onenerdykidYou bring up a lot of interesting points but I think you need to re-categorize certain parts and then rework your argument based from those parts.
For starters, while we are emotional creatures that is certainly not what defines us or separates us from other animals, since many of them express emotions as well. A better categorization is that we are rational creatures, and while other animals "think" they do not possess the actual scientific definition of reason and ability to think cognitively to a point of self-awareness. That is unique to us (some may argue that certain other primates possess this ability to do this, but definitely not to the same degree as us). This is also why we call things "reasons" for doing so- there is an intellectual component for the decision, not an emotional one. And because emotions change from person to person or are not felt/felt too strongly, we instead look to the reasons, which are impartial and governed by logic. Logic is how we will sift through the opinionated bull shit in each other's arguments.
To you point about what is "unnecessary", you are right that both guns and alcohol are unnecessary but to think they are same because of it is not accurate. An unnecessary weapon and an unnecessary beverage are not comparable because they simply are not related in physical or purposeful way, aside from the fact that they are both unnecessary. Their adjective is the same, but their purpose is far from related. And you must compare their purposes in order to have a proper analogy. Thus, "guns and alcohol are similar" is not a good comparison.
In order to get to heart of the problem, we need to cast away the emotional component of these issues because even if I don't care about it, it is still an important topic that affects many people's freedoms- gun owners and victims alike. The main reason (whether it's right or wrong) about why people are freaking out over the church shooting is that guns have no place in a church and it is completely out of the norm for them to be there. In an inner city gang area, they are common and somewhat expected. That does not mean that guns should be allowable there, just an explanation of reasonable expectations. The reason gang related violence is not on the news is because it's not news. When a church shooting happens involving blatant racism, that is news.
And just for the record, it has been proven scientifically that 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day helps to combat the build up of LDL cholesterol (specifically by slightly raising HDL cholesterol) so it does have a heath benefit to combat heart disease. Obviously excessive drinking leads to other problems.
Totally get what you're saying about us being rational vs. emotional, and I agree that rational decision making, and rational laws and regulations are, for the most part, good.
The problem with issues like this is that people react instantly with emotion and want to make decisions based on that, without ever getting to the point of making a rational decision. We hear about a tragedy and everyone says we need to act, we need to do something about this. because they're shocked, sad, pissed off, etc. so they make irrational decisions that can and do take away rights and freedoms for no reason.
For the record, I do think we need to look at our gun control regulations and make the appropriate changes. For the most part, we have pretty reasonable, well thought out gun regulations that dont restrict people from their rights, but make it hard for the wrong guns to fall in the hands of the wrong people. the problem is more in how ineffectively these regulations are put to use. background checks should be more thorough, too many loopholes, overall things just need to be tightened up.
What the majority of people want are the changes that would have the smallest effects, if any at all. and they're asking for these changes based on misinformation, fear and emotion. this is why we are a republic(at least we try/should be) and not a democracy, it keeps the laws from flowing with the crowd. what the people want is not whats most important. our basic rights are most important, the laws need to reflect that. peoples wants infringe on those rights.
It seems cold hearted to say that mass shootings arent a big problem as less than 100 per year die from mass shootings per year(depending on how you classify a mass shooting) but making decisions on laws that are dealing with peoples rights and freedoms, need to be made without emotion being the major factor. there are so many regulations we could pass that would have the potential to save way more lives than the under 100 we see from mass shootings, but we dont seek out a reason to pass those laws because we dont have that shcoking emotional reason to do so.
as far as the comparison to alcohol being unnecessary, yes, guns have a different purpose, but they are only meant to murder in the eyes of murderers. I have never owned a gun with any intent on using it to harm another person, mine are purely for sport, I target shoot, and incase i ever want to start up hunting. this is how gun owners view their guns, as a tool, not a murder weapon. The people that dont own guns, and get their misinformation from hollywood movies and the media, of course have a completely different view on the purpose of a gun, to them its a completely unnecessary killing machine. when that kind of thinking doesnt even cross our minds. its these completely ignorant people coming to us and saying that us that they want to take our tools away because some criminal in another part of the country we dont even associate with used one to kill somebody. there is a HUGE disconnect there.
and i shouldnt say guns and alcohol are completely unnecessary either, guns are important for the people to keep the government in check. I know its a little more complicated than that now, but a government needs to fear the people, not the other way around(and unfortunately not the way it is anymore)
and alcohol yeah you may be able to prove some benefit to health in some way, though i've done a bit of reasearching on this and talked to a doctor that specializes in diets effect on nerves, cellular function, and disease, and its just another contributor to our poor diet and obesity/disease problems. we create problems with our poisonous diet and try to fix them with more poison. alcohol is just another one of those contributers that we've accepted as OK because its the norm to be sick and fat. (getting wayyy off topic) BUT! eating whatever the hell we want and doing whatever the hell we want our health is a necessity as a human being IMO. we should be able to consume things that harm us, thats personal freedom and it is a necessity.
