Quote Originally Posted by SoCo KungFu View Post
Compulsive tendencies are not addiction. Addiction is a physiological change, such as destruction of dopamine receptors (which is largely why addicts relapse before cellular receptors can return to base levels). Addiction is very much a medical condition.

As for abnormal/psychotic behavior, see oxytocin, oxytocin receptor abnormalities (such as oxytocin receptor polymorphism). I wasn't just pulling words out my ass earlier. These are real things and while not concrete, show a strong indication to the chemical manifestation of "social" behavior. I'll ask again because no body seems to respond. What will we as a society do with that information? You guys up north have all that health care. We don't have that luxury here. Something is going to have to give. But I don't see treatment curbing the tide anytime soon. Assuming we can even get it instilled. Heck, right now there's a republican governor trying to cut public health funding for the mentally ill in his state budget.

I don't think banning guns will work. I support a mix of what Japan and a few Euro nations have done. A mix of various increased controls, random inspections from public officials, mandatory safety courses (in Japan its a week long and you have to pay to attend, not some little day camp crap) and proof of intent to use. Blue prints have to be provided to city officials outlining where in the house the weapon is stored and ammo must be stored separately. Stronger measures than that....I'd say banning sale of ammo to civilians or taxing the crap out of it. Not possession, just distribution. And production can only be on gov't contract. If you can make your own, ok. Most can't or are too lazy to do so. And in a couple decades no one will care either way. In this way, people can still have what they need for self defense, but you blow through your stock at an ammo range or hunting, tough ****. Self defense, when smart, you shouldn't ever have to draw your gun anyways. The only issue is rounds corroding over time. Criminals will still do what they do for about 20 years or so. When those supplies run out, then they'll have to find something else. Considering the alternatives are so much less lethal that's fine with me. Clearly irresponsible gun ownership for protection can backfire real bad. Just look at this what happened to this *******s mom. Killed with her own gun. And clearly not secured properly. She was a gun nut who died for her ignorance. So while I understand self defense issues, I do not recommend anyone purchasing a firearm without copious amounts of knowledge and understanding. The problem isn't too many guns(to an extent anyways, yall a bit overboard) it's too many guns in the hands of unqualified morons. You may also try screening soldiers better when they come home. "Oh he's a soldier, he knows gun safety" is ridiculous. Especially when back from a tour or three!

This doesn't take away from the social responsibilities. Its about using all of the above. That's what successful Euro countries have done. And I'm not naive enough to think people will just start becoming responsible. It would be great if the world worked that way, but its not. People don't account for their guns and so we have to have a way as a society to control for their failures.
No doubt you make some great points. And for the record, I said addiction isn't just a medical issue. But what I should have said, and meant, is that it isn't just a physiological problem. As far as the rest of the addiction info, no disagreements here.

Japan isn't the greatest example. Their stats are outright lies. They are selective with what they term homicide and what they term murder, and usually it has more to do with how good a chance they feel they have at solving the case. 95% success rate my ass.


Otherwise, I totally agree about the ammo part. Think back to when bubble printers where the shit. Then scanners came out and even though we had all seen a zerox machine, this was an amazing innovation to have at home. Most people who aren't into tech advances didn't see it coming. Same with 3D printers. It won't be long before we all have them. People will have the ability to manufacture arms in the home. They already do, it's just not very good yet. The printed prototypes typically are a one use deal. But that will change. Soon we will be printing metals and composites on the desktop. We will even be able to print shell casings to press our own ammo. But then you still need a bit of knowledge for that one. Charred cellulose, sulfur and potassium nitrate aren't THAT hard to get. The salt peter is getting hard, but there are ways around it. So really, the cat is out of the bag. I would also like to point out the MAJOR diff between a responsible knowledgeable gun owner and some douche who buys a .45 without any training at all. The reason why I am so careful and accountable with firearms is because I knew how to handle them, dis and reassemble them, clean them, use them, before I was 6. Grampa had a "kids gun" for learning. Obviously I wasn't using a 30/30. It was a .22 semi automatic rifle. We all knew how to carry and store them properly. How to always check the chamber and remove tha magazine when not in use. How to carry it so that it has little chance of firing and even if it did it would be facing the least harmful direction, which is typically a few feet infront of you. How to carry a loaded gun with a jacked round while waiting for use. All these things are needed. You need to make people take full courses before even considering their applications. And not just stupid day courses. Like a handful of weekends or something. And an exhaustive psych profile with dynamic back checks. Sworn statements with massive penalties for perjury.

The culture is DEEPLY entrenched. I think the solutions I have outlined like ten times would be more than enough. But I don't think any solution will fix this today. It's gonna take time and it's all on you.

And it's nice to see that the knee jerk ban all guns solution isn't being thrown around as much anymore.

One thing I would like to mention is the spill over of American values across international lines. SO tell me, what does the US have that Canada doesn't but should have? We don't really NEED eachother for very much. But proximity is changing us too. I, and many other Canadians , and people all over the world, would greatly appreciate if you people would start cleaning up the mess in your own backyard before it ruins ours. Bring home some of the resources you use to show everyone how special and right you are and deal with your shit. Please! The US is significantly bringing down the value of the hood, so to speak. And stay the fuck out of our politics. Not that we can't talk, just your lobbyists can eat a dick.