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The gun-control debate is not over

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    The gun-control debate is not over

    The gun-control debate is not over

    The Globe and Mail (Prairie Edition)8 Nov 2017

    It is downright depressing to watch Americans being gunned down in churches, at pop-music concerts, in Grade 1 classrooms, and to know that there is nothing anyone can do about it. The U.S. debate over gun control is, for the moment, a settled one, and not even the most gruesome killing seems able to prompt change. But that doesn’t mean anyone should stop trying. A majority of Americans supports gun controls, including a ban on assault-style weapons. Those who want sanity to return to this issue are not giving up. Yes, the gun-rights activists have the upper hand. From the President down, they spew platitudes and disinformation in the wake of each mass shooting, such as the one in a Texas church on Sunday. Donald Trump called the slaughter of 26 churchgoers a mental-health issue, a reference to the violent and troubled past of the shooter, and an effort to deflect the gun-control argument. But a 2015 study reported in The New York Times this week shows that the U.S. spends as much money on mental-health care, and has a similar rate of severe mental disorders, as other countries – while still producing five times the number of mass shooters as the second-closest country. Other gun-rights fundamentalists suggested last Sunday’s shooting could have been prevented if the churchgoers had been armed – a favoured argument of the National Rifle Association, and one easily debunked. How could people at an outdoor concert have fired back at a heavily-armed shooter raining down nine bullets a second on them from 32 stories above, as happened in Las Vegas on Oct. 1? And then there are those who always argue that the aftermath of a mass shooting is “not the time” to discuss gun control. They say it knowing full well they never intend to discuss the issue, ever. These false arguments, along with the quasi-religious belief that Americans have a constitutional right to own all the guns they want, are used to stifle discussion of a truth that is terrifying to gun lobbyists and the politicians in their pay: that the only reason America has more mass shootings and more violent crime than any other country is because it has way more guns than any other country. That is the only consistent correlation that researchers can find to explain America’s epidemic of mass shootings, according to the study quoted in the Times. Some day, this immutable fact will catch up with the defenders of unlimited gun rights in the U.S., and they will be discredited.

    #2
    ............why would any civilian need to own a military style assault weapon. Or any weapon capable of rapid automatic firing?

    There is a gun culture south of the border that has the pendulum swinging too far in a bad direction.

    And the argument of banning firearms? It's "some" of the people who own and control them that is the problem.

    Look at some of the video games kids have played in the past. How many lunatics are living out their fantasies? Or repeating what they pretended to do in a game. Or are copy-catting other "sensational" news stories(huge sensational media coverage).... seems mass shootings are becoming "normalized" in the US.

    A lot of these lunatics end up taking their own lives after the rampage.... why take a bunch of innocent people with you?

    Guns may not be as big a problem as the mental health of the people abusing them.
    Last edited by farmaholic; Nov 8, 2017, 07:38.

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      #3
      Gun control will never be over in the US
      ... Right to bare arms .

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by furrowtickler View Post
        Gun control will never be over in the US
        ... Right to bare arms .
        Misspelled in constitution...right to short sleeves taken as right to own guns...

        Comment


          #5
          Sounds about right blame the messenger. What If some waco decides to burn the church with people in it,disconects thier gas line and blows up a city block, drives into crowds with a vehicle, do we ban all those to.
          The police and military would have to destroy all their firearms also because if 1 is available someone will find a way to steal it and use it.

          Comment


            #6
            Paris has very strict gun laws how did that work out for them? Good thing there was an armed citizen in Texas to stop that crazy lunatic. Too bad no one had the tools to stop the terrorists in Paris.

            Comment


              #7
              https://nyti.ms/2hODjP5

              I read the referenced article last night. It’s an interesting read. Not saying anything new or surprising and not laying all blame on the ridiculous amount of guns owned in America and their lax laws. But it does show that those are the main players in the issue. And it does try to explain the main arguments for what’s really going on... mental health issues, video games, culture etc.

              Their easy availability of gun paraphernalia, especially the assault variety, make mass murder too easy. People say don’t blame the tool but a knife or bow and arrow just don’t have the same capacity. Armed with pretty much any other weapon than the ones he had, the Vegas shooter wouldn’t have been able to do diddly squat from his location.

              Comment


                #8
                This is simply not our business and beyond our understanding as outsiders.
                People like chuck can now cut and paste at will anything that strokes them and fits their world view.
                I'm sure to support ever more intrusive laws here. He would love to cut and paste editorials from africa to shill his carbon fight. This is part of his identity. He couldve made a fortune with greenpeace.
                Sitting up here and tisk tisking only serves his kind.
                Do the laws we have in Canada suit our needs? It would seem so to me.
                We dont have the gun culture, the inventory, or the same rights.
                Wouldnt it just be so convenient if there were no firearms at all? I think thats the only solution that would make everyone happy.
                In our country, AR style receivers are restricted. Others are not. Some are prohibited. Which fit "assault"?
                Magazines that can physically hold more than 5 rounds are prohibited. Black folding stocks are legal. Are they "assault"?
                If I owned a thousand flintlocks would I have an arsenal?
                In Canada the Texas shooter would not have legally purchased those firearms.
                The Santa next door with a legal AR who stopped him would now be charged with a crime. At least good and evil have a balance.
                I'm sure over time the Americans will work it out just fine.

                Comment


                  #9
                  These same events are now continually happening in England, Belgium, France and criminals don't appear to be following gun control restrictions.
                  What is the answer in Europe where there already is tight gun control?
                  Mexico is another country with tight gun control but somehow drug cartels don't seem to follow the laws.

                  Laws in the USA didn't allow this man in Texas to own a gun based on his dishonourable discharge from navy and his past where he crushed his sons skull. This evil aetheist had broken out of a mental institution.
                  Government incompetence between the navy and FBI didn't get this guy flagged as a threat to the public.

                  I don't think the gun control debate will accomplish much to reduce these events.
                  Keeping people locked up that are not fit to be in society and keeping out radical Islamic terrorists will have the most effect on reducing these events.

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