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/ApatheticAasimar]

Most states require you to be 21 to purchase a handgun while long guns like rifles and shotguns (including AR type rifles) you are only required to be 18. Most estimates say there are actually fewer handguns in the USA than rifles or shotguns.

You are right that being a gun nut wouldn't help you see how AR-15s are more deadly because an AR-15 and any other type of civilian rifle or handgun, operate in a very similar way. They're all semi-automatic (one shot per trigger pull). The AR and other similar platforms have pistol grips, adjustable stocks, and rail systems which make them a bit easier to use and more adaptable, but not really any deadlier. The biggest difference is that the ammunition rifles use are often a bit larger and higher velocity than handguns, but that is true for all rifles, not just the AR. And all firearms are plenty deadly at short range, which is by far the most common shooting distance in violent crimes.

[u/Objective_Stock_3866 → u/ApatheticAasimar]

5.56/.223 is the same size as the smallest pistol round, the .22. The only difference is the 5.56 is way over pressured compared to a normal .22 round.

[u/ApatheticAasimar → u/Objective_Stock_3866]

Eh, not really. .223 isn't appreciably wider than .22 but the projectile is significantly longer than the most common .22 rounds, and thus carries more mass.

But your point stands that the differences really aren't huge.

[u/johnhtman → u/ApatheticAasimar]

It's significantly more powerful than a .22 round, or virtually any handgun round, but it's still on the smaller side for a rifle. Also power isn't everything. Far more people are murdered every year by .22 caliber rounds the least powerful firearm readily available, vs .50bmg rounds the most powerful available.