Madness! As everyone knows by now, another mass shooting has occurred in the United States, this time in Orlando Florida. Homophobe Omar Mateen, armed with an automatic,assault rife and a hand gun, waltzed into a gay nightclub and opened fire on hundreds of party goers. As it stands, he's left 50 dead and a similar number wounded. No doubt the death toll will mount. Regardless of his mental health, religious beliefs and probable emotional support for ISIS, why would a society support laws that allow such people, or anyone for that matter, the opportunity to avail themselves of weapons that were specifically designed to take human life? What place does a weapon initially designed for combat, have in every day life? As per usual, the National Rifle Association has gone to ground, and will in all likelihood, not be heard from for a number of days. No reasonable defence can be mounted in support of Mr. & Mrs. America's desire to own an AR15, a weapon that lets rip at 13.3 rounds per second. After the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook in 2012 when 26 people, 20 of whom were children aged 6 and 7 were murdered, the NRA waited several days before issuing a statement calling for all teachers to carry concealed weapons. After these atrocities, the National Rifle Association, rather than calling for a modicum of restraint, has gone on the record as proponents of looser gun control. Their answer is to arm more people. But what of the people? In a CBS/New York Times Poll carried out in January of this year, 47% of Republicans, 31% of Independents and 12% of Democrats in a nation wide poll, opted for the status quo when quizzed on what should be done in relation to gun control. In a Gallop poll, 41% said they possessed a fire arm in their home. This begs the question. Why keep a gun? Self Protection? Probably, but how reasonable is that? How many of these 41% of owners have in the past, had the need to draw down on a home invader? Mathematically, my guess would be next to none. But how many lives have been lost at the hands of warring family members and accidental shootings? If the philosophy of the National Rifle Association is to count for anything at all, then strictly for their own protection, each and every member of a household must be permitted to arm themselves. The streets must become filled with wandering hordes of gun packing people. If we follow the NRA's dictates, the world would quickly spiral into chaos. A place where anyone with half a grievance and quarter of a brain, gets his or her chance to play out their version of Dirty Harry. Sadly, nobody has the power to put an end to this senseless waste of life. It's now become a vicious and deadly ride that no one can escape.
The only hope I see (and I say this in all seriousness) is Donald Trump. If Hilary Clinton is elected President she will carry on with the same ineffective yet morally and politically defensible track followed by Obama the last 8 years - condemning (maybe also with tears in her eyes) and advocating tighter gun controls with absolutely no movement in anything. With Trump, however, I can easily see him saying to the NRA "Thanks for getting me elected, but here are the new gun laws so go **** yourselves". The necessary palms will be greased, the wheels oiled and he will push it through. Nothing else will work, the Americans are too far up the arsehole of their own constitution to let any number of murdered school children have any bearing on the 2nd amendment. The piece of the jigsaw I am missing, is what would motivate Trump to tighten gun control? Maybe if someone shot up Trump Tower?
I can't honestly trust "The Donald" Oddy. He's a staunch advocate of the second amendment. Interviewed by Bob Schieffer in October 2015. Q: You have a concealed weapons permit. Why? TRUMP: Because I like to have myself protected. Q: In the context of current gun violence, would you advise people to get that? TRUMP: Well, I'm a big Second Amendment person. As an example, for the horrible thing that just took place in Oregon had somebody in that room had a gun, the result would have been better. Q: So, should people get armed the way you are? TRUMP: Well, that's up to them. Q: What about teachers? TRUMP: I think that if you had the teacher, assuming they knew how use a weapon, which hopefully they would, you would have been a lot better.
Yeah Cyc, that's what I mean about the missing piece of the jigsaw - he'd need to want to do it, and at the moment I can't find a reason for him. Got to admit that Obama has got nowhere on the issue, despite his obvious passionate beliefs.
The situation is utterly ridiculous. They overturned a Bill that proposed stopping people with criminal convictions from being able to get weapons. As has been pointed out on Facebook, Walmart banned Kinder Eggs because they might be dangerous for children but still sell guns and ammo. The mindset of many seems to be: Abortion - ban it! Gay marriage - ban it! Muslims - ban them! Guns - banning never solved anything.
Just coming back to say I think the US missed the chance to change the gun laws after Sandy Hook. If the massacre of twenty 6-7 year olds wasn't enough to change people's minds I really don't know what it is going to take. Perhaps it needs to be something as simple as the restriction of ammunition? It is not right that people can walk into a supermarket and pick up a dozen rounds of ammunition with their tins of beans.
The first step has to be the very strict control of rapid-fire assault weapons, and then ultimately their banning (or restrict use to authorised firing ranges). I think this is something that the right political pressure could push through and I could see that happening if Trump were President and he could make some sort of compromise with the NRA. It would (hopefully) sail through a (likely) democrat-led House and would be at least a first step. In the current set up a Democrat President and Republican controlled Senate and House there is no chance of change. This would need to be led by a Republican President who can make the deal within his own party and convince the NRA.
I think the gun culture is too heavily ingrained to do anything about it. How are these for numbers. From 1968 through to 2011, more Americans died from homeland gunfire, than have lost their lives in all wars from the Battle of Independence through to Iraq. 1,400,000 at home as against 1,200,000 at war. The USA spends more than a billion per year defending itself against terrorism. During the period from 2001 to 2011, an average of 11,385 people died by guns, while the average deaths per year due to terrorism at home stands at 517. This is like a runaway train.
If a man is standing pointing a gun at you the fact you have one in your pocket is irrelevant! Let me stand against a lunatic with a knife or angry fists and I have choice of fight or flight, against a gun I have no options!
Can anyone answer when YOUR hatred of something becomes more important than your own life? I smell someone who was scared of who he was! #hadntcomeout
The land of the free. No words can adequately describe the stupidity of the Yank's gun laws. As has already been said though nothing will change.
Just to give you some idea of how 'gun crazy' the yanks can be, and in this case the law, here is a story that my dad showed me when me & my sister went over to see him. He has lived about 50 miles away from New York for over 20 years now and will not have a gun in his house... A prize steer had gotten out of his fenced ring and on to a railway track in deep Texas and the authorities had deemed this to be of high importance that this steer with it's long horns and grizzled look would casue a shi*e load of damage to any oncoming train. They delpoyed some 3 helicopters, 30 officers and about a dozen cop cars to 'hunt' this steer down. When they eventually found the steer they proceded to go ahead with what can be only described as target practice as they pumped over 70 bullets into the beast to stop him...!! My dad found this to be hilarious, as did me and my sister but the fact is, a lot of Americans love the power a gun gives them regardles of who they are and it's ingrained into a vast majority of the people that if your gonna have one im bloomin well havin one. It seems that tragedies like the latest one in Orlando still dosn't register with them, that surely this isn't the right way to go about the gun law with these wantless and random killings that these 'Americans' see nearly each and every week now.
Guess Standard & Poor's (S&P), Moody's, and the Fitch Group, rating agencies of all things earthly, will soon be downgrading the United States to "Basketcase", along with other even more infamous ones? And to think that they might soon have a slightly basketcase new President. Don't worry, our dear Frau Chancellor here will soon be a kissin' and a cuddlin' him on behalf of Europe, what's left of it.
Guess she will, Oddy. Have to say he looks a bit younger than that? Maybe he has a few dibs and dabs here and there for the cameras, but then everyone does.
