Gun Control, What’s Different This Time?

[mattsmith48]

Seeing the news coming out of the US it certainly feels like its different this time, usually after a couple weeks the debate goes away and people go back to their regular life, waiting for the next tragedy to happen, not this time, why is that? What is different this time? Was this the one that will lead to real changes?

[Sailor Mars]

I think it’s because the victims are actually taking a stand. They are outsourcing, getting on the news and posting on social media, protesting. They are planning and gathering for marches, for school walkouts. This hasn’t happened before with previous shootings. The victims don’t get this involved.

I’m not sure if it will bring change for gun laws, but it will definitely get people thinking, debating, and advocating.

[Dmaxd123]

you know one of the comical things that is different this time:

trump is in the white house and there are at least talks of changes

obama didn't really change anything significant gun-wise

[PlasmaHam]

I think it’s because the victims are actually taking a stand. They are outsourcing, getting on the news and posting on social media, protesting. They are planning and gathering for marches, for school walkouts. This hasn’t happened before with previous shootings. The victims don’t get this involved.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/maryanngeorgantopoulos/parkland-teens-organization?utm_term=.ekNRoW1qR#.lwQxXZgqx
Well, more like liberal organizations are exploiting, displaying, and thrusting pubescent victims into the limelight like never before. That's definitely a factor. Also likely is the increased leftist vigor since Trump's election; they are unified in their hatred.

[NewLeafsFan]

When people were complaining about gun control when Obama was the President, they were literally preaching to the choir. Now it feels like they aren't being heard as much.

[Sailor Mars]

they are unified in their hatred.
That’s kind of funny to hear :P

[Dalcourt]

Seeing the news coming out of the US it certainly feels like its different this time, usually after a couple weeks the debate goes away and people go back to their regular life, waiting for the next tragedy to happen, not this time, why is that? What is different this time? Was this the one that will lead to real changes?

I don't feel like there is anything really different now. As NewLeafsFan said complain about our lax gun laws to Obama was like preaching to the choir. He would have introduced straighter laws but he could not.

Now they don't really have a voice in the White House anymore so they need to protest more to be eventually heard.

Sadly I am not too optimistic...Trump won't bring any change. As long as there are so many people in our country who think they need a gun to defend themselves against some sort of enemy that probably only exists in their heads nothing will really change.

However, the marches and protests make the positive impression that this sort of people will die out more and more and then some real change can happen.

So as I said somewhere else already it won't happen tomorrow but we will get rid off those guns for good or day.

[ShineintheDark]

Funnily enough, if anyone has seen or heard what Trump said in his meeting about this, he's more radical than anyone thought Obama would be. Literally: 'Take the guns first, worry about due process later." Whether that's just him being susceptible to suggestion or his genuine thoughts on the matter, it's pretty funny to see how right-wing media outlets and politicians try and approach this since all we heard for 8 years was how Obama was an anti-gun commie who would take every gun away in a heartbeat.

[Dmaxd123]

I think if obama wanted to introduce some new laws he could have. he just would have had to go with slight changes like Trump is suggesting (readjusting age restrictions... i'm 100% pro 2nd amendment, but i'm "ok" with changing semi-auto sales from 18 to 21 to come in alignment with handgun purchases with the exception of those serving in the military)

not crazy radical changes like Feinstein & Warren were aiming for.

Obamacare passed because he had the majority of those in congress behind him, he could have changed some gun laws at that point too. I'm not complaining that he didn't as he probably would have gone overboard but the point is you can say preaching to obama was preaching to the choir... but HE still didn't do anything to change it. Trump is at least talking about changes which is humorous since most of those screaming for gun reform dislike trump

[jack2001]

https://www.buzzfeed.com/maryanngeorgantopoulos/parkland-teens-organization?utm_term=.ekNRoW1qR#.lwQxXZgqx
Well, more like liberal organizations are exploiting, displaying, and thrusting pubescent victims into the limelight like never before. That's definitely a factor. Also likely is the increased leftist vigor since Trump's election; they are unified in their hatred.

Well we're piss tired of kids getting shot in schools, so of course we're fighting back. Also, us liberal youth aren't being exploited in any way.

[jack2001]

I think if obama wanted to introduce some new laws he could have. he just would have had to go with slight changes like Trump is suggesting (readjusting age restrictions... i'm 100% pro 2nd amendment, but i'm "ok" with changing semi-auto sales from 18 to 21 to come in alignment with handgun purchases with the exception of those serving in the military)

not crazy radical changes like Feinstein & Warren were aiming for.

