Why can’t America ban automatic weapons?

[MaryPoppinsPenguins]

I don’t get it. I honestly don’t. After Sandy Hook that should have been enough... statistics speak for themselves.

Why? What don’t I get?

The NRA paid millions to the Trump campaign and for anti Clinton advertising,why are they allowed to play such a large part in US politics?

Yes a lot of the crap that was repeated over and over about Clinton was very actively disseminated using NRA money. $20m of their donations to the Trump campaign was spent on anti-Clinton tactics.

There is plenty of shitty marketing and lobbying distorting UK politics - think of the big housebuilders, the supermarkets, the alcohol companies.

One of the worst things about the NRA is the way that it has polarised the issue, so that every rural American that genuinely uses a shotgun to hunt for food and to protect themselves when more distant from a police officer than we can imagine, is driven into the arms of gun manufacturers who just want to saturate the market with absolutely no thought for the murders, accidental and suicidal deaths that result.

My impression is that the US has plenty of laws that would assist better gun control, they're just not used or enforced. I would start by removing guns from any person who is accused or convicted of any violent, domestic violence or stalking or harassment offence. I would then remove guns from any household such a person lives in. I would look at safe gun storage laws when guns are not in the hands of the owner.

Part of me would simply lobby for a law that says that no man can legally own a gun but I recognise that is a sexist statement.

I claim to feel safer because I do, I feel that it’s a better country
To raise my family in
I have no doubt that some Americans do 'feel' safer in their homes with a gun. But does that mean they actually are safer?

Would you prefer to have your family in a house where burglars come armed with guns, knowing if they are disturbed they have to shoot first or die. Or live in a house where burglars come armed with a crowbar and if disturbed run away so they aren't caught?

Would you prefer to send your children to a school where the pupils have access to assault riffles and if they are having a bad day regularly start killing everyone. Or send your children to a school where people have no access to guns and no one goes there to kill everybody?

Or you are intelligent enough to study the facts and learn that you or your family are in fact more likely to be killed (deliberately or accidentally) in a house and country that allows weapons of mass destruction to be picked up at the local store by anyone of any age.

Where would your family really be safer?

If guns make you feel safer with one at home then why not extend that logic. What about a minefield in the garden, grenades in the car, a missile defence system on the roof, weaponised drones circling overhead? Where does it end?

Only on page 5 but now a call to arm teachers in the class room? can anyone in the UK imagine that? When walking round schools... So what do you you carry Mrs Clark? Umm I think the other school is better darling... The firm teacher has an ak47... Let's go for that one. M she will be safer there

The stats speak for themselves. If you live in the US, you are not safer. Your children are not safer. You can proclaim you feel safer all you like... until a mentally unstable teen gets an easily available automatic weapon and visits your child’s school.

Then I’m sure Surrey wouldn’t look so scary.

Americans have to feel safer in their gun-laden homes and cities, or the house of fear/cards all comes stumbling down.

Read something funny on Facebook...

If we re-named guns 'vaginas' and classrooms 'uteruses', you can beat your last dollar Republicans and conservatives would be falling over themselves to enact strict control over them.

*tumbling

The NRA effectively own the highest government officials in the land. So they can’t/won’t vote against guns. End of story. There is no reasoning or any statistics that the people highest up are not understanding, the presidency was won on NRA money. So that’s their “opinion”, whatever the gun people tell them it is.

Is there actually any evidence that the US does suffer more violent crime than the UK or indeed most other Western countries? My understanding is that it does not, although I don't have any stats to base this belief on.

I understand that violent crime in the UK has halved since 1990, however, that reflects a trend across Western countries as a whole. In the UK, I can't help believing, that the surfeit of CCTV everywhere has something to do with it. A lot of the petty nastiness that I remember happening in the street in the 80s/90s would result in a prosecution now because a camera would pick it up.

On a completely unrelated note, I have relations in South Africa. Now that is a genuinely violent country, with rates of murder and rape just about unmatched outside a war zone. How many of my relations carry guns? One - and the rest of the family think he's a complete wanker (for unrelated reasons). The rest of them take the view that carrying a handgun is a bad idea because it makes you more likely to get shot, and it's better to lose your possessions than your life.

Is there actually any evidence that the US does suffer more violent crime than the UK or indeed most other Western countries?

You use the word violent crime. This thread is about gun crime and gun related deaths. Yes, there is an overwhelming evidence that the US suffers massively more gun deaths than countries like the UK. Just read the links of this thread or google it. It isn't hard to research.

Here's how I would perfectly legally buy a gun in my US state. Look through the classifieds. Call someone who's selling a gun. Buy it.
No background checks. No training required. No one knows I own that gun. There's no register. The police are not informed. I can own as many guns as I like.

Is that seriously how easy it is to get a gun in the USA? (Excuse my ignorance on the subject.)
That is absolute insanity if that's the case.
It seems incredible to me that so many people are insistent on their rights to have a gun. Just why?
For children to just walk into schools and start shooting - or for children to be able to easily get their hands on them - defies belief that nobody bans the damn things.

Only on page 5 but now a call to arm teachers in the class room?

Yeah, that makes perfect sense! Let's make it safer by bringing MORE guns into the mix!

Regarding gun crime, over all stats this is children being killed whilst in school how can any parents send them to school and feel they are safe!

of course it would be nice to live in a country where shootings such as this didn’t happen.

I am aware that the stats show that the US is more violent but What I would like to see is a geographical heat map of crime around the US. I think that will show that the violence is limited to particular areas

The issue to gun control is there is an inherent distrust of the government, coupled to two polarized points of view.

I personally fall into the Libertarian category, however I also feel that there should be some way of preventing nutjobs getting hold of a firearm.

I think that will show that the violence is limited to particular areas Not very limited.

There have been more than 1,500 mass shootings since Sandy Hook
The map staticistics come via the Gun Violence Archive, which has hosted a database that tracks mass shootings since 2013. But since some shootings go unreported, the database is likely missing some.

My past of the US feels far safer and better than the UK

what part of the US is safer than the UK?

what part of the US is safer than the UK?

I live in Maine, I haven’t checked the crime stats but I am pretty sure as a state it would be safer than the UK. (Similar landmass)

Is that seriously how easy it is to get a gun in the USA? (Excuse my ignorance on the subject.)

Yes it really is this easy in my state. I live in a state with very lax gun laws. Ironically, my state also has the fourth lowest homicide rate in the US.

Julie8008

Interesting map thanks for finding it. It does appear to be heavily weighted towards the South East 1/4 of the US. Followed by the Midwest/greater Chicago area.

So I would argue that it is limited. There is clearly a subset of states that are more violent than others.

The issue to gun control is there is an inherent distrust of the government

I think a lot of countries would have a lot of people with an inherent distrust of their government. How does allowing children/adults to buy weapons of mass destruction help with that distrust.

What exactly does an American think they are going to do, all band together, march on the white house and slaughter everyone in the government?

Kursk Would you be able to say if the areas more affected with gun crime happen to have less gun control? Which wouldn't be conclusive as I dont imagine you have check when crossing states? But interesting to know.

If people are genuinely interested in which bits of the US are more or less safe, this is an interesting article.

54% of US counties in 2014 had zero murders
2% of counties have 51% of the murders

crimeresearch.org/2017/04/number-murders-county-54-us-counties-2014-zero-murders-69-1-murder/

The American people wish to retain the ability to march on and forcibly remove the government if the need arose (such as another hitler type coming to power)