An armed society: solution to mass shootings?

[amorphous_constellation]

Have you thought of banning/controlling guns, like most civilised countries do

Obviously by comparison the US has one a week. And the murder rate is similar to the likes of Cuba , Angola and Kazakhstan.

you know I read a book by the conservative author theodore dalrymple, about how things are over there. I don't know if he is being hyperbolic, but I was concerned by some of what I read

How long do people stay in british jail if there is a serious assault? How fast to police arrive if you report issues in a town?

 

[Suave]

With the recent mass shootings, my social anxiety has been heightened. It’s scary, going out, knowing in America that some psycho might start shooting up the Walmart. I used to have guns, but I got rid of them for personal reasons. I’m thinking of getting another gun, though, for self defense.
In our current system, defense of our lives is outsourced to the state. We are not incentivized to learn how to defend ourselves or arm ourselves. We are told to run for our lives.
What is a practical solution to this gun violence? This site leans left I think, I’ve seen a lot of support for more legislation to counter mass shootings. But is that really practical? Or is it more practical if individuals actually were capable of defending their own lives. In a hypothetical ancap society, individuals would be economically incentivized to have the capacity to defend themselves.
Is this not the practical solution? The state has proven that they are incapable of defending our lives in the event of a mass shooting. Police simply don’t arrive on time. Who else can an individual depend on for defense of their lives other than themselves. However, this practical solution is often scoffed at. Such faith in the state people have, that it is believed legislation can protect them.
Simply arming people would be inefficient. Sufficient training would be necessary. Imagine this at a mass scale, a society of well armed and well trained individuals. I believe this would serve as a more effective defense against mass shootings rather than our current system. Our current system fails us and there is mass shootings multiple times a week sometimes. It’s f’n disgraceful and absolutely terrifying.
How is legislation and more statism a practical solution? It is not, imo.

I suggest body armor for everybody rendering body shots useless, testing the sills of a true marksman who can score a kill shot to his fellow gunman's head.

 

[amorphous_constellation]

I guess I am 'to the left,' but on various topics, stress the libertarian aspect more than most people from the left, on a couple things. Two of the issues that I can't completely join the left on, might be some aspects of gun control, and free speech. Mentally ill people, of the variety that have violent ideations, should not own guns. I assume that this might have been the case with the recent shooting, thought a problem is, how do you detect it? That is somewhat hard at times. Innocent, non-violent people should be able to have resources for quick defense.

 

[Twilight Hue]

They don't have easy access to guns, so, uh, yeah.
And don't forget it's a lot easier to kill with a gun. Mass shooters hurt and kill more people than mass stabbers.

Well then they will use cars and create explosives.

 

[Altfish]

Like north Korea or China?

No, like Europe

 

[Altfish]

you know I read a book by the conservative author theodore dalrymple, about how things are over there. I don't know if he is being hyperbolic, but I was concerned by some of what I read

How long do people stay in british jail if there is a serious assault? How fast to police arrive if you report issues in a town?

In UK if you dial 999 the police respond immediately - so depends where the nearest crew are. But usually within 5-minutes
If the killing is premeditated, which a shooting is, you will get 30-years

 

[Heyo]

Well then they will use cars and create explosives.

Somehow they don't do in Europe.
That can have two reasons.
1. In Europe there are less firearms and cars and bombs just don't have the same appeal.
2. The US has a lot more crazy people.
But even if #2 is correct, it is much more expensive to try to solve the problem. Assuming #1 and testing if nationwide restrictive gun laws can help is the sensible thing to try.

That is, if you want to solve the problem (or admit there is a problem in the first place). My guess is that that is why the US has so many gun death. It is accepted as "the American way to die".

 

[Mock Turtle]

I think the basic issue with 'arming all' is the escalatory nature of this, given that legislation might allow this, and where then it will be more about planning as to the outcome - having more firepower and quicker access, for example. Issues with this of course. And perhaps technology will do the same, like some aspects that have been suggested or are in progress - the technical means to only allow the gun owner to use the weapon and such for example.

