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?

I’m going to say this again:

Gun CONTROL. Not a ban.

I know lots of people with guns in the UK. They hunt. They are part of shooting clubs. The world didn’t end

The just had to be checked and get a license. What is the issue with this system? Surely it’s not that hard.

It would be impossible to rid a country so ingrained with their need to have a gun. I'm not suggesting that they are banned, I can appreciate that some people do need them but its like they are burying their heads in the sand and refusing to admit there is a problem - surely so many kids dying should be a huge kick up the arse. I just don't get how the right to arm yourself - no matter who you are or how old you are is more important.

@Nannyoggsknickers - totally agree, I too cannot understand why legimate, responsible gun owners would have a problem with tighter controls. Surely you would welcome measures to help protect you & your family.

I am not saying that laws shouldn’t be changed

I would go further and guns have to be handed in and reapplied for but that won’t happen

But that is a view from us a country where few people have guns and those that do it will be for hunting what I am pointing out is though many would want tighter gun control they still many would still class themselves as responsible people who should be allowed guns where here very few people have guns as it’s not something we consider a right to have

I doubt laws will change all that happens is after an attack is more people go out and buy a gun to feel safe now most of those people would be considered responsible but really do so many people need a gun

Thanks kaz glad someone else sees it and I’m not going mad.

Cultures can and do change. The US needs to think about it’s priorities.

Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. So don’t let the crazy fuckers have guns.

@Enthusiasum - sadly you are probably right. There also seems to be a "mines better/bigger than yours" attitude. I have family in Texas and my cousins husband is obsessed with having the latest, newest, best available. He does regularly go hunting & to local gun range but some of the guns he has are never used and he has them just because. He is what I would class as a responsible owner though, he has 2 hidden gun safes which are locked well away from view, but he knows people who keep loaded guns in drawers etc. He actually challenged one of his sons friends father who keeps his in a kitchen drawer (he has 3 kids) and the fathers response was "my kids would never touch it" needless to say his son does not go to their house anymore.

We have to apply for a gun and have reason to want to own a gun

Americans have a right to own a gun

Very different view points

Very few changes but some were made after Sandy Hook shootings for us it seems unbelievable that things didn’t automatically change then but they didn’t I think sadly America will see a lot more gun violence before changes are made

And then of course there is the issue of how many guns are actually in the states

I dread to think how many - it would be impossible to ever get a true count.

Yes my mainly liberal (American liberal) family advised my cousin to get a gun when she felt her neighbors teenage son was spying on her and others. While I understand this can feel threatening what use would a gun be to have

Doesn’t surprise me having loaded guns around many people do and would still pass background checks

Some facts & figures. For comparison.

Too many parents have the "it'll never happen to me" or "my kid wouldn't do that" attitude. No parent wants to think that their child would purposely or accidentally shoot someone but It's scary how many kids get hold of their parents gun & accidentally shoot themselves or someone else. At the end of the day most kids are curious & like to show off - that's human nature.

The thought of any child being able to get hold of a loaded gun is terrifying because like you say they are curious

I would like to believe this time changes will happen but Trump is president and after so few changes were made after Sandy Hook shootings I just don’t think America is ready to give up the right to bear arms because that’s what really needs to change a fundamental shift on gun ownership

I agree, its almost like some people have been brainwashed. It seems like the answer to most problems is to get a gun. It doesnt matter that you are more likely to shoot yourself because you don't know how to shoot.

I assume the other 10% is made up by the higher powers who could actually implement things?

Gun ownership in the US isn’t evenly spread. 3% of households own half the guns and gun ownership varies greatly by state.

However, although Californians (40 million people) might support stricter national gun laws they have the same number of senators as Mississippi (3 million people).

Maintaining the balance between state power and federal power means some Americans have quite a bit more democratic power than others.

they just had to be checked and get a license. What is the issue with this system? Surely it’s not that hard.

It's a start, but still a country the size of America will have millions of guns via that scheme and good people have guns stolen by bad people... which can then be used for crime.
You also normalise gun culture, which means the rare crazy person is more likely to locate a readily accessible weapon than a less accessible one. Furthermore, the damage a gun can do prior to being apprehended is considerable.
Strict gun control or total bans wont stop every possible killer, but it might stop some or reduce the number of victims if they resort to lesser weapons.
The overwhelming percentage of gun owners don't use them for violence, but the number who do is still a percentage... ergo proportional to the overall number.

