One of the stats often included in "gun death" statistics is suicide. Japan has a far higher suicide rate than the US despite the absence of guns. You can't legislate away the root problem.
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One of the stats often included in "gun death" statistics is suicide. Japan has a far higher suicide rate than the US despite the absence of guns. You can't legislate away the root problem.
That's not correct:
Source
In your original post you treated banning books, guns and weed as equally insane. I agree that banning books and weed doesn't solve many problems, and is more likely to cause more problems in society.
My objection to your statement is that guns are in a very different category, and that common sense gun regulations would reduce problems like school shootings. I'm not advocating for banning guns at all... but I do think something needs to change to solve the uniquely American problem of school shootings. I think the real solution is a number of things, including increased mental health services and resources for underserved communities, and I'm willing to be convinced otherwise, but I haven't seen anything yet that leads me to believe that common sense gun regulations would not decrease school shootings in the USA.
My data may be outdated. Until recently, japan far outpaced the US. same source. However, the point that firearms ownership is not a demonstrable cause of suicide remains. Fixating on the guns misses the mark. You can't argue against my point that violent crime has plummeted from its peak in the late 1980s, with no demonstrable effect from the Clinton-era gun ban. Guns are not the root cause of suicide or violent crime.
Guns are inanimate objects. Drugs are merely substances people choose to injest. Books are filled with ideas. People may choose to use any of these to endanger themselves or others. Bans and restrictions are the wrong response in each instance.