On the other hand, I really don't like making people being killed a zero sum game. That one thing kills more people than another doesn't mean it's only worthwhile to pay attention to or do something about one of them.
On the other hand, I really don't like making people being killed a zero sum game. That one thing kills more people than another doesn't mean it's only worthwhile to pay attention to or do something about one of them.
Another thing to consider that it's just much easier to regulate the relatively newer airline industry than the older auto industry... not to mention the deep rooted gun industry...
Older the habit, harder to change.
I think the key difference might also be that one could blame the user for drug overdose. You could even blame lousy driving for some fatal crashes...
However, when it's completely out of your control, then it becomes more unacceptable. Such as being just a passenger in a plane crash, or be killed by a drunk driver thru no fault of your own, or just gunned down for stupid reasons. These are just understandably more unacceptable.
This is what always confuses me when people use the "but gun deaths aren't that many compared to..." argument. Great, tell the parents of the Sandy Hook kids that their deaths aren't a big deal because heart disease still exists. I get the idea, that we should concentrate on the biggest killers, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't address safety of other aspects of life. We still do things to make roller coasters safer, for example, even though car deaths are more common. We are capable, as a society, to address multiple "threats" at once.
The argument is there because of the disproportionate amount of news coverage and discussion dedicated to it. Jim Jefferies career is being held afloat by being anti-gun and anti-Trump. It's presented as every citizen is constantly under threat of impending death by gun, when statistically it's a very low number of incidents. Couple that with the answer being "take all guns away from everyone" and you'll get that reaction.
I suppose another way of putting it is that people claim to care about people dying so much that they'll strip strangers of their rights, but they don't acknowledge other causes of death that are literally 10x more prevalent. Homicide is tied for Parkinsons Disease when enumerating causes of death for people in America, at 0.7%. Where is the Heart Disease Awareness thread?
It's the disproportion that's jarring to gun owners. We do things to make the hobby safer (technological improvements, shooter education, stringent ownership requirements, etc.). And the long term data indicates that gun violence is down. To say that non-gun owners that can't identify at all with the experience (and generally have a disdain for it) have all the answers on how to improve our care and use of firearms is literally insulting. There is always going to be pushback there because legal gun owners are the only ones that have anything to lose in the transaction.
Parkinson's and Heart Disease mainly affect people 50+
Opioids (and Rx) have been getting a lot more attention in the last few years, plus throwing a bag of heroin at my head won't kill me (that and non-violent marijuana dealers have gotten life-sentences, wtf)
Now, if ARs and handguns were only used for suicides ...
Anyway, we just need to figure out how to make gun ownership safer for everyone. For sure we don't make air travel safer by banning planes.
Banning drug and alcohol have also been proven to not solve any drug related problems.