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I’m sure I’m gonna get some spicy replies to this, but guns and gun culture in the US. There was a major shooting in my city in the past couple of days, and you can’t even guess where because it happens every goddamn day somewhere in the country.
Any situation where there is a gun or the likelihood a gun is present immediately escalates it. Everyone is on edge because at anytime someone might be carrying. A minor argument or altercation can easily turn into a homicide. I avoid large crowded events when it’s outdoors and there are no security gates and checks. I stay away from bar districts on weekends because the chances of someone intoxicated and carrying is much higher. I’m tired of having my head on a swivel everywhere I go.
And for the 2A folks, that used to work back when you can actually successfully take up arms against the government when they’re oppressing you. Joe Redneck’s 500 guns in his house won’t help stop the government from taking away his rights.
Here's the deal, if I could snap my fingers and remove all semi-automatic firearms across the US I'd do it in a second. The problem is, the cat's already out of the bag. Some back of the napkin math here, but there are about 20 million AR style rifles in the US. Let's say we do a buyback program that gets rid of a full quarter of those (that's a crazy high number, but makes math easy) for $250 a pop. Just on payouts alone, nevermind the logistical overhead, that's 1.25 billion dollars to make sure that if someone previously had access to 4 rifles on average, now they have access to 3. Not to mention all the other types of semi-auto firearms available like pistols, different rifles, etc.
What we need to do is improve the material conditions for people in their daily lives. It's a whole hell of a lot harder to radicalize someone when they're happy, healthy, and have a bright future ahead of them. Nationalized healthcare, an improved housing market, and sane tax laws in this country will go a hell of a lot farther to reduce gun violence than just making them illegal ever could.
I wish this was an issue we could just legislate a fix for, I really do, but it's a symptom rather than a disease. That's not to say laws can't touch the issue. Sane and fair gun laws can and should be implemented, but on their own they will just drive the issues underground.
A spicy reply in favor of your post: guns are obsolete. They’re completely useless and unnecessary in modern society. The only thing guns provide is the illusion of “safety”, which is only necessary because guns are allowed to exist. It’s a simple fact that getting rid of guns entirely would have the death rate plummet, especially for kids. Thousands and thousands of lives are sacrificed every year to enrich a powerful lobby and make people with smol pp energy feel a false sense of security.
I'll take a shot at a spicy reply: they aren't wrong, at least not completely. Having a lot of guns won't stop the government from taking your rights, but it does limit their options. That's why American conservatives have to bend over backwards to make sure you know: if you're an American who identifies with gun culture, they are unequivocally on your side *. The current administration would love to restrict gun ownership, but they're still afraid of losing the support of that bloc. And I think it's at least partially because they have guns.
*^provided you follow the law and support the troops and all the police as well and also aren't openly queer or melanated^