Diane MonacoJan 23, 2023
Robert Reich

If someone tells you there's nothing we can do about gun violence beyond thoughts and prayers, remind them:

โ€” Gun laws in other countries have stopped mass shootings

โ€” More guns don't make us safer

โ€” The vast majority of Americans want gun control

Inaction is a policy choice.

Jan 23, 2023 at 1:10amWeb
Show threadAnneJan 23, 2023
@rbreich but many are so entrenched in their beliefs, they wonโ€™t hear it.
Show threadCondalmo.Jan 23, 2023
@annecavicchi Came here to say essentially this. "Remind them that more guns don't make us safer" completely disregards the complete disregard the gun lobby cult has for anything factual.
Show threadVoronJan 23, 2023
@rbreich ๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต determines U.S. policy not the will of the voters, not data, not public good
Show threadSasha StrangeJan 23, 2023
@rbreich Funny how they say we can't have gun control, because then only criminals will have guns/it will only punish law abiding people, but they believe in bans when it comes to addressing the non-threat that is trans existence, abortions, books, drag shows, the list goes on and on. Apparently, guns are *special* cases.
Show threadT.WllmsJan 23, 2023
@sasha_strange @rbreich
In less than a 24 hour period the mass murder of citizens continued unabated.... I'm starting to think it's the mass proliferation of guns... ๐Ÿค”
12 people injured in shooting at Louisiana nightclub
Eight people five adults and three children in a Shreveport residence were shot Sunday afternoon.
Monterey Park, California, killed 10 people and injured 10 others during a shooting
Show threadCraig D CarmoneyJan 23, 2023
@rbreich interesting how other countries do not see this happening unless they are at war.
Show threadWill AdamsJan 23, 2023
@rbreich the die hard 1A supporters don't realize 'merica is the only country this is a problem.
Show threadMavisJan 23, 2023
@rbreich Inaction by lawmakers on #guncontrol is also cowardice in the face of innocent lives lost.
Show threadmatt Jan 23, 2023
@rbreich I have to plead hypocrisy because I own a gun for self defense (acquired after Pulse and during the rise of Trumpism), but I agree with everything you said. If more guns meant less violence, America would have the least violence in the world. Clearly we do not. โ€œIt should be hard for terrorists to get gunsโ€ shouldnโ€™t be a controversial take.
Show threadGeoff SweetJan 23, 2023
@n1zyy @rbreich I think though people like you and I are still a minority voice in the gun owner community. I have no problem being regulated. I am happy to prove that I am a completely responsible gun owner. And if it means jumping through additional hoops, I'm happy to do that. There are lots of countries that have great firearm ownership laws. It allows their citizens to own almost everything that Americans can own. But it takes a lot of work to get there. Guess what they don't have...
Show threadmatt Jan 23, 2023
@Gorf @rbreich For sure. It also irks me because the strategic thing would be for sensible pro-gun folks to help shape legislation that could keep us safer without sacrificing anyoneโ€™s rights. Instead, they stonewall, leaving us less safe while sacrificing their seat at the table.
Show threadOktaviandiJan 23, 2023
@rbreich one of the few things that baffle me about the US is the gun ownership. Why would civilian needs one ๐Ÿฅฑ
Show threadNichol BrummerJan 23, 2023
@rbreich and what about the right of states or cities to experiment with gun regulation?
Show threadGrandyJan 23, 2023
@rbreich Unfortunately, some Republicans would rather control food to the needy than control guns.
Show threadMarie GreeneJan 23, 2023
@mparker @rbreich Accurate.
Show threadGwenJan 23, 2023
@rbreich As an Australian I canโ€™t understand the American obsession with guns. We have guns too. Licensed with legislative requirements as to appropriate storage. Occasionally there is a shooting.
What we donโ€™t have is assault rifles. I am shocked that some Americans see this as an assault on our freedoms.
What we do have is the freedom of our children to go to school without having active shooter drills or worse, an actual mass killing of children.
I know which freedom I prefer.
Show threadMugsysRapSheet Blog โ˜‘๏ธJan 23, 2023

@rbreich Every time we write a law banning a particular type of weapon, the gun industry finds a loophole to get around it. (No surprise since the people who write the bills are told by the gun industry how to write them.)

