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[Lord Shonus]

The skills and equipment needed for illicit gun manufacturing are greater than those needed for brewing beer or growing pot, but aren't nearly as great as what you need to run a meth lab or even a proper still. Ammunition is a bit harder to make, unless you're willing to use black powder instead of smokeless, but there isn't that great a skill gap.

There are gunsmiths making working AK-47s in the middle east out of scrap metal with less equipment than I could get fedexed to me for under five hundred dollars.

[Teneb]

The skills and equipment needed for illicit gun manufacturing are greater than those needed for brewing beer or growing pot, but aren't nearly as great as what you need to run a meth lab or even a proper still. Ammunition is a bit harder to make, unless you're willing to use black powder instead of smokeless, but there isn't that great a skill gap.

There are gunsmiths making working AK-47s in the middle east out of scrap metal with less equipment than I could get fedexed to me for under five hundred dollars.

The thing is that drugs are far more dangerous to the user than to the people around them. It's pretty hard to use a drug as a murder without it becoming pretty much the act of poisoning someone (and there are better options for that). Drugs are made to have psychological effects and addict. Guns are made exclusively to kill. When you buy a gun, it's probably because you'll want to shoot something (that may or may not be alive).

[Lord Shonus]

Having been thrice attacked by people who were high on something or other, one of which was nearly able to rip my (deadbolted) back door open before the cops got there, and having had no less than ten close acquaintances beaten and robbed for drug money, I strenuously disagree.

[Orange Wizard]

All that proves is that both guns and (some) drugs are a problem that isn't going to be fixed by making more.

[Putnam]

the most harmful drug available takes very little effort to make anyway (let some juice sit out for a while)

[Lord Shonus]

All that proves is that both guns and (some) drugs are a problem that isn't going to be fixed by making more.

All that proves is that, if I didn't have a gun, and the police were five minutes slower, I would be dead.

[EnigmaticHat]

the most harmful drug available takes very little effort to make anyway (let some juice sit out for a while)

Alcohol is weirdly accepted for how harmful it can be.  BUT I would point out that alcohol and cars are somewhat intertwined.  Cars are potentially very dangerous and widely available/present; drunkenness just exacerbates a danger that's already there.

(not saying that alcohol wouldn't result in harm to others without cars, just that it over-represents the dangers of drunkenness)

[Orange Wizard]

All that proves is that, if I didn't have a gun, and the police were five minutes slower, I would be dead.

Let's be honest, a drug-addled madman ripping at your door is kinda uncommon. And it'd be even more uncommon with sensible drug policies and competent policing. Shooting the bastard is the last resort of last resorts.

[CURRENTYEAR]

The problem is, a huge cultural shift happened. It used to be that in the US, you could get an anti-tank rifle out of a mail-order catalog, let alone an SMG or a pistol. There are pictures of kids taking guns to school because that was gonna be the afternoon's PE activity, target shooting.

Now, banning things like .50 BMG rifles is clearly done for the government's safety, rather than the populace's. When was the last time you saw somebody do a drive-by shooting with a rifle that was longer than the car?

A combination of a cultural shift (as well as a growing demographic which shall not be named which commits a lot of crime) and increasing government paranoia led to this, I think.

[Putnam]

the most harmful drug available takes very little effort to make anyway (let some juice sit out for a while)

Alcohol is weirdly accepted for how harmful it can be.  BUT I would point out that alcohol and cars are somewhat intertwined.  Cars are potentially very dangerous and widely available/present; drunkenness just exacerbates a danger that's already there.

(not saying that alcohol wouldn't result in harm to others without cars, just that it over-represents the dangers of drunkenness)

"alcohol isn't as harmful as the statistics suggest, it just happens to ruin the user's judgement so much they think that operating a machine of over a ton at high speeds is a good idea while their reaction times are slow"

[variablenonsense]

the most harmful drug available takes very little effort to make anyway (let some juice sit out for a while)

Alcohol is weirdly accepted for how harmful it can be.  BUT I would point out that alcohol and cars are somewhat intertwined.  Cars are potentially very dangerous and widely available/present; drunkenness just exacerbates a danger that's already there.

(not saying that alcohol wouldn't result in harm to others without cars, just that it over-represents the dangers of drunkenness)

Eh, alcohol leads to lots of stupid decisions that aren't car related as well. Not to mention alcohol poisoning and long term health effects, like liver damage and weight gain. It's not like alcohol would be suddenly at the bottom of the list if we didn't have cars.

[Lord Shonus]

All that proves is that, if I didn't have a gun, and the police were five minutes slower, I would be dead.

Let's be honest, a drug-addled madman ripping at your door is kinda uncommon.

It is not. Not here, anyway.

[pisskop]

So, as we careen down the path where we sacrifice self-defense, we completely ignore the other, non-direct, non-immediate effects of narcotics.

[Orange Wizard]

So what we've learned here today is that America sucks.

[TheBiggerFish]

So what we've learned here today is that America sucks.

Honestly I kinda concur...