History doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes; lessons from 2004 re: the gun issue.

[DanTex]

73. What hate?

I mean, yeah, I hate the fact that my friend's gun nut uncle accidentally shot and killed his wife. And also the fact that another friend was woken up by a mysterious sound in the middle of the night and then found bullet holes in his apartment wall (nobody was hurt).

I travel to Europe a lot for business. Nobody there seems to have these kinds of stories. Hmm... And there are basically zero people in Europe who think that they should move towards US style laws. Everyone there (correctly) thinks the gun situation in the US is nuts. I remember once in London someone talking about a shady neighborhood where "someone might pull out a knife". Ahh, so quaint.

Yeah I get it: it's possible to kill people with a hunting rifle. Or without a gun at all. But, as everyone knows, a gun makes it a lot easier, and certain guns (handguns, mostly) make it a lot lot easier.

At the end of the day, the stats speak for themselves. We're the only first-world country that has epidemic levels of gun violence. We're also the only first-world country where you can just buy a handgun, no registration, no training, minor background check which you can avoid by buying secondhand, basically nothing. It's not a big secret what's going on.

Politically, sure you have a point. My friend's still-a-gun-nut-after-accidentally-killing-his-wife uncle will never vote for anyone who supports any gun control. But in terms of basic needs of society, Euro style laws are a no brainer.