46 points

I can think of literally no better reason to keep ARs legal than the events of last week.

permalink
report
reply
46 points

Yes, this is the exact intention of the second amendment. Armed resistance against tyrannical government. If the rise of fascism in America isn’t the time to use it, it’s meaningless.

The founding fathers envisioned state militias that would rival the power of the federal army and keep it in check. That ship has sailed, so it already lost a lot of its bite, but any power it still has can only be justified for that purpose

permalink
report
parent
reply
9 points

in b4 /pol mods delete this for “inciting violence”.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-8 points

Yes, this is the exact intention of the second amendment. Armed resistance against tyrannical government

Nope. Judging by how they used militias at the time, they meant it for defending the federal government against both invasions and rebellions. The “defense against tyranny” reason is just an invention of people trying to justify their guns.

The founding fathers envisioned state militias that would rival the power of the federal army and keep it in check

Nope. There WAS no federal army at the time. They used militias IN STEAD OF a standing army, not as a check on an existing one. Which of course invalidates the entire amendment now that the country has the biggest and most advanced military in the history of humanity.


All of that being said, I consider assassination of a tyrant you can’t rid the people of in any other way the only form of murder that’s acceptable as it serves the common good.

Putin is one such tyrant, Orban probably is, and Donald Trump DEFINITELY is. The world would have been a much better place if Crooks had been a better shot.

permalink
report
parent
reply
11 points

I mean, that’s the exact opposite of what the federalist papers said. We don’t have to speculate what the founders intended, they wrote it down. But don’t take my word for it. Let’s ask Alexander Hamilton from federalist 29

If circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point
Deleted by creator
permalink
report
parent
reply
10 points

Everyone gets a free scope and 100 hours of shooting lessons with purchase.

permalink
report
parent
reply
10 points

Scopes aren’t versatile enough for the AR platform. Free LVPO with purchase and 100 hours of training.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points
*
Deleted by creator
permalink
report
parent
reply
9 points
*

Now is the time?

permalink
report
reply
4 points

Will republicans vote in favor of protecting their candidate? Or their base’s blood lust? This is a great time for Biden to put them in a hard place.

permalink
report
parent
reply
20 points

The answer is simply they will hate it if Biden does it but not care if Trump does.

permalink
report
parent
reply
9 points

They will vote republican no matter what. Logic doesn’t apply so forking them doesn’t work.

permalink
report
parent
reply
12 points

He thinks that because someone took a shot at trump with one, its a good time.

Biden has forgotten the whole point of 2a.

Like honestly, hes trying to throw the election at this point.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-10 points

Lemmings love to shit on Biden no matter what he does. Literally no matter what. Please criticize him or any leader, but maybe also check your bias against individuals.

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

This is a very legitimate criticism. Biden is fucking up again with this dumb move at the wrong time.

Talking about gun bans is one of the hugest motivators to drive Republicans to vote against you. We have seen this for fucking decades already.

permalink
report
parent
reply
59 points

Just as dumb as when Beto said it before his election…

It’ll never pass, and he thinks saying it will get votes, but all it does is motivate idiots to vote trump, even tho he actually did an executive action to try and close a loophole.

It might not have stood, but it worked for a couple of years.

permalink
report
reply
6 points

On its own its a dumb idea, but I do think another commenter had it on the money how this is more a ploy to catch trump with his pants down. Trump can either agree and piss off his pro gun base (and look like a coward given his previous statements), he can argue against it and seem like hes inviting more violence and alienate anyone in his base who thinks gun violence is bad. Or he can ignore it and look like hes a doddering old fool oblivious to whats happening around him.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

alienate anyone in his base who thinks gun violence is bad

ie exactly nobody

to his base it would look strongbrave to ignore it with the most bigly beautiful thickskin

permalink
report
parent
reply
179 points

Biden is doing this to drive a wedge into Republicans. The gun nuts and the ones that don’t care about guns will have differing opinions because now gun violence affects them directly. It’s really smart.

