Rhode Island Representative calls for "special tax" on video games....

[dalekphalm]

7 minutes ago, Memories4K said:

Guns are taxed enough; we need less taxes, not more.

Because states already tried taxing alcohol and cigarettes even more but people made a fuss about their state government trying to steal collect more money.

^^^
It's not about being righteous, it's actually just about money and excuses to get your money.

I have no idea what the tax rates are on guns in the US. Are there special gun taxes already?

[Memories4K]

19 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

I have no idea what the tax rates are on guns in the US. Are there special gun taxes already?

It depends on the gun, and state in a few cases, but it's about about ~10% nationwide tax with many lobbyists trying to drive up the tax to ~25% nationwide and more.

It's ridiculous and will only keep guns away from families of lower income, it won't get rid of people buying guns; it's essentially a tax that would ensure the poor would not have access to firearms and make protecting yourself with a firearm that much more a luxury that the more wealthy can afford instead of a tool that everybody can utilize.

There's also the fear of blackmarket firearms making their way to people's hands because the cost of buying it legally is too high, meaning no need for any kind of weapon permit or validation that you are equipped to handle a firearm.

NOTE: This isn't some Left-wing vs. Right-wing thing, i'm not bringing a political dive into this, just talking about the effects legislation as such would have.

[Bananasplit_00]

33 minutes ago, Memories4K said:

Guns are taxed enough; we need less taxes, not more.

not that i am in the US, but id say use all that tax money for mental health. like put it away in a jar and make people sane if you are so reluctant to give up the guns then at least dont have them in the hands of crazy people

[Memories4K]

29 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

not that i am in the US, but id say use all that tax money for mental health. like put it away in a jar and make people sane if you are so reluctant to give up the guns then at least dont have them in the hands of crazy people

I would love to invest money into mental health facilities, unfortunately, with taxes i don't get a choice as an individual to where my money goes.
So less taxes on guns means more money i can donate, as an individual with power over where my money goes, to charity organizations that would improve the state of mental health many people suffer from.

Taxing guns would, again, put more guns into the hands of crazy people because the poor could not afford them and thus would increase the blackmarket audience where safety checks and evaluations normally found in legal gun businesses would be nonexistent.

[Blackie Sheen]

I think the stuppidest thing in all this is what the tax money goes for. Why the fuck does it go for mental health institutions. Most of the people that do these attacks are not diagnosed with mental issues before the events so it wouldnt change anything. The only thing it would change is that some parents who dont know anything about the fact that there is no significant link between video games and violence would be temporarilly reassured

[Derangel]

5 hours ago, SC2Mitch said:

This is from their press release, source is http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/pressrelease/_layouts/RIL.PressRelease.ListStructure/Forms/DisplayForm.aspx?List=c8baae31-3c10-431c-8dcd-9dbbe21ce3e9&ID=13482&Web=2bab1515-0dcc-4176-a2f8-8d4beebdf488 

So I'm guessing they'll argue that it's for the safety of the children will trump First amendment rights

That's been tried before. The "evidence" is so flimsy that it does not remotely hold up in court.

[ravenshrike]

1 hour ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

not that i am in the US, but id say use all that tax money for mental health. like put it away in a jar and make people sane if you are so reluctant to give up the guns then at least dont have them in the hands of crazy people

Currently the taxes on guns and ammo goes towards funding for national parks and conservation efforts.

[AresKrieger]

1 hour ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

not that i am in the US, but id say use all that tax money for mental health. like put it away in a jar and make people sane if you are so reluctant to give up the guns then at least dont have them in the hands of crazy people

All money goes into a "general fund" regardless of what said money is suppose to be used for, so even if they say the funds will be used for mental health more likely than not the they'll just blow as they always do. Hence why I oppose taxation at every turn they already get enough money as it is they just spend it stupidly, lucky for me I live in a state without income nor sales tax which has its benefits.

 

Either way go to hell idiot from Rhode Island, not only are you proposing to take money from us you're outright lying as to why and are almost certainly lying on its use, not that your association of video games with crazy people is winning me over, putz. Though I would just find ways to avoid said tax regardless 

 

Also leave guns alone while your at it, if you want to prevent mass shootings hang the moron (I mean literally) and tell the media to stop putting idiots like this names everywhere it only inspires more morons. Focus on the victims not the murderous moron. Also fire the FBI while you're at it, they are clearly useless.

