DaveP said:
Please: US, not "American". America is a big place and most of it is not gun-crazed.
PRR,
I do realise what you are saying is true, but you have all grown up in the society that you now find yourselves in and the view from outside the bubble is quite different.
Some of us inside the bubble americans manage a world perspective. I believe at least one of PRR's points was that the americas involve two continents, and even N. America is three countries with different cultures. (Ask PRR about heroin overdoses in rural Maine, a much larger problem than gun ownership IMO).
I guess you value the right to bear arms so highly that it causes you to make the safety checks a lower priority in case it reduces your rights? Just guessing here :-\
It will be interesting to see how we respond to Orlando. The knee jerk reaction to take guns away from law abiding citizens is not in my judgement a good idea. It seems being on a "do not fly list", should make gun ownership more of a challenge. I do favor making it harder for crazy people bent on terror to arm up. It appears there were some balls dropped with this individual.
Automatic weapons should only ever be in the hands of the military, not in the hands of those expecting WW3, a zombie attack, the mentally ill or the grudge bearers of this world. The availability of such weapons just ensures that recent events will follow in ever more frequent succession.
It's a cause and effect that even a child could follow.
It is hard to buy fully automatic weapons here (legally), and not very fair for use for hunting game animals. Note the AR-15 used by this miscreant is similar to the military M-16 that is fully automatic, but the AR-15 is only semi-automatic. (Back in the '70s I had a roommate who owned an AR-15. I was just recently out of the military so thought it just a silly boy's toy. ) Of course the AR-15 is a serious high muzzle velocity weapon so can do plenty of damage.
As I have posted numerous times we need to improve communication between law enforcement, and even mental health professionals. It is too early for me to speak intelligently about this particular event since all the facts are not out yet, and in this hyper-partisan environment both political sides are in full spin mode.
I certainly don't say this from any feeling of moral superiority, (British hamfisted actions probably initiated the paranoia back in the 1700's).
Paranoia? Our founders were fearful of more than GB, they were fearful of all human nature when too much power is accumulated in too few hands (like a strong central government). Read the "Federalist Papers" for more insights, about out paranoia.
I say it in the spirit of sadness that you would have for a friend who has taken a wrong turn in life.
DaveP
Back at you and thanks for feeling sad. :
We have lots of work to do over here and over there too..
What is with all the lager louts rioting at football games in Europe this week? Maybe they need to pick a more appropriate target for all that anger.
The good news is that ISIS is being hurt on the ground where they live, but like a cornered animal they will continue to strike out before finally going silent (if ever). And the rouge philosophical seed they planted will be with us for a long time, and draw more crazy people toward the philosophy to use as an excuse for more bad behavior.
I feel a little embarrassed about making such a huge deal about 50 killed in the US while I pretty much read daily reports about similar terrorist attacks all around the world. I do not mean to downplay 50+ killed a few hours down the road from where I live, but this is only a big deal because it happened here. This will surely dominate the campaign news cycle for some time to come. I was getting a little tired of arguing about what bathroom people can use.
RIP for all the innocents killed. This will be fodder for multiple different political affinity group spin meisters (a crisis is a terrible thing to waste).
JR
RE: "outlawing all guns...". in many parts of the world, where gun have been tightly restricted, terror attacks have shifted to knife stabbings, cars ramming crowds, car bombs, and whatever. Asymmetrical attacks have far more options than just guns. It is a too easy answer for a difficult problem and at best modulates the behavior not prevents it. Criminals don't follow the rules.
PS: I have neighbors who are not what I consider gun nuts, but own multiple weapons. Shot guns and long rifles, they actually use for hunting game. Side arms they use for both hunting (protection) and personal protection. I am more comfortable with a current neighbor's ten guns, than my old roommate's one AR-15 (boy's toy) while living in suburban southern CT. In fact that AR-15 was stolen once when our house was broken into, but police recovered it.
