O/T The right to bear arms

[Brin]

Just another day in USA.

Another massacre this time in Texas.
26 dead 20 injured by a deranged gunman.

Aren’t you glad we haven’t got this right?

[rileyev.the.third]

Just another day in USA.

Another massacre this time in Texas.
26 dead 20 injured by a deranged gunman.

Aren’t you glad we haven’t got this right?

It would still happen with or without the right to have guns Brin tbf.

You're always going to get people who either have serious mental health issues, are unhinged, just plain psychopaths or a combination of the 3 somewhere as vast as the USA. Without the right to have arms it may make it more difficult but they'd still get the guns even if they didn't have the right.

We've had massacres over here, Hungerford, Dunblane.

Also the USA gets the headlines but there's places in South America not much bigger than Rotherham where there are over a hundred murders a week!!!, we just don't see it on the news.

Still an horrific act and condolences to the victims.

[Brin]

Fair points Riley

[crashbang]

Devils advocate here.
Apparently if he had not been chased and shot by someone with a gun.
He might have gone on to slaughter more
(Story not clear yet)

[millertop]

It would still happen with or without the right to have guns Brin tbf.

You're always going to get people who either have serious mental health issues, are unhinged, just plain psychopaths or a combination of the 3 somewhere as vast as the USA. Without the right to have arms it may make it more difficult but they'd still get the guns even if they didn't have the right.

We've had massacres over here, Hungerford, Dunblane.

Also the USA gets the headlines but there's places in South America not much bigger than Rotherham where there are over a hundred murders a week!!!, we just don't see it on the news.

Still an horrific act and condolences to the victims.

good point but still if they had some sort of laws like we have then how many mass murders would have happened?

terrible news,population of around 400 is it? RIP to the 26 and all the best to the injured in their recovery.

[Grist_To_The_Mill]

Just another day in USA.

Another massacre this time in Texas.
26 dead 20 injured by a deranged gunman.

Aren’t you glad we haven’t got this right?

No we use knives instead, more environmentally friendly.

[sawmiller]

As someone who has a firearms license I don't consider the checks we have are robust enough - psychological state/fitness to take on and fulfil the responsibility is, in practical concerns, virtually absent. Authorities should be approach GPs for medical records as a matter of course - and if any concerns, follow up with an recorded interview. Even though we have some of the tightest controls, it could be improved. You can't stop this, but it wouldn't be so frequent or so deadly. As for assault rifles, even hiding behind a small tree or vehicle (unless behind the engine block) won't save you - although better to be out of sight than in it.

The number of deaths from this sort of thing in the U.S. is off the scale compared to here - and our procedures are not yet robust enough in my considered view. What about people's rights to go about their daily business without some deranged person shooting/maiming/killing them i.e. the rights of the majority?

[CAMiller]

Top news story here this morning, Seattle having one of its earliest snowfalls on record. 2nd news story, Texas massacre. Just 26 after all so less than 1/3 of the US daily average that die through gun violence and only 4th on the all time 'hit' parade. Yes, the right to bear arms is working really well

[great_fire]

With a country like the USA where you have so many guns in circulation then if you banned guns then criminals would still have them and it wouldn't be safe for the ordinary person on the street.

In this country the ban has worked because there weren't many guns around.

Here they're using knives though, and increasingly acid, but still better than guns, if those gangs in London who model themselves after the bloods and crips had guns instead of knives London would be like an American city.

Much tougher immigration controls would have been best way to have stopped gang crime though since many of the gangsters in London are African.

[great_fire]

Also the USA gets the headlines but there's places in South America not much bigger than Rotherham where there are over a hundred murders a week!!!, we just don't see it on the news.

Central America is the worst:

Firearm-related Homicides per 100,000 population per year

1 Honduras 66.64
2 Venezuela 39.00
3 Swaziland 37.16
4 Jamaica 30.38
5 Guatemala 29.62
6 El Salvador 26.49
7 Colombia 23.93
8 Brazil 19.99
9 Panama 14.36
10 Philippines 8.90
11 South Africa 8.2
12 Mexico 6.34
13 Costa Rica 5.92
14 Paraguay 5.78
15 Uruguay 4.78
16 Peru 4.22
17 Nicaragua 3.72
18 United States 3.60
66 UK 0.06