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[Andy B]

.... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43066226

Apparently it's the '19th school shooting so far this year' ..... 

[Varche]

Perhaps there is a theme? Americans? Schools?

[Mister Rog]

They are (arguably) the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth, and yet they are totally nuts 

Maybe we should have voted for the Monster Raving Loony Party all those years ago

[Bigron]

They are (arguably) the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth, and yet they are totally nuts 

Maybe we should have voted for the Monster Raving Loony Party all those years ago

We still can, there are plenty to choose from!
Don't the Americans ever learn about wholesale gun ownership? 

Ron.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Don't the Americans ever learn about wholesale gun ownership? 

Ron.

Nope. Gun sales will be up tomorrow on fears of increased regulations and the perceived need to protect oneself. 

[Viral_Jim]

They consistently vote, lobby and demonstrate in favour of creating the conditions that allow, or even promote this behaviour.

As a democratic nation they have decided that these incidents are a price worth paying.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

That would seem to be the case. Although Obama did absolutely nothing to take on the powerful NRA during his two terms.
The mindset seems to be that it is about personal freedom,and if the state has all the weapons it wants but wont allow citizens to carry weapons, then the state is a too big, powerful, and a threat to individual freedom.
I can understand this, up to a point, but surely after all those innocents  have been killed, and their parents having to bury them, the country should accept tighter checks and sensible restrictions on the precious right to bear arms. 
An aspect of this which the media rarely seem to investigate is the fact that many of the shooters, (as well as "IS" terrorists), are under the influence of anti depressants, steroids, or cannabis when they carry out their atrocities.

[Gaffers]

Although Obama did absolutely nothing to take on the powerful NRA during his two terms.

I am sure you meant that he tried very hard and despite having a majority in the House of Representatives he was still unable to pass any meaningful legislation on gun control.

[Gaffers]

Don't the Americans ever learn about wholesale gun ownership? 

Ron.

Nope. Gun sales will be up tomorrow on fears of increased regulations and the perceived need to protect oneself. 

Spot on.  Being a country bumpkin at heart and ex-mil I like guns.  I like shooting.  I like hunting (for food NOT trophies) I like developing the skill to make a good shot and when I move to the US I fully intend on pursuing target shooting and hunting when the occasion allows.  That said I find the ease of access to weapons which you just have no need for in civil society very alarming.  A good friend of mine out there hunts..... with an AR15!   He justifies it by saying that he uses the 5 round mag as per the law for hunting.  My mindset is for one shot one kill.  If I cannot get a good shot that will kill the animal I don't take it.  To that end I do not need anything but a bolt-action single load weapon or better still a bow and arrow (now getting a deer with a bow, that takes skill!).

I always return to the German system for hunting/firearm licenses.  3 year course to get your hunting permit, 2 of which are gun safety and shooting skills.  If ever you screw up, shoot the wrong animal, cause unnecessary suffering, etc you lose it.  Firearm ownership should be a privilege not a right, but the 2nd amendment says otherwise.

[Lazydocker]

The sad thing is that with all the weapons owned by the general public, there is still not a single instance of one of those legal gun carriers stopping a massacre or terror attack, yet it is one of the big excuses used for maintaining the right to bear arms

[Mister Rog]

An excellent little speach by US Senator Sandy Hook, worth a watch . . .


                                                    THIS HAPPENS NOWHERE ELSE

Mr Trump is pretty quiet on this so far. If it had involved Muslims with beards I think that most Arab countries would have been invaded by now.

[aaronjb]

The sad thing is that with all the weapons owned by the general public, there is still not a single instance of one of those legal gun carriers stopping a massacre or terror attack, yet it is one of the big excuses used for maintaining the right to bear arms

Didn't a "good guy with a gun" shoot the bloke who was shooting up a church recently? Although I seem to recall the "bad guy with a gun" had run out of bullets at that point, so.. I see your point!

[Kevin Wood]

The sad thing is that with all the weapons owned by the general public, there is still not a single instance of one of those legal gun carriers stopping a massacre or terror attack, yet it is one of the big excuses used for maintaining the right to bear arms

Didn't a "good guy with a gun" shoot the bloke who was shooting up a church recently? Although I seem to recall the "bad guy with a gun" had run out of bullets at that point, so.. I see your point!

The thing is, even when the "good guy with a gun" is a Police trained marksman with a rifle the success rate in terms of stopping terrorist acts BEFORE anyone gets hurt is tiny. For the disinterested punter who picked up a hand gun at the local equivalent of Millets and chucked it in his glove compartment, it's only ever going to end badly.

I'm all for properly vetted people owning and using guns as a sport, and I think it's a shame that a lot of that got killed off in this country in the knee-jerk that followed Dunblane. Any pretence of the public carrying guns as some sort of right to protect themselves is surely laughable. I also don't really see the need for most guns to ever leave the gun club where they are used.

.. and if you're so rubbish at your sport that you need automatic weapons, you probably need to find a new sport.

[Doctor Gollum]

Trouble is, with the threat of litigation being so great, you need to be damn sure that 'taking the shot' to curtail an attack is completely justified.

The risks of then being shot or shooting a bystander notwithstanding.

It's a poor analogy, but at work, we have a permanent team of highly trained fire fighters with the best equipment who can get anywhere on site within 2-4 minutes. In spite of this, everybody on site has to have compulsory annual fire safety training which includes selecting and using a fire extinguisher... With the caveat that we shouldn't tackle anything beyond an office waste bin. Ergo, in spite of training, walking away and raising the alarm is always the preferred option... 

Removing the Second Amendment will, and should never happen. However licensing of gun ownership could be done in a similar way to the issuing of a driving licence, which in the States is generally a staged process. This way, you could only graduate to more powerful/dangerous weapons with formal, regulated training and professional supervision.

Won't stop these types of incidents from occurring, but it might help educate the broader population...

[Kevin Wood]

Removing the Second Amendment will, and should never happen.

You have to wonder how relevant it is in modern times, however. I suppose we have a similar right but with modern recognition that guns must be tightly controlled, not carried in public and that any use for our "defence" has been contracted-out to competent authorities.