Once again my condolences to the families of the children and teachers involved.
5,999,990 gun owners killed no one last night. Pretty amazing.
BTW, Ted Kennedy’s car has killed more people than all my guns did since I’ve owned them.
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Why don’t you worry about what happens in your country, and I’ll worry about keeping mine free.
here’s another one, sadly, in Germany.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/world/europe/12germany.html?hp
And I have to say tat yes, I would feel better if he had tried to push them out a window instead. Most of those people would still be alive
David,
you may have legislation to keep your country free, but at the present attrition rate, a time will come when no one will be left alive to enjoy all that freedom.
My prayers go out to the families.
From the Times story: “The attack left the country, which despite strong gun controls has seen several devastating school attacks in recent years, struggling to understand the carnage”
Despite strong gun control.
Ralph
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If you put a gun on the table, does it do anything? If you put a gun on the floor, does it do anything?
I do offer my condolences to the families.
But your not making a good arguement to ban guns, I live by Chicago, one of the toughest anti gun laws, also has one of the highest murder rates, explain that one please.
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TonyWalsham said:Ahhh, then we agree again, Tony... Proper gun control is putting the rounds into the zero ring.
Tom, If it is me who you are referring to I am not advocating banning guns. Just properly controlling them.
Gun control is not the ‘only’ answer. There needs to be a psychological shift away from the use of all types of weapons to settle arguments. This taken from Wikpedia as regards gun control in Australia.
"Historically, Australia has had relatively low levels of violent crime. Overall levels of homicide and suicide have remained relatively static for several decades, while the proportion of these crimes that involved firearms has consistently declined since the early 1980s. Between 1991 and 2001, the number of firearm related deaths in Australia declined 47%.
In the year 2002/2003, over 85% of firearms used to commit murder were unregistered. In 1997-1999, more than 80% of the handguns confiscated were never legally purchased or registered in Australia. Knives are used up to 3 times as often as firearms in robberies. The majority of firearm related deaths are suicides, of which many involved the use of ‘hunting rifles’.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics , from 1985-2000, 78% of firearm deaths in Australia were suicides, and firearm suicides have fallen from about 22% of all suicides in 1992 to 7% of all suicides in 2005. Immediately following the Buyback there was a fall in firearm suicides which was more than offset by a 10% increase in total suicides in 1997 and 1998. There were concerted efforts in suicide prevention from this time and in subsequent years the total suicide rate resumed its decline.
The number of guns stolen has fallen dramatically from an average 4,195 per year from 1994-2000 to 1,526 in 2006-2007. This is because of a campaign by police and shooting bodies to encourage secure storage of guns. Long guns are more often stolen opportunistically in home burglaries, but few homes have handguns and a substantial proportion of stolen handguns are taken from security firms and other businesses. Only a tiny proportion, 0.06% of licensed firearms, are stolen in a given year. Only a small proportion of those firearms are recovered, and in only 3% of thefts were they afterward connected to an actual crime or found in the possession of a person charged with serious offences."
What is most interesting is that in the two years after the Buyback was introduced (quote:) “In 1997-1999, more than 80% of the handguns confiscated were never legally purchased or registered in Australia.” and also (quote:) “Only a tiny proportion, 0.06% of licensed firearms, are stolen in a given year. Only a small proportion of those firearms are recovered, and in only 3% of thefts were they afterward connected to an actual crime or found in the possession of a person charged with serious offences.”
Also of particular note. Quote: “The number of guns stolen has fallen dramatically from an average 4,195 per year from 1994-2000 to 1,526 in 2006-2007. This is because of a campaign by police and shooting bodies to encourage secure storage of guns.”
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TonyWalsham said:The father was negligent in keeping his collection secure. Or the father trusted the son was responsible enough to give him access. Laws do not stop crimes from happening. They invoke consequences if you break the law. Ralph
Yup. The kid stole the licensed [b]GUN(s)[/b] from his fathers collection of 18. How come that was allowed to happen? Obviously the [b]GUN[/b] laws were not strong enough and/or not properly enforced.
Tim,
You said - “There needs to be a psychological shift away from the use of all types of weapons to settle arguments.”
I can’t agree with that. I think the way to prevent the argument from starting is to have absolute fear that everyone is carrying a weapon. And that if you are not polite, hospitable and acting like a gentleman. (The emphasis is on the “gentle” part.) 27 people will blow your ass away, cut your leg off and beat you to death with it. This mansy pansy attitude is just what the criminal, the psycho and the bully wants. Oh please sire don’t hurt me, my ass.
TonyWalsham said:So tell me Tony, what law could have prevented this disturbed kid from stealing a gun, any gun?
Yup. The kid stole the licensed [b]GUN(s)[/b] from his fathers collection of 18. How come that was allowed to happen? Obviously the [b]GUN[/b] laws were not strong enough and/or not properly enforced.
Tim Brien said:Talk about double-speak ala 1984. How can the government buy back guns it never owned in the first place? Just saying.
What is most interesting is that in the two years after the [b]Buyback[/b] was introduced (quote:) "In 1997-1999, more than 80% of the handguns confiscated were never legally purchased or registered in Australia." and also (quote:) "Only a tiny proportion, 0.06% of licensed firearms, are stolen in a given year. Only a small proportion of those firearms are recovered, and in only 3% of thefts were they afterward connected to an actual crime or found in the possession of a person charged with serious offences."
TonyWalsham said:Steve Featherkile said:Yes, I guess we do.TonyWalsham said:Ahhh, then we agree again, Tony... Proper gun control is putting the rounds into the zero ring.
Tom, If it is me who you are referring to I am not advocating banning guns. Just properly controlling them.Fortunately for the parishioners of Fred Winters they don’t always work and the perpetrators can be disarmed.
If the GUN his murderer used had been kept under stricter control, as in less easy to access, Fred Winters might still be alive today.
What if the gun murderer was kept under stricter control?
TEEN KILLS BURGLAR IN HOME
Corpus Christi, Texas — A 14-year-old boy shot and killed a man who broke into his family’s home Monday and threatened to kill him and his mother, Police Chief Bryan Smith said.
Smith said the man, James Slaughter, confronted a woman as she was carrying groceries into her home shortly before 1 p.m.
Slaughter forced her inside and tied her and her son up. Smith said the woman was able to loosen the binding and free her son, who got his father’s revolver from a security box beneath a bed.
As Slaughter tried to break into the room where the two were and threatened to kill them both, the teen fired a shot through the door and hit James Slaughter in the head, Smith said.
A grand jury ruled that no charges will be filed.
Investigators said the boy was acting in self-defense when he shot 57-year-old James Slaughter.
Corpus Christi’s KRIStv.com
October 9, 2006
David Hill said:David, our government has amnesties to allow people to hand in firearms with no questions asked. The intent is to reduce the number of unregistered weapons in the environment. Even you would have to agree with reducing the number of unregistered firearms in the community. This would take the heat off legal gun-owners who get bad press whenever massacres or home invasions occur.
Talk about double-speak ala 1984. How can the government buy back guns it never owned in the first place? Just saying.
In relation to your gun gratification story, a court would have a different ruling in Australia. The boy would be charged with manslaughter as no mention is made as to the offender possessing a weapon. The woman and the boy could possibly have escaped from the home via a window. No mention is made as to the type of dwelling. A person defending his home is not able to use unnecessary force in subduing his attacker. If the offender was armed, the victim could use a firearm to defend himself. Firing through the door and killing the offender is manslaughter, under our law. Being only 14, the child may be required to serve time in juvenile detention or placed on a good behaviour bond. He would not be regarded as a hero under our laws.