Could it be the gun culture and prevalence of guns is driving the American want for guns? Its not for hunting, and as much as self defense is sighted I don't think thats a real valid reason. How many actual people have had to pull a gun on someone to stop a crime? I imagine its very low. What is very high is probably a lot of people who are a bit brainwashed into thinking they NEED their guns to 1)defend themselves from the abundance of criminals in the US which is actually not true, or 2) to defend themselves from a tyranical government which we all know is a joke.
Maybe there is a 3rd reason, to be a tough guy and for criminal purposes (mass shootings, terror attacks, robberies)?
Outside of that why else would you want a gun? Want it for sports (hunting/sport shooting) then set up designated area's that are strictly monitored. Self defense? Ok 1 small gun slow loading gun with a small clip secured at home. Your a collector? OK you can have as many guns as you want just no ammo and all guns have to have the firing mechanism taken out.
As far him getting a gun before or after, my point is if you go the extreme with gun rights than you have to argue that this guy should have a gun, even though you know he threatens to murder people.
I agree that it's cultural. The prevalence of guns is a symptom, not a cause though. So then we need to go deeper and ask
why the culture is the way it is, which leads us back to the two main arguments of 2nd amendment proponents:
1. Defense against a tyrannical government.
2. Personal defense.
I don't agree that the defense against a tyrannical government argument is a joke. I used to, but I don't anymore given what is currently happening in Europe, China, and so on. I genuinely believe that something bad is brewing in Europe and I don't quite know where it's going to go. I sense some kind of critical mass forming though, so let's say the Count Dankula scenario and banning of memes are early signs of what is to come in a macrocultural change. What will be banned next and what is to stop the government from fining you, imprisoning you, or worse? Will criticism of the government be criminalised like in China? What is to protect the populace from that other than the threat of violence from an armed militia? If you have a solution, I am totally open to it, because like I have said, I would like a gun-free society if the pros outweigh the cons.
I don't see why you are arguing about going to the extreme with gun rights. I don't think that's what anyone here is doing, and I haven't seen any of the gun owners in this thread opposing regulation of guns for criminals and/or mentally ill people. You may not be aware of it because of the media spin and those Parkland kids, but guns
are regulated in the US. It does vary a bit by state, but generally speaking it's not possible to legally acquire a gun if you have a criminal record or known mental illness. Listen to the Colion Noir interview on the Rubin Report if you want to know some facts that you will not have heard from the media:
.
I have heard various theories regarding the increase in mass school shootings in the last 20-odd years but the one that makes most sense to me is the over-medication of young boys with drugs like Adderall, etc. The timelines match up too perfectly for it to not at least be a factor. What we are essentially doing is pathologising normal boyish behaviours and inappropriately medicating them as a result, of which increased rates of genuine mental illness may be one of the unintended side effects. If this were indeed the case, then would the solution not be to address the root cause (inappropriate medication) rather than ban the tool used to commit the crime? As far as I can tell, this was the biggest factor in the Nikolas Cruz mass shooting (as well as an unstable family life), not the fact that he had access to a gun. What happens if we do ban all guns but leave the mental illness side unaddressed? Do these kids start showing up to schools with knives instead? What's to stop the kids from illegally acquiring the guns anyway?
I have covered most of this in previous comments in this thread, which people seem to be ignoring for some reason.