Yep, and give one guy in a angry crowd a gun, and it soon descends into chaos. They need a change with the gun law, but I fear that's too late now. Every Tom Dick & Harry seems to have an automatc in the shed.
I can't even begin to tell you the change in my US colleagues if I even open that conversation. Sensible, well educated people flick a switch as they start to range at me for considering it. It's ine time that I play the "stats card" I just can't see a change there ever. Nobody even wants to make the smallest concession or change.
I suppose if you were a law abiding cit, and the law changed, you'd be the only guy without a gun. That s probably how its viewed. Its not just a right, its a necessity.
I've just seen a video of one of the police shooting on FB, and now I wish I hadn't clicked it. This shall be a sad day.
I agree with the first line you wrote. However they need to do something. I stand to be corrected, but I don't believe there are 65M guns in UK circulation (65M population) but there are over 300M guns in circulation in the US against a population of 320M. This tells me that the numbers don't help. The Americans I know tell me that is totally irrelevant.
At least they can't wheel out the stupid excuse that it only happens in gun free zones and "if everyone else was armed blah blah..." Didn't help in Dallas, and the police are trained how to use weapons properly...
There are many conducing factors which won't be changing any time soon. A lot of the senate/ordinary people are far too stubborn to accept change is necessary. It doesn't help that there is undoubtedly a huge amount of racism ranging from severe to casual in all walks of life across the pond.
The right to bear arms was extremely relevant in America's past...there was no bobby to come to your aid...in fact there may have been no one at all. It's a massive country. I would probably have a gun if I lived in the sticks there now. A huge error was permitting people to have guns that go way beyond self defence...no one needs a machine gun. It is self perpetuating....small time criminals in this country don't have guns, because the police generally aren't armed. American policemen get shot and killed regularly in the cities...bound to be twitchy and prone to getting their retaliation in first. Not condoning, but understanding how they might panic...as happened with the poor guy in the car with his girlfriend. Would it have happened if he was white? They do shoot white people as well, but proportionally fewer than statistics would suggest....but then the average policeman in inner cities probably knows that most shooters are black (because of the numbers in the local population). Again not condoning....but we are dealing with human beings here. The last factor is the gung ho attitude of Americans....it can make you a hero, but it can also make your response disproportionate. In some black killings, the police don't seem to recognise when they have the suspect under control and they carry on beating or even shoot the man when it is totally unnecessary. Perhaps aggressiveness in a policeman is seen as a factor that keeps you alive. This cycle is probably unbreakable, so no easy answers.
Awful. One gunman dead, 3 others in custody. The 3 others may wish they had been killed on site as shooting police officers dead means the death penalty is inevitable. Especially as it's in Texas.
Truly dreadful response to violence. You would expect a call for calm from an ex-Congressman after recent events and the promise from the Government of a proper investigation into the very reasonable request for answers. The most worrying thing is the type of person who can get elected in America.
If they weren't going to change after all those small children were murdered in Sandy Hook then nothing will ever, ever change them. A sad world when a rifle association holds so much power and seemingly don't give a **** about ordinary people
FLT wouldn't be the only one without a gun. Indeed, in America there are plenty of people who don't own a gun and never would. In theory, there is nothing wrong with gun ownership. Plenty of countries citizens own guns, though not to the extent that USA citizens do. The trick is not to use them. America reaches for the gun far too readily. In that scenario they should be the first country to have zero weapons amongst the populace, as they are not responsible enough to own them..
A sizeable and powerful group like the gun lobby can get you elected or not. No one dares to offend them. There is a large section of American society that does not trust the government...which actually stems from their War of Independence. This is why they have nutcases like the survivalists. They would especially not trust someone like Obama...who (ignoring his race) they view virtually as a communist for trying to introduce a health scheme!!
I agree with what you say, but fact is, they aren't all that big. What they do is mobilise their supporters, keep their eye on the ball and concede to nothing. Against them are a much bigger average American population who keep being outmanoeuvred because, like any average citizen, it isn't quite as important to them to demand gun control as it is for the NRA to lobby against it.
A rather clear video on the USA's gun ownership and gun use problem: http://www.vox.com/2016/7/7/12123040/philando-castile-nra-guns-police-shooting
