This weekend’s mass shootings come as the country mourns the victims of its deadliest mass shooting this year. Days earlier, 18 people were killed in a shooting in Lewiston, Maine.

  • banana_meccanica@feddit.it
    41·
    1 year ago

    I think there is a kind of obsession with violence and needs to feeling powerful. Really weapons should not exist at all, even the nuclears one. Wars make no sense as killing or wishing the dead of someone. In Europe even police don’t go around easly with guns, it is common sense.

    • sugar_in_your_tea
      1·
      1 year ago

      Unfortunately, it largely boils down to “you first” type arguments. Countries won’t remove their nuclear weapons until everyone else does, and the same is true for military weapons and whatnot. As long as weapons exist, they’ll be needed as a deterrent to others who have weapons.

      But I absolutely agree that we need to change our relationship with guns. Here are some actionable steps:

      • split police forces into weaponized and non-weaponized officers; have the officers w/o weapons clearly marked on their uniforms; would mostly apply to traffic cops initially, who would also be dispatched for any low-risk call; they can still perform arrests, just aren’t authorized to use lethal force
      • require regular inspections of secure storage of firearms; have the police, local national guard, or any authorized gun seller perform the checks; this wouldn’t require registration of all firearms with the state, just regular inspection, with stiff penalties if you’re caught not having an inspection done (and smaller penalties if you fail and don’t fix the issue in time)

      Both are compatible with the Constitution AFAIK, and I think the first could reduce how many officers get shot in traffic-related interactions because they no longer present a lethal threat.