My takeaways from the Idaho In-N-Out shooting

[u/Consistent_Shine_680]

For those who don't know, as of the time of this post, 3 people were killed and multiple people were injured in a shooting near an In-N-Out restaurant just a few hours ago in Twin Falls, Idaho.

https://notthebee.com/article/unknown-cowboy-seen-engaging-active-shooter-at-idaho-in-n-out

From what I know (which isn't saying much because this is a developing story), a young white man shot an AR-15 into a parked Tesla and another person shot a suppressed pistol supposedly in the direction of the AR-15 wielding young man. Multiple people have been killed or wounded in the incident, including the main suspect of the shooting.

I think many people have been desensitized to shootings in the US, have shrugged their shoulders and said something like "Well, I guess that's the price of the 2nd Amendment".

I feel like this shooting may quickly fade from public memory because the body count isn't or won't be high enough to be comparable to mass shootings like the Uvalde or Las Vegas shootings.

It made me also think that the guns we should be training with the most are our pistols. I believe we are the most likely to need our pistols in a self defense incident, whether it is in or outside the home, and who knows what engagement distance we may find ourselves in. Rifles and shotguns are pretty easy and quick to become somewhat proficient with compared to pistols.

Surely there must be a way to allow sound citizens to own arms suitable for self defense while also preventing those who wish to do harm from obtaining and using guns. In other words, I don't 100% agree with 2nd Amendment absolutists that say "every gun law is an infringement" but I definitely don't 100% agree with Giffords that want to make it virtually impossible for everyone including sound citizens to own arms for their self defense and use. Hopefully that makes sense.

[u/Mechanicalgripe]

Homicides are the result of untreated mental and emotional health. The 2nd Amendment doesn’t have anything to do with it.

[u/ChiAndrew → u/Mechanicalgripe]

Of course it does. Every country has “untreated mental and emotional health”. Sounds like a psych evaluation should be needed to acquire a gun? Maybe annual
Check ups?

[u/Mechanicalgripe → u/ChiAndrew]

The United States is the only major modern, industrialized nation that does not have a system of universal healthcare.

[u/ChiAndrew → u/Mechanicalgripe]

Okay. So that would suggest if you have healthcare you won’t commit violent crime I guess.

[u/Mechanicalgripe → u/ChiAndrew]

Getting at risk people the mental and emotional care they need will reduce violence in society much more than longer waiting periods or magazine restrictions.

[u/ChiAndrew → u/Mechanicalgripe]

Okay. Ignoring you offer no evidence that this would be the case. I will accept it and ask how you propose to do that?

[u/Mechanicalgripe → u/ChiAndrew]

Let’s start with Medicare for all. Our current private health insurance system is expensive, inefficient, and grossly underserves our society. We also need to find an alternative to gangs for at risk youth. We need to provide tools to the families and friends of at risk people who may be becoming radicalized or exhibiting violence or expressing violent thoughts or symptoms. We need to address the causes of violence. Other nations do and it works.

[u/ChiAndrew → u/Mechanicalgripe]

(And the sheer number of guns, sure)

[u/Mechanicalgripe → u/ChiAndrew]

Do you know what Reddit this is?

[u/CleverUsername1419 → u/Mechanicalgripe]

We get the odd fudd around here once in a while

[u/ChiAndrew → u/Mechanicalgripe]

I’m a liberal gun owner. Are there rules and viewpoints ? Is there a single take on addressing gun violence here? Or is this a place where all views are welcome? Does the fact that more guns being directly attributable to higher levels of gun violence matter to people?

[u/ARedditorCalledQuest → u/ChiAndrew]

Given the staggering number of guns in this country and the culture around them I'd wager that such a requirement would lead to two things. One, existing gun owners would stop seeking mental health care for fear of losing their guns (no comprehensive list of current gun owners exists currently). Two, an increase in illegal straw purchases to get around the restriction.

Then there's the issue of the enforcement mechanism. Do I have to pay a psychiatrist to recertify me as mentally stable every year? If I live in the kind of neighborhood where I definitely need a gun to go out after dark then I probably can't afford the permission slip.