Whats happening in the good old USA

[Hans Tucker (Hans)]

Originally Posted by BPO

None of those Chinese kids died, right?

But that aside, these are all terrible things.

The report on the Chinese incident said only 2 of were seriously injuried, so whilst none died they all would have been mentally scarred for life by this traumatic incident as would the children from the school at the center of the US shooting. No words could ease the pain these parents are suffering, not being able to protect your kids from this sort of evil even though there was nothing they could have done.

[BPO]

Originally Posted by Hans Tucker

The report on the Chinese incident said only 2 of were seriously injuried, so whilst none died they all would have been mentally scarred for life by this traumatic incident as would the children from the school at the center of the US shooting. No words could ease the pain these parents are suffering, not being able to protect your kids from this sort of evil even though there was nothing they could have done.

But those victims in China are alive.

Think of how many people have been mentally scarred for life by the Connecticut incident.

Thank goodness the Chinese attacker didn't use a firearm.

Also, I don't think there was anything "evil" involved.

"Evil" is an abstract and simplistic fairytale concept often used by people to avoid facing harsh realities.

In my opinion.

[mozzie (Peter)]

i don't wish to add any politics to this thread.but am posting this thread as seen through the eyes of a 6 and 9 year old while watching the news last night a silence come over the two of them as this story aired what should we do turn it off or see what happens!!!!!!!!!!. we let them watch and very carefully explained what had happened the the parents of those kids who wouldn't be picking up there little one's.i could see my older boy lachlan(who some here know)from astro camps was very quiet and a little shocked...but why daddy over and over..just how do you explain it...and you can't shield them from outside news as tragic as it is...just careful words and hugs and kisses to reasure them.....

we had an incident here a few weeks ago and the man is still on the run with high powered bow and arrows living in the bush around us..we tell the kids not to play out the front of our property till this is sorted..and last night i was really able to explain it better to them after the news...this is why mum and dad say things and set rules,for your safety they know understand a bit better..

[supernova1965 (Warren)]

Originally Posted by marki

They would have to change their constitution and there is too much opposition for that to happen even in the light of such horrific events. Sad when an ideal is chosen over the cold hard facts of reality.

Mark

They wouldn't have to change it if they let them have the guns and restrict access to the ammunition make the purchase of ammunition next to impossible that wont effect the constitutional right to bare arms and have strict documentation on who had what ammo as bullets are much easier to track than guns.

[leon]

I find it so hard to imagine that a Human Being can do such terrible things to another, I have no words to explain how these parents and family must feel, just heart breaking.

Leon

[alocky (Andrew lockwood)]

Originally Posted by supernova1965

They wouldn't have to change it if they let them have the guns and restrict access to the ammunition make the purchase of ammunition next to impossible that wont effect the constitutional right to bare arms and have strict documentation on who had what ammo as bullets are much easier to track than guns.

Even here in Australia you do not need a license to buy an ammunition press capable of manufacturing 200 rounds an hour. Although access to components is controlled this is not even remotely workable solution, as a resourceful person can easily circumvent the restriction. You can't fix this with a post in an Internet forum. But licensing and registering purchases so that at least someone other than a gun dealer is assessing why an individual wants to own multiple firearms would be a start.
The people who commit these acts clearly are not sane. Ideally the mental health system would be able to identify and treat them before these things happen. Now 20 or so families have to endure what must be the worst torment imaginable. I feel sick thinking about it when I look at my two little girls.
My sympathy to the community now affected.
Andrew.

[TrevorW]

Apparently the guns belonged to his mother

The perpetrated had mental health issues

Maybe in this case


a) have a licensing system that ensures people with mental health issues, schizophrenia, depression etc can't get access to guns

c) people with a criminal history can't be licensed

d) people must belong to a licensed gun club and attend regular practice sessions and undergo safety training for at least 6 months before buying a licensed handgun

c) people must have lockable secure safes where ammo and firearms are stored separately at all times

much like we have in WA

[Larryp (Laurie)]

The editorial of a Sydney sunday newspaper states that the U.S.A. has 87 gun deaths PER DAY!

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Yes an absolutely terrible incident indeed by any measure, beyond words really....

In this context, the US is not an ideal place to live for sure but it is definitely not the worst by any means when it comes to the rate of gun deaths HERE is the list

Who would want to live in El Salvador

With Australia only experiencing about 1 homicide death by firearm per million people each year these days, the US with its wonderful and liberating constitution, enjoys about 30 homicides by firearm per Million

The US also experiences over 7X the rate of suicides by firearm and 13X the rate of accidental deaths by firearm, compared to Australia!

.... we must be doing something right in this area lemmi see...perhaps less guns and gun culture = less gun deaths..? pretty simple.

