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Which statement corresponds most closely to your view on gun laws?
422 sats \ 16 comments \ @SimpleStacker 27 Aug AskSN
Context: I'm thinking primarily in reference to mass shootings in the USA, but answer according to your own country if you prefer.
(The last choice is "The right to bear arms shall not be infringed", but it's too long for the character limit)
We need stricter gun laws9.3%
We need to better enforce existing laws4.7%
It's more of a mental health problem27.9%
It should be left up to the states7.0%
Rt to bear arms shall not be infringed!51.2%
43 votes
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285 sats \ 2 replies \ @freetx 27 Aug
I think its clearly "not the guns".
I grew up in a time where seniors in high-school regularly had hunting rifles in their trucks at school. School shootings were completely unheard of....
Ultimately I think its a whole host of issues that revolve around: mental health, lack of belief in God, and even economic issues that force people into feeling desperate (thats not an exhaustive list, there are certainly other issues)
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20 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 23h
Yeah, you nailed it.
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32 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker OP 27 Aug
That's my perspective as well.
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101 sats \ 2 replies \ @nullama 19h
Let's first look at the ratio of guns per person around the world:
OK, USA is number one, but there are many other countries with a lot of guns, so nothing extremely crazy about it.
This is the top 10:
  • United States: 120.5
  • Falkland Islands: 62.1
  • Yemen: 52.8
  • New Caledonia: 42.5
  • Serbia: 39.1
  • Montenegro: 39.1
  • Canada: 34.7
  • Uruguay: 34.7
  • Cyprus: 34.0
  • Finland: 32.4
So, based on only this data, you might expect to see about four times as many mass shootings in the US compared to, say, Finland. Let's see those numbers:
Number of mass shootings in 2025 in Finland: 0 vs USA: 268
Number of mass shootings in 2024 in Finland: 1 vs USA: 586
So, it's clear that the availability of guns to the public is not the only factor in this. It might affect something, but clearly the data shows that there are other factors at play.
My hypothesis is that there's a huge lack of support for people in the USA. It's a very independent society, "every man for himself" kind of thing. When people get desperate, then bad things start to happen. I've seen documentaries showing people that are full time workers, and they are homeless in the US. That's just incredible, really.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @satgoob 16h
Is the shooting count you listed taking into account total population of each country
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36 sats \ 0 replies \ @nullama 15h
No, but it's simple to consider it:
  • 5.6M in Finland
  • About 340M in USA
So, USA has about 60 times more people, but it had 586 times more mass shootings in 2024, which is roughly 600x instead of the "expected" 60x. One order of magnitude of difference.
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30 sats \ 0 replies \ @satgoob 16h
High gun violence in highly regulated cities like Chicago; little in lowest gun regulation states like Vermont and New Hampshire
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30 sats \ 1 reply \ @028559d218 18h
The vast majority of 'gun deaths' are suicides, around 70%. So when guns are 'discussed' it's important to define the problem.
Mass shootings, which is generally all the media talks about, constitute a percent of a percent of all gun deaths. They are a tiny, tiny number relative to the whole.
For each 'mass shooting' death at a mall or movie theater there are thousands of deaths from domestic violence, gang crime, inner-city shootings, and many more from gun-related suicides.
If the politicians/commentators really wanted to save as many lives as possible, they would address the depression/loneliness/mental health issues the society has associated with self-harm and suicide.
70% percent of gun deaths are suicides and IIRC about 50% of suicides are from guns.
There is a gun law component to that... but it relates to suicide not mass shootings which get the most media attention but are generally rare.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker OP 18h
i should also have included an option for "mass shootings are overblown by the media"
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40 sats \ 1 reply \ @grayruby 23h
It’s hard not to have a mental health crisis when you have fiat slowly robbing people.
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57 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker OP 22h
Forgot to include "bitcoin fixes this" as an option
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40 sats \ 0 replies \ @sudonaka 23h
Let’s take a look at today’s shooter:
Who would’ve guessed.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/mass-shooting-minneapolis-catholic-school-2-dead-many-injured-suspect-contained
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68 sats \ 2 replies \ @BlokchainB 23h
It’s mental health. Having lived amongst those who love guns I developed a better understanding that it’s the people who are in need of help.
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80 sats \ 1 reply \ @kepford 23h
I have found that we don't seek to understand people enough. Good for you for doing it. People are complex and we often get a dumbed down version that's a straw man. This is true across many areas and isn't a right/left thing.
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65 sats \ 0 replies \ @BlokchainB 23h
Yeah before my time in the Midwest I wanted all guns off the streets but then one of my co-workers was a gun collector and he told me how he learned gun safety as a kid and was an avid hunter. Then I thought what right do I have to take his guns away if he’s just living his life.
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17 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 22h
new rule: no guns for transgenders
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