Things today may be a bit slow, because I have crossed the threshold and hit the big four oh. Bitter is planning a small celebration which includes cake, and cake is all that matters. So let’s see what’s going on out there:
The Florida Coalition to Stop Gun Violence is protesting the idea that a shooting range will be opening. Remember, it’s raging right-wing paranoia that they want to take our guns. Since they complain civilians aren’t trained enough, then oppose facilities to help us get training, what does that say? Note these folks aren’t some rogue group, they are part of States United.
I do have to say, I would not want to be on Marion Hammer’s shit list. She’s trying to push a limited Constitutional Carry bill, that would allow people to carry without a permit during a Hurricane evacuation. I know of someone who was the victim of an attempted robbery during a Hurricane evac, but thwarted it when he quickly produced a 1911. He kept his gas.
Does Andrew Cuomo have a problem even among Democrats?
Anti-gun groups launch a #StandWith Vivek campaign to rescue the AG nomination. NRA will get more than 5000 likes on its Facebook page on a bad day.
I’d need more details about this bill’s exact, but if the reporters are accurate (a stretch) I wouldn’t have rolled over on this bill, which seems to go beyond federal law: “Additionally, abusers against whom an active protective order has been granted would be prohibited from possessing a firearm for 10 years.”
A lot of tea party types get upset that NRA has an incumbent friendly endorsement policy. They’d be foolish not to.
Confusion and delays in SAFE act implementation.
Quite a fight on our hands in Washington State this coming election.
Our criminal justice system has become a crime.
Filming police should not be a crime.
I’ll say it again: guns do not increase suicide risk. It’s an absurd notion. I am not nor have I ever been, nor will I ever be suicidal. So what’s the risk for me? And if it did come to that, I’d have a damned good reason for it that’s none of anyone else’s damned business.
Additionally, guns in the home are a “none of your damned business” issue, not a health issue. Why, as a society, have we become so tolerant of petulant busybodies?
Marko celebrates ten years as an American.
Happy Birthday kid! :-) The 40’s are actually a most fun time!
For many people suicide is a very spur of the moment decision. When England phased out coal gas ovens, the british suicide rate dropped by a third. If you make it slightly harder for people to kill themselves, a lot of them will change their minds.
I don’t think it’s Uncle Sam’s job to make sure people don’t kill themselves; I just wanted to point out that suicidal notions can rapidly come and go.
Explain Japan. Almost completely disarmed, save for the Yakuza, and yet people manage to commit suicide there at rates that are more than double ours.
You take away guns, people will just find another way to kill themselves. It won’t fix anything.
See here for more details about Britain and coal gas.
Britain’s suicide rate climbed most of the way back up by 1980, for demographic reasons.
I think your idea that modes of suicide become more or less popular and that might affect the marginally suicidal is fine – but I think demographics is far more important, and it’s obvious from experience that the dedicatedly suicidal are impossible to stop.
(The numbers reveal very odd things, like the female suicide rate for liquid/solid poisons spiking before the coal gas rate dropped at all…
Plainly it’s more complex than just weeding out the marginally-suicidal.)
Look up papers by most the most respected Psychologists/Psychiatrists in the field and you’ll find that suicide is very rarely a spur of the moment/impulsive act, in mentally healthy individuals.
Most of these impulsive acts are done in mixed or mania states, and even if you took away guns from these individuals they would very likely attempt suicide by other means.
And besides, it’s not the governments job to keep people from killing themselves.
It’s a “problem” without any real solutions.
RE: suicide via gun
Does anyone have any data on how many gun suicides are part of criminal acts? For example murder + suicide events. I’ve tried looking but haven’t found any stats.