Opening Note: Before starting, a note that this may not be the best platform for a discussion of this nature but it is nonetheless a platform and I hope any and all who engage in conversation do so open-mindedly. I will be updating the following as counter-arguments and ideas are introduced. Thank you :)
--- --- --- Gun Safety & Reform in the United States --- --- ---
--- Statistics & Relevant Information ---
The Constitution
2nd Amendment
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed
The intent behind this amendment is to prevent a tyrannical government, and it is a frequent debate as to whether it still applies.
Numerous rulings have been made confirming that the second amendment continues to apply, most notably District of Columbia v. Heller (DCvH) and the United States v. Miller (USvM).
As ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller
"A well-regulated militia" is part of the prefatory clause and is only an explanation for the reasoning behind the second part, which is the operative clause.
"The right... infringed" is the operative clause, the only part necessary for the amendment.
"Militia" by itself actually refers to all males physically of providing for the common defense. [Note: males should be replaced with citizens as women are now eligible for military service]
The right is not unlimited and refers to the case of the United States v. Miller for specification.
As ruled in the United States v. Miller
Same as DCvH, USvM refers to the militia as all males physically capable of providing for the common defense. [Again, citizens]
Sets the limit for the 2nd amendment at protecting all firearms "in common use at the time". AR-15s, being the most common rifle in the US, are protected under this ruling.
Assault Weapons
Brief History of the AR-15
The first AR-15 was the Armalite AR-15, a select fire rifle designed in 1956.
After selling the rights to the AR-15 patent to Colt, the gun was redesigned and sold as the Colt AR-15 Sporter.
The Colt AR-15 Sporter was a hunting/sporting rifle that came with 5 round magazines.
While the M16 and the Colt AR-15 Sporter may both be based on the Armalite AR-15, neither is the same as Armalite's model and both make changes that actually decrease their effectiveness.
After the expiration of Colt's patent in 1977, other companies were able to make rifles based upon Colt's but were still unable to call them "AR-15" due to a trademark, hence the term "AR-15 style" is used instead. [Note: I will refer to AR-15 style rifles as AR-15s for the sake of simplicity]
Lethality of the AR-15 and similar rifles
The AR-15 fires a number of different intermediate cartridges, most commonly the 5.56x45mm NATO and almost identical point 223caliber Remington. [Note: I will refer to both rounds simply as 5.56, despite the lack of technical correctness]
Intermediate cartridges like the 5.56 are used by the military, but not for their effectiveness at killing. Rather, they are used for a number of reasons that include:
Being lighter and smaller, infantrymen can carry about 3x as many 5.56 as they can the significantly larger 7.62x51mm NATO round.
As the NATO standard infantry round, the 5.56 is considered universal across all allied militaries and is, therefore, more strategically viable in joint operations between countries.
The 5.56 is comparatively useful for causing injuries rather than casualties, which is of more importance in a firefight because an injured unit requires medical aid and applying this aid takes even more enemies out of the fight than simply killing the one would do.
The Geneva Convention
Many studies show that the 5.56 tumbles easier than larger rounds, causing a devastating wound channel. This is true, 5.56 is a dangerous round because of its tumbling especially if it hits the spinal cord or similar areas where it causes bones to become shrapnel as well.
These studies leave out a key detail, which is that a 5.56 bullet is encased in a full metal jacket. This is required by the Geneva Convention, which applies to the military but not to civilians. This is important because a full metal jacket bullet does not expand.
Hollow point rounds, the most common type of round used by law enforcement, are designed to expand upon entry. A 9mm hollow point bullet will on average expand to be twice as wide, or about 3x as wide as a 5.56 bullet.
The wound channel made by a tumbling 5.56 is dangerous compared to bullets that are not banned by the Geneva Convention but is still very underpowered compared to rounds offered to civilians.
Relative to other firearms
The AR-15 is functionally no different than any other semiautomatic weapon. A consistent example is the Mini-14, a rifle almost identical in function to the AR-15 but is considered less dangerous by the media.