 

Wait he isn't a federal rep, then this only affects that flea of a state RI

[MeDownYou]

1 hour ago, Memories4K said:

Guns are taxed enough; we need less taxes, not more.

Because states already tried taxing alcohol and cigarettes even more but people made a fuss about their state government trying to steal collect more money.

^^^
It's not about being righteous, it's actually just about money and excuses to get your money.

 

In the US we need to close the damn loopholes that people use to barely pay anything with, basically a total revamp of the system.

[Misanthrope]

50 minutes ago, Blackie Sheen said:

I think the stuppidest thing in all this is what the tax money goes for. Why the fuck does it go for mental health institutions. Most of the people that do these attacks are not diagnosed with mental issues before the events so it wouldnt change anything. The only thing it would change is that some parents who dont know anything about the fact that there is no significant link between video games and violence would be temporarilly reassured

Well that'd require universal, socialized access to medical care and Americans just can't have that. Because every single other place in the world where it actually works is apparently worst because I don't know, wait times and standard of care: two things that don't take into account getting a poor standard of care is better than no standard because there's no care.

[mr moose]

6 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

I actually think taxing gun sales itself would be a much better offering, and having those taxes go directly into Mental Health healthcare.

 

It would be more relevant, and there's a lot of money in there to be made via taxes.

 

Yes, that means law abiding citizen gun owners are going to get taxed because of mass shooters. But hey, if you can figure out how to stop it from happening, maybe they can remove the tax eventually?

And They will complain like there is no tomorrow about that.  But you are right,  people live in societies and societies must compromise in order to survive, if you have everyone get their on way you only have chaos, and nothing will work. 

 

We all have to give up something to accommodate others if we want a better world to live in. 

[Tsuki]

buying all my games via digital download and a vpn in another country. no more tax. problem solved.

[SteveGrabowski0]

6 hours ago, Zando Bob said:

If a kid is playing a violent/mature video game like GTA V, DOOM, COD, or any other realistic sims/shooters at an young enough age to be influenced by them, then it's a parenting problem, not the games. A kid should know where the boundary is between characters in games and IRL. 

Calling any shooter a sim or realistic is a bit much IMO. Shooting a rifle or pistol and actually hitting what you were targeting requires a lot more concentration and steadiness than a game could ever impart. For instance, when you first start shooting you have this tendency to want to blink right before pulling the trigger, which causes you to be way off until you train yourself to stop doing it. You gotta get used to the muzzle flash (this can be surprisingly bright with a large caliber pistol for example), the sound, the recoil, etc. Using an iron sight to line up a shot is a lot different in real life when you have to be looking down it at the correct angle and holding steady so you keep that little tit in the middle. It ticks me off when talking heads on TV/radio call games murder simulators (not accusing you of doing that) when there is no game out there that could teach one how to properly shoot. It's unfortunate this asshole in Florida knew how to use his weapon, but man what a load of crap when you have right wing loons like Kentucky Gov Bevin acting like GTA or Battlefield could train one to do that.

[Bananasplit_00]

7 hours ago, Memories4K said:

I would love to invest money into mental health facilities, unfortunately, with taxes i don't get a choice as an individual to where my money goes.
So less taxes on guns means more money i can donate, as an individual with power over where my money goes, to charity organizations that would improve the state of mental health many people suffer from.

Taxing guns would, again, put more guns into the hands of crazy people because the poor could not afford them and thus would increase the blackmarket audience where safety checks and evaluations normally found in legal gun businesses would be nonexistent.

Fair point tbh, I'm personally for just banning guns straight up but I'm pretty sure that's basically impossible in the US now

[mr moose]

32 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

Fair point tbh, I'm personally for just banning guns straight up but I'm pretty sure that's basically impossible in the US now

I believe that too,  the culture is so entrenched and ownership so wide that any sudden change to laws will result in the mad people committing more crimes which will only further strengthen the resolve of gun owners.  For gun control to work it essentially has to be from the beginning like in Aus, Uk etc.   From here on in who knows where it is going to end,  the only fact I am sure of is that mass shootings will not stop unless they do something other than talk.  

[Memories4K]

53 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

Fair point tbh, I'm personally for just banning guns straight up but I'm pretty sure that's basically impossible in the US now

Let me guess, you think banning drugs and alcohol will stop drug addiction as well lmao

Yeah, even if i were of the same opinion that guns should be banned, i don't see it as possible in the US; it's an integral part of our culture as Americans.

