Christians and Guns

[boatsnguitars]

Every day, 321 people are shot in the United States. Among those:
111 people are shot and killed
210 survive gunshot injuries
95 are intentionally shot by someone else and survive
42 are murdered
65 die from gun suicide
10 survive an attempted gun suicide
1 is killed unintentionally
90 are shot unintentionally and survive
1 is killed by legal intervention*
4 are shot by legal intervention and survive
1 died but the intent was unknown
12 are shot and survive but the intent was unknown

DAILY GUN VIOLENCE IMPACTING CHILDREN AND TEENS (1-17)
Every day, 22 children and teens (1-17) are shot in the United States. Among those:
5 die from gun violence
3 are murdered
17 children and teens survive gunshot injuries
8 are intentionally shot by someone else and survive
2 children and teens either die from gun suicide or survive an attempted gun suicide
8 children and teens are unintentionally shot in instances of family fire — a shooting involving an improperly stored or misused gun found in the home resulting in injury or death

ANNUAL GUN VIOLENCE IMPACTING PEOPLE OF ALL AGES IN THE U.S.
Every year, 117,345 people are shot. Among those:
40,620 people die from gun violence
15,343 are murdered
76,725 people survive gunshot injuries
34,566 are intentionally shot by someone else and survive
23,891 die from gun suicide
3,554 survive an attempted gun suicide
492 killed unintentionally
547 are killed by legal intervention
1,376 are shot by legal intervention and survive
347 die but the intent was unknown
4,471 are shot and survive but the intent is unknown
547 women are killed by their husband or male dating partner**

ANNUAL GUN VIOLENCE IMPACTING CHILDREN AND TEENS (AGES 1-17)
Every year, 7,957 children and teens are shot in the United States. Among those:
1839 children and teens die from gun violence
992 are murdered
6,294 children and teens survive gunshot injuries
2,788 are intentionally shot by someone else and survive
693 die from gun suicide
166 survive an attempted gun suicide
10 are killed by legal intervention
101 are shot by legal intervention and survive
99 are killed unintentionally
2,893 are shot unintentionally and survive
38 die but the intent was unknown
380 are and survive shot but the intent is unknown



WWJD? Nothing?

[JoeyKnothead]

...
I just wish you had the perspective of history to balance your thoughts here. Small avoidable tragedies every day are better than mass genocidal tragedies. The biggest killer of human beings after mosquitoes is government.

Humans do the killing by direction of humans in the government, which is a human organization.


I'll leave the actual numbers to the bean counters.

[oldbadger]

The USA and guns?

Yes, so far this year there have been more mass shootings than days, and the school mass killings occur again and again.

I have run threads elsewhere about school safety and security and one member (a Pastor in his local Texas community) proudly showed a picture of a typical 'We have armed teachers here...!' sign, which sadly showed that school's boundary protection as well, a very poor, low and pathetic old fence! When a basic list of safety/security necessities was offered as a minimum (the USA needs a much higher specification imo) nobody wanted to even discuss such expense.

Equally, I read many American Christians who declare that they need guns to protect their families from 'home invasions' but when asked about their basic home security they often insist that they will not turn their homes in to 'inverted prisons' and such stupidities. I have read comments like 'At home I am always within reach of a gun within 7 seconds!'...... all these idiots have to do is to secure their homes, take much much better care of the dogs that they so often chain up in their yards ...and just spend a few dollars on some home security!

The trouble with guns in the USA is that there are more swilling about the country than there are people, and so any gun controls won't stop anybody from obtaining a gun for many generations to come. Anybody can get a gun in the USA, and for that reason I have to say that if I lived in the USA I really would want my wife to have a gun. I would! I hope you can understand that.

Guns in the USA and any extreme fundamental far-right-wing Christianity are two sicknesses that are going to be hard to reduce, sadly.

I just wish you had the perspective of history to balance your thoughts here.

And how does your perspective of history change the fact that many Americans have very strange ideas about simple, safe and legal home security?

Small avoidable tragedies every day are better than mass genocidal tragedies.

