemed to do the same, for awhile.
You also need a permit to buy a gun. Shall-issue for most of the guns I’d categorize as more reasonable, but still need to put in for the permit. Automatics have quite stringent requirements on their may-issue permits. High-cap magazines are not available. Universal registration & background check and “red flag”-style blocks on any purchases.
Ammo is also included in these rules, essentially.
Second-hand sales require a paper trail conforming to many of these rules with a decade-long statute of limitations to prove legitimate transfer that is also reported to the state authority.
Storage methods are regulated. Failure to report a lost/stolen weapon to police is bad news for you.
You need a permit to carry which is mostly only given to people who have occupational need to carry – like the old NYC law where you have to state a plausible need. Otherwise, when and where you can carry is limited to basically sport or similar events.
And there’s more. Not to mention their culture of training and safety around it because of their military and militia requirements.
I’m all for imposing Swiss-style gun rules on the US. It would restrict guns a lot. The people who appeal to how great they are with guns and how it is “proof” that gun restrictions aren’t a good solution just haven’t even done basic research about what the gun situation actually is in Switzerland.
The Swiss also have compulsory military service (at least for men) where they theoretically teach you how to use and presumably not be a dummy with your gun.
Also do Switzerland have carry laws? If everyone left their firearms at home it would be much less of an issue too.
