• SupraMario@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Australia had around 1mil firearms in civ hands, they also didn’t have anywhere near the level of violence we do. Those 270mil firearms will come from mainly people who collect them. It won’t magically make the other 180mil safer. Most criminals get their firearms from straw purchases, not theft.

    • Zaktor@sopuli.xyz
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      9 months ago

      Australia had around 1mil firearms in civ hands, they also didn’t have anywhere near the level of violence we do.

      It’s almost like they impact each other.

      Those 270mil firearms will come from mainly people who collect them.

      Great. Find a new goddamned hobby that doesn’t end up distributing guns into communities through theft and careless transfers. Not to mention when one of those “collectors” just decides it’s time to start killing people like the Las Vegas shooter.

      Most criminals get their firearms from straw purchases, not theft.

      Buyback should be paired with greatly restricted purchasing. Fewer and harder purchases with more tracking means fewer straw purchases and over time fewer guns. Machine guns are hard and expensive to get in part because you’re not allowed to make or sell new ones.

      Or, if you contend it’s really just straw purchases that are the problem (and want to ignore the legally purchased guns used in crimes all the time), then lets lock that down. Register every gun, require background checks for every sale, and hold the last known owner liable if it’s used in a crime and wasn’t reported stolen.