#and especially when you see the statistics about cops funneling firearms from arsenals and evidence lockers to white supremacist militias.

[killwizard]

I think that the truth about gun control, for better or for worse, is that it is both impossible, unethical, and dangerous to pursue.

1. Yes, gun violence is dangerous, tragic, and often preventable.

2. Firearm creation and acquisition is fundamentally impossible to prevent, and has been since the discovery of gunpowder as a mechanism of projectile propulsion. As technology progresses it will always become easier and easier to access firearms.

3. Any and all hitherto attempts at gun control have been biased, whether intentionally or not, and have resulted in marginalized groups targeted by police violence, and disproportionate armament of white supremacist and other similar groups

4. The potential for organized violence against a governing body by the population they purport to represent is not a tool to be thrown away lightly, and legislated disarmament involves, by necessity, armed enforcement of that legislation, either police or military, which will result both in unjust and imbalanced enforcement of those laws as per the last point, as well as a disarmed and functionally powerless population while armed groups enforce the status quo, a state monopoly on violence.

5. Shootin someone is already a crime, if someone intends to hurt people, and especially if they plan to die at the end, as many of the perpetrators of these acts do, the threat of illegal firearm charges on top of charges for murder simply won't stop them. If someone wants to hurt people, they will find a way.

My question is, why are we addressin violence by targetin specific vehicles of that violence rather than the material conditions that drive people to violence in the first place?

Unethical and sensationalized reportin on mass-shooters inspires copycats, unchecked alt-right radicalization inspires hate crimes, inaccessibility of resources, whether food, water, shelter, medical treatment (including mental health), or money for any of the above leads people to things like robbery, gang violence, or violent mental health crises. Illegality of drugs leads to exploitation and violence throughout their production and distribution, so on and so on and so forth.

Gun control is fundamentally harmful and impossible. It simply will not work, and any attempts have and will disproportionately target, harm, and kill marginalized people. The only option left is to address the material conditions that lead to violence.