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Comment by bko | Hacker News Reader

I agree, most of the arguments have been basically "do anything" hysterics that are divorced from reality. For instance, much focus is given on rifles, specifically big black scary looking rifles. In reality if you look at murder rates by weapon type

Handguns: ~45–50%

Firearm (type unknown): ~20–25%

Rifles: ~2–3%

Shotguns: ~1–2%

Knives / cutting instruments: ~10–12%

Blunt objects (clubs, hammers, etc.): ~3–5%

Hands, fists, feet (“personal weapons”): ~3–5%

Other (poison, fire, etc.): low single digits

https://www.criminalattorneycolumbus.com/which-weapons-are-m...

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Plenty of people worked to ban handguns only to have it shut down by SCOTUS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia_v._Heller

> In reality if you look at murder rates by weapon type

What is the school shooting by weapon type? The 'general' mass shooting by weapon type?

> Many school shootings in the United States result in one non-fatal injury.[63] The type of firearm most commonly used in school shootings in the United States is the handgun. Three school shootings (the Columbine massacre, the Sandy Hook massacre, and the 2018 Parkland High School shooting in Florida), accounted for 43% of the fatalities; the type of firearm used in the most lethal school shootings was the rifle.[62]

Note that this is shootings, so excludes murders by non guns. Rifles are not any more effective at murder than handguns. It's much easier to control, conceal, reload and attain a handgun. They're the preferred weapon of choice for practical reasons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting

"…much focus is given on rifles, specifically big black scary looking rifles"

Military-style rifles designed primarily for killing humans? That's called a low hanging fruit. If the U.S. can't even restrict those I expect everything else to be a wasted effort.

Military-style ARPANET designed primarily for nuclear warfare?

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