tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post2035991308999101520..comments2024-03-26T04:21:43.535-05:00Comments on Free Association: TGIF: Ending Gun Violence: Logic versus MagicSheldon Richmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15672237234580563637noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-55334701380131772352015-10-10T11:35:33.024-05:002015-10-10T11:35:33.024-05:00I can't be too bad. I have you for a reader.I can't be too bad. I have you for a reader.Sheldon Richmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15672237234580563637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-70045537029825995502015-10-05T16:43:45.307-05:002015-10-05T16:43:45.307-05:00Second poster here again. As far as evidence, one ...Second poster here again. As far as evidence, one study by Hemenway/Azrael/Miller, "Gun use in the United States: results from two national surveys" (2000), reports, "Guns are used to threaten and intimidate far more often than they are used in self defense. Most self reported self defense gun uses may well be illegal and against the interests of society." Other reports by the same authors reflect similar results in more specific areas (for example, the majority of self-reported accounts of "self-defense," even assuming the reports are honest, described illegal uses of firearms). <br /><br />As shown in a study by Denton and Fabricius, "Reality check: using newspapers, police reports, and court records to assess defensive gun use," self-reported defensive uses of guns tend to be skewed. Further detail shows that guns are at least as likely to be used offensively (to intimidate or threaten) as defensively.<br /><br />Furthermore, we should keep in mind that there's likely to be a gap between reports of uses of guns and actual uses of guns, just as there is a gap between reports of domestic violence and actual rates of domestic violence (speaking of which, another study, "In the safety of your own home: Results from a national survey of gun use at home," indicates that guns used in the home are more often used to intimidate partners/others than for defense). Certainly there is much that we cannot know, but from the beans we've drawn from the jar thus far, we should be at least as concerned with the use of guns for intimidation as for self-defense. <br /><br />As for dire predictions, we're living them out now. We've had hundreds killed by the police this year alone, not to mention mass shootings by others. If we can see the power over life and death being abused by police, why should we expect something different from anyone else?<br /><br />Of course there are no "simple" solutions to the gun violence problem (this includes mass shootings, police shootings, non-defensive uses of guns, and so on). But saying it's "outside of public control" goes against the facts -- other countries have successfully curbed gun violence (not entirely, of course, as even Australia had a recent shooting, albeit not a mass shooting, several days ago). Even those who dislike the idea of the use of the state to alleviate the problem should at least consider how methods of direct action and social cooperation might be used to regulate gun ownership and use.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-88978289033138224222015-10-05T12:38:42.581-05:002015-10-05T12:38:42.581-05:00Google Joe Zamudio. He nearly shot the guy who ha...Google Joe Zamudio. He nearly shot the guy who had wrestled the gun away from Jared Loughner. <br /><br />There are no simple solutions to our mass shooting problem. It is sick and disgusting and largely outside of public control.Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01506299477098001639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-73128298885604667512015-10-05T10:56:26.863-05:002015-10-05T10:56:26.863-05:00anon1, I have no idea what you are talking about.anon1, I have no idea what you are talking about.Sheldon Richmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15672237234580563637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-10330116436972518122015-10-05T10:54:09.415-05:002015-10-05T10:54:09.415-05:00Regarding the second commenter, every time a state...Regarding the second commenter, every time a state legislature debated a "shall issue" law for concealed carry we heard dire predictions about guns being widely used to settle arguments over neighborhood card games and fender benders. Did it happen? Where are the news stories?Sheldon Richmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15672237234580563637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-11022753791987521562015-10-05T10:48:54.629-05:002015-10-05T10:48:54.629-05:00here's a "magical" belief for you......here's a "magical" belief for you... all you need is God.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04310198274839734061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-52179320195068072992015-10-04T23:23:45.185-05:002015-10-04T23:23:45.185-05:00Congratulations, you are the 3,000,000,000th intel...Congratulations, you are the 3,000,000,000th intelectual victim of logical positivism. Either that, or you do not have a sense of humor.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9ciHpT4WuM<br /><br />anon1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-50160685429283186552015-10-04T21:51:08.017-05:002015-10-04T21:51:08.017-05:00
In response to the second commenter: What studies...<br />In response to the second commenter: What studies have shown this? What science can you cite to back up your post?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-76376299605959087292015-10-04T12:35:34.773-05:002015-10-04T12:35:34.773-05:00When seconds count, the police are only minutes aw...When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-69784732178177930462015-10-03T18:58:09.198-05:002015-10-03T18:58:09.198-05:00On the other hand, studies have shown that more pe...On the other hand, studies have shown that more people with guns also means that guns are more likely to be used as a means of intimidation, not just self-defense. Moreover, if more people have guns, they are more likely to view situations of conflict as potentially eventuating in gun violence, and will thus judge a person's hostility (in a simple argument, for example) as higher (more likely to result in violent behavior) than it is, and as a result judge their need for a gun as a means of self-defense as more likely as well. Let's call this the "if-all-you-have-is-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a-nail effect." Even heated arguments over small things can stimulate our fight-or-flight response. <br /><br />The human capacity to gauge threatening situations is, on the whole, pretty poor. If gun-free zones are "invitations to mass murder," gun-replete zones are invitations to mass suicide.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20077444.post-24365199222671066702015-10-02T18:18:56.553-05:002015-10-02T18:18:56.553-05:00I think it is time that liberals and progressives ...I think it is time that liberals and progressives embrace the principles of secession, in order to establish a total ban on guns and capitalism and personal responsibility. Should they succeed, I would recommend bulding a huge wall in Oregon borders, to prevent anyone with guns from entering. Also, Oregonians should raise a permanent army to watch the coast and the borders. They could draft Dondald Trump as their king.<br /><br />Why people are selectively tolerant? Why oregonians will not accept the rules that oklahomans like, but they want oklahomans to live under the rules that oregonians like?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com