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?

That’s your argument blue pears? Really? You pulled a newspaper article out showing 4 year stats for a completely different crime without even comparing it to the US? Do you think sexual assaults don’t happen there?

It’s scary that people like you could own a gun.

bluepears - I honestly don’t think posting graphs based on fake stastics off highly dubious right wing websites helps your cause.

And before you try to be too much of a smartarse, I mean the igeek link

Death by guns in the United States is 10.54 per 100,000
Death by guns in the United Kingdom is 0.23 per 100,000

That is 45 times higher

Gun control saves lives

Jesus wept. notanotheremma and bluepears just go fuck yourselves with your guns

Just spent a bit of time on Facebook.

Apparently we can't ban mentally ill teens from owning guns becuz Second Amendment.

RIGHTS! And stuff.

(And stop talking about dead teens becuz RIGHTS)

Every time there is a shooting tragedy in my home country everyone and their mother wants to use it as an excuse to push their anti gun agenda.

'Anti gun agenda'...?

What, in your opinion, is an 'anti gun agenda'?

Because from where I'm sitting, an 'agenda' that means less people - especially small children - dying horribly is quite a good thing.

Americans running scared of Mexicans, so they build a wall, and terrified of Muslims, so they stop them in airports - couldn't give a shit about white male nutters running around with whatever lethal weapons they can get their hands on.

Because the gun fanatics outweigh the sensible people, OP, at least in terms of influence and decision-making. I don't expect things to get any better while the orange Muppet is in charge.

The wall is to keep Americans in, as Mexico has a lower rate of gun deaths, sensible Americans might try to escape.

white male nutters running around with whatever lethal weapons they can get their hands on.

Or, as previously mentioned, toddlers doing the same.

Toddlers 'only' kill accidentally, and it's usually 'just' one unfortunate person.

The nut jobs going into churches and schools and slaughtering people en mass tend to be white males.

How many firearms-related homicides are there in Switzerland? Not many, yet the Swiss appear to be armed to the teeth

This discussion reminds me of those who think closing pubs early will reduce drunkenness. It's a very UK perspective to think all you need are Rules and everything will be fine.

Gun ownership where I live is quite normal outside the major cities. People use them to hunt pigs, deer, rabbit and other exotic pests, to eat, and for target shooting. There isn't this weird attitude the Americans seem to have that owning a gun is part of your natural self-expression. However, there also isn't the weird (although less lethal) British attitude that a person who owns a gun is a sexual inadequate with a shaven head and no mates, and therefore no legitimate reason to own a gun.

There is an irresponsible gun culture in the US, just as there is an irresponsible drinking culture in the UK. That's the issue, and short of banning firearms outright, it won't be solved (and even then wouldn't be).

I don't know, it's depressing as hell.

And just for the record, most of the mass shooters don't have behavioral health problems, just rage and self righteous ness. Add far add I'm concerned they are just terrorists.
Fearmongering isalso a huge reason here b because we have what everyone wants? I dunno it's madness

However, there also isn't the weird (although less lethal) British attitude that a person who owns a gun is a sexual inadequate with a shaven head and no mates, and therefore no legitimate reason to own a gun.

I certainly do make this assumption about mass killers - but not about gun-owners per se.

I'm a Kiwi!

I can't think of many things in worse taste then using people's deaths to push personal political opinions and laws.

I think that is the crux of the gun control debate in the US, it is a political issue there, here it isn't.

One school shooting and everyone was behind changing the law.

BTW it's not just gun ownership, virtually every male in Switzerland has a gun, I think they have had one mass shooting.But in Switzerland you get to keep your gun after national service so you have been taught to use it.

That is what I don't understand, you have to have a licence and take a test to drive a car but not to own a gun.

I think teh answer, as some people have pointed out, is that there is unfortunately multiple roots to the problem. I have no ideas or suggestions on how to fix it. I just find it incredibly said that I am no longer shocked to hear about another school shooting. It's even sadder that schools have shooting drills and kids are worried because they won't all fit behind the teachers desk where they are meant to hide.

Different states have different restrictions. As I understand it, NRA members are generally in favour of restrictions on individual gun ownership- tests/background checks - but not the leadership.
Right now there will be people saying this is a fake or a set up to change public opinion. Like they did after Sandy Hook. It is heartbreaking to imagine this happening to your own child.
Yes, we do have knife violence in this country and we are naive not to think it's a problem but we don't have the same mass killings that, tragically, happen in the US.

Gun control is the most obvious solution. Without a doubt! But that alone won't fix the issue. They need Pharma control and also the big social media companies to step in and do some censorship of inflammatory articles/posts/shares. The trouble is, there will be a billion people happily backing gun control but no one to support the other ideas.

In our lifetime, I am not sure if the Americans will ever ban guns. The alternative is what @sashh said, why can't there be proper licencing and periodic checks to ensure that a gun holder is of sound mental state and is not on any medication? Also, why would you allow teenagers access to your guns?

They don't ban weapons because they don't want to. It's quite simple.

They want guns, they want Trump, it's their country and they make the decisions.

It's a vast and dangerous country, the American way is the only way, the Military is worshipped, the rest of the world is a massive threat to them and their way of life, and they attack anyone that they see as a perceived threat. The media makes the general population scared of everybody and everything, and encourages everyone to stay home and make America great again. The people genuinely believe that there is no better place to be, so we should leave them too enjoy their poor healthcare, low education, fear and unease.

They want guns, let them kill their children.

Perhaps the answer is more guns, then someone could have switched off this asshole PDQ.

An average of one school shooting a week in the US.

As a Brit in the US, I definitely feel much safer here than I ever did in the UK. Most people I know own guns, probably half of those (DH included) conceal carry’s a handgun on a daily basis.

Gun ownership isn’t the issue, as is proved by country’s such as Switzerland. The issue is preventing the mentally unstable people getting hold of them.

These shootings are always sad occasions. I expect that there will now be a call to arm teachers in the classroom.

As a Brit in the US, I definitely feel much safer here than I ever did in the UK.

On what basis? The US has far more violent crime.

I can't even get past a shrug when I hear these stories now.