Biden looks presidential. Trump has three choices:

  1. Come out against AR-15s, for obvious reasons. This makes gun nuts less likely to vote for him.

  2. Come out in favor of AR-15s. He looks insane to Republicans who don’t care about guns.

  3. Trump ignores the issue or waffles and looks unpresidential.

Number 3 is most likely. Of course the correct answer is number 4: propose a competing policy that is nuanced. But that’s impossible for trump.

permalink
report
reply
81 points

How many Republicans don’t care about guns?

permalink
report
parent
reply
105 points

The ones that are republicans for tax purposes.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

And the ones that are Republicans to fuck over everyone but the rich. They’d definitely prefer “poor folk” didn’t have guns at all.

permalink
report
parent
reply
28 points

Is that enough to matter? And is this issue enough for them to change their vote, given the tax stuff? All the other shit Trump does certainly doesn’t matter.

permalink
report
parent
reply
14 points

Those republicans already know he’s fucking crazy and they don’t give a fuck what his stance is on guns.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

And who don’t give a shit either way about guns to make any effect

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

Not a lot but every wedge is probably worth it

permalink
report
parent
reply
25 points

Lots of them. Do you know any Republicans? None of them care about issues that don’t affect them and their families. Even other “conservative” issues. They are not driven by policy.

Only Republicans with guns care about guns. And only 50% of Republicans have guns.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/264932/percentage-americans-own-guns.aspx

They don’t care about each other. Liberals care about what other liberals think. Stop thinking like someone who cares about policy.

permalink
report
parent
reply
20 points

I’ve had to explain this to a lot of people who naturally assume that any organization of people will be organized around some kind of shared values. Most of the time that’s true, but not for Republicans.

Republicans are just a mish mash of obsessive single-issue voters, and by in large they just don’t care about the other single issues that their fellow party members are going on about.

At the head of the Republican party it’s people who want to minimize their tax burden, eliminate regulations on corporations, and cannibalize as much of the US government as they can into for-profit institutions. You could say that’s three issues instead of one, but the overarching theme is to cater to personal greed, no matter the harm to society. These are the ones who are primarily pulling the strings, at least historically.

Just below them is the military industrial complex and gun manufacturers who just want to sell guns no matter the harm to society. They like to rile up 2A fanatics with conspiracy theories that the government is out to steal all their guns so they’ll be defenseless, paving the way for King Biden to ascend to his throne. The industry only cares about selling guns and the fanatics only care about having guns, and neither care about any kind of harm to society.

Then there’s the radical Christians whose obsessions cover an eclectic mix of social reactionary positions and literal death cult worship (e.g. Christians who give absolute support to genocide in Palestine because they think Israel’s conquest is a crucial step towards the rapture, which they believe is imminent). Broadly speaking the people in this group just want to hoist their religious doctrines onto everyone they can by any means available and no matter the harm it causes to society. They literally only care about “God’s Kingdom” in the afterlife.

Then there’s people who just lack any capacity for adaptation or learning. Their obsession is to feel like things are staying the same, or even reverting back to a past that they only know how to view through rose tinted glasses. They can’t be bothered to comprehend the problems we’re facing as a society or how the past was not the idyllic utopia that they mistakenly remember, nor can the old way of doing things sustain a growing and transforming society. These people just want to exist in comforting ignorance by feeling like they get to remain in familiar surroundings, no matter the harm to society.

There’s really only one thing that truly unites them: Each one wants one specific thing no matter the harm to society, and that one specific thing that they each want IS HARMFUL to society. But they work well together because none of them care about the harm being caused by any of the others, and as long as they all tow the same line, each one gets what they want.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

I’ve never met any Republicans that were pro-gun-bans. I really don’t believe you’ll be able to find a single one either.

This is dumb as fuck timing by Biden, but I’m sure he can’t help himself because he’s been super anti-gun for decades so it’s probably just like a reflex at this point for him to to off about banning guns after a shooting.

permalink
report
parent
reply
9 points

Trump, for one

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

How many of them will stay home or change their vote because the head of the party they’re still a part of despite all the gun nuts continues acting like a gun nut?

