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Comment by Dem_Boys | Hacker News Reader

I was stunned while purchasing my most recent firearm (about 6 months ago). I watched multiple middle aged, nicely dressed ladies purchasing guns. One lady even had the new gun taken away from her because she was pointing it at others (not on purpose) while the store employee processed the transaction.

I can't blame them, this past year we've all witnessed that our society can quickly change into something that is unrecognizable.

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To be honest, if there truly is 50% of the population that thinks rushing the capital to stop a new elected government from existing, it's not the end of the world to think some undesirable minorities might not be wanted.

2 blocks down, there's still a TRUMP 2020 flag with a nazi flag right under it so I'm keeping my AR-15 nearby.

You do realize that not 50% of the population rushed the Capitol, right?

That is true but there could be a large subset of those who voted for Trump who also support the actions of those who rushed the Capitol. I do find it terrifying to picture 74 million people rushing the Capitol

could be

Yeah, I think you are just making this all up in your head.

Sadly, I wish it was true, attacks against Asian Americans are already higher than the past 10 years, so certain undesirables are already being targeted.

What does that have to do with rushing the Capitol? And by what measure are you tying Capitol-rush-supporters to people that attack Asian-Americans?

Do I really have to explain to you how certain Nazi / Confederate methodologies consider other races lower than them? And are willing to inflict violence on these other races?

Again, what does that have to do with the original question?

And are you sure that increased crime rates against Asians are coming from that same source?

I don't think you understand this situation very well.

Young black men are responsible for the recent wave of violence against Asians.

Race is the single greatest predictor of violent crime, not gun legalization, everyone knows this but unfortunately we are a society addicted to lies.

I’d hesitate to draw a causal link without looking at the data and disproving other hypotheses, particularly when it comes to media narratives in 2021. For example, do elderly Asians tend to carry lots of cash, making them attractive targets for criminals? In other parts of the world, what does targeted racism against a suddenly vilified minority look like? Are random racially motivated street assaults a common occurrence, and how else would we expect this sort of targeted racism to manifest? Does that match what’s happening here?

I don’t know. I know we can’t get by on feelings that are stirred by others who wish to do our thinking for us.

> suddenly vilified minority

Asian Americans have been targets of racial attacks for long before the start of coronavirus.

http://lite.cnn.com/en/article/h_b23f80fae7a40a9358c39377e47...

Name a group that hasn’t been targeted historically by anybody. I’m talking about the latest tensions.

> 50% of the population that thinks rushing the capital

This is bad thinking IMO.

If we expand upon this logic:

- 50% wants to rush the capital

- 50% want to riot in the streets and burn down businesses

Then we essentially live in a war zone and that AR-15 is nowhere near enough firepower to protect you.

This is true, but humans aren't stupid. People's fight or flight instinct will kick in... one shot through the neck is enough to stop a capital rush.

In the space of last summer I was assaulted by police, a group of III%ers moved onto my block, and there were talks at high levels of the government about designating my politics as terrorism. Now I have guns. But I hope I'll never have to use them against another person.

Meanwhile, I train regularly and I've found target shooting to be a really relaxing and meditative pursuit.

Yeah there are a number of various factions across the US that vocally want to drive society in a direction actively hostile to me and my friends. Many of these have subgroups that engage in military-like training. Best fucking believe I’ve thought about fucking off to somewhere out of the way and building a fort recently.

She was of course pointing it at other people on purpose, because where the firearm is pointed is a purposeful decision by the wielder. This sort of casual and incredibly dangerous treatment of firearms is why I support rigorous training and licensing requirements for firearms ownership in the US, despite being an owner myself and hunting enthusiast. Too many irresponsible people have incredibly easy access to firearms in the country.

Your point is valid and I agree. It was obvious this lady never handled a gun.

I wonder how many people get killed/injured due to lack of training?

I would argue that not having training is just as bad as not having a gun at all. If life is in danger, why would I reach for this thing (a gun) that I don't know how to use properly?

Not having training could be worse in many cases and you end up injuring yourself or loved ones in a situation thats not supposed to be dangerous, ex. Showing it off, cleaning, just having it where children are concerned, etc.

As long as the laws were carefully written, and it doesn't become a barrier to anyone any more than driver's ed is a barrier to driving, I wouldn't mind requiring people to take a short basic class on gun ownership and use in order to purchase or obtain:

These are the four basic rules of firearm safety, this is how you wear PPE, this is how you remove ammo from a gun, this is how you load a gun, and this is how you shoot, then shoot a few rounds so people can experience the noise and kick. Shouldn't be more than a 2 hour class and cost more than $50 ammo included.

(I'm an American gun owner and enjoy using the range every now and then.)

Dem_Boys says " If life is in danger, why would I reach for this thing (a gun) that I don't know how to use properly?"

Thanks largely to movies you very likely can a gun. For example a double action revolver requires merely pointing and pulling the trigger. Even a blind man can shoot a gun: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=blind+man+shoots+assailant&

Often the mere appearance of a firearm in the hands of a victim is enough to convice an attacker(s) to leave. And shooting a firearm, whether anyone is hit or not, attracts all kinds of attention from neighbors and police.

In order to have rigorous training and licensing requirements for ownership, you have to have more government control and intervention, and potentially yet another id/card system. That's a non-starter for most people in States that care more about individual rights and privacy.

The far better solution is to have a firearms safety and target practice course as part of compulsory schooling. Use laser-dry-fire equipped, color-coded handguns and you can avoid any live fire/ammo anywhere.

Live ammo and live fire aren't necessary to learn safe handling. The instructors would still be correcting any students who handle their laser guns unsafely. And the lasers in those laser guns or snap caps aren't powerful enough to be a huge safety risk. The laserlyte snap cap ones appear to be 5 mW. Not perfectly safe, but unlikely to do significant damage without intentionally staring up the beam.

I dunno: I'd rather be shot than blinded!

It is of limited use to practice shooting with guns that don't shoot real bullets. The student doesn't learn safety properly and picks up bad habits b/c he thinks the guns are safe. That learning transfers over to real life and how you practice is how you will react under stress.

> It is of limited use to practice shooting with guns that don't shoot real bullets. The student doesn't learn safety properly and picks up bad habits b/c he thinks the guns are safe. That learning transfers over to real life and how you practice is how you will react under stress.

I agree. A course like that would have to have a module where the students would have to fire real guns, but I'd say you could still use dummy guns to teach the basics (and fail anyone who's blase with those) before they advance.

wavefunction says> "She was of course pointing it at other people on purpose..."

Written as if she had some malevolent intent, which is absurd.

But this is what makes handguns so useful: even a hardened criminal begins to look for the exit when he sees even the most naieve person pointing a handgun randomly. Guns are indeed a great equalizer.

I don't think GP is implying malice, just trying to make a (relatively separate) point about responsibility by equivocating on the phrase "on purpose", e.g., you decide where the gun points, even if you don't specifically want to sweep someone. I wouldn't phrase it the way they did, but they do have a point.

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