Identifying the Real Issues
2016 gun violence statistics
Homicides and population numbers are taken from FBI.gov, while rates and differences are simply calculated
17,250 gun-related homicides in the United States, with over 323 million citizens: 5.34 murders per 100,000 citizens
Five of the worst cities for gun violence
Chicago, Illinois: 765 murders, 2.7 million population
Detroit, Michigan: 303 murders, 670 thousand population
District of Columbia: 138 murders, 681 thousand population
St Louis, Missouri: 188 murders, 315 thousand population
New Orleans, Louisiana: 174 murders, 397 thousand population
When taken out of the total count
US total murders would have been 15,682 (1568 lower)
US rate of murders would have been 4.85 per 100,000 (0.48 lower)
These 5 cities combined made up 9% of the murders done in the United States in 2016
Demographics, Economies, and other factors
Demographics
Average: 34.64% White, 54.42% Black, 3.26% Asian, 7.77% other
Chicago: 45% White, 32.9% Black, 5.5% Asian, 17.1% other
Detroit: 10.6% White, 82.7% Black, 1.1% Asian, 5.6% other
Washington DC: 40.7% White, 47.1% Black, 3.9% Asian, 8.3% other
St Louis: 43.9% White, 49.2% Black, 2.9% Asian, 4% other
New Orleans: 33% White, 60.2% Black, 2.9% Asian, 3.9% other
Chicago, Illinois (Detroit), and Washington DC have very strict gun policies, generally requiring all firearms to be registered with the police and all sales require licenses.
Missouri (St Louis) and Louisiana (New Orleans) are much less strict in their gun policies. Missouri allows open carry of firearms without a license, background check, or firearms training and can most likely use this to explain a number of its homicides.
Mental health issues in the United States
An estimated two-thirds of gun deaths are the result of suicide, and mass shootings are consistently linked to warning signs given much earlier by the shooter.
With the exceptions of self-defense, it can be agreed that homicide is always the result of mental, moral and/or cultural problems experienced by the murderer. Fixing these problems is the key to lowering the death toll
--- Potential Solutions ---
Fixing the US Culture
Correcting the inability to cope
Two-thirds of gun-related deaths in the US are suicides, and as such, I believe they deserve the most attention.
One of the big problems with today's society is the presence of so-called "snowflakes". People who have their beliefs challenged and respond with hostility or fear.
"There are starving people in Africa"
A line said by parents to children who don't want to eat the rest of their dinner, which applies to all aspects of life.
The idea is simple, reinforce the idea that no matter how bad someone's life is there's always someone who has it worse. I clearly remember my parents doing this for me, but it seems as though the most recent of generations missed out on this crucial life lesson.
"Life isn't fair"
Another line said by parents, with a very similar message as the last as well.
Things won't always work out, but that's how life is. People in today's society believe themselves to be "entitled", or believe that everything should work out for them.
This belief is, in my opinion, one of the most poisonous thoughts to plague American society. Too many believe that they should be able to have anything they want but life isn't ideal and this will not happen.
A great example is a debate I had with a user on Twitter: the user (let's call him Joe) is a no-compromise libertarian. Joe said that the government should allow him to choose whether or not he wants to pay taxes. His argument was simple: he doesn't want to, so he shouldn't have to.
My arguments against his ideas included Socrates and his acceptance of capital punishment for his crimes in Athens, and the social contract teachings of Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau. All are taught in a high school government class.
At no point in the debate did he offer irrefutable reasoning, but rather resorted to ad hominem when I explained the flaws in the few arguments he did provide.
Teaching open-mindedness and tolerance
The biggest problem with the gun control debate is that it is torn between two sides who can find no common ground. Gun rights activists refuse to allow any more restrictions on guns and gun control activists refuse to accept any alternative ideas.
