American needs to fight against terror closer to home

[josil]

And focus their energy on teenage boys who seem to be causing terror frequently by shooting us schools. Supermarkets etc etc.

What never ceases to amaze me is somehow these shooters manage to escape the stereotypes that others ethnic groups find it impossible to shake off.

RIP to those dead ok the latest massacre in the US.

The US needs to fight against terror and start with those close to home.

The solution is very obviously by preventing access to new guns and gradually reducing the current number of guns in circulation.

Other countries have done it. The USA could do it but let's face it, too many people are happy to see innocent people die at the hands of entirely legal guns rather than face the prospect of not being able to pretend to be Rambo down the shooting range.

It’s not about whether you or I think someone in America ‘needs’ to own an AR15 (which people can legally own in the U.K. btw) it’s the fact that a large section of the U.S population think owning these weapons is their birthright and some of that population would be willing to defend that with their lives.

“Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an Americans” - Tench Cox

Name another country with such a high number of guns per head of population that has enacted a ban.

So what, frankly.

Lots of people think they should be able to do lots of things that we don't allow.

Once again it comes down to either doing something about it or just sitting back and letting these shootings happen.

A civil war in America would be disastrous for all of us.

You are so right All of us should focus on the victims of this hideous crime and how to change the gun laws instead of bickering about race. Nobody even knows if race was behind this attack

Whether there is an average of 10 guns per person or 1, it doesn't make any difference. If America doesn't start to more tightly control who can legally own a gun, these shootings will continue.

The only question is whether you are ok with that or not.

If you're referring to the pics purporting to show him wearing women's clothes, they're photos of somebody else - looks like 4chan started that one.

This comment really made me laugh, but it's so true. An American colleague once said he thinks it stems from the fact America is such a 'new' country compared to a lot of the rest of the world, so they seem to feel this great need to figure out where they come from.

“The only question is whether you are ok with that or not.”

Obviously no one is okay with school shootings, but equally I’m not okay with one of the U.K’s most important partners being stricken with bloody civil unrest. Hope that helps.

You cannot target the people involved and expect to have some success when the real issue is the amount of guns easily available.

The perpetrator's race is very relevant actually, because it often seems to be white supremacists that carry out these awful crimes. There will no doubt be lots of examination of his motives (in hopes to reduce the likelihood of it happening again) but at this point there isn't much to go on, so of course this is something that will be remarked upon.

So you aren't ok with shootings, but you don't think gun ownership should be restricted.

So how are you going to stop this happening again. And again. And again.

Spanish and Hispanic people are pretty white, but not white in the WASP sense of white supremacists

I'm sorry, but that's laughable. Americans don't introduce themselves that way!

However, because of the melting pot nature of the US, a lot of Americans are very interested and proud of their heritage and culture, and there's nothing wrong with that.

This comment really made me laugh, but it's so true. An American colleague once said he thinks it stems from the fact America is such a 'new' country compared to a lot of the rest of the world, so they seem to feel this great need to figure out where they come from

fucking hell that would be hilarious if it wasn’t so tragic.

complete whitewashing of Native American history.

we hate immigrants but all need to tell you about our immigrant ancestors.

oh and this country only started to exist once those immigrant ancestors arrived here.

“So how are you going to stop this happening again. And again. And again.”

I’m not an American. I don’t have the power to influence policy in other countries.

Rather than continuing the pointless arguments about gun control, they won't do it because of powerful vested interests, maybe American schools can do something simpler, look at school security. No-one can enter my grandson's primary school without being identified after which the locked door is opened, the gates into the school are locked once school is in session. The HIgh School where I worked had only one of its many entrances available from the outside during school hours, when we were a polling station there was a police presence on the door being used. Surely that can't upset the gun toters?

They all seem to find some Irish heritage come March 17th too!

They all seem to find some Irish heritage come March 17th too!

Any excuse for a knees up and a pint of Guinness!

I'm in the US. All the schools around me have very strict security. You have to scan your driving license and then wear a name tag to even get past the front desk. Most of them also have armed police officers on campus. I assume there was a similar set up in Texas, but unfortunately that system isn't infallible.

Is there anything wrong with this?

We're all Mexican on May 5 too.

How many school shootings have involved the murder/s using legally purchased weapons they either own themselves or have accessed through family members? These aren’t stolen guns. If you want to stop the shootings, stop selling guns.

If you sell guns people are going to use them to kill people. Hunting is very popular in many US states but people are not buying assault rifles or hand guns to go shoot ducks. It would be completely possible to limit the types of weapons sold.

The majority of the general public in the US want stricter gun control. The NRA has managed to control the law at every level through lobbying and it’s ability to swing the vote in key marginals by mobilising it’s supporters.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/17/nra-gun-lobby-gun-control-congress

To control guns - why can't we just start simple and reenact the assault weapons ban that Congress passed in the 90s after Columbine? Am I the only American who remembers this??? The Republicans let the ban expire when W was president.

Also, why are we pretending that a majority of Americans are not in favor of stricter gun control? It's Republicans in the senate who are blocking legislation and they do not represent a majority of the voting population.

The stat that always gets me is that a child in a gun-owning household is more likely to die accidentally (usually by being shot by a sibling 😓) than that gun be used to legitimately defend the family.

Owning a gun literally makes your children less safe.