gun control part 1: fuck yeah

Speaking of huge stockpiles of existing arms - correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there are a few of these classics floating around in a few countries.

It's actually about half that. 0.3% chance of dying by gun assault over your life.

Dying in a fire is 0.06%.

You're about five times as likely to die from a gun assault as you are from a fire.

source

enshrined in the culture? Ok you win.

So there are two causes of death - fire and guns - that I don't have to worry about because they are a statistical anomaly. Good to know!
I bet having a huge icicle fall off a tall roof and spearing me might be a third one I don't have to lose any sleep over.

yeah, why do we bother with smoke alarms?

Says the guy who has trouble with the concept that what worked in the 18th century might not work as well now.

I'm not sure that "because we all die eventually, being murdered isn't a problem" is an argument you really want to plant your flag on.

the same reason we wear seat belts. It's something simple we can do that might pay off some day - and we don't have to infringe on anyone's rights while we do this. I think that's pretty nifty don't you?

Being murdered can indeed be a problem, but there are hundreds of other things that are more likely to be problems. So why obsess over that .6 percent? Is that logical thinking?

That's a good question for the people who carry their guns everywhere.

I sure wouldn't want to. It's just a big hassle most of the time.

There's a whole shitload of people working on cancer and heart disease too; there just aren't many legislative solutions to those.

Makes sense there's such a focus on cancer and heart disease since they kill many more people than guns. And there could be legislative action on one of the major causes of cancer - smoking.
Can't we do more to control smoking or ban it outright? And heart disease - are you kidding me? Obesity is a big factor in heart related deaths. We could legislate the shit out of obesity - mandatory body fat percentage checks for example.

On the average, someone in America gets shot about every 4 minutes. That's pretty close to "all the time", don't you think?

It seems to me like you're the one working on the basis of "raw emotion and assumptions".

As I said back then, that's an excellent way to end up in prison.

That's also an excellent way to end up in jail.

Biden knows as much about guns as Trump does it seems.

And?

Your murder rate is a completely different matter.

Unless you are suggesting that US citizens are inherently just more savage than the rest of us (barring Russians) please suggest a more coherent hypothesis than mine, that a society replete with guns lends itself to raising the stakes in violent encounters.

Which is a pitfall of "enshrining" "rights" which go beyond the human being and extend to non essential commercial products, in this case "rights" which are demonstrably a really bad idea.

As for creating a new criminal class this has been addressed again and again, the simple solution being that you don't ban guns.

You ban their sale and that of ammunition.

Best stop bothering trying to stop fires I suppose....

Measures to control smoking have a very high success rate once passed, yet your lack of regulation has resulted in you becoming the fattest major nation in history.

I suppose firing bird shot into the air is harmless - that stuff raining down one someone's head isn't going to hurt them.
But, again, warning shots are stupid.

So, INTRUDER ALERT.

Honey I heard something...

Unlocks glock p38 9MM from safe set into pillow and creeps downstairs.

Halt: who goes there?!

Bang.

Bang who!!!!?

Bang you're dead.

Alternatively:
INTRUDER ALERT.

Honey I heard something.

Unlocks pump action double ought remington bird killer from beside the bed. Throws open window (optional, shooting through the window has the desired effect) in an upward direction so as not to spray the neighborhood kids experimenting with sex in the bushes.

Bang!

Shit I just pissed myself. Guess I'll slink back where I came from.

coitous interruptous and hillarity ensue.

Alternatively:
INTRUDER ALERT.

Honey I heard something...

go back to sleep.

Wanders downstairs next morning to find his collection of playboy magazines gone, along with his video porn library and TV. Calls the insurance guy.

But what if the intruder takes your lucky autographed glow-in-the-dark snorkel?

You insure your spank mags?

You don't?

No, I back my porn up to a RAID.

If I need porn I can fap to without electricity, I'll buy the Daily Sport or Sunday Sport. And if it's stolen, well, that was only going under my cat's litter tray anyhoo.

Please tell me you use it before it has cat shit on?

Fuck do you take me for?

FF?

Intruder alert...

Close and bolt bedroom door.
Retrieve .45 from hiding place.
Toss wife cell phone to call 911.
Sit on floor behind bed and listen.

Oh yeah... put pants on.

Activating the Claymores in the hallway is optional.