America's Gun Control

'The problem they've got is you can't put the shit back in the horse.'

Not quite the same though is it? It wouldn't happen over night - but they could start with making it illegal to buy and sell assault rifles - which NO civilian needs.
Then an amnesty buying those weapons off people before making them illegal to own.
Then how about actual checks on the people buying the guns? Doing away with carry and conceal permits?Changing the laws so that Walmarts and stores like that can't sell anything other than hunting rifles?

There's a lot that can be done, but taking powerful military grade weapons out of the hands of civilians would certainly be a start.

Murder with knives is also significantly higher in the USA than the UK (per million people). That the uk streets are running with blood due to knife crime is a myth perpetrated by Trump

They do shoot you malls, also churches, movies theatres and parades!

every time I go somewhere I’m looking for exits or places to hide, and fear for my DC going to school. I went to visit my youngest class to read to them and the doors are locked to each class room during the day. I was shocked tbh. And then worried about the kids that go to use the restroom, exposed in the corridors, locked out of class.

And with the right political will, they could stop, with immediate effect, the sale of ammunition for these guns.

I think all of this should be done and more.

I can almost guarantee, however, that no democrat would be elected president again in most of our lifetimes. The states that want unfettered access hold too much political power under the electoral college system. People in the UK would do well to remember that winning the popular vote does not equate to winning the presidency.

'That the uk streets are running with blood due to knife crime is a myth perpetrated by Trump'

Yeah it's BS. Partly because our laws carry such high penalties for carrying weapons or anything perceived as a weapon that it's not worth getting caught for.
My US FIL, with all good intentions, gave my DS a hunting style folding knife as a present - they're in the country, everyone hunts - and we had to gently explain why it wasn't coming back to the Uk with us but was going to have to stay at his house. Bloody thing had a 5 inch fixed blade on it.
He was surprised when he heard anything past a pocket knife with a 3 inch blade like a swiss army knife couldn't be carried around the streets!

They have gun crime, we have knife crime.

How many mass stabbing have there been in the UK this year? Not wanting to minimise knife crime, but there is no comparison.

However, America's gun problem is not solely one of stupidity. There are too many guns already out there. Even severe control laws could not make them go away.

Also, the constitution is very powerful and dropping the 2nd amendment would be virtually impossible.

Realistically, the best one can hope for is stricter controls of who can own a gun, plus a ban of automatic and semiautomatic weapons.

But even this would take a degree of political will that just isn't there - not to mention the power of the NRA.

Remember: guns don't kill people, people kill people.

Just corrected this:

Remember: guns don't kill people, people WITH GUNS kill A LOT of people.

'They have gun crime, we have knife crime.'

I must have missed the bit where 20k people died because of knife crime. Or the part where our kids have to regualry drill in case someone with a knife decides to come into their school and attack them all.

So…why did he do nothing to ban them then?
He tried but the way the political system works in the USA it wasn't even possible to get tighter controls

While I agree that total gun freedom certainly exacerbates the problem, and the nature of the available guns must make the killings worse in terms of scale, but it strikes me that there were many guns in the US in the past, before school shootings were a thing. So there is something in society that has brought about this change.

Finland has decided, I believe, that the publicity given to these killings and the killers is likely to increase the frequency of it happening. I think they have begun a policy of doing the opposite and not naming the killer at all.

But I feel society in the west is increasingly angry and vengeful, and not just in the US. I think it may be related to the economy, in part, but also wider societal changes. In the UK, after the war, there was a great sense of social cohesion and optimism for the future. There was also much more value given to self-restraint and decency, which has withered away and been replaced much more with emotionalism as well as selfishness being seen as acceptable.

Regarding the OP’s question, no. I’m sure people from the US are not stupid, but I suspect they have an insular education compared to Europeans, who inevitably are exposed to outside influences and experiences as they live much closer to their neighbours.

Exactly. If people checked the statistics they would know. So both gun and knife crime are higher in the USA.

Me too.

I think the guns are a red herring.
I wonder instead - why schools? Why are the perpetrators often very young? Why are they often ex pupils? What is being done for youth and mental health? Why do so many shoot themselves later?
Something else is going on here, and the gun element overrides discussion every time. Yes, guns make it easier to commit such crimes, but why are they happening?

I have some American friends. They're intelligent, kind people. However, get them on to the subject of guns and they become very irate. They can't possibly get rid of guns because it's their right, their freedom, it's in the constitution. They need guns to protect themselves.

So…why did he do nothing to ban them then?

The system in place in America means that it's not quite as simple as the president being able to change laws. And the gun lobby groups have a ridiculously powerful day in what goes on in that system.

I don’t find this a convincing argument for guns tbh

That they are cheap and the shop owner was nice

Ive seen loads of comments today saying they need cops in all schools! Err no how about you just get rid of the guns?

Remember: guns don't kill people, people kill people.

Guns and lax gun rules, mixed with a huge number of people owning guns, make it incredibly easy for someone to kill many people very quickly.

Someone with a knife or just their bare hands can't kill as many people in as short a time, as they could with a gun.

Gun laws may not prevent all incidents but I'd imagine they'd reduce them massively.

Clearly the system the US currently has isn't working.

As it stands it's clear that for many Americans gun ownership is more important than a child's life. It has been for a long time. Nothing is going to change sadly.

Gun totin' American here. All of you who think a gun ban would be easy are parading your ignorance. How do you tell people who live in Alaska, the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachians, etc., that they can't have a gun for self-defense? In just the past year, I've had a bear on my back deck and packs of coyotes running through my back yard. Copperheads keep trying to take up residence in my driveway culvert, and I've seen a few cats bigger than bob cats about, although panthers aren't supposed to live here. I guess nobody told them that.

We do not live on a tame little island here. We have vast areas where, if you DON'T have a gun, you're freakin' stupid. Now tell me how we implement a gun ban.

"Remember: guns don't kill people, people kill people."

The gun helps though. A lot.

We can't kill people at a distance in this country.

Ridiculous- but also racist. @wonderingdaily Try substituting Americans with any other nationality and see how that question sounds.
I hate the gun lobby in USA and I believe its apologists misread the Second Amendment. But these anti-American views are entrenched in UK and go far beyond questioning US gun laws. I’ve heard ‘Americans are stupid’, Americans are crass’, ‘Americans have no culture’, ‘Americans have no sense of humour’, ‘Americans are loud’ etc etc etc. Why is this acceptable in a supposedly anti-racist society like UK? I’m not American but my husband of 30 years is, and I’ve been dismayed at the casual prejudices that would be unthinkable about any other nationality.

Crossbows and shotguns exist to be fair but the murder rate doesn't suggest they are the problem.

How do you think it works with farmers etc. here? You may not know this but… There’s nuance to law, it’s not just no guns full stop.

LMAO to tame little island. No you live in a cesspit which is kidding itself daily that’s it’s the “land of the free” - next joke!

You could allow a very narrow range of hunting rifles and restrict ownership to certain postal codes only, with periodic checks. If someone was visiting one of those areas, they could choose to rent one with a time-limited permit.

Furthermore, carrying guns in a town or city (other than taken apart, stowed in a vehicle for transport) shouldn't be allowed, as that wouldn't be necessary for the self-defence reasons you describe.

Not so safe really, there have certainly been cases of deaths in gun ranges - not least the 9 year old who shot her 'instructor' with an Uzi while having a fun day out. Even if you and your instructor are sensible, maybe someone else in the range isn't. Rather you than me.