As seen on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, citizens of the United States resort to fallacies such as the all-too-common ad hominem. Because people are completely convinced of their own superior morals or logic, they refuse to accept others as equals in debate and will attack them simply for disagreeing.
Teaching to respect rather than fear guns
Schools should require the teaching of gun safety. Just like sex education and drivers education, gun safety should be a graduation requirement.
Most likely as part of a health-based class, students would be required to learn basic gun safety and be allowed to hold replicas.
Just like the ageless flour sack baby, replica guns would be used as practice for students to experience holding firearms while exercising all proper safety precautions.
Aiming at other students, or flagging, and any form of joke based upon the intent to use the replica would be immediate grounds for a failure of the class.
Students must pass all parts of a standard safety and training course that don't require the actual firing of the firearm.
Improving Security
"The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun"
Note 1: The Department of Homeland Security was set aside $2.7 billion in 2017 for grants to local and state communities, setting a reasonable $2.5 billion spending cap.
Note 2: There are almost 100 thousand public schools in the United States, setting the minimum for how much is needed. Important to keep in mind, however, is that these are public schools of every grade, despite some grade blocks being more likely to experience violence than others.
Metal detectors
Used everywhere it's considered dangerous for guns and/or knives to be in, including airports and even Disney parks.
A reasonably priced metal detector for a school would be about $5 thousand, allowing every school in the country to receive at least five.
Security guards
Used even more extensively than metal detectors, in everything from banks to airports to malls.
Assuming each security guard is a school resource officer and has a salary of $55 thousand, over 45 thousand schools could have an additional resource officer.
Armed teachers
A controversial topic in and of itself, allowing (but not forcing) teachers to be armed would essentially provide free, armed guards to classrooms. An estimated 15% (10-20%) of teachers are qualified to carry firearms.
Gun Reform
Links to respective contributors, many of the following statements may be anything from an idea to a paraphrase to a direct quote of linked pages.
Would allow the purchase of specific types of firearms designated by permit, each requiring different safety courses. Types would most likely be rifle, handgun, and shotgun.
Would also be required when purchasing ammunition.
Would expire every 2 years, having the buyer go through each of the requirements again in order to renew the permit.
Selling firearms or ammunition to individuals who do not have a valid permit would face the seller with 10 or more years in jail, in correspondence with existing the firearm laws that can be found in the link below
If a public place seeks to be designated as a gun free zone, they must provide armed security guards themselves. This includes schools, banks, and all other public areas. If a business is unwilling or unable to provide armed guards, then they will be legally unable to deny service based solely upon the carry of firearms, or refer to themselves as gun free.
False Solutions, ideas that won't solve anything
Gun bans
As established in DCvH and USvM, banning guns is unconstitutional and therefore is not an option.
Potentially the 2nd amendment could be repealed, however in the words of Judge Alex Kozinski:
"However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once."
Universal background checks
A common misconception is the "gun show loophole", where a buyer can skip a background check by purchasing firearms at a gun show. This is false, background checks and federal firearms licenses are required for all sales, with the exception of private party deals.
Private party deals include buying from a neighbor or friend, but not the public sale of firearms via any market.
Final Note: If I've missed anything (which I probably have) please let me know, again I'm welcoming any and all input and ideas to make the United States a safer place. My long-term goal is to write an idea for legislation that both sides of the argument can finally agree upon.
In this game, it seems like shotguns only shoot slugs and no one knows how to pull the pin on a grenade. It says the grenade "explodes" but it only displays the same little crosshair as every other weapon, almost like you're just bouncing grenades off their head instead of blowing it up. And last I checked, I'm not firing slugs I'm firing spread. Just a circle around the current hitmarker to show the explosion or the spread would be much more realistic.
Very similarly, you can shoot every part of the screen except your opponent with a rifle, and then hit 4 shots in the exact same location. Making each shot have it's own accuracy, damage, and hitmarker would go a long way towards making the game more realistic.
