Why or why not?

I'm for gun control, but there already IS gun control in the United States, and in the places where gun control is the most strict "coincidentally" gun violence is the most out of control. That's why I feel like the rally for gun control nationwide is a pipe dream. That's not going to change the mentality of this country, and I think too much energy is being wasted on the issue of legislative matters of dealing with gun violence rather than the social, socio-economical and psychological state of our gun culture.

Neither. There is no such thing as gun control because violence cannot be controlled.

TLA wrote:

Neither. There is no such thing as gun control because violence cannot be controlled.

Couldn't have said it any better.

Even as a Republican, I'm for increased measures of gun control. It probably helps that I don't own a gun myself, and don't plan on buying one because I neither hunt nor have a desire to be a vigilante.

While I agree with the common argument that gun violence is a result of a culture problem, the first people that need to be turned to for a solution would be the lawmakers. Reducing the number of people who can own guns via whatever method the government can think of may be a hassle, and it may not FIX the culture issue - I mean, this country was founded during a war - but if you want to slowly kill a culture, you decrease its presence in daily life. Wow, that sounded genocidal.

We can start by making rifles much, much tougher to access. I don't have any idea how, but that part isn't so much my problem.

But I need my guns in case of a zombie apocalypse. 

Against, the one thing that pisses me off the most about school shootings is that we act like it's everyday life and just dust it off there shoulder. Yet congress hasn't done shit about it, I feel it's so easy to get a gun these days and it just needs to be an unstable kid to take there parents gun and all hell breaks loose

I'm against the positions of being for or against gun control.  Both sides of the aisle are too extreme in their wants.  People should be allowed to keep as many guns of any kind that they want, but there should be background checks, and a psych evaluation wouldn't be a horrible idea either. 

None of this would solve every problem, but changing something could be a start, but people are too set in their ways to compromise, to the point that the embellished parody of what either side believes in becomes what they ACTUALLY believe in.

I'm against, because I'm a little bit suicidal and Australia's ban on guns makes it less likely for me to die in a blaze of glory/school shooting/gang crossfire.

It's merely impossible for us to throw away our guns given the population that do possess firearms. Now, the balanced thing we can do is do background checks, felons and ex-cons should not have access to weapons, and many misdemeanors and juvenile crimes should also count against a person's record. Gun education wouldn't hurt either.

USA is the GOAT at not using what works in other countries, and even going as far as saying it is impossible.

People should have the right to defend themselves. Banning guns or having stricter gun laws will only hurt the good citizens and people who are responsible with them. A criminal will find a way to get a gun by any means. No law will stop them.

There was a really hilarious and really enlightening debate on a radio show I listen to called Bennington in regards to gun control.  Sick of the topic, host and legendary radio icon Ron Bennington proposed we start using Star Trek phasers and ditch guns altogether.  It was a silly strawman argument, but it led to a lot of really interesting phone calls, including a man who admitted without intending to that he doesn't feel safe without his gun.  He even trounced the issue of "What if someone has a gun illegally and tries to rob me", his reply was simply "Just hit'em with the phaser, and while he's out, take the gun." What about collectors? Fine, there's a few cool skins coming out for the phaser, including sports teams and other collectible pop culture minutia. This will make guns passe and people wont even want to use them anymore if they have a freaking Star Trek future gun.

As for hunters? Well, there is a switch that switches from 'stun' to 'kill'.

It was silly and actually kind of amusing to see him tie both sides of the fence up with logic knots revolving around 1960's science fiction technology, and that's essentially how I feel about gun control talk.  If I can kill your argument with a glorified stun gun, then there's no argument to be had.

I can't believe with drones and military equipment that Americans still think they can defeat the government with guns if they went tyrannical. BTW, plenty of governments around the globe these days that don't go tyrannical despite citizens not being crazily armed.

For certain measures of gun control like a ban on AR 15s and weapons of that nature. Against a ban on all guns. For more extensive background checks. Don't own or use guns, personally.

Mr. DEDEDE wrote:

I'm for gun control, but there already IS gun control in the United States, and in the places where gun control is the most strict "coincidentally" gun violence is the most out of control. That's why I feel like the rally for gun control nationwide is a pipe dream. That's not going to change the mentality of this country, and I think too much energy is being wasted on the issue of legislative matters of dealing with gun violence rather than the social, socio-economical and psychological state of our gun culture.

Trash response, the only real answer is military occupation and an outright dictatorship. Raid every building and house for guns first, ask questions later.

Some people should just not allowed to carry guns. If you need to go through a test to get your driver's license, including knowing the rules, actually being able to drive, and holding into account if one can should actually be allowed behind the wheel, (because you know, statistically, cars kill more people than guns)  it really doesn't make much sense that we don't make it a requirement to test people for gun use, make sure they know how to shoot and aim, and taking annuals to see if they are mentally well. It's a lot of work, yes, but if you really want a gun, you work to earn the right to hold it. So rather than actually flat out banning gun use, just make it tougher to get a gun to the point that an 18 year old can't go online and buy a ton of ammo and a gun. 

And the fact that automatic weapons and rifles can be sold legally with ease incredibly stupid. Even gun enthusiasts have gave the proper solution to this by saying the only guns that should be allowed access to the public are those that can fire a a few rounds before requiring reloading. Like literally, just limit a clip to hold 6-10 bullets in the chamber to force them to reload, and essentially give people enough time to stop the assailant. AND ONCE AGAIN, by making it so you have to past a test to prove you can shoot, you shouldn't need so many bullets to defend yourself and your home. Once again, just alter guns that can be sold to limit the amount of shots it can make before it has to reload, and in general, automatic guns should just not be sold to the public. 

This whole debate on gun control is just ridiculous, atleast to the point that people can't even talk about it just to reach a compromise. I'm sure people don't just want to flat out ban guns and take away that right, but the lack of education or sympathy is just what is damn wrong with this country. Japan only has like 10 gun deaths in a year on average, because the entire country agrees that guns are bad, yet people here have to make the argument that guns aren't bad, people are. No shit, sherlock, but by ignoring the problem, bad people are getting the guns and abusing it, and that makes us all look so incompetent that we can't even do proper background checks or limit what arms we can actually sell. Like how many people have to die before we can act like real adults, sit down, and actually try to come to a conclusion, and even not, but atleast try to figure something out. I shouldn't have to live knowing any day, some deranged lunatic with a gun might show up to a school or a fun concert my kid is trying to go to get mowed down. I don't want to be told that these shit just happened, wishing me a prayer, or being told to move on. I don't want to be told that I have a right to be angry or to even forgive. I know something like this will take a long time to get fixed, but is it so damn much to just ask people to atleast try to do something about it? Like it's so damn frustrating that we have atleast almost 23 mass shootings in the 15 years or so, and we have made almost little to no progress on resolving this. It's fuckin' embarassing. The opposition that refuses to do anything about gun control should be ashamed that they are setting us back. I'm literally at the point where I believe that each time a mass shooting like this happens, I'm blaming the gun nuts that allow it to happen, simply because they believe, "Its a real damn shame someone with a gun wasn't there to stop it," when in truth, a gun shouldn't had been around a school ground to begin with, let alone, in the hands of a unstable 17 year old. My hearts will always go out to those that are victims of what I will honestly say, not of malice, but of stupidity.  It really just isn't fair that people have to die just because some people are just so damn pig-headed.