A new study has found that Americans, including traditionally pro-gun groups, are averse to living near AR-15 owners and neighbors who store guns insecurely. This consensus highlights potential local-level agreement on gun safety practices.
A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that across all political and social groups in the United States, there is a strong preference against living near AR-15 rifle owners and neighbors who store guns outside of locked safes. This surprising consensus suggests that when it comes to immediate living environments, Americans’ views on gun control may be less divided than the polarized national debate suggests.
The research was conducted against a backdrop of increasing gun violence and polarization on gun policy in the United States. The United States has over 350 million civilian firearms and gun-related incidents, including accidents and mass shootings, have become a leading cause of death in the country. Despite political divides, the new study aimed to explore whether there’s common ground among Americans in their immediate living environments, focusing on neighborhood preferences related to gun ownership and storage.
Fine. I’ll play your game this once, but do you really need it spelled out to you that the AR-15 and other rifles designed to look like military weapons even though they aren’t is what society associates with right-wing assholes who are ready to shoot up those durn libruls and queers?
I despise games, but I despise ignorant bullshit more. I don't want to play games with you. The AR-15 is a popular choice among rifle owners in the US typically because of the availability of parts and ammo... that's the main reason. It can accommodate both 5.56 and .223, so again, if you're actually keeping one around to protect yourself against ______ (fill in the blank) you'll have a better chance at acquiring ammo.
I'm the polar opposite of a right-wing asshole (the asshole part may still hold), but if more ARs and AR parts are being produced, it's simply a matter of practicality in the long-term.
Whether you think it’s a fair association or not is irrelevant. That’s what a large segment of the population associates that gun with, including many gun owners.
Fair association? What the fuck are you talking about? I could give a fuck about perceptions, but assuming that everyone that owns an AR is a right-winger is dumb. I don't think YOU get to speak for a large segment of the population; you simply speak for yourself.
I can’t help that you don’t like the general public perception of people who own the gun that you own. It doesn’t change that perception and being rude about it also doesn’t help.
It’s also not about what I personally believe, so please stop suggesting it is.
You need to stop assuming what the general public perceives. You are misapplying your personal perception. Who is the general public, am I excluded from that?
Making incorrect assumptions and speaking on behalf of the "general public" is incredibly rude. Take some of your own advice.
Yes, what you are doing is making an assumption. Again, you do not speak on behalf of "the general public." You speak on behalf of a portion of the general public and your entire premise is based on a no true Scotsman fallacy.
I gave you a huge mountain of evidence. Claims made with evidence are not assumptions. Why are you being so dishonest? All I can think is you didn't even bother to view those links. The right has undeniably made the AR-15 their symbol. I have shown that very clearly. Because they have made it their symbol, the general public associates them with it. That's not an assumption, that's how it works when someone makes something their symbol.
Am I making an assumption when I think the general public associates red baseball caps with MAGA Trumpers? No, because that's one of their symbols.
Again, I understand that you do not like it that a gun you own is viewed as a right-wing thing by people, but blame the right.
You provided several links (many of which were not relevant) that support the idea that a portion of the population (not the whole of a population) believes something. I am having a hard time figuring out why you are unable to differentiate a % of something from the whole of something.
Am I making an assumption when I think the general public associates red baseball caps with MAGA Trumpers? No, because that’s one of their symbols.
Again, you are doing the same thing, so I guess you're consistent. I associate "MAGA" hats with Trumpers, sure... but my initial inclination when I see a red hat from afar is that it's a baseball cap (maybe Angles, Cards, Reds...). Once again, I am a portion of the "general public" that you're completely ignoring; and in doing such, you make a logical fallacy.
I see, you think "general population" means "everyone in the entire country." It does not. You also seem to think that symbols have no meaning, which is weird.
I am a portion of the “general public” that you’re completely ignoring
“General population” is typically in reference to prison populations; but the term can be used when referencing a full sample size, E.G. 70% of the general population associates red caps with MAGA.