Mike

[MortonH]

Pretty simple, I agree.

It's undoubtedly much easier to shoot someone than, say, stab them because shooting is done at arm's length with no physical contact with the victim. I'm sure to disturbed individuals like this one it just feels like playing a video game. And the only practical way to "tackle" a gunman is with a gun of your own.

If the guns hadn't been available to this guy, he may well have killed his mother with a knife but he certainly wouldn't have been able to kill 20 kids and 6 adults without being stopped.

But the gun lovers have so much political power...

[MortonH]

Originally Posted by mozzie

we had an incident here a few weeks ago and the man is still on the run with high powered bow and arrows living in the bush around us..we tell the kids not to play out the front of our property till this is sorted..and last night i was really able to explain it better to them after the news...this is why mum and dad say things and set rules,for your safety they know understand a bit better..

Talking about bow and arrows, or crossbows, I was a bit freaked the other week when the Sydney policeman was killed near Oakville. It was within walking distance of Scheyville National park, a spot I "discovered" on Google maps recently and had taken my scopes to a couple of times not long before that incident.

[mozzie (Peter)]

Originally Posted by MortonH

Talking about bow and arrows, or crossbows, I was a bit freaked the other week when the Sydney policeman was killed near Oakville. It was within walking distance of Scheyville National park, a spot I "discovered" on Google maps recently and had taken my scopes to a couple of times not long before that incident.

they had the police helicopter here looking fot him and they landed it hear our house..a week later the police were everywhere again he must have surfaced..still in hiding as we have state forest all around us..scary stuff
the kids are always in eye distance at the moment...

[Satchmo]

At the end of the day, a primary school teacher in a small town owned legal semi-automatic weapons that her deranged Son used to kill a large number of people. This was the 66th mass killing in the USA since 1999 according to ABC News ( I'm not sure how many people define mass- killing) .

It goes without saying that the USA culture and political and legal system that enables this situation has some serious work to do.

[Shark Bait (Stu)]

Originally Posted by Satchmo

......It goes without saying that the USA culture and political system that enables this situation has some serious work to do.

Very true Mark, but I believe that the horse has already bolted on this one. The gates have been open for too long and there is a large number of semi-auto and auto weapons easily available. That doesn't mean they should not try.

For what it's worth, I think the Australian model strikes a reasonable balance but I can't see it being successfully copied in America.

[MrB (Simon)]

Originally Posted by MortonH

It's undoubtedly much easier to shoot someone than, say, stab them because shooting is done at arm's length with no physical contact with the victim.

Operating a gun involves very little risk to the user, it is a cowards weapon.

[Octane (Humayun)]

Also, you can buy assault rifles and ammunition from Walmart.

You can find them on their web site.

Can you imagine walking into Coles or Woolworths and buying weapons?

Scary.

H

[OICURMT]

Originally Posted by MrB

Operating a gun involves very little risk to the user, it is a cowards weapon.

Military personnel would tend to disagree.

[MrB (Simon)]

Military personnel would tend to disagree.

Not surprised. There was a time when wars were fought with honor, face to face. Killing is becoming an emotionless push-a-button matter.
It is too easy.

[Shark Bait (Stu)]

Originally Posted by Octane

Also, you can buy assault rifles and ammunition from Walmart.

You can find them on their web site.

Can you imagine walking into Coles or Woolworths and buying weapons?

Scary.

H

When I was at school in the 80's you could go into the local sports store and buy rifles and ammunition. Shooting used to be a sport at my high school and kids walked to school with their rifles. They were handed to the teacher before school started and handed back at the range. There were no safety breaches and all was well. Each person was responsible for their own actions and they took it seriously. It does not happen today. Please don't get me wrong. I am not saying that what was normal in the past is right or wrong. Since the 80's there has been a cultural shift in Australia. I simply cannot see a similar shift in cultural attitudes happen in America.

[TrevorW]

Again lets not get off the track here

People kill people guns are just a tool when all said and done we know explosives can easily be made. He could have walked in with a bomb attached to himself and done just as much if not more damage.

Killing someone in my opinion takes someone trained to do so or someone insane enough to do so, killing another living creature to a lot of us is abhorrent

I agree whole heatedly that the system in the US sucks just way to easy for any weirdo to get a gun

However even removing handguns from the general populace has not stopped weapons being used to kill people.

In the UK you cannot be licensed to own a handgun yet handguns are now prevalent in the UK brought in illegally from Europe.

Banning such weapons would

a) put a lot of people out of work
b) force the sale of these weapons underground

Banning drugs In the US has shown how successful such bans are

What they need is a system of control, license the gun owner not just the gun.

Limit the type and number of weapons and ammunition a person can own at any one time.

Fully automatic assault rifles for the man on the street, total ban IMO.