If Biden is trying to use guns as a wedge issue for Republicans, he’s the person we saw at the debate all the time.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-1 points

The ones that are antiabortion or evangelicals who don’t own guns. GOP has the most gun owners but its not even like half their voters. Vocal minorities is all it is.

The only issue the GOP is actually united on right now is how they don’t like democrats.

permalink
report
parent
reply
35 points

Any of those options will work fine for Trump. He doesn’t need to have policies, strategies, or responses to anything. His voters can’t remember it anyway. You think they remember that he banned bump stocks in the first place? He could promise to ban AR-15s one day, then criticize his own proposal the next day, and he’ll just get cheered by both sides. Voters are fucking stupid.

All that matters is that he keeps the steady supply of hateful buzzwords flowing. You can’t win chess against an opponent who’s playing hungry hungry hippos.

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points

All of that wastes trump’s time and makes him look unprofessional to swing voters. He can’t win with just his fans. That’s why he lost big time in 2020. The swing voters saw him failing to respond to an actual issue.

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points

Correction: He lost big time because of mail-in votes. Trump in 2020 got the record high for votes for a Republican candidate at something like 67.2 million, which was just about a million votes less than what Obama got during his first election (which was a record-breaking turnout). Biden got around 80 million votes in 2020, breaking every voter turnout record ever.

Swing voters are still crucial because that’s how Hillary lost despite having only 100,000 less votes than Obama did in his second election, but I feel like swing voters have probably more or less already made up their minds. If you don’t see Trump for what he is already, the odds of his reaction here being the final straw seems unlikely. I think if people had better access to voting, we’d easily see a repeat of 2020 even if we were to vote right this minute.

permalink
report
parent
reply
19 points

Trump already said he’d take away everyones guns, no questions asked, years ago. No one that supported him even blinked. This means nothing to them.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

I’m pretty sure the NRA had a heart attack when they heard that 🤣

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

That’s just bullshit, he did not. He said the one stupid thing about ignoring due process for red flag law situations. This is pretty far and away from “everyone’s guns”

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points

You made me curious, thank you. The actual quote is “take the guns first, go through due process second.”

permalink
report
parent
reply
14 points

Trump will go with number 5: “Did you know socialist immigrant windmills causing cancers kill more Americans than guns?”

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points
*

Biden is doing this to drive a wedge into Republicans. The gun nuts and the ones that don’t care about guns will have differing opinions because now gun violence affects them directly. It’s really smart.

Or… he just doesn’t want to get shot himself. Just saying. not wanting to get shot is a powerful motivator…

Not that it’s perhaps prudent. or you know, god forbid, actually a good fucking idea.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-2 points

It’s just dumb. The sniper that killed the guy wasn’t using an ar-15. Stopping ar-15’s wouldn’t have done anything to change something like this.

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points

What do you mean, it was an AR-15. I don’t support a ban, just clarifying facts.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

Sorry if I wasn’t clear in my statement. When I said “the sniper that killed the guy” I was specifying the the secret service sniper that successfully head shotted Crooks. I wasn’t referring to Crooks.

Pointedly, I was saying that the guy who hit what he was aiming for wasn’t using an AR. Not the guy who failed.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points
*

You sure about that?

FBI special agent in charge Kevin Rojek said Crooks used an AR-style rifle chambered in 5.56mm, a common caliber for such weapons. Authorities said the weapon was identified and traced using records from a gun dealership that is no longer operating.

If that source doesnt work for you, here’s the president of the United states:

“An AR-15 was used in the shooting of Donald Trump, just as other assault weapons were used to kill so many others, including children."

That’s from the linked article.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Sorry if I wasn’t clear in my statement. When I said “the sniper that killed the guy” I was specifying the the secret service sniper that successfully head shotted Crooks. I wasn’t referring to Crooks.

