more guns mean more homicide, more gun control mean less homicide

[Anomaly]

lol.  I'm an atheist on a Catholic website.   I've learned a lot.  Especially to look at the broader picture.  

You have no reason to fixate on guns other than the emotional baggage associated with them and the bias bred by you societies definition of what guns are. You've failed to understand the fundamental human rights that Americans hold dear and have protected for themselves via self armament in spite of government. Guns represent, and are socially defined as much more than a killing device. 

[Anselm]

What makes you think that I'm 'fixated' on guns? Again you jump to huge conclusions about me. I understand entirely what (some, not all) Americans hold to be fundamental rights and I disagree with them. I haven't failed to understand anything, thank you. However, what you have either failed to understand or disagree with is that just because something has for a long time been a part of the constitution of one country that does not make it a fundamental human right. 

I've asked in a variety of ways but I'll ask bluntly again; do you believe that the right to bear arms is more important than the lives of those needlessly killed each year?

[Anomaly]

Yes, an individual's right to choose to own means of defense against oppression, whether by individuals or a government, means guns must be permitted. 

I do not believe an individual is limited to only the protection and freedoms the State chooses to allow. 

I also believe we are allowed to own swimming pools that cause the deaths of more children every year than children are killed by guns. 

I do believe there should be liability and punishment for those that abuse those rights. 

Edited August 9, 2016 by Anomaly

[Anselm]

Well that is where we will never agree. I do not accept that the ownership of something like a swimming pool, intended for entertainment and not for harm, is in any way comparable to owning a gun which is intended solely for killing.

Also, I suspect that you do indeed believe that an individual is limited to the freedoms that the state chooses when you also agree with them...

[dUSt]

I think the fact the the United States' population is armed is a really good deterrent for any country who thinks about invading us. There is also something to say about being armed to prevent oppression from our own government. Yes, both of these situations induce eye rolls, as if they are so far from reality, but I'm not convinced they are.

People who look at the issue from a purely one sided "gun crime" issue may be forgetting the bigger picture, and the reason the United States has armed citizens in the first place.

The best way to reduce gun violence is not to limit the amount of guns, but to reduce poverty. Gun control and mental health issues all seem to be distractions.