Originally posted by Nashwan
No, I'm saying there's so much gun violence in DC because it's so easy to get guns.
Incorrect. This is a result of a violent under-culture. Obviously poverty and drugs contribute to this, but I'll wager if you gave every gangbanger a million dollars, they'd still be shooting each other. Anyone with a shred of common sense would realize that if every gun on earth disappeared tomorrow, the murder rate would be unchanged. Knifes, swords, bats and axes would be substituted.
Access to legally purchased weapons would be denied to anyone with a rap sheet under Federal law anyway. I've been to enough guns shows to know that you don't see this element there trying to buy firearms. So, anyone who claims this as a source of guns for career criminals doesn't know what they're talking about. Then again, no one every accused the anti-gun people of knowing what they were talking about. Many are all about emotional response, usually devoid of reasoning.
This problem isn't solved by emotional response, it's solved by rational programs to educate and employ and enable people caught up in violent cultures, providing a way out that has tangible rewards for effort and hard work.
Until we as a nation address the root causes of this violent under-culture, things will change little. Especially in the neighborhoods where the culture florishes.
Naturally, there is no program that can provide a solution to purely evil people. We will always have these to contend with.
What always bothered me was the billions of dollars spent in useless government endeavors that easily could have been spent providing for better schools, housing and opportunities for families and individuals stuck in the endless cycle of poverty and hopelessness. Sure, there are going to be people who will not bother to take advantage of opportunity, they'd rather remain poor. We will always have a certain percentage of the population with no desire to change their circumstances. That would be their choice. As it is now, the vast majority of folks suffering in poverty really don't have a choice.
So. how do you fix this? Beats the hell out of me. It's obvious that no single solution can do it. Surely we have enough creative thinkers to devise solutions. The problem as I see it is that government will ultimately mismanage any program. There's no doubt in my mind that the worst managers work for the government, as no private employer would tolerate them for long. Yeah, there's no simple solution.
So, there's a lot of reasons for violence, but guns isn't one of them. Until our society wakes up and recognizes that this is a cultural issue, things will stay at the status quo and the not-so-deep thinkers will continue to assign blame to what scares them, rather than the actual cause.
It reminds me of the "War on Terror".... We don't have a war with terror, what we have is a war with radical Islam, the most violent culture on the planet. And like gun violence is blamed on guns, terrorism is blamed on terrorists. Once again, the root cause of the violence is ignored, and once again, little progress will be made.
My regards,
Widewing
