SameOldNudityDrew wrote:I don't care about the weed, but it sounds like he pulled a gun on somebody, which is really serious.
There are a lot of details we don't know. How many guns did they find? What kind?
If there were a bunch of people at his house with weed and guns, it does also raise real questions about his judgement. Has he been participating in the workouts with the rest of the team? What kind of a reflection is it on his focus if this is how he's spending his time?
Seriously, America, WTF with the guns? I grew up in MN in a hunting family and we had guns. It was part of our family culture. I still remember the 30-30 my grandpa gave me when I first started deer hunting, and I remember my first deer. I get the allure of that. And sure, in places like Alaska, I get that you want something if you're going to be in bear country or something. But with just a few exceptions, allowing guns is just not worth the trouble, especially when it comes to handguns, semi-automatic rifles, etc.
I think this is a totally underreported part of the police killings everybody's been talking about. The racial bias is real--stats show black people are 2-3 times more likely to be killed than whites--but I can sympathize with cops in America being on edge because they could at any point be walking into a deadly scenario because of all the guns. I'm guessing that's a big part about why cops are so quick to use force. Their work must constantly be incredibly stressful because of all the guns. They live on edge because it is a little like they're living in a war zone.
Here's a stat for you. Cops kill about 1,000 Americans every year. I've lived in Germany for the last 6 years. Do you know how many people cops shot and killed last year? 14. And that tied for the highest in 20 years here. Many years it's single digits.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforcement_officers_in_Germany
Germany's got about 80 million people, so it's about a quarter of the population, but quadruple 14 to 56 and you're still nowhere near 1,000. And this doesn't even touch on the disparity in gun violence by non-police. Most of this is suicide, which is underreported. But the numbers are still crazy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States
Seriously, just read any random paragraph from that wikipedia page and it should make your stomach drop. Here's one:
"Compared to 22 other high-income nations, the U.S. gun-related homicide rate is 25 times higher. Although it has half the population of the other 22 nations combined, among those 22 nations studied, the U.S. had 82 percent of gun deaths, 90 percent of all women killed with guns, 91 percent of children under 14 and 92 percent of young people between ages 15 and 24 killed with guns."
Any guesses why Germany doesn't look anything like the U.S. in this regard? I'm sure a big reason is basically nobody has guns here because they're not allowed to. A few people in rural areas can get licenses for hunting rifles as there is some very regulated hunting allowed. Some others have guns for target practice at shooting clubs or for biathalon practice, but they are basically .22s with pellet bullets. Bolt action. Single shot. Glorified BB guns basically. But basically anything else is forbidden, especially handguns.
And is life that much worse without them?
Not at all. Life's pretty great. Germans basically do all the other leisurely things Americans do, so they don't miss guns there. And nobody really feels like they're missing out on a sense of security by owning a handgun because they also know nobody has one. Cops almost never fear for their lives in confrontations with people, I never even think about the possibility of anybody else having a gun here, I don't think I've ever heard of a mass shooting here, and I'm sure most interactions people have with the police are likewise much less stressful.
It's too easy to just say, "Look how great Germany is compared to the U.S. on guns!" without going into each country's respective histories.
The right to bear arms is embedded in the U.S. Constitution and therefore has been a founding pillar of the country. While one could argue times have changed drastically since the founding of the country, it's not easy to just legislate this stuff away. There are strong interest groups AND plenty of regular citizens who will fight change tooth and nail, whether you agree with them or not. Would this same culture exist if the Second Amendment was never part of the Constitution? Probably not. But perhaps the U.S. wouldn't exist either.
Guess who doesn't have this right in their version of the constitution? Germany. Don't you think that just might influence the culture and evolution of gun violence in each respective country.
Oh, and don't forget that Germany had a major chance to hit the re-set button in the late 40s and into the 50s to rebuild their country and their laws, thanks in no small part to the Marshall Plan, which was largely funded by the U.S.