Pointedly, I was saying that the guy who hit what he was aiming for wasn’t using an AR. Not the guy who failed.

permalink
report
parent
reply
55 points

Gun control, especially banning the most popular and utilitarian platform, is a massive political loser. This is incredibly poor timing for a struggling campaign.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-8 points

Is it now? What else is it good for?

permalink
report
parent
reply
18 points

It’s good for shooting small, very fast bullets. May that be hunting, target shooting or self-defense.

If they want to ban AR-15s, they should ban all semi-automatic rifles otherwise it would be ridiculous. The would-be assassin could have done the same thing with a whole assortment of mostly equivalently performing rifles. Some just as “scary looking” black rifles, some with wooden parts.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

utilitarian platform

What does that mean?

permalink
report
parent
reply
-10 points

Narrator: its a made up phrase

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

Presumably, “good” in most situations, with extensibility for specialized configurations that are both common and accessible.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-1 points

The AR platform is highly customizable for different chamberings, sizes, attachments etc.

People who are “into guns” usually have at least one pistol or rifle that is built on the AR platform. ARs are great for everything from target shooting as well as hunting. Very practical.

permalink
report
parent
reply
37 points

Trump ignores the issue or waffles and looks unpresidential.

and that is what’s gonna get him. because up until now, he looked soooo presidential 😂

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points

I guarantee that he will say that the attack wouldn’t have happened if more of his followers had ar 15s there

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points
*

What you’re arguing would make sense with logical voters. So of course it doesn’t apply here. When have Republican voters marked ‘D’ or stayed home instead of voting for a pro-gun candidate!? It just doesn’t happen.

And “wedge” issue?? Come on, Republican voters are either all-in on Trump or they reluctantly mark the ‘R’…

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

He can just say nothing. His position is already clear and he just selected a VP candidate who was pictured in social media with an AR15 recently, and openly suggested the ATF doesn’t need to exist.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

2 and 3 only matter if reality matters to you. Most people being trump don’t care how insane things look, or if trump “looks presidential”.

permalink
report
parent
reply
11 points

He will do #2, and his base will cheer. Not a single person from that camp will think he’s crazy.

This is the kind of Democrat logic that makes me cringe…

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points

Option 4: trump and the GOP in general still views his assassination attempt as the danger you have to live with to live in a “free nation”. It’s the cost of freedom. Something something “just because i got shot doesn’t mean taking everyone’s rights away is a good idea”

Growing up in texas, this is a very common view.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Admittedly, knowing the coward Trump is (He literally doesn’t order his own food because he’s afraid of poisoning) There’s a very slim chance Trump will declare the AR-15 is evil and act afraid of it.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

Actually that’s a pretty distinct possibility

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

It’ll be 2 because the Republicans who don’t like guns are a minority. It’s a cult, there’s nothing Trump can do to lose support. You can’t trick him into doing something stupid, he’s always doing something stupid, people clap for it anyway.

permalink
report
parent
reply
11 points

Biden speed-running losing the election.

At this point all Trump has to do is pretend this didn’t phase him, then not say anything too stupid and I’m sure Biden will do his best to just hand it over.

permalink
report
reply
16 points

Guessing you dont like the Supreme Court reforms he just announced either?

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

Do I like, or the general public? I hate Trump more than Biden if that’s essentially what you’re trying to question. And yes we do need supreme court.

But will the general public give a shit or even know about this plans? Doubt it. Trump getting shot at is much more attention grabbing.

permalink
report
parent
reply
10 points

all Trump has to do is […] not say anything too stupid

I take it you’re new to trump

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

You say that, but Trump has been doing just that lately.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

What intelligent thing has he said? What unintelligent thing has he kept to himself?

permalink
report
parent
reply

politics

!politics@lemmy.world

Create post

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to “Mom! He’s bugging me!” and “I’m not touching you!” Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That’s all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

Community stats

  • 11K

    Monthly active users

  • 17K

    Posts

  • 480K

    Comments