downtown Seattle shooting -- 1 dead, 7 injured (high crime, cinema, school)

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by rjshae

I remember watching a running gang fight there from a McDonalds when I was in my 20s. Looks like the local fauna hasn't changed much.

44 arrests. Why are these savages allowed to roam the streets.

[eugene_b]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

They already are heavily regulated. To the point of ridiculousness. The problem you are having is straw purchases by someone these felons know. They legally buy the gun and hand it over to them. It's usually their GF or sibling.

No one can purchase a firearm through an FFL without doing a back ground check. 80,000 fail this every year but we don't arrest those that try. It's also quite legal for the felon to just walk back into the store and get the parts to easily finish a weapon. All without a BGC.

Oh, and we still have no way to stop two buddies from selling a gun to each other in their own garages.

If you can just skip all the regulations by buying the gun from a random dude or just go get premade parts and put them together, I don't think I'd call this "heavily regulated" - more like "not regulated at all with extra steps". Something interesting that you can spot if you re read this thread is that it was pivoted into this divisive "ban all guns" direction by the sudden and random influx of conservative Rambo types. Personally, if you ask me, my first question about this particular case is why these two people are not in jail rather than why they have guns.

And now to put that aside, as for the gun regulation, there is still this question that was brought up earlier - why does US has overwhelmingly larger number of mass shootings compared to other civilized countries? Not this kind done by someone with dozens of arrests. The kind where some nutjob loads up with arsenal of assault automatic weapons and shoots up a concert, a Walmart, or a school? Whenever this topic comes up, any discussion immediately breaks down into the "they want to take all guns" dumpster on fire. Rather then having a calm grown up discussion about should it really be that easy (or even possible at all) to buy these ridiculous automatic weapons? (which that bomb analogy kind of alluded to)

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by eugene_b

If you can just skip all the regulations by buying the gun from a random dude or just go get premade parts and put them together, I don't think I'd call this "heavily regulated" - more like "not regulated at all with extra steps". Something interesting that you can spot if you re read this thread is that it was pivoted into this divisive "ban all guns" direction by the sudden and random influx of conservative Rambo types. Personally, if you ask me, my first question about this particular case is why these two people are not in jail rather than why they have guns.

And now to put that aside, as for the gun regulation, there is still this question that was brought up earlier - why does US has overwhelmingly larger number of mass shootings compared to other civilized countries? Not this kind done by someone with dozens of arrests. The kind where some nutjob loads up with arsenal of assault automatic weapons and shoots up a concert, a Walmart, or a school? Whenever this topic comes up, any discussion immediately breaks down into the "they want to take all guns" dumpster on fire. Rather then having a calm grown up discussion about should it really be that easy (or even possible at all) to buy these ridiculous automatic weapons? (which that bomb analogy kind of alluded to)

Spot on, eugene.

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by eugene_b

And now to put that aside, as for the gun regulation, there is still this question that was brought up earlier - why does US has overwhelmingly larger number of mass shootings compared to other civilized countries? Not this kind done by someone with dozens of arrests. The kind where some nutjob loads up with arsenal of assault automatic weapons and shoots up a concert, a Walmart, or a school? Whenever this topic comes up, any discussion immediately breaks down into the "they want to take all guns" dumpster on fire. Rather then having a calm grown up discussion about should it really be that easy (or even possible at all) to buy these ridiculous automatic weapons? (which that bomb analogy kind of alluded to)

Well said.

[thatguy950]

Originally Posted by 87112

Most overrated City in America is Seattle, but tourists are still suckered in. Maybe all the Downtown violence news will help them come to their senses and go elsewhere.

I’m convinced seattle being a good place to live/visit is just a meme at this point, like natural bodybuilding and “personality matters just as much as looks”

[rjshae]

Originally Posted by 87112

Most overrated City in America is Seattle, but tourists are still suckered in. Maybe all the Downtown violence news will help them come to their senses and go elsewhere.

Perhaps. Much of what makes Seattle a great place to live surrounds the city on every side.

[leastprime]

Got the tax money to incarcerate?
Got the money to commit internment and enforce medications?
Got the money to detox and to keep them off addictions?
I will nor let them take over the street.

[Cinema Cat]

Originally Posted by primaltech

As for gun control and all that, local policies or even state policies will never work in this country, but some improved national policies could. Like Chicago can ban handguns all it wants, but Indiana is right next door so they're gonna still be around.

Whatever type of policy we go with needs to be nation-wide and enforced at the border checkpoints. And it still won't be perfect by any means, but you look at countries that have had success reducing gun violence, so it's not impossible.

You're right. Mexico has national gun control, far stricter than in the U.S. And there's no gun violence in Mexico. Safest country in the world.

By contrast, Switzerland has mandatory gun ownership. No wonder Zurich is the most dangerous city in the world.

Yep, it's the guns.

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by Cinema Cat

You're right. Mexico has national gun control, far stricter than in the U.S. And there's no gun violence in Mexico. Safest country in the world.

Mexico doesn't have control over Mexico, would be the issue there. The laws don't matter when there's no ability to enforce them.

I mean that's why you didn't bring up Japan, right? Where they've had like, one gun death in a decade or something like that? Clearly something is working there.

Anyway, progressive Seattle is one of the safest big cities in the US. Crime/murder rates are a fraction of Atlanta's, and Atlanta's is a fraction of St Louis/Detroit/Baltimore/Memphis, the 4 most dangerous cities.

It's not about red state/blue state. Maryland and Tennessee couldn't be more different politically but both have lots of murders in cities. It's more about national policies and just our overall socio-economic situation.

[fnh]

A friend of mine living in Geneva gets quite upset when Americans point to Switzerland as somehow justifying America's gun loving culture. While gun ownership may be high, sales and transfers even between private parties are strictly regulated, ammunition is tightly controlled and rationed, and military-style weapons (high-capacity, automatic, semi-automatic, etc) and gun modifications are prohibited. So, not really a relevant comparison to the US.