17 minutes ago, mr moose said:

I believe that too,  the culture is so entrenched and ownership so wide that any sudden change to laws will result in the mad people committing more crimes which will only further strengthen the resolve of gun owners.  For gun control to work it essentially has to be from the beginning like in Aus, Uk etc.   From here on in who knows where it is going to end,  the only fact I am sure of is that mass shootings will not stop unless they do something other than talk.  

>"If we take away guns, people will be largely more incentive to commit crime"
>"And then that'll only prove those responsible gun owners right :/"
lmao, c'mon man don't say it like that

I don't think it could work, even if it was from the beginning.
We live in such a globalized world now that people aren't simply going to pretend something doesn't exist, their desire won't go away just because it's never been legal in their lifetime.

Mass shootings aren't the problem, it's the people who are compelled to commit mass murder that are the problem.
You probably hear it a lot "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" but even banning guns won't do away with mass murder; it's just a branch from a much larger problem.

[mr moose]

8 minutes ago, Memories4K said:

Let me guess, you think banning drugs and alcohol will stop drug addiction as well lmao

Yeah, even if i were of the same opinion that guns should be banned, i don't see it as possible in the US; it's an integral part of our culture as Americans.

>"If we take away guns, people will be largely more incentive to commit crime"
>"And then that'll only prove those responsible gun owners right :/"
lmao, c'mon man don't say it like that

I don't think it could work, even if it was from the beginning.
We live in such a globalized world now that people aren't simply going to pretend something doesn't exist, their desire won't go away just because it's never been legal in their lifetime.

 

Just so you know, it does work in other nations. very well.  The statistics are pretty damning on that count.  

 

8 minutes ago, Memories4K said:

 

Mass shootings aren't the problem, it's the people who are compelled to commit mass murder that are the problem.
You probably hear it a lot "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" but even banning guns won't do away with mass murder; it's just a branch from a much larger problem.

 

AS I said:

41 minutes ago, mr moose said:

the only fact I am sure of is that mass shootings will not stop unless they do something other than talk.  

 

That something doesn't necessarily have to be take away guns, as we know some won't accept it.  But at the moment the US is doing nothing and as a result nothing is changing.   I don't know about you but if I lost someone in one of those shootings I'd be pretty pissed to hear the same rhetoric over and over knowing full well that it will happen again because no one wants to change anything.  

[Eaglerino]

44 minutes ago, mr moose said:

I believe that too,  the culture is so entrenched and ownership so wide that any sudden change to laws will result in the mad people committing more crimes which will only further strengthen the resolve of gun owners.  For gun control to work it essentially has to be from the beginning like in Aus, Uk etc.   From here on in who knows where it is going to end,  the only fact I am sure of is that mass shootings will not stop unless they do something other than talk.  

Hopefully we never have people in the supreme court who would allow an outright gun ban. The first thing dictators attempt to do is disarm their citizens, and also kill or imprison the educated people

 

A reminder of the second amendment, because people forget: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

[ARikozuM]

Hmm... Haven't we had an issue like this before?

[THINKS BACK TO US HISTORY]

How long until we dump coffee GameStop into the sea again? 

[mr moose]

9 minutes ago, Eaglerino said:

Hopefully we never have people in the supreme court who would allow an outright gun ban. The first thing dictators attempt to do is disarm their citizens, and also kill or imprison the educated people

 

A reminder of the second amendment, because people forget: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Ahh, that old chestnut.   May I reminder you that we have very tight gun controls in Australia as in the UK and Germany.  We have much less issues with our government being tyrannical than the US.  There is no link between gun control and dictatorship governments. That is a nonsensical argument. 

[Memories4K]

EDIT: .

[mr moose]

Just now, Memories4K said:

Oh yeah? Show me some statistics on murder from a population similar to the US where mental health is just as untreated but guns are completely banned.

So you have more mentally ill people in your country with access to guns than other countries?  The stats are all percentages of total population.  Not just totals without qualification.

 

Just now, Memories4K said:

Oh boo-hoo, somebody's family member died from a mass shooting and now i should feel bad and let somebody's political agenda go by uncontested because if i don't then suddenly i'm a terrible person for not letting somebody's death be used to manipulate people.

So feel free to keep justifying it and not actually doing anything while people die.  That sounds like the best plan of action.

 

Just now, Memories4K said:

You want to ban airplanes for hitting the twin towers? You think anybody thinks the problem was that airplanes can cause so much damage as opposed to religious extremism?

