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 think Kursk is the poster who was fretting the other week about visiting family in Surrey (?) because the UK is apparently like downtown Aleppo.

Yes I was, and I actually got back from the UK last week.

that’s not what you said. You said your husband and most people you know have permits to carry concealed handguns. That is patently not for hunting or bears

My state has repealed conceal carry permits so they don’t have a permit.

Can I ask why your husband and friends feel the need to carry a concealed weapon?

Next thing the NRA (and trump) will do is blame the individual. They’re “mentally” ill hmm

But being mentally ill is no reason not to be allowed guns.

This picture sums up why Congress will never pass gun reform laws

that’s not what you said. You said your husband and most people you know have permits to carry concealed handguns. That is patently not for hunting or bears

My state has repealed conceal carry permits so they don’t have a permit.

So all these people are carrying guns illegally?

No, my state no longer requires a permit. So they are legally carrying without the need for a permit.

I just asked DH he carries because he can and it’s better to have it and if he didn’t carry, the time he needed it he would have forgotten it.

But isn’t that the same arguement that someone carrying a knife might use: “I carry it in case I need it.”

Also statistically you are more likely to killed if you carry a gun than if you don’t: www.newscientist.com/article/dn17922-carrying-a-gun-increases-risk-of-getting-shot-and-killed/

“Overall, Branas’s study found that people who carried guns were 4.5 times as likely to be shot and 4.2 times as likely to get killed compared with unarmed citizens. When the team looked at shootings in which victims had a chance to defend themselves, their odds of getting shot were even higher.”

@EmpressOfJurisfiction

My point was that they never address the problem. It’s always an isolated incident according to the NRA or Trump

Also statistically you are more likely to killed if you carry a gun than if you don’t

I have seen this before, interestingly it contradicts a study that says conceal carry permit holders are more likely to be law abiding citizens.

I've lived in urban areas in Britain my whole life, and have never been the victim of violent crime. I've lost or left behind my purse a few times, and had it handed in, with all the contents still in it. Which part of the UK is so dangerous,Kursk?

You can be law abiding and still get killed so I don’t see that the two studies contradict each other.

Think about it: you’re a law abiding citizen, you carry a legal weapon. Someone tries to mug you. Instead of doing the sensible thing (hand the phone/wallet over) you pull out your gun. There’s a struggle, the mugger grabs your gun and uses it to shoot you.

Why would you take that risk? Is a phone/wallet/etc more valuable than the risk to your own life?

I've not rtft but this:

NotAnotherEmma

If banning guns stopped murder then why do so many people get murdered in the UK?

Er, the UK doesn't have an especially high rate of violent crime in proportion to the general population, and we have an extremely low rate of gun related homicides in comparison with other nations. This comment is daft on many levels but I had to clarify at least those bits.

For those in the US with a gun; why do you feel safer carrying one? So that you can shoot first?

I feel this whole thread is in bad taste. 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

I think your comments are in bad taste. A shooting tragedy like this SHOULD be the trigger to put laws in place that minimise the chances of it happening again.

Nobody is pushing any political agenda - these are factual events laid out for everyone to see that having a blanket approach to recreational guns is a recipe for disaster.

@Kursk that’s nitpicking the language I used and you know it.

Kids should not have to be walked out of their school in line with their hands on the kid in fronts shoulders.

Kids should not be allowed to be shot in the place they should be able to consider as safe as their home.

You all can't really be so bloody thick that you can't see how much violence takes place in the UK without guns?

The difference is how quickly a single person can kill multiple people with a gun.
With a knife you will need to get close to victim and can be more easily overpowered, and will cause far fewer fatalities in the time frame before police arrive.
With a gun an individual can kill a large number of people v quickly.
Just think about parliament attack in Westminster last year, the attacker hit pedestrians with his car and stabbed one police officer before he was shot. Overall death toll was low. If he had an automatic weapon he could have killed far more people in same situation.

Some posters upthread have talked about hunting for food with guns in rural America, and law enforcement being hours drive away. By all means do that. But that doesn't translate to somebody living in urban America needing a gun, where police can be there in minutes and no hunting.

noeffingidea

I have lived in areas of Aldershot, Reading and Somerset.

Because they really, really like them.

The majority of Americans are completely fine with, or at least indifferent to, mass shootings happening (until it happens to them or their loved ones). If that weren't the case they'd use their vote to change things. When they do happen they seem to find great solace in it being "God's will" so that's nice.

You all can't really be so bloody thick that you can't see how much violence takes place in the UK without guns?

Yes hardly a week goes by without a bunch of school children being slain in their classrooms.

What I think is weird is how Americans are fed this idea that danger is lurking around every corner and that, if you don’t have a gun, you will inevitably be shot at and find yourself unable to respond and save yourself. Which just sets up the need for more guns; to save yourself from guns. It just makes no sense and the NRA knows it and realised that a lot of money can be made from stirring fear in people. I’m so happy to not live in America anymore; it is the most fearful place I’ve ever been to.

One of the simple pleasures of visiting the US is the ability to go and ‘play’ with some automatic weapons. I use the term ‘play’ loosely, there’s no messing about.

Kursk - I suggest you try to find some truthful media in the US to find out what is really happening in your country. You were so frightened to visit the UK, which is pretty safe. Eg. I was was walking around some pretty quiet streets in Central London last week in the late evening, and felt pretty safe, the only slight worry was when I saw the police and had to pass where someone not long ago had driven into passersby. I actually feel more safe than I did years ago.
I have been to the US, which is a wonderful place full of nice people. But I'd rather not go back right now - as the gun thing is getting worse. The statistics for this year speak for themselves. And as a country it seems unwilling even to take baby steps (such as more comprehensive background checks including investing in new central computer systems, and banning some guns). Heck the guy yesterday had grenades! Those are not useful for self protection from anyone or anything.

As to someone asking about sexual crimes, or paedophiles - do you seriously think that doesn't happen in the US?