If we want to end Mass Shootings, we need to stop playing games by selectively banning certain *types* of weapons and focus on the ammunition. #StopMassShootings #TaxGunpowder #TaxCordite

Show threadKelli Blue ๐Ÿ“ธJan 23, 2023
@MugsysRapSheet @rbreich you know ammunition is relatively easy to manufacture, right?
Show threadMugsysRapSheet Blog โ˜‘๏ธJan 23, 2023
@kelliblue @rbreich Did you actually READ the attached graphic before replying?
Show threadCurtisJan 23, 2023
@[email protected] if you could change one thing, and one thing only, about American Politics, what would it be?
Show threadKrazyKatJan 23, 2023
@rbreich Concur.
Show threadGiJoJan 23, 2023
@rbreich I don't believe gun control is the solution. One must look at the bigger picture. This is a societal issue. A deep rooted illness. I think the focus should be on addressing the underlying issues, including lack of mental health resources and flaws in the current available services.
Show threadSteve FeltenJan 23, 2023
@GiJo @rbreich Now itโ€™s thoughts, prayers and exasperation.
Show threadSam BushellJan 23, 2023
@rbreich a nation capable of passing the eighteenth amendment is capable of repealing the second amendment.
Show threadDannyJan 23, 2023
@rbreich we must send our thoughts harder and pray harder!!!
Show threadJohn BaileyJan 23, 2023

@rbreich

You usually do so well when you argue in your actual area of expertise.

When you stray to this one you fall back to false premises, straw, and irrelevant appeals. Someone with your education should know better - in simple terms of formal rhetoric.

Show threadAllessandro QJan 23, 2023
@rbreich while access is certainly an issue, I dont see how you can objectively not see that theres something wrong with US society and our relationship to guns and a "might makes right" mentality that are really at the heart of the issue. Go watch some US cop shows and then watch some European ones. Go look at the heroes in movies weve had for the past 60 years. Theres something wrong with our culture and its obvious if you look.
Show threadAmanda HugankissJan 23, 2023
@rbreich Follow the money.
Show threadPeter WeyandJan 23, 2023
@rbreich Here's a electric coil gun that someone made from a 3d printer. Guns are like abortion - you can not like them, but some people really want them enough that it's impossible to stop. So you might as well spend your time on something you can change rather than spin your wheels - like Small Modular Nuclear Reactors. I cannot stress enough how much I want those to be everywhere.

Here's the coil gun - www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwHRjgโ€ฆ
And here's the same idea from 1987 www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QWwBqโ€ฆ

First as farce and then as fact.
ArcFlash Labs EMG-02 CoilGun: Making SciFi Weapons Into Reality

YouTube
Show threadSocialistStanJan 23, 2023

@rbreich

This is not 'other countries'

Shooters only target unarmed spaces

And the rest of us aren't giving anyone our guns, so you're going to use ...guns...to come take them?

Show threadKelli Blue ๐Ÿ“ธJan 23, 2023
@SocialistStan @rbreich itโ€™s the hate, itโ€™s the fascism, address those and the โ€œgun problemโ€ goes away
Show threadMend SternJan 23, 2023
@rbreich how do we explain to those who are saying they more gun laws will only prevent lawful citizens from owning self defense guns, and use the statistics that clearly demonstrate that some of the worst gun violence occurs in states with the strictest gun laws, like New York, NYS, Chicago Il, Los Angeles CAโ€ฆ.
Show threadCherylJan 23, 2023
@Mend @rbreich where do you expect to start?
Show threadFawnJan 23, 2023
@rbreich a vast majority of articles based on facts claim these points ..?
Show threadOne World One PeopleJan 23, 2023
@rbreich Rules and Laws: The traditions of a society when they are truly conceived to the benefit of all people will be strong enough to allow that society and culture to thrive in the moment and be free of corruption. *When I think of societies with little weapon violence I consider that their traditions discourage it, where the opposite is true for societies with a larger degree. Laws will help organize a response to violence but they cannot remove it in those societies. OWOP
Show threadNot a Spring OnionJan 23, 2023

@rbreich The US already have 120 guns per 100 people, the highest number in the world, with Saudi Arabia as number two with 54 guns per 100 people.

Given these numbers, if more guns made people safer, the US should be the safest country in the world.