This would also help make some guns more viable, such as the minigun which has a really high fire rate but it's terrible accuracy makes it almost useless unless you're trying to get shots fired merits.
Maybe it's just me, but it really feels unrealistic that attacking works the way it does
The main portion of the summary from congress.gov:
"This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD).
The prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is: (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model."
----
The bill itself also defines an "assault weapon" as:
(A) A semiautomatic rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of the following:
(i) A pistol grip.
(ii) A forward grip.
(iii) A folding, telescoping, or detachable stock.
(iv) A grenade launcher or rocket launcher.
(v) A barrel shroud.
(vi) A threaded barrel.
(B) A semiautomatic rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds, except for an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
(C) Any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment, or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machinegun.
(D) A semiautomatic pistol that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of the following:
(i) A threaded barrel.
(ii) A second pistol grip.
(iii) A barrel shroud.
(iv) The capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location outside of the pistol grip.
(v) A semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm.
(E) A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine that has the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
(F) A semiautomatic shotgun that has any one of the following:
(i) A folding, telescoping, or detachable stock.
(ii) A pistol grip.
(iii) A fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 5 rounds.
(iv) The ability to accept a detachable magazine.
(v) A forward grip.
(vi) A grenade launcher or rocket launcher.
(G) Any shotgun with a revolving cylinder."
If you read the bill, there is quite a bit contained within it, more than I'm going to put into this post. These are what I believe to be the important points
NoMatterGaming and I were talking about drug running, and comparing Xanax prices overseas. When running Xanax, the best place to go is South Africa where the price is usually anout 750k per Xanax. Opposite of SA, Canada is the worst place to buy from as it's more than 1.1 mil to buy a single Xanax.
The idea is this: if you can buy items abroad, like the already stated South African Xanax, why can't you also sell abroad? Running first to SA and then to Canada would result in about 350k profit per Xanax, or almost 44k per hour per Xanax, as opposed to the current 13k phpx.
Traveling is really boring, and eventually becomes a waste of time. If you are devoted to the game enough that you're willing to run consistently, then you'll eventually make more money than running is worth. Being able to sell abroad also opens opportunities for many other items that cost very little to buy in Torn so are never worth buying overseas, and make a profit on them by selling abroad instead.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel welcome to post in the comments below. I for one think this would be a great addition to the game and I'd like to here your feedback as well. Thank you :)
I own an AR 670-1, it's a full-semi-auto assault sniper shotgun, that takes belt-fed magazine clips of each containing 300 child-seeking bullets with an effective firing range of forever and is completely recoilless. Also comes with a built in silencer that makes it so everyone can hear my mighty "allahu akbar" scream
That is a great quote to think about, however, it seems too philosophical for my tastes. This is a topic where I have seen far too many people make arguments solely based on false information or emotions, and I would like to derive solutions from the trends displayed by real facts.
I might include word-by-word definitions at some point, so thank you for that idea. I don't think I'll need to, though, because DC vs Heller and US vs Miller hold much more weight.
I also removed the part requesting impersonal views because as you said, it's unreasonable.
Thank you for the correction to 4473, lmao I can't believe I made a mistake like that.
The firearm safety permit is an idea that I agree with not because it would prevent criminals from buying guns, but because it would allow private sellers to "background check" buyers and deter the sale of firearms to criminals. The permit is nothing more than a concealed carry permit that can be obtained at 18 and doesn't have the "concealed" part.
I would agree with your last statement, but it's not the kind of person that I am to do anything less than everything to fix problems. It may be a flaw or a strength, time will tell xD
I found your post and I'll read it in a bit, and sadly your statement is very much true. As many facts as you try to present to some people, they will never accept anything except their already firm beliefs. I'll keep trying though because this is an issue that is greatly important to the country and should not be settled by anything less than perfectly knowledgeable ideas. The mainstream media is, for the most part, a disgraceful part of the US, with so many who follow it blindly and believe everything they hear. Along with simple human nature, such as the ease at which people are willing to use ad hominem, makes it very difficult to hold a meaningful discussion.
