On Fri, 20 Dec 2019 08:31:11 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

On Thursday, December 19, 2019 at 11:02:16 AM UTC-5, trader_4 wrote:
On Thursday, December 19, 2019 at 10:32:11 AM UTC-5, TimR wrote:
Every year in the US, guns kill roughly 14,000 by homicide and 22,000 by suicide.

Assault style rifles account for just under .25% of the homicide and .1% of the suicide. So the very first measure to be recommended is to ban these weapons. Why? Because as a nation we fear those guns more, even though they do less harm.

There are two things we could do to start bringing homicide rates down: legalize drugs, ban capital punishment.

Talk about imagining things, how in the world do you drag deaths from
capital punishment into this? First you claim that assault weapons account
for a very low number, then you cite executions for capital offenses,
which is a very small number and totally irrelevant, as something that
would bring the number down. Wow.


No, wait, work with me here.

I'll try.

Assault weapons kill a tiny percentage of Americans. Removing them all would by itself have little impact.

Unless you prohibited handguns. Then most of the criminals
would use assault weapons.

But Americans do kill people at a much higher rate than other industrial societies. Over time the world has become a less murderous place, and Americans have followed, but not far enough. What we need is to continue the civilization process, and to stop seeing killing people as a way to solve problems. (Getting rid of ALL firearms, our murder rate is still higher than many countries.)

Agreed. Guns don't kill people. Sociopaths kill people.
Mandatory psych exams. Problem solved. Sociopaths are surprisingly
easy to spot. Only a few would pass the tests. Anyone without the exam
caught with a gun should get a mandatory 10 years. Jail won't change
their character. It's inborn.

Capital punishment is an official recognized approval of the idea that killing people is a good way to solve problems. I suggest eliminating it as one possible step along the path to civilization.

Agreed

I suggest legalizing drugs because those laws result in so many of our citizens being sent to gladiator schools called prison. Very few people are released as kinder and gentler.

That depends on the drugs. Cannabis, LSD, mushrooms,
psilocybin, society could live with that. A "bad trip" or two(LSD),
but nothing a quick trip to the E.R. won't solve.
Opiates ... nah, too addictive. People would steal or kill to
get the next dose. And amphetamines, cocaine and crack generate
violence. I've seen otherwise placid people smoke crack and try to
take out the entire neighborhood with their bare hands.
Also, consider cost. Some States in America legalized
Cannabis, but taxed it so high that there's still an underground
industry. Complete with illegal banks to deposit the proceeds.
In Uruguay, anyone can plant his own. Criminals took a massive
hit.
Legalize softer drugs, but DON'T TAX them.
Prohibition should have served as an example. Anyone could buy
alcohol, but had to pay off the mobs, the police, politicians, judges
etc ... an indirect "tax". How did that work out?

Neither idea is going to have a huge immediate effect. This is a cultural problem that doesn't have quick and easy solutions. I think both (and background checks, permit process, whatever) over time contribute to a safer world.

[]'s
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