*Is someone on here justifying owning weapons that than kill large numbers of innocents en mass and instantaneously with car accidents and the drinking of alcohol?

There lies the problem. The way human beings can justify their opinions and others actions by deluding themselves with ignorance.*

The problem is people not reading.
I am English not American. I am anti-gun and would opt for a total ban if I had my way and sod restrictions. My point is that a school shooting which results in a number of tragic fatalities isn't nearly the issue. The issue is thousands of gun deaths usually in socially deprived areas.
It's only because a school massacre pulls at the heartstrings that people start to debate it again. Then in two weeks the furore dies down and nothing changes.
The points raised about alcohol or drugs or cars etc was raised because people say "dont these children's lives matter?" Well clearly they don't matter enough, otherwise change would happen, and it isn't happening. That led to the point that hundreds of children die through other controllable factors too and further legislation could reduce those numbers further still (far more than guns) and that doesn't happen either, so there is little hope for gun legislation to change any time soon.

The shock value of school massacres is huge, but short lived, meanwhile the huge swathes of gun victims are glossed over, because the seem to matter even less.

It is not me saying they don't matter, it is the lack of action by Americans that is demonstrating they don't matter ENOUGH in comparison with their beloved right to bear arms.

After the Dunblane massacre in 1996 the UK agreed never again, we accepted this would mean changes but the lives of our children were put first and guess what? It has NEVER happened again. Change might be complicated & difficult but it is possible.

We had a mass shooting spree in Cumbria after Dunblane. Fortunately it wasn't at a school, but that's by pure chance. Legislation isn't a cure, it's a reduction, but an incredibly welcome one.
But really it does matter if one person kills 20 in a day, or 20 kill 1 person each over a year, deaths are deaths and if we can reduce those numbers we should.

We should all be doing everything we can, nothing should be more important than life. I know the UK is far from perfect but at least my kids can go to school & they will come home. It's got to the stage where kids in the USA have to practice safety drills in case a shooter enters the building & yet a lot don't think they have a problem.

The UK parliament system is designed to give the majority party a lot of power. This has pros and cons, but means that when there is majority public support for an issue the government can pass legislation quickly.

The American system makes it far harder for the majority to act, which is great when you don’t agree with them but can lead to government paralysis.

I think it’s nuts that citizens in a so called civilised country can claim to be patriots but feel it necessary to have an artillery of guns incase they need to have an armed rebellion, but I think most American households don’t even own one gun.

I'm not sure if this has already been posted but here is a perfect summary of why other countries think US gun law is crazy. He has it spot on! Warning- if offended by bad language or within earshot of children do not watch!
www.vox.com/2016/6/13/11911948/australian-comedian-us-gun-laws

Brilliant The shootings in Cumbria could have been a lot worse. The gunman only had access to shot guns, which are much slower and less destructive than the semi-automatic weapons used by the shooter in Florida. The first three victims were known to the shooter. Nine were shot at random in various locations.

What is different here is the lack of semi-automatic weapons, which allow people to walk in to large crowds and mow down large numbers all at once.

Are you also forgetting that after Dunblaine there was a massive gun amnesty in which the police accepted all guns handed in, no questions asked, to get them all out of circulation.

Once that has been done it is then a matter of asking for a license and prosecuting anyone with a gun but no license or who own assault weapons or hand guns. People soon got the message.

People in the US who own guns for home defence are kidding themselves. You are far more likely to be killed with that gun then successfully use it against an intruder. People have seen too many Hollywood films.

Out of interest, if someone breaks into your house, and you shoot and kill them.....

Aren't you going to go to jail for manslaughter?

I mean, you shoot and kill, even in self-defence - you're going down, right??

So why would you actually do it? To have some sort of pretend O.K. Corral shoot-out at dawn, but then everyone gets up and goes home with their third life intact??!

If these school killings are happening in US and not not happening in Europe, Australia, etc and whilst these countries still have mental health issues it would be worth looking at the differences.

Look at how many shootings were by already diagnosed mental health people and then look at how European countries prevent undiagnosed and diagnosed nationals from committing mass shootings