Yeah, I lost all hope for change after Sandy Hook.

I don't think anything can be done in terms of gun control; there are just too many people who are passionately opposed to any gun restrictions. Nowadays even if the Dems could somehow manage the votes, it would probably be struck down by the courts anyhow. At best, I think there could be a call for red flag laws, but if anything was passed it would so onerous to apply that it would be ineffective.

I keep thinking about the time my daughter tried to commit suicide and finding her was the worst moment in my life even though she recovered. I also think by my BIL who suffered a gunshot wound in his late teens and even though he survived it shattered his life and the lives of his parents. It's really bringing me down.

In other, less depressing news, my company just made public a big partnership.

[link]

Oh, Gud. I can't even imagine how terrifying that must have been, or how triggering all of this must be. Please be extremely kind and gentle with yourself right now.

The whole country is just stuck in a terrible hopeless loop of "It's not going to stop til you wise up," and we are never going to wise up.

Wow, the Internet is fucking horrific today, huh. Thank God I'm getting on a plane to see friends.

The whole country is just stuck in a terrible hopeless loop of "It's not going to stop til you wise up," and we are never going to wise up.

I think gun ownership is an identity issue for a lot of people and that makes them very suspicious of any mention of restrictions. It seems like there could be a place for compromise in terms of responsible ownership like requiring secure storage of guns and allowing more time for background checks, but not with that kind of suspicion. On the left I feel like there's a tendency to frame gun regulation as a fight against the gun lobby without appreciating that there really a lot of people out there who are genuinely passionate about access to firearms.

I actually have been in a half way decent exchange with someone on FB. It was surprising because it started out not so great but it's someone who is still saying banning certain types of guns won't work but is for some types of gun reform. But he's stuck on the - banning certain types of guns won't make the shootings stop. I don't think it will stop completely but I think making it harder should be a first step and I'm trying to get a response on that. I'm also going to really encourage him to talk to other gun owners about advocating for gun reforms like universal background checks and other things he mentioned and that he vote for people who also support those things.

It isn't much , I guess but it feels like.. it's something to have this conversation.

A few years ago I got into a long Twitter exchange, trying to find common ground on the idea of more liability for irresponsible gun ownership, but couldn't find it. In the end, he just felt gun laws were already far too restrictive.

Well this guy started with the whole "people talk about changing gun laws but the only thing they can come up with is just banning guns" and I told him I have thought about this and I do have ideas and I listed 5 of them which he didn't seem to object to.

And later in the exchange he said he was for universal background checks (which I mentioned) and also raising the age limit for owning guns (which I hadn't). So there is that.

E's mom killed herself with a gun. He knows now that she committed suicide but I don't know if he knows how it happened. But there wouldn't have been any way to stop her from getting a gun even with the kind of restrictions that I've thought about.

Any kind of restrictions would be helpful because it would mean fewer guns out there overall.

Most people do support some restrictions! It's just the people in power who are bought by the NRA. Fuck everything. [link]