Well they did double down on who can get on a plane and what you take on board, that at least is something.    Not sure what religious extremism has, the US is just as bad as Iran for that as far as I am concerned.

 

Just now, Memories4K said:

No, of course not.
But that's not uber relevant, because we all know where this specific conversation will lead and that's towards the inevitable "Guns are so easy to use and obtain though" which i'll just counter with something like "They're not the easiest to use if you want to kill a large number of people easily, nor are they that easy to obtain legally"

Unless your a student with mental health issues who walks into a school and just ups and kills 17 people.  In which case it looks very easy to do.

Just now, Memories4K said:

Let me ask you, what would be reasonable statues of limitations for you (change that you see possible when purchasing and owning a firearm) that you believe the US should enact.

I personally like the Australian laws.

 

Just now, Memories4K said:

I want to know what your personal criteria is for somebody to be able to purchase and own a firearm, how you would like to be treated were you interested in purchasing a firearm.

The same way everyone gets treated in Australia, you don't meet the criteria, you don't get the gun. End of story, hard luck, go cry boohoo because you can't have a gun.  Is that the appropriate response? apparently it is if someone dies in a mass shooting, so I'd say it must be ok.   

 

Seriously it's not that  hard, not being allowed to own a gun is not the same as living in north Korea and anyone who thinks it is is seriously deficient on the critically thinking front.

 

Just now, Memories4K said:

If you tell me anything relating to "Only the police should have guns" then that'll also go somewhere where this conversation won't satisfy anybody.

 

And that's why nothing is changing, It's effectively a stalemate and people will keep dying while half of your country blames a mental health for the problem but also refuses to allow mental health to be addressed.

 

 

 

[Mail me to the Moon]

13 minutes ago, mr moose said:

So you have more mentally ill people in your country with access to guns than other countries?  The stats are all percentages of total population.  Not just totals without qualification.

 

So feel free to keep justifying it and not actually doing anything while people die.  That sounds like the best plan of action.

 

Well they did double down on who can get on a plane and what you take on board, that at least is something.    Not sure what religious extremism has, the US is just as bad as Iran for that as far as I am concerned.

 

Unless your a student with mental health issues who walks into a school and just ups and kills 17 people.  In which case it looks very easy to do.

I personally like the Australian laws.

 

The same way everyone gets treated in Australia, you don't meet the criteria, you don't get the gun. End of story, hard luck, go cry boohoo because you can't have a gun.  Is that the appropriate response? apparently it is if someone dies in a mass shooting, so I'd say it must be ok.   

 

Seriously it's not that  hard, not being allowed to own a gun is not the same as living in north Korea and anyone who thinks it is is seriously deficient on the critically thinking front.

 

 

And that's why nothing is changing, It's effectively a stalemate and people will keep dying while half of your country blames a mental health for the problem but also refuses to allow mental health to be addressed.

 

 

 

In Washington state all you need to buy a gun is some Id and a criminal background check. I'm mentally ill myself. I struggle with homicidal tendencies and have tried acting on them before.

 

I am allowed to buy a gun. It would take me 20minutes. As is the system is broken, on multiple fronts. It's a good thing I don't live close eh?

[mr moose]

26 minutes ago, Mail me to the Moon said:

In Washington state all you need to buy a gun is some Id and a criminal background check. I'm mentally ill myself. I struggle with homicidal tendencies and have tried acting on them before.

 

I am allowed to buy a gun. It would take me 20minutes. As is the system is broken, on multiple fronts. It's a good thing I don't live close eh?

 

I am sorry to hear that.   What do you think when you hear people shout down publicly funded mental health services while others (maybe even the same people) blame mental illness for all gun crime?  

 

To me all I see are people blaming someone else then refusing to give them the care they need not to be the problem.  

[Mail me to the Moon]

11 minutes ago, mr moose said:

 

I am sorry to hear that.   What do you think when you hear people shout down publicly funded mental health services while others (maybe even the same people) blame mental illness for all gun crime?  

 

To me all I see are people blaming someone else then refusing to give them the care they need not to be the problem.  

2

Honestly I think it sucks. My mental health is the only reason I frequently land myself back on the streets. And even though I do have private health insurance I still have trouble finding the help I need. 

 

It is sad to see such cognitive dissonance in people, but we live in the days of sensationalist media. I don't think we'll be able to tackle any major problems well until we can put an end to it. People just don't have the attention spans they used to have.