Obamacare passed because he had the majority of those in congress behind him, he could have changed some gun laws at that point too. I'm not complaining that he didn't as he probably would have gone overboard but the point is you can say preaching to obama was preaching to the choir... but HE still didn't do anything to change it. Trump is at least talking about changes which is humorous since most of those screaming for gun reform dislike trump

I do think that Obama made a mistake in not passing gun gun control. However, I also think that assault rifles and AR-15's still need to be banned. Of course, there are other factors that influence mass shootings, such as mental health and lack of accessible healthcare, but guns are definitely the biggest.

[PlasmaHam]

Also, us liberal youth aren't being exploited in any way.
That's literally what every exploited group says.

[ShineintheDark]

That's literally what every exploited group says.
Exploitation implies that the influence and funding is not wanted or asked for. These kids are campaigning and peacefully protesting; if they receive money from groups or causes that they support then that is their right. Is it not hypocrisy that you see politicians receiving huge sums of donations from the NRA as perfectly fine and reasonable but any sort of funding or recognition from liberal organisations to those who equally promote the same cause as some sort of evil exploitation? Politics is politics and this narrative of some dumb kids being controlled by evil George Soros and the anti-gun Illuminati makes Conservatives no better than the 'crazy liberals' they claim to oppose.

[Uniquemind]

Exploitation implies that the influence and funding is not wanted or asked for. These kids are campaigning and peacefully protesting; if they receive money from groups or causes that they support then that is their right. Is it not hypocrisy that you see politicians receiving huge sums of donations from the NRA as perfectly fine and reasonable but any sort of funding or recognition from liberal organisations to those who equally promote the same cause as some sort of evil exploitation? Politics is politics and this narrative of some dumb kids being controlled by evil George Soros and the anti-gun Illuminati makes Conservatives no better than the 'crazy liberals' they claim to oppose.

Also such a claim they’re backed by Soros, is ridiculous especially because none of these guys seem “fake” or are “crisis actors”, and a lot of these kids had YouTube channels before the tragedy, so you can’t say they’re “fake” because the credibility of their existence was pre-established before the tragedy.


I don’t see them rolling in $ or anything, and I’d imagine if someone was being bankrolled by a rich .01%, I’d expect to see a lot of diva-demands on the part of such “crisis actors”. I’m not seeing any entourage flashiness here either, which adds to their genuine feel of the movement.

So there’s a sense of realism to this movement, something conspiracy theorists are struggling with and hadn’t encountered during Sandy Hook.


—

On a debate level, the thesis on both sides have shifted. Before Florida has these kinds of mass tragedies, (I believe Pulse nightclub was also in Florida right?)

A lot of my debate opponents taking pro-gun stances, would cite in these that Flordia’s Gun laws were an example of a state where gun restrictions are fewer than any other state and gun crime was down when it comes specifically to mass shooting tragedies.

Now come present time, recent events have taken away that thesis statement, and shows that despite all the armed Florida citizens, stand-your-ground laws, tragedies like this still occur.


There are the two major things that have changed on this debate issue at broad level of discussion nationwide and our student-peers are answering that call forcing the adults to look at faulty logic. Their forcing a battle between ideals and truths. They aren’t allowing “we agree to disagree” to end the discussion, because that’s where the conversation ends because of political correctness, but the truth is if your opinions are bad, you should drop such opinions.

[PlasmaHam]

On a debate level, the thesis on both sides have shifted. Before Florida has these kinds of mass tragedies, (I believe Pulse nightclub was also in Florida right?)

A lot of my debate opponents taking pro-gun stances, would cite in these that Flordia’s Gun laws were an example of a state where gun restrictions are fewer than any other state and gun crime was down when it comes specifically to mass shooting tragedies.

Now come present time, recent events have taken away that thesis statement, and shows that despite all the armed Florida citizens, stand-your-ground laws, tragedies like this still occur.
You do realize the similarities between night clubs and schools? And why that essentially voids your deduction that armed citizenry and pro-gun laws do nothing to prevent gun violence?

Hint: It rhymes with "Nun Free Zones"

[Uniquemind]

You do realize the similarities between night clubs and schools? And why that essentially voids your deduction that armed citizenry and pro-gun laws do nothing to prevent gun violence?

Hint: It rhymes with "Nun Free Zones"

The soft targets argument, yeah I’m aware. I’m not in a debating mood to rehash what I’ve already said about this issue. I was just responding to the original post question about what’s different now.

There’s my commentary on the movement, then there’s my personal views and thesis statements of my own. My last post did not really go into the latter.