To wonder when they will ban guns in USA

[sannaville]

Those poor children at Conneticut school :( They mustve been absolutely petrified. When will the USA learn from these horrific shootings and out a ban on guns

I'm all for gun control. But let's not forget that having guns doesn't make you have a lot of shootings. Canada has a few shootings, probably about proportional with the UK, but we have masses and masses of guns. Mostly hunting rather than handguns and the laws on getting them, keeping them and registering them is very different. However, the total lack of a social safety net, people not feeling part of a society, alienation, racism, fear, the handover from slavery... all these factors make guns in the USA far more dangerous than guns in Canada or Switzerland (also lots of privately owned guns).

Let's also not forget the mall shooting in Portland this week. It wasn't just those poor children that died at the barrel of a gun this week. Here.

maxmille so that's alright then?

If automatic weapons had been readily available for Raoul Moat, perhaps it would have been much worse.

The point I was trying to make (clearly not very successfully) is there will always be people willing to break the law and kill people... and more to the point, it's generally the law abiding citizens that surrender their guns when they become illegal, not the nutters intent on killing people. But that's no reason not to have strict gun control.

I googled and can't back up your claim welsh.

No, they do not. I am looking specifically at stats published by the House of Commons. Those stats specify offences where non air weapon firearms were used.

Mrs BW are you insane?

Can you imagine being able to buy a rifle and some ammo in Asda along with your weekly shop as you can in some American supermarkets.

I think I'm probably agreeing with you squoosh

For the life of me, I cannot understand why any civilised society allows automatic weapons. I just can't see a valid reason for them.

Well, if Asda sold firearms we'd all be far better equipped come the zombie apocalypse, that's for sure.

"Gun massacres at a Colorado movie theater and a Sikh temple in Wisconsin are just the latest in a long history of bloodbaths. There have been 50 U.S. rampage killings involving firearms in the last 25 years, and 82 percent involved legally obtained firearms. It’s easy to buy a gun today, and 43 states have some form of open carry law, thanks to legislation and the recent Supreme Court decisions."
From a quick google search (lawyer.com) these massacres are not caused by people stealing guns or having illegal guns. They are legal. If people 'snap' and decide to go in the rampage 18% would have done so with an illegally held gun, maybe just maybe, the other 82% wouldn't have been able to.

Sadly I think that Europeans and Americans will never understand each other on this. Our respective attitudes to guns are utterly incomprehensible to the other.

I have never understood the "guns don't kill people, people kill people," mentality. The gun really does help. I also agree that the US gun laws normalise ownership and that cannot be anything other than bad. All those children and their families have paid a hell of a price for the right to bear arms. I hope it was worth it. No doubt the NRA think so.

The USA also has 27 times the accidental deaths we do in the UK. In that case, guns do kill people, the people didn't have any intention to.

maxmille no I'm not and I find being asked if I'm mentally ill because I put a confused emoticon in response to your post - which I didn't understand (if you read it again you might understand why; not sure if predictive text took over?) offensive.

You're right wasabi, I think we find it hard to understand that gun passion that so many Americans have. For many, it's the most important issue. The NRA are no doubt already proof reading their statements saying this tragedy had absolutely nothing to do with guns, blah, blah, blah.

No you are offensive:

"maxmille so that's alright then?"

Either that or drunk if you got that from my post about Raoul Moat. Yes of course, on a day when 20 kids are murdered with bullets from a gun, whatever gun, I would be saying but in the UK it's ok because we only kill a few people at a time with our shotguns. Why would you think I meant that? All guns should be the subject of strict gun control laws, whatever the type.

The USA also has 27 times the accidental deaths we do in the UK. In that case, guns do kill people, the people didn't have any intention to.

Yes - sometimes its children.

Can you imagine how many people would be killed if they tried to take the guns away from everyone who had one and didn't want to give it up?

haven't read the whole thread but,

The statement that if someone is going to kill people then they'll find a way to do it anyway is a complete cop out. Drugs are illegal, if someone wants to get their hands on them, they will. Should we legalise all hard drugs then?

Fact is that in countries like the UK where guns are illegal the gun rate crime is much, much lower. Dunblain, hungerford, Cumbria, Raoul Moat although tbh I think that falls into a different category - we're talking mass murder here.

There are gun crimes in the gang and drug cultures but tbh those people are criminals already. Owning a gun is just an extention of that and so doesn't fall into the same category.

Aside from Brenda "I hate Mondays" Spencer, I cant think of any other female spree killer/shooter. It seems to be almost eclusively a male preserve. Wonder why that is?

What I find hard to believe is the number of school shootings there have been in the US

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting

(First time I've posted a link so apologies if it doesn't covert)

Granted, these aren't all with guns, but I wonder if/when the US government/Statehouses will do something to try to stop it.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshihiro_Hattori

This story is bringing back memories of the Dunblane massacre. . I remember exactly where I was when it came on the news and how shocked I was. I feel haunted by it. Those poor families. :-(

Just watching on the news now. Truly horrendous.
I will never understand the mentality of Americans who bang on about their 'right to bear arms'. How can they defend this 'right' after so many horrific school shootings?
If I lived in America, I'd be terrified everyday sending my children to school

Wannabe- it's a side argument but yes, I'm in support of the legalisation and state control of currently illicit drugs.

I think it's important yo note that even when guns were legal in the UK, gun crime per head was still far lower than in the US. Another poster has drawn comparisons with Switzerland and Canada where guns are still legal.

A gun ban isn't going to work in States, period. Yes, I can agree that stricter licensing is a dandy end goal but implementation of tighter control, in the current climate, won't work either. It's a cultural issue a d it will take years, maybe generations, to address.

Pumpkin, there have been other female spree killers such as Amy Bishop, Sylvia Seegrist, and Jennifer San Marco, though they're less publicised than their male counterparts.