But overall, one can't effectively restrict the weapons to the 'good guys', and a society where one might have to look over one's shoulder all the time is not one I would want to live in. Having travelled a fair bit, but not the USA, I have felt safe enough and mainly the only visible guns were seen in relatively poorer countries and by the authorities.

And it seems that guns are used more frequently in suicides, in accidents, or stolen, in countries where they are more available, so this alone is a burden that the non gun-owning countries don't tend to have. So I can't see how a more widely armed society could ever be more peaceful than one not having such.

Of course people will find ways to harm and/or kill others (or themselves) without such weapons, and this can happen whether guns are widely available or not, but this is hardly a good reason to add another means of doing so but rather as to making it harder for these other means to be used to any effect, given that multi-round weapons are often so effective at killing.

 

[Augustus]

People often say the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is via a good guy with a gun. As such gun crime could be stopped by ensuring the good guys outgun the bad.

My solution would be to test everyone in America so we can tell who the good guys are. I would then give all certified good guys an app the provides the ability to call in airstrikes using laser-guided precision munitions or launch tomahawk cruise missiles at any bad guys with guns they encounter.

Problem solved.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Yes, but it isn’t foolproof, is it? Banning guns only limits an individual’s capacity to defend himself. If guns are banned, a psycho will still be able to slip through the cracks and get himself a gun.
Perhaps some mass shootings would be prevented by stringent gun control. This is because an individual won’t be as easily able to get a gun, that’s the logic behind it, right? Looking at the stats, America does have the most mass shootings out of more developed countries.
Yet, there would still be mass shootings. Guns could be made in a garage. No amount of gun control will prevent all mass shootings. If individuals, on a mass scale, had adequate training and were adequately prepared to defend themselves against a shooter, then I’d wager casualties would be limited and mass shootings would possibly be deterred. We are a society of sheep requiring a shepherd (a state) to defend our lives. What if we were all lions instead? I think a whole societal change is necessary to tackle this problem.

Mass shootings are such a rarity in the UK that I can barely recall the details of one. There's probably more chance of me being hit by a bit of falling space debris, than by a bullet from a gun.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Is this not the practical solution? The state has proven that they are incapable of defending our lives in the event of a mass shooting. Police simply don’t arrive on time. Who else can an individual depend on for defense of their lives other than themselves. However, this practical solution is often scoffed at. Such faith in the state people have, that it is believed legislation can protect them.

Your country has had *checks notes* 201 mass shootings this year so far. How many of them were stopped by a private citizen with a gun?

 

[Secret Chief]

you know I read a book by the conservative author theodore dalrymple, about how things are over there. I don't know if he is being hyperbolic, but I was concerned by some of what I read

How long do people stay in british jail if there is a serious assault? How fast to police arrive if you report issues in a town?

"Assault is defined as intentional or reckless harm towards an individual, and is charged as common assault, ABH or GBH depending on the severity. This will depend upon a number of specifics such as motivating factors and level of injury – common assault tends to cause minor injury or passing discomfort while GBH is severely detrimental to long-term health. The maximum sentence for ABH is three years’ imprisonment, while the maximum sentence for GBH can be life imprisonment."
- Varying degrees of assault in the UK | Lawtons


"Q1a. Can you please provide the true average response times for 999 calls in the past five years.
See tables 1 and 2 below.
Please note, the current response grades were introduced with TS1 in October 2016. Prior to October 2016, calls were graded as follows:
Immediate – within 15 minutes
Early – within 60 minutes
Routine – within 48 hours"
- https://foi.west-midlands.police.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/556_19_attachment_01.pdf

 

[Sand Dancer]

I suggest body armor for everybody rendering body shots useless, testing the sills of a true marksman who can score a kill shot to his fellow gunman's head.

Can we get it in different styles and material for comfort and fashion?

 

[Augustus]

I suggest body armor for everybody rendering body shots useless, testing the sills of a true marksman who can score a kill shot to his fellow gunman's head.

"You've got to ask yourself a question: 'do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"

 

[GardenLady]

Innocent, non-violent people should be able to have resources for quick defense.

But does this actually work in practice?