Opening Note: Before starting, a note that this may not be the best platform for a discussion of this nature but it is nonetheless a platform and I hope any and all who engage in conversation do so open-mindedly. I will be updating the following as counter-arguments and ideas are introduced. Thank you :)
--- --- --- Gun Safety & Reform in the United States --- --- ---
--- Statistics & Relevant Information ---
The Constitution
2nd Amendment
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed
The intent behind this amendment is to prevent a tyrannical government, and it is a frequent debate as to whether it still applies.
Numerous rulings have been made confirming that the second amendment continues to apply, most notably District of Columbia v. Heller (DCvH) and the United States v. Miller (USvM).
As ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller
"A well-regulated militia" is part of the prefatory clause and is only an explanation for the reasoning behind the second part, which is the operative clause.
"The right... infringed" is the operative clause, the only part necessary for the amendment.
"Militia" by itself actually refers to all males physically of providing for the common defense. [Note: males should be replaced with citizens as women are now eligible for military service]
The right is not unlimited and refers to the case of the United States v. Miller for specification.
As ruled in the United States v. Miller
Same as DCvH, USvM refers to the militia as all males physically capable of providing for the common defense. [Again, citizens]
Sets the limit for the 2nd amendment at protecting all firearms "in common use at the time". AR-15s, being the most common rifle in the US, are protected under this ruling.
Assault Weapons
Brief History of the AR-15
The first AR-15 was the Armalite AR-15, a select fire rifle designed in 1956.
After selling the rights to the AR-15 patent to Colt, the gun was redesigned and sold as the Colt AR-15 Sporter.
The Colt AR-15 Sporter was a hunting/sporting rifle that came with 5 round magazines.
While the M16 and the Colt AR-15 Sporter may both be based on the Armalite AR-15, neither is the same as Armalite's model and both make changes that actually decrease their effectiveness.
After the expiration of Colt's patent in 1977, other companies were able to make rifles based upon Colt's but were still unable to call them "AR-15" due to a trademark, hence the term "AR-15 style" is used instead. [Note: I will refer to AR-15 style rifles as AR-15s for the sake of simplicity]
Lethality of the AR-15 and similar rifles
The AR-15 fires a number of different intermediate cartridges, most commonly the 5.56x45mm NATO and almost identical point 223caliber Remington. [Note: I will refer to both rounds simply as 5.56, despite the lack of technical correctness]
Intermediate cartridges like the 5.56 are used by the military, but not for their effectiveness at killing. Rather, they are used for a number of reasons that include:
Being lighter and smaller, infantrymen can carry about 3x as many 5.56 as they can the significantly larger 7.62x51mm NATO round.
As the NATO standard infantry round, the 5.56 is considered universal across all allied militaries and is, therefore, more strategically viable in joint operations between countries.
The 5.56 is comparatively useful for causing injuries rather than casualties, which is of more importance in a firefight because an injured unit requires medical aid and applying this aid takes even more enemies out of the fight than simply killing the one would do.
The Geneva Convention
Many studies show that the 5.56 tumbles easier than larger rounds, causing a devastating wound channel. This is true, 5.56 is a dangerous round because of its tumbling especially if it hits the spinal cord or similar areas where it causes bones to become shrapnel as well.
These studies leave out a key detail, which is that a 5.56 bullet is encased in a full metal jacket. This is required by the Geneva Convention, which applies to the military but not to civilians. This is important because a full metal jacket bullet does not expand.
Hollow point rounds, the most common type of round used by law enforcement, are designed to expand upon entry. A 9mm hollow point bullet will on average expand to be twice as wide, or about 3x as wide as a 5.56 bullet.
The wound channel made by a tumbling 5.56 is dangerous compared to bullets that are not banned by the Geneva Convention but is still very underpowered compared to rounds offered to civilians.
