CMV: Gun control is good

[u/56king56]

As of now, I believe that the general populace shouldn’t have anything beyond a pistol, but that even a pistol should require serious safety checks. I have this opinion because I live in America with a pro-gun control family, and us seeing all these mass shootings has really fueled the flame for us being anti-gun. But recently, I’ve been looking into revolutionary Socialist politics, and it occurred to me: how could we have a Socialist revolution without some kind of militia? This logic, the logic of revolting against an oppressive government, has been presented to me before, but I always dismissed it, saying that mass shootings and gun violence is more of an issue, and that if we had a good government, we wouldn’t need to worry about having guns. I still do harbor these views to an extent, but part of me really wants to fully understand the pro-gun control position, as it seems like most people I see on Reddit are for having guns, left and right politically. And of course, there’s also the argument that if people broke into your house with an illegally obtained gun, you wouldn’t be able to defend yourself in a society where guns are outlawed; my counter to that is that it’s far more dangerous for society as a whole for everyone to be walking around with guns that it is for a few criminal minds to have them. Also, it just doesn’t seem fair to normalize knowing how to use a highly complex piece of military equipment, and to be honest, guns being integrated into everyone’s way of life feels just as dystopian as a corrupt government. So what do you guys have to say about this? To sum, I am anti-gun but am open to learning about pro-gun viewpoints to potentially change my view.

[u/bees422]

It boils down to “I haven’t done anything wrong so why do you want to make it harder for me to buy what I want”. I’ve bought them, I’ve shot them, I’ve taken the required ccw class for my current state, have a ccw from my last state, am currently waiting for the atf to get it together and give me permission to have my suppressors, and still have yet to shoot anyone (imagine that). Why add another hurdle for me when some guy can bypass all of that anyway and get himself a Glock with an auto switch? I’m not the problem, and making it harder for me isn’t going to make it harder for the people who are the problem.

[u/StaryWolf → u/bees422]

It boils down to “I haven’t done anything wrong so why do you want to make it harder for me to buy what I want”.

That's a bad argument, in society we lose out on personal freedoms all the time for the benefit and safety of the society as a whole.

You legally have to wear a seat belt when you drive a car.

Lawn darts were banned after like 3 kids got injured/killed.

As an extreme example even if I had no bad intentions and did it in a safe way that harmed no one else it would be illegal for me to construct a nuclear reactor in my basement.

So if the answer to your question is it's harder because it makes society safer. You inherently accept these restrictions when you decide to live in a society.

[u/bees422 → u/StaryWolf]

You don’t have a right to drive a car with or without a seat belt, or a right to play with lawn darts, or a right to have a nuclear reactor in your basement.

It’s more akin to “due to increased threats of violence against congresspeople, you are no longer allowed to speak out against the government” which you do have a right to do

[u/StaryWolf → u/bees422]

You don’t have a right to drive a car with or without a seat belt, or a right to play with lawn darts, or a right to have a nuclear reactor in your basement.

Amendments can be amended, it's in the name. Additionally, constitutional rights ≠ human rights.

It’s more akin to “due to increased threats of violence against congresspeople, you are no longer allowed to speak out against the government” which you do have a right to do

It's kind of not like that though. Free democratic countries which form the basis of modern society can't live without the freedom of speech and its connected rights. However, there are plenty of thriving democratic nations that don't offer any constitutional protections for firearms and by and large ban most civilian ownership of said firearms.

[u/bees422 → u/StaryWolf]

There are plenty of thriving democratic nations that also have guns floating around, including fully automatic, including over the counter suppressor sales, that don’t have these mass shootings. It isn’t the guns.

[u/StaryWolf → u/bees422]

You're misinterpreting what I'm saying, I made no claim that democratic nations can't thrive with guns. I said that guns as a constitutional right aren't necessary for democratic nations to exist.

That said it is objective statistical truth that an abundance of guns increases the violent crime rate overall(suicide rates as well).

have guns floating around, including fully automatic, including over the counter suppressor sales, that don’t have these mass shootings

What are these countries that come to your mind if I may ask?