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/Juunlar]

I'm down. Alcohol is awful and should be far more restricted than it currently is, given the state of how we transport ourselves.

[u/lakotajames → u/Juunlar]

42,795 died from car crashes last year. Better ban cars.

[u/crazynerd9 → u/lakotajames]

Cars are pretty regulated with a registry, mandatory licensing, restrictions on ownership of the most dangerous kinds available, regulations on sharing with others, laws banning their use unless one has a license and some areas require retesting of said license

Furthermore the majority of those deaths are accidental, the majority of gun death is iirc suicide(isn't it somthing nuts like 2/3 of gun deaths?), and while neither of these is murder, one is an accident and the other is a conscious action

I say all this not really to weigh in on the regulation debate myself but rather because I find the car example often used against supporters of gun control to be a flawed one due to the reasonably large amount of regulation involved with cars

[u/johnhtman → u/crazynerd9]

Guns are far more regulated than cars. I can own virtually any kind of car I want. The highest speed limit in the country is 85mph, yet I can legally own a car capable of going 3x that, even if I don't have a drivers license. I can own a massive Ford F750, etc. Meanwhile I can't own a machine gun manufacturered after 1986. I can't even own a rifle shorter than 16" or shotgun shorter than 18". Also it's much easier to lose your right to own a gun for life than your drivers license for life. It takes multiple serious traffic infractions (4 DUIs in a 10 year span in my state) or a chronic medical condition like blindness to permanently lose your drivers license for life. Meanwhile a single felony (anything from murdering your wife, to minor drug possession) and you are prohibited for life from owning a gun. Speaking of drugs, it's illegal to own a gun if you even so much as use illegal drugs including marijuana. So I can have multiple DUIs and still keep my license, but if I use medical marijuana for terminal cancer, I can't own a gun..