Gun Controversy Arguments

scipioafricanus a little bit on the long side of an argument, but being super concise it's to protect yourself and others from criminals, correct?

I've never owned anything outside of BB guns and airsoft guns (which I had in my youth), so I can't really be of much help. However, my father was a gun owner, and I live in a redneck state where seemingly half (or maybe a quarter) of all adults own guns, and hunting has always been a big part of the state's culture. No one in my family ever hunted, though; most of my father's firearms were passed down from his grandfather (my great grandfather) who fought in WW 1 (all of which were rifles), and the only gun he bought in his lifetime was a simple .22 calibar rifle which he only used for putting down chickens when he owned them. He never owned any handguns.

Since you don't want to talk about gun violence, let me at least say this: the majority of gun murders that get news coverage happen in the big cities (namely madison and milwaukee), but it's not uncommon to hear about gun related deaths in the smaller towns. In my experience watching the news I can safely say that a gun related death happens usually once every other day in the big cities. These are usually low body count incidents (1-2 people killed, sometimes no deaths) usually related to robbery or domestic violence, but just about a month ago there was a mass shooting at a ware house in Madison that left 3-4 people dead. There was a significant mass shooting at a muslim temple near Milwakuee back in 2012 I think, but aside from that Wisconsin hasn't had may mass shootings, probably due to the state's overall low population compared to other states like Texas and Florida where mass shootings are much more common.

Background checks in Wisconsin only prevent criminals from buying firearms. To my knowledge, as long as you have a clean criminal record you are allowed to purchase a gun here, which means that if I wanted to, I could walk into my local Gander Mountain or Dicks Sporting Goods and buy some firearms, evens though I have a history of mental illness and have been to a psych ward twice!! Most other conservative states have even looser gun laws, although I should note that some types of guns available civilians require a permit to carry, even in conservative states like mine.

Speaking of Gander Mountain, I was in my local Gander Mountain yesterday and browsed their guns out of curiosity. They carry some ridiculously powerful ones, like high-end semi-automatic rifles and handguns like the five-seven and such, the kind of weapons usually used in mass shootings or by police forces. The cheapest handgun they carried, a semi-automatic, was $199; I think it was new, but I don't remember the details.

I personally have absolutely no reason to buy a gun, as I don't hunt and don't believe in owning guns for protection (I already have knives, a door-latch and my cellphone for that), so for me it would just be a huge waste of money.

I see you don't stare at your phone.

Shit happens man, you gotta watch out, or you'll miss on those legs and butts.

Good luck getting me to do your homework for you, Balder.