Are you saying this shooting has nothing to do with American culture and society (aka “the American Way of Life”)?
No. It doesn’t.
The last major gun massacre we had in Australia was in 1996. We have very tight gun restrictions here, you have to go through background checks, have the correct license, register your weapon, keep your guns and ammo separately. I’d say most people that own them are farmers or hunters, or recreational users like target shooters, not for self defence. We may have a fraction of the population of the US, but I’d say our gun control laws are working.
The point was to ridicule the “But, but the second amendment says…” argument.
The right to bear arms is implied to cover mostly individual with guns, not countries with WMDs.
The problem is NOT gun control. It’s the power that using a gun brings to people who feel powerless.
The problem is mental & emotional health. Most of the recent killers in mass shootings acted out of anger and poor mental and, even more importantly, poor EMOTIONAL health, and used guns as a means of achieving that power and control they were missing in their lives. It is far too easy for someone who feels the need to overcome their own impotence and anguish to reach for a gun and try kill the problem.
Guns should not be kept from people. People with mental and emotional issues should be kept from guns. Whether it comes down to locking such people up, or denying gun ownership if someone lives with someone like that, is a matter of debate.
Having at least some CCW teachers would also have been a good idea. Sort of like air marshals on flights as a preventative measure. Not only are the teachers closer to students than any outside security contractors and thus more likely to end a threat quicker, but they would also conceivably be less expensive to field, as they would most likely purchase their own weapons and ammunition, but also train themselves. I’d recommend a bonus being offered to teachers that get a CCW licence and a firearm.
Name another country, in the world, that is not at war, and where mass-shootings happen with this frequency, and I’ll drop my thesis.
While I agree with you that those who perpetrate these kind of actions are likely not psychologically/emotionally stable and something should be addressed in this direction, you might agree with me that being able to buy a weapon like entering a McDonald’s for a Big Mac, just because you feel the “need” to have one when you really don’t (numbers talk by themselves), raises the odds pretty much towards the probability that a similar scenario might happen (and it happens).
If you make it much more difficult to obtain one, and with a reasonable, serious and proven motivation (that only a few would have), trust me: a lot of people will not even bother going through all of this. Only the very few who really need a gun, will obtain it. But not the average citizen.
And if you don’t have it, you can’t use it.
Meanwhile, getting rid of all the “unnecessary” guns currently circulating certainly will help, for the above reason. If you think that would be useless, see the Australian case (-71.15% of gun-related murders in 15 years, all data-supported).
how do you even check for something like that?
Thank you Captain Suoivbo. I didn’t know that.
Yes, it fucking is. It’s a combination of both problems. The incredible ease with which you can arm yourself to the teeth in the US is scary. Of course we should target mental health. But guns should not be easily acquired “toys” like they are today. Our citizens do not need to be heavily armed, no matter what bullshit excuses they use.
I understand that you have a hard-on for weaponry because you’re in the military, but why would citizens need a fully-stocked arsenal, extended mags, concealed carry permits, etc? For hunting? Please.
Our culture doesn’t tell people to go on rampages and kill school children. It’s just the laws regarding guns. Use some thought please, because to seriously believe this is to be making uneducated assumptions on another country’s culture over what stereotypes, which have as much factual basis as Bigfoot, say.
Now I personally feel safer living in Canada where guns are regulated and not at everyone’s disposal, but I’m fairly certain the issue is not gun control.
Yes, these things always come down to “'murica rah rah”, I think the problem is a combination of American culture and mental/emotional health.
Now, I’m a depressive, and I know quite a few depressives, but growing up, I and everyone else I know were taught in an atmosphere of “how lucky we are to live in a free country”, not how “we deserve to live in a free country”. Americans (in general) grow up learning to stand up for your rights, fight anyone who challenges your rights, you deserve your rights, make anyone pay for taking away your rights etc. It’s an incredibly selfish culture. So when you get someone who is mentally/emotionally broken down, some of them don’t just feel hopeless and suicidal, they feel like making other people pay for it as well.
That’s just my two cents.
The past three deadly rampage shooters were addicted to first-person shooter games. I respect Second Amendment concerns as far as they go, but how about just banning “Grand Theft Auto” or “Carmageddon” or “Postal”?
Wut?
More info here:
Of course it doesn’t, and that’s not what I meant or even said.
What I meant is that the way your country’s laws and regulations works, you simply breed social outcasts that see no other way out than doing shit like this, and your country isn’t doing an awful lot to prevent that from happening.
Seriously, you can’t purchase alcohol when you’re under 21. In most states you can’t marry the one you love if it goes against an obscure and ancient standard proclaimed by a bundle of pressed pulp. You’re not allowed to use recreational drugs that have been used by mankind since the dawn of time, etc.
But anyone can walk in and buy semi-automatic military grade firearms, provided of course that they can pay for them (oh wait, you can probably get a loan for that).
Time to crumple the 18th century constitution and move into the 21st century, only then will these terrible events end. Look at Australia, as other people have pointed out in this thread. They used to be gun-swinging rednecks as well, then shit hit the fan, they bit the bullet (punz) and gun-related crimes went down with over 70%. It’s never too late to reform…
I wouldn’t get rid of the Constitution. Amend it, sure, but not get rid of it. I’m not sure if you’re only referring to gun laws or other issues when you say that, but the Constitution does not make homosexual marriages illegal, neither does it make drugs illegal, and the same goes for religion (as in there is no national religion)
All those are issues that can be resolved as other issues have throughout history. As a matter of fact, I think the US is on a good path right now to ‘modernization’, albeit later than most. ie states are beginning to legalize marijuana and homosexual marriage is being brought back up in the Supreme Court.
Now, back to guns. I’m not sure what effect more strict gun laws will do with us. Depending on the law and with how many firearms are already out there, it may just keep firearms out of the hands of honest citizens, not affecting ‘illegal’ firearms in the slightest. Remember, those who want a weapon badly enough will find a way to subvert the system and get one. Remember, I said depending on the law.
You joke, but people do believe that that is an option in America and around the world. A lot of people. You’d be surprised.
Yes, some people in the US are idiots. I think we’ve already covered that, thanks.
Fix’d