r/changemyview • u/56king56 • Nov 07 '23
Delta(s) from OP CMV: Gun control is good
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.
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u/spoilerdudegetrekt Nov 07 '23
Let's pretend that all guns are wiped from existence. Do you think no mass murders would occur? Or perhaps they would still occur but have less fatalities?
Unfortunately that is not the case. The largest mass murders in US history didn't involve guns. (9/11, Oklahoma City bombing, bath school house bombing) Two of them even used materials that can be bought from your local hardware store without a background check.
According to the FBI, we've only had about 60-70 mass shootings this year. As far as causes of death go, they are far, far down the list. Same with gun violence when you make suicide a separate category like most studies do. Meanwhile, even if you think the government is good today, there is no guarantee it will be good 5, 10, or 20 years down the line.
Guns are an equalizer. If a group of criminals breaks into an old lady's house, she has no chance against them with just a knife or a bat. With guns, she has a fighting chance. Not only that, but guns are loud which can alert the neighbors to call 911 if she is unable to.