@joewo We know the American gun nutter's answer to that question;

"NOT ENOUGH GUNS!!

"How many of those children weren't adequately armed to protect themselves?"

@TimWardCam @joewo

Disabled elder here. The troubles that come from gun culture are *far* outweighed by the benefits. Guns make us equal. Without guns, the old, the weak, the small and the disabled are at the mercy of the the young, the strong, the big and the able-bodied.

@LevZadov @TimWardCam @joewo

A weapon isn't about equality. But if everyone carries a gun perhaps they just halve their population from time to time.

But not everyone has them and they never will so that's an unequal society, so no it's not a mechanism for equality.

@simon_lucy @TimWardCam @joewo

It's not a mechanism. It's an implement with which to level the playing field between individuals. For example:

I'm a 76 year old, four eyed, gimpy legged, stroke survivor. I used to have superior balance. I rode a motorcycle in traffic for decades and never got killed, not even once. Now I never know when the floor is going to start feeling like a boat deck. Fisticuffs are no longer an option.

My SO is just shy of 80 and stands just shy of five feet. If even a lone thug broke in here to rob us, or worse, we would not be his physical equal, but for our guns.

It doesn't scale to social level. Guns can't bring us economic equality. We tried that. It didn't work. There is no military solution to capitalism. It's not a military problem. It's an economic problem. It needs economic solutions. Want equality? Replace capitalism with #LibertarianSocialism. Bada bing. Problem solved. Well, that particular problem, anyway. But inequality is not our only problem.

@LevZadov @TimWardCam @joewo

People breaking into your house is not about equality and it's a peculiar preoccupation. Is this a likely event and if they did break in whilst you slept how likely are you to be able to defend your property and selves, whether you have weapons or not?

Perhaps an alarm connected to the police would be of more utility.

@simon_lucy @TimWardCam @joewo

Uvalde proved once and for all that cops are worse than useless, they're in the way.

Uvalde proved once and for all that cops are worse than useless, they're in the way. There's a name for people who rely on police to protect them. They're called "victims."

Police have no obligation to protect us. The SCOTUS agrees:

See: Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005)

See also: DeShaney v. Winnebago County, 489 U.S. 189 (1989)