• Telodzrum@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    This is the fundamental problem with gun regulation at the state level – they can be effectively abrogated by neighboring states with more lax regulation. FiveThirtyEight did a piece on this a while ago. In that article they show how strict gun laws in Illinois, California, and Maryland are defeated by guns flowing in from the surrounding states with more lax laws. The vast majority of gun crime is committed with guns which are illegally possessed, but were initially obtained through legal means.

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      That’s why Mexico is suing Arizona, and maybe Texas? Cali has strict gun laws so the cartels can’t get guns here. They have no issues getting guns in AZ and TX

      • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Yeah, that’s basically the legal theory of the suits. It’s pretty novel and there are a lot of issues with it.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Big part of the modern drug trade is fueled by arms sales passing South as collateral.

        US arms exports are paid for with Latin American drug money. And those arms help gangs engage in the human trafficking they need to produce recreational narcotics and amphetamines at industrial scale.

        • jnk@sh.itjust.works
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          7 months ago

          Wait are you implying that regulating fire arms in USA would help to deal with human traffic and drugs from mexico?

          I mean it makes sense, but doesn’t certain people hate mexicans and like guns a bit too much? Are they using their brains at all?

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            Wait are you implying that regulating fire arms in USA would help to deal with human traffic and drugs from mexico?

            More describing the economic incentives of the opposition.

            I mean it makes sense, but doesn’t certain people hate mexicans and like guns a bit too much?

            On paper, sure. But in practice the folks profiting from the exchange can just blame the drugs and the crime on stupid weak leftists in government to deflect blame from the arms trafficking.

            Are they using their brains at all?

            Garbage in, garbage out. If all your information comes from gun-sponsored sources, you’ll end up with gun-sponsored views.

          • AA5B@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            You can’t even argue that Mexican Cartel members have a constitutional right to bear arms.

    • UnpluggedFridge@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Even though the law can be circumvented, it nonetheless provides resistance. Traveling to another state, filling out paperwork, paying extra money, etc all provide additional obstacles to overcome. If someone was having an acute mental problem and felt compelled to eat a barrel, a simple few hours delay in acquiring a gun can make all the difference. For someone planning on using a gun for criminal activity, at some point they might just consider employment as an easier alternative if acquiring a gun is too much of a pain.

      We have already seen this effect in reverse with regard to immigration. Legal immigration is such a painful crapshoot that people are willing to surrender their fate to cartels as an alternative.

      • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        That’s great and all, but the data are in the article. Your hypotheticals don’t do much to change the numbers of guns flowing in from other states. If your argument is that the counterfactual would be even more gun crime, you’re welcome to make it; it’s just a really weak argument to lean into.