Show threadKelli Blue ๐Ÿ“ธJan 23, 2023
@rbreich unless America changes their gun laws to regulate pressure bearing parts (like Europe) instead of frame only thereโ€™s really no law that will stop anyone who wants a gun from having one ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ
Show threadSocialistStanJan 23, 2023

@kelliblue @rbreich And even if they do you will have the War On Guns which will go just as well as the War On Drugs but with way more casualties, and the terror attacks will continue.

We need to arm minorities and pull white youth away from being the foot soldiers of genocide.

Show threadKelli Blue ๐Ÿ“ธJan 23, 2023
@SocialistStan @rbreich โ€œgun controlโ€ is dead
Show threadUnicornJibs ๐Ÿฆ„๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€โšง๏ธ๐ŸšฌJan 23, 2023
@rbreich it's always children this and children that but when a shooting happens suddenly the right doesn't care about children ๐Ÿค”
Show threadPeter WeyandJan 23, 2023
@rbreich I view school shootings positively, to be honest. You can't treat the weird loner kid like absolute shit and make his life a living hell or he'll go Carrie on your ass. That's a good thing. Maybe people wouldn't shoot up a shopping mall or a church if we treated the weirdo loners with a quiet dignity.
Show threadSFborn1940Jan 23, 2023
@rbreich We have a Supreme Court that rules the Second Amendment gives us a right to own guns.
Nothing in the Amendment gives us that right unless we are members of "a well-regulated Militia". This deliberate misuse of the Amendment is costing us dearly. Until we can rid ourselves of a Republican majority on the Court, we will not get gun violence under control. Vote accordingly or continue to suffer the consequences.
Show threadJayboy66Jan 23, 2023
@rbreich I couldn't agree more. It's about time America did something about its atrocious gun laws besides thoughts and prayers. The constitution is an outdated document written in And for different times. Other countries update their constitutions all the time. Gun deaths in America are still more than every other country in the world gun deaths combined total. How many more people have to die before it's too many?
Show threadMossyJan 23, 2023
@rbreich Here in Ireland, the police arenโ€™t even armed and we have one of the safest, gun free communities on earth.
Show threadAndrzej StamburskiJan 23, 2023
@Lyricismist @rbreich Here in Netherlands people have bicycles instead of guns and they use these bicycles. Foreigners in big cities feel a bit unsafe seeing so many bicycles at once, but I can assure it is very safe ;-)
To Americans, my personal advice, change your guns to bicycles.
Show threadThe WerewolfJan 23, 2023

@rbreich Also, remind them of the alleged Einstein quote: "The definition of insanity is repeatedly doing the same thing in expectation of a different outcome."

If God hasn't answered our prayers by now, maybe we might consider "The Lord helps those who helps themselves?"

I mean they love that one for poor people, no?

Show threadIฮฑn has moved accountJan 23, 2023

@rbreich

The US gun death toll is optional.

From outside the US we ask "why do they want that?"

Show threadPeter WeyandJan 23, 2023
@rbreich @dump_stack

It's a joke doofus. 1984 by George Orwell.
Show threadChrisJan 23, 2023
@rbreich
I'm in the UK and it's plain as day to me that the US constitution writers had a Swiss style attitude to gun ownership in mind - an orderly, responsible citizens' militia with strict rules in place about where and when guns can be used or displayed.
Not an anarchic free market where any lunatic or extremist can go to a shop to buy as many cannons, grenades and flamethrowers as they like "just in case of trouble"
Show threadRichard KayJan 23, 2023
@rbreich Very unfortunately you are locked into this cycle of violence due to the policy choices you've made concerning your constitution long ago, and the fact it takes so long for your system to appoint new Supreme Court judges who currently don't seem to read what your 2nd amendment literally states, in the sense this seems to have been written to concern disciplined militia instead of individual firearm ownership.
Show threadAntagonisingHooliganJan 23, 2023
@rbreich ah yes, taking the defense from the people but allowing the police to keep it so they can continue to inflict harm upon anybody that is not like them or the ones they are protecting. Feckin Liberal.
Show threadAlex von Thorn๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿš€๐Ÿ–Š๐Ÿ––Jan 23, 2023
@rbreich And the assault weapons ban from 1994 did work in the United States to save lives until it was repealed in 2004. This is a solvable problem. #guncontrol
Show threadFallsMom ๐ŸŒปJan 23, 2023
@rbreich #RobPortman retired from the Senate, left our nation with lots more guns & no control beyond "thoughts 'n prayers."