Docthehun (06-16-2020)
Captain Krunch (07-21-2020)
Captain Krunch (07-21-2020),MisterVeritis (07-21-2020)
You can get ammo in Ohio. You can still get it on the internet.
Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect. -- Woody Hayes
Captain Krunch (07-21-2020)
Captain Krunch (07-21-2020),MisterVeritis (07-21-2020)
Still waiting to get an AR10 complete upper for my most recent build.
Everything is on back order.
No .308 rounds available either.
Also still hoping to find a Mossberg shotgun for home defense, but those are like unicorns now.
Hopefully manufacturers will increase production to meet demands soon.
I need more scary looking guns and ammunition to protect me and mine, from crazy them and theirs.
Americans Are Buying Guns In Record Numbers & The Washington Post Isn't PleasedBut now, perhaps predictably, left-wing media organizations like the Washington Post are trying to turn this narrative around: people aren't buying guns as a reaction to violence and social disarray, the Post insists. All those new gun purchases are what's causing the violence in the first place.
Says the Post:
Americans purchased millions more guns than usual this spring, spurred in large part by racial animosity stoked by widespread protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, as well as anxiety over the effects of the covid-19 pandemic.
That gun-buying binge is associated with a significant increase in gun violence across the United States.
The Post cites two new reports, one from the Brookings Institution and another from the University of California, both of which conclude that the rise in gun purchases has likely caused more "gun violence."
Note the careful use of language here, though: the gun purchases are "associated" with an increase in gun violence, since causality cannot be established. Indeed, near the bottom of the Post article, the author admits:The authors [of the Brookings and UC reports] caution that a study of this nature cannot prove causality, particularly at a time of massive social upheaval in a country dealing with an unprecedented public health crisis as well as a nationwide protest movement.
Of course, if one is already committed to the idea that guns cause crime, it makes perfect sense that millions of Americans in early 2020—after passing a criminal background check—will buy guns, and then almost immediately use those guns to commit crimes.
Moreover, it's unclear that the two studies referenced by the Post article even imply that homicides result from more gun purchases.
The Brookings study, for instance, is more of an op-ed than a study. It's simply a review of some past events which were followed by surges in gun purchases, including the Sandy Hook and Parkland shootings. This appears to be true indeed, and is a helpful reminder that people do often purchase firearms in light of concerns over personal safety, or at least in light of concerns about future access to firearms.
The UC study is a bit more specific, but even this is far too general to be of any use in concluding that gun purchases lead to violence. Because of data limitations, the UC report, of course, doesn't establish that the people who bought firearms this year are responsible for any increase in crime that may be occurring. But it's not even established that surges in gun purchases correlate with surges in crime at the city or neighborhood levels. This is critical, since trends in homicides are not really on a statewide or even metro-wide level. Homicide trends in the US tend to be dominated by homicides in a relatively small number of cities and neighborhoods. For example, the homicide rate in Baltimore is ten times that of the US overall. But this doesn't mean homicides in Maryland are remarkably high.
So, have firearms purchases surged near the neighborhoods in Chicago, New York, and Kansas City where surges in crime have also occurred? It's possible, since people bordering the most violent neighborhoods may feel the most at risk. On the other hand, it's also entirely possible that firearms sales are occurring in places relatively distant from the places with surging homicides. The UC study only appears to give a state-level reading on this. In other words, the study really tells us very little.
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