Relative to other firearms
The AR-15 is functionally no different than any other semiautomatic weapon. A consistent example is the Mini-14, a rifle almost identical in function to the AR-15 but is considered less dangerous by the media.
Identifying the Real Issues
2016 gun violence statistics
Homicides and population numbers are taken from FBI.gov, while rates and differences are simply calculated
17,250 gun-related homicides in the United States, with over 323 million citizens: 5.34 murders per 100,000 citizens
Five of the worst cities for gun violence
Chicago, Illinois: 765 murders, 2.7 million population
Detroit, Michigan: 303 murders, 670 thousand population
District of Columbia: 138 murders, 681 thousand population
St Louis, Missouri: 188 murders, 315 thousand population
New Orleans, Louisiana: 174 murders, 397 thousand population
When taken out of the total count
US total murders would have been 15,682 (1568 lower)
US rate of murders would have been 4.85 per 100,000 (0.48 lower)
These 5 cities combined made up 9% of the murders done in the United States in 2016
Demographics, Economies, and other factors
Demographics
Average: 34.64% White, 54.42% Black, 3.26% Asian, 7.77% other
Chicago: 45% White, 32.9% Black, 5.5% Asian, 17.1% other
Detroit: 10.6% White, 82.7% Black, 1.1% Asian, 5.6% other
Washington DC: 40.7% White, 47.1% Black, 3.9% Asian, 8.3% other
St Louis: 43.9% White, 49.2% Black, 2.9% Asian, 4% other
New Orleans: 33% White, 60.2% Black, 2.9% Asian, 3.9% other
Chicago, Illinois (Detroit), and Washington DC have very strict gun policies, generally requiring all firearms to be registered with the police and all sales require licenses.
Missouri (St Louis) and Louisiana (New Orleans) are much less strict in their gun policies. Missouri allows open carry of firearms without a license, background check, or firearms training and can most likely use this to explain a number of its homicides.
Mental health issues in the United States
An estimated two-thirds of gun deaths are the result of suicide, and mass shootings are consistently linked to warning signs given much earlier by the shooter.
With the exceptions of self-defense, it can be agreed that homicide is always the result of mental, moral and/or cultural problems experienced by the murderer. Fixing these problems is the key to lowering the death toll
--- Potential Solutions ---
Fixing the US Culture
Correcting the inability to cope
Two-thirds of gun-related deaths in the US are suicides, and as such, I believe they deserve the most attention.
One of the big problems with today's society is the presence of so-called "snowflakes". People who have their beliefs challenged and respond with hostility or fear.
"There are starving people in Africa"
A line said by parents to children who don't want to eat the rest of their dinner, which applies to all aspects of life.
The idea is simple, reinforce the idea that no matter how bad someone's life is there's always someone who has it worse. I clearly remember my parents doing this for me, but it seems as though the most recent of generations missed out on this crucial life lesson.
"Life isn't fair"
Another line said by parents, with a very similar message as the last as well.
Things won't always work out, but that's how life is. People in today's society believe themselves to be "entitled", or believe that everything should work out for them.
This belief is, in my opinion, one of the most poisonous thoughts to plague American society. Too many believe that they should be able to have anything they want but life isn't ideal and this will not happen.
A great example is a debate I had with a user on Twitter: the user (let's call him Joe) is a no-compromise libertarian. Joe said that the government should allow him to choose whether or not he wants to pay taxes. His argument was simple: he doesn't want to, so he shouldn't have to.
My arguments against his ideas included Socrates and his acceptance of capital punishment for his crimes in Athens, and the social contract teachings of Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau. All are taught in a high school government class.
At no point in the debate did he offer irrefutable reasoning, but rather resorted to ad hominem when I explained the flaws in the few arguments he did provide.
Teaching open-mindedness and tolerance
The biggest problem with the gun control debate is that it is torn between two sides who can find no common ground. Gun rights activists refuse to allow any more restrictions on guns and gun control activists refuse to accept any alternative ideas.
