The General Terrorist Rampage Thread

[Mr. Orange]

Fuck, I was leading an artillery battery with 170 Marines when I was 27. The amount of authority/killing power we give to 18-25 year olds in the military is...significant. I don't see how those two things fit together logically.

I would argue that 1) they are professionally trained and 2) there is a chain of command and 3) they are given mental health evaluations.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

A hunting rifle is far from idea for home protection. For starters, anything other than a .22 is going to run you some serious money, not to mention the ammunition.

Plus, it can be difficult to find places to shoot hunting rifles legally -- many indoor ranges won't let you shoot them.

 

[Whittaker]

If your opponent thinks that way, they're an extremist.

A relative term.
To some Pelosi is an extremists, to others she is mainstream. Ditto Paul Ryan.
Point is, people on the left, right and middle are all occupying the most reasonable position to them. To make appearing reasonable to one's political opponents one's #1 priority is to place avoidance of confrontation ahead of conviction.
Peace, by any means necessary, is defeat.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I would argue that 1) they are professionally trained and 2) there is a chain of command and 3) they are given mental health evaluations.

Nah -- you don't really get mental exams unless someone sends you to one. And most of the time, your world is pretty small -- not much of a chain of command around you except guys your own age or only slightly older.

 

[AZ_]

I've had friends robbed at gunpoint in the CLE while walking in their neigborhood. Well ok, one friend. But I think in most cases, while people THINK they are going to go Seal Team 6, most likely they are going to shit themselves. The "In Cold Blood" scenario is very unlikely.

I agree.

The only way to sell this type of reform is to truly focus the center of your attention on getting guns off the streets in these urban areas, most especially the unregistered.

A national gun registry, harsher/mandatory sentencing for carrying an unregistered weapon. If we expect to make a meaningful amount of progress in reducing gun violence, it begins and ends with making it incredibly hard for a person to get an unregistered weapon.

 

[MediumBaller]

So how about a hunting rifle at 18, and you could buy things like handguns at 25? Would that be a fair compromise? Remember, keys to the compromise are to respect the 2nd, while reducing mass shootings. That's the common ground.

I don't think I would agree to raising the handgun age to 25. It's 21 right now, and I think that's probably a good age to keep it at. A lot of people have families by that age and handguns are good for home protection.

I believe that the current age for assault weapons like the AR15 is 18. That's too low, imo. It doesn't make much sense to allow an 18 year old to buy one of those but make him/her wait until 21 to buy a hand gun. I would agree with raising the age for them to 25. 21 at the very minimum.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

A relative term.
To some Pelosi is an extremists, to others she is mainstream. Ditto Paul Ryan.
Point is, people on the left, right and middle are all occupying the most reasonable position to them. To make appearing reasonable to one's political opponents one's #1 priority is to place avoidance of confrontation ahead of conviction.
Peace, by any means necessary, is defeat.

I don't disagree with you. I'm just saying that it is entirely possible for someone to be wrong, but still be defending a reasonable position, even if it isn't the one you find most persuasive. If someone believes that anyone who disagrees with their position is "unreasonable", then I think yes, they're probably an extremist.

To give you an example, I don't think anyone who came to this country illegally should get citizenship. But I don't think it is unreasonable to argue that people who were brought here as minors should have a path to citizenship, even if I personally disagree with it.

On the other hand, I don't think it is reasonable to say "anyone who wants to immigrate to this country should be permitted to do so", or "anyone who lives in this country should be permitted to vote".

 

[Cassity14]

I've got no problem with the age related to owning a firearm. It could be 18, 21, whatever.

Making it as high as 25+ just seems silly and unnecessary.

Violent crimes will always happen. Bad people are going to do bad things. Desperate people are going to do bad things. I do not want to punish the majority of responsible gun owners unnecessarily on behalf of the few bad apples out there.

My thing with assault styled rifles is that I just don't see any logical reason for them to be accessible and legal in the first place, let alone as easily-obtained as your mainstream handgun.

I don't like that "semi-auto" is being used as the latest buzzword. Pretty much everything is semi-automatic, and using that to frame an argument seems silly.

 

[Mr. Orange]

I agree.

The only way to sell this type of reform is to truly focus the center of your attention on getting guns off the streets in these urban areas, most especially the unregistered.

A national gun registry, harsher/mandatory sentencing for carrying an unregistered weapon. If we expect to make a meaningful amount of progress in reducing gun violence, it begins and ends with making it incredibly hard for a person to get an unregistered weapon.

To finish the story, my friend now takes his dog with him when he walks in the neighborhood. He did not buy an assault weapon.

 

[Cavatt]

Fuck, I was leading an artillery battery with 170 Marines when I was 27. The amount of authority/killing power we give to 18-25 year olds in the military is...significant. I don't see how those two things fit together logically.

I actually see it as quite consistent. You couldn't find a bunch of 30 year olds that would be willing to kill. Life is cheap to people in the teens and 20's. It is valuable to older people who have been humbled a bit.

The military specifically gets people while they are young because they can convince them to kill. You aren't convincing me to kill someone no matter what. I am not doing that unless my family or I am in direct danger. In my 20's it might have been possible.

 

[Mr. Orange]

I don't think I would agree to raising the handgun age to 25. It's 21 right now, and I think that's probably a good age to keep it at. A lot of people have families by that age and handguns are good for home protection.

I believe that the current age for assault weapons like the AR15 is 18. That's too low, imo. It doesn't make much sense to allow an 18 year old to buy one of those but make him/her wait until 21 to buy a hand gun. I would agree with raising the age for them to 25. 21 at the very minimum.

I did not know the law on handguns was 21. Thanks for the info. Yes, the AR15 should at least be 21. I think 25 is a better idea as well.

 

[Cavatt]

I did not know the law on handguns was 21. Thanks for the info. Yes, the AR15 should at least be 21. I think 25 is a better idea as well.

18-24 is the age group that commits the most murders

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I actually see it as quite consistent. You couldn't find a bunch of 30 year olds that would be willing to kill. Life is cheap to people in the teens and 20's. It is valuable to older people who have been humbled a bit.

Dude, everyone above me in the chain of command was older. My staff NCO's who reported to me were all over 30 as well.

 

[Cavatt]

Dude, everyone above me in the chain of command was older. My staff NCO's who reported to me were all over 30 as well.

They were making the decisions, not operating the weapons. I don't see why this is controversial at all. I am talking about the guys actively pulling the trigger.

Young guys have less compunction about killing and are more impressionable than older people. That is all I am saying. The same age group that is doing the killing outside the military is doing it in the military.

 

[KI4MVP]

Gun ownership is almost a necessity for people living in rural areas, imo. If someone is trying to break into your home to do you harm the police just aren't going to get there in time.

What kind of rural area are you talking about? When I lived an a rural area, I didn't lock my house ever, even on vacation, and I left the car keys in the car.