Ah, well, America has known its mass genocidal outrages, you know, just as we have over the water.
But if that's your way of dismissing and ignoring the shocking history of mass shootings and the daily kill rate in the States, then this would answer a lot of my questions.

The biggest killer of human beings after mosquitoes is government.

Is that a presentation for anarchy? Are you an anarchist?
If government is your idea of the biggest killer then you'll need to be careful how you vote, I guess.

And if you are an American then you surely need to support a general review of school health, safety and security.

[Wootah]

Is that a presentation for anarchy? Are you an anarchist?
If government is your idea of the biggest killer then you'll need to be careful how you vote, I guess.

And if you are an American then you surely need to support a general review of school health, safety and security.

I think small govt limited to defending the nation is best and the rest can be managed privately for more effectively.

[JoeyKnothead]

Is that a presentation for anarchy? Are you an anarchist?
If government is your idea of the biggest killer then you'll need to be careful how you vote, I guess.

And if you are an American then you surely need to support a general review of school health, safety and security.

I think small govt limited to defending the nation is best and the rest can be managed privately for more effectively.

Many Christians seem to prefer their favored institutions don't face competition. We can see this in continued attempts to dismantle social services, such as schools and public assistance.

[Wootah]

Many Christians seem to prefer their favored institutions don't face competition. We can see this in continued attempts to dismantle social services, such as schools and public assistance.

You can build any institution you want is implicit in my argument.

[oldbadger]

I think small govt limited to defending the nation is best and the rest can be managed privately for more effectively.

Oh dear....... poor you. No decent roads and interstates. Railways?
How about some national police? No prisons?
No social services....... no national education plan. ???
But you want a government army, air force and navy? No... I think you should pay for your own State militia and its equipment, privately. In fact the States might need to be split up because there is no need for a federal anything, surely?

............ and of course you have got your guns..... everybody and anybody can get a gun in America, you know. If we lived in America I would want my wife to have a gun....definitely!

[JoeyKnothead]

I think small govt limited to defending the nation is best and the rest can be managed privately for more effectively.

Oh dear....... poor you. No decent roads and interstates. Railways?
How about some national police? No prisons?
No social services....... no national education plan. ???
But you want a government army, air force and navy? No... I think you should pay for your own State militia and its equipment, privately. In fact the States might need to be split up because there is no need for a federal anything, surely?

............ and of course you have got your guns..... everybody and anybody can get a gun in America, you know. If we lived in America I would want my wife to have a gun....definitely!

That hurt, but I can't call a bit of it wrong.

Some only want government when it's to their benefit, and consider government evil when it benefits another.

[oldbadger]

That hurt, but I can't call a bit of it wrong.

Some only want government when it's to their benefit, and consider government evil when it benefits another.

Yes..... true. That's similar to folks who get a speeding ticket and shouting at the cop to go and find a real criminal.

Our conversation got me to wondering what Jesus would have wanted in Galilee, back then.
The Roman authorities and the Jewish priesthood didn't give a thought for the working populace, they were totally corrupt, and real hypocrites. There were no services that I can think of and taxation was huge. That might be a thread.

[boatsnguitars]

Is that a presentation for anarchy? Are you an anarchist?
If government is your idea of the biggest killer then you'll need to be careful how you vote, I guess.

And if you are an American then you surely need to support a general review of school health, safety and security.

I think small govt limited to defending the nation is best and the rest can be managed privately for more effectively.

Like Texas?

Can you explain why you think this? For example, Somalia has a very small and limited government. Is that your ideal Nation?

[Purple Knight]

Accepting is not dismissing and avoiding.

Let's lockdown not just for coronavirus, but for the flu, too. Only lives matter right? Thirty thousand die a year from the flu.

Fishing kills 70 people a day, worldwide.

A dozen or so die every year taking selfies.

I'm not against banning guns either. Japan is safer. However, it's a fallacy to say that someone not willing to bend the world over backwards to prevent some amount of deaths, is dismissing those deaths.