As seen on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, citizens of the United States resort to fallacies such as the all-too-common ad hominem. Because people are completely convinced of their own superior morals or logic, they refuse to accept others as equals in debate and will attack them simply for disagreeing.
Teaching to respect rather than fear guns
Schools should require the teaching of gun safety. Just like sex education and drivers education, gun safety should be a graduation requirement.
Most likely as part of a health-based class, students would be required to learn basic gun safety and be allowed to hold replicas.
Just like the ageless flour sack baby, replica guns would be used as practice for students to experience holding firearms while exercising all proper safety precautions.
Aiming at other students, or flagging, and any form of joke based upon the intent to use the replica would be immediate grounds for a failure of the class.
Students must pass all parts of a standard safety and training course that don't require the actual firing of the firearm.
Improving Security
"The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun"
Note 1: The Department of Homeland Security was set aside $2.7 billion in 2017 for grants to local and state communities, setting a reasonable $2.5 billion spending cap.
Note 2: There are almost 100 thousand public schools in the United States, setting the minimum for how much is needed. Important to keep in mind, however, is that these are public schools of every grade, despite some grade blocks being more likely to experience violence than others.
Metal detectors
Used everywhere it's considered dangerous for guns and/or knives to be in, including airports and even Disney parks.
A reasonably priced metal detector for a school would be about $5 thousand, allowing every school in the country to receive at least five.
Security guards
Used even more extensively than metal detectors, in everything from banks to airports to malls.
Assuming each security guard is a school resource officer and has a salary of $55 thousand, over 45 thousand schools could have an additional resource officer.
Armed teachers
A controversial topic in and of itself, allowing (but not forcing) teachers to be armed would essentially provide free, armed guards to classrooms. An estimated 15% (10-20%) of teachers are qualified to carry firearms.
Gun Reform
Links to respective contributors, many of the following statements may be anything from an idea to a paraphrase to a direct quote of linked pages.
Would allow the purchase of specific types of firearms designated by permit, each requiring different safety courses. Types would most likely be rifle, handgun, and shotgun.
Would also be required when purchasing ammunition.
Would expire every 2 years, having the buyer go through each of the requirements again in order to renew the permit.
Selling firearms or ammunition to individuals who do not have a valid permit would face the seller with 10 or more years in jail, in correspondence with existing the firearm laws that can be found in the link below
If a public place seeks to be designated as a gun free zone, they must provide armed security guards themselves. This includes schools, banks, and all other public areas. If a business is unwilling or unable to provide armed guards, then they will be legally unable to deny service based solely upon the carry of firearms, or refer to themselves as gun free.
False Solutions, ideas that won't solve anything
Gun bans
As established in DCvH and USvM, banning guns is unconstitutional and therefore is not an option.
Potentially the 2nd amendment could be repealed, however in the words of Judge Alex Kozinski:
"However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once."
Universal background checks
A common misconception is the "gun show loophole", where a buyer can skip a background check by purchasing firearms at a gun show. This is false, background checks and federal firearms licenses are required for all sales, with the exception of private party deals.
Private party deals include buying from a neighbor or friend, but not the public sale of firearms via any market.
Final Note: If I've missed anything (which I probably have) please let me know, again I'm welcoming any and all input and ideas to make the United States a safer place. My long-term goal is to write an idea for legislation that both sides of the argument can finally agree upon.
I'd like to point out that a shooting in Maryland on the 20th was done by a 17 year old with a Glock 40 pistol, a handgun that is still acceptable under this bill. I'd also like to point out that the shooting didn't even last a minute before the gunman was incapacited by a school resource officer, who shot him once and the gunman later died in the hospital. It's only the 2nd time a police officer has killed a school shooter, and it saved lives. Two students were shot, but neither has died and one is already out of the hospital.
Gun control is a huge controversy in the United States right now, which seems ridiculous to me as it seems like we're all arguing about guns when we should be making decisions that make school's safer. Banning all guns isn't going to work, and even if assault weapons are banned there are still plenty of others that do just as good of a job at taking life.
Handguns can only be legally purchased by those who are ages 21+, and only carried (generally speaking) by law enforcement and people with training and concealed carry permits. The Maryland shooter was neither 21, nor did he possess such a permit.
Laws don't stop violence, but reasonable force does.
The main portion of the summary from congress.gov:
"This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD).
The prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is: (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model."
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The bill itself also defines an "assault weapon" as:
(A) A semiautomatic rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of the following:
(i) A pistol grip.
(ii) A forward grip.
(iii) A folding, telescoping, or detachable stock.
(iv) A grenade launcher or rocket launcher.
(v) A barrel shroud.
(vi) A threaded barrel.
(B) A semiautomatic rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds, except for an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
(C) Any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment, or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machinegun.
(D) A semiautomatic pistol that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of the following:
(i) A threaded barrel.
(ii) A second pistol grip.
(iii) A barrel shroud.
(iv) The capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location outside of the pistol grip.
(v) A semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm.
(E) A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine that has the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
(F) A semiautomatic shotgun that has any one of the following:
(i) A folding, telescoping, or detachable stock.
(ii) A pistol grip.
(iii) A fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 5 rounds.
(iv) The ability to accept a detachable magazine.
(v) A forward grip.
(vi) A grenade launcher or rocket launcher.
(G) Any shotgun with a revolving cylinder."
If you read the bill, there is quite a bit contained within it, more than I'm going to put into this post. These are what I believe to be the important points
I own an AR 670-1, it's a full-semi-auto assault sniper shotgun, that takes belt-fed magazine clips of each containing 300 child-seeking bullets with an effective firing range of forever and is completely recoilless. Also comes with a built in silencer that makes it so everyone can hear my mighty "allahu akbar" scream
I realized I could use the bazaar and item market at the same time already, thank you. I'm taking a computer science course and just playing with some ways to apply what I'm learning. I also set it to only search one item per second so it doesn't request too many per minute. It's unfortunate that searching bazaars and the market is the only way to send fewer requests, calling every item at once would be useful
I'm writing a script for Java, which uses my API key to grab information. However, I need to grab a lot of information, right now I use my API key twice for every item in the game in fact, once to search all bazaars and once to search the item market. If you have experience with this and know how to cut this down to once or twice each run of the program, I would greatly appreciate your help.
Making it completely realistic would take quite a bit of work to make balanced, but some things can be done without breaking the current game balance. According to pica.army.mil, the standard issue M67 frag "has a lethal radius of 5 meters and can produce casualties up to 15 meters", which when combined with concentric circles to make 2 hitmarkers (high damage and low damage) and reduced accuracy to make up for a larger area of effect, wouldn't have to be completely realistic but can still satisfy the realistic aesthetic. Of course making it actually 5 and 15 meter radius circles would be ridiculous because using the model of a player when attacking for scale you would have to hit offscreen to miss, but if the small circle is only a little bigger than the outer edge of the current crosshair and the outer circle has the same 3x radius for scale, then the new hitmarker will still be much smaller than real life but will at least give the appearance of being area of effect
I've been thinking about that actually, and while I don't have an easy solution for shotguns it would make sense to me to just make grenades appear less accurate, by making the circles more likely to appear far away so that the outer edge is still just as likely to make contact with your opponent.
I've made a couple other threads on realistic details that I think would be neat to implement, and like I said on those it's less about getting an idea accepted as it is getting feedback from the community to help refine an idea into a final product that could actually be implemented.
Also thank you Claire123, that is exactly what I'm saying
The idea is that a lot of games are far more realistic and aren't even designed to be. For a "real life text-based game", guns don't seem work the way they should. This thread isn't suggesting anything crazy or game breaking, just little details that would add a lot to feel or realism and make the game that much more enjoyable
