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John Crescitelli, a family doctor and 15 year-old Sarah Crescitelli’s father, was shaking as he was reunited with his daughter. He feared she had been killed.
“These school shootings have to stop. This is crazy. My son’s football coach died. It’s horrible,” he said. “It’s like Columbine across the street from my house.”
Asked by the Guardian if the tragedy should lead to stricter gun control for people with mental health issues, he replied: “I don’t want to get into a gun debate. I really don’t. What are you going to do? Confiscate everybody’s guns? We have millions and millions of weapons … I’m a gun owner. I don’t want the government taking my gun.”
Michael Irwin, another parent whose son attended the school, shared Crescitelli’s view.
“All the regulation in the world wouldn’t have prevented necessarily what happened today. It’s something that’s tragic, but what regulation can you pass that takes away the guns that are already out there?” he said.
His son was waiting to hear if one of his close classmates was among the dead. By late Wednesday evening, Irwin said, the student was still missing. -
Australia did fairly well with their buyback initiative to take guns out of circulation...
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There are so many guns in America already that you could stop selling them right now and it would have little effect.
I've seen sports store with aisles of guns and ammunition like supermarket aisles.
Pawn shops are full of guns. Gun shows are unregulated sales markets. Some police departments sell off guns they have seized, since forfeiture has become a big source of revenue for police.
Buybacks are a good start. Something has to be done about the millions already in circulation. -
“All the regulation in the world wouldn’t have prevented necessarily what happened today.
There's obviously exaggeration there because you could devise some form of regulation that helps to collect all those guns. But I wonder if there is a point there in that it's a societal thing.
I thought this was an interesting take devoid of gun legislation debate:
http://thefederalist.com/2015/07/09/the-revenge-of-the-lost-boys/ -
Yeah, we were the best in the world at single person massacres for a time. Go Oz!
We then banned more dangerous weapons (semi, fully auto, pump-actions, later on bigger bore pistols) and we've had nothing like Port Arthur since.
They had an illegal gun amnesty last year, where you could turn in any illegal firearms and not be prosecuted.
It works.
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Every American should be made to watch Jim Jeffries’ bit on gun control
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A friend was driving me around DC on a visit, we got lost and ended up in a bad neighbourhood.
Someone cut us off and gave us the finger as they passed. I said something like "what an asshole". My friend yelled at me "Don't make eye contact! Don't say anything! Everyone's packing (carrying a gun) here!" That's the problem. Everyone is afraid of everyone else, so they feel they need a gun to protect themselves.
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Somewhere between 84 percent and 89 percent of Americans support background checks.
I wonder what % would actually favour stricter* legislation?
*Ie to UK or maybe just French levels.
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Did you win?
He does hit the nail on the head though doesn't he.
In principle I don't have a problem with the concept that a responsible person should be allowed a firearm for recreational use, and it seems reasonable that, if needed, they can use it to protect themselves or others.
In practice though it's hard to apply and the risk / reward doesn't stack up.
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They’re such a paranoid nation. I might have posted this before, but I’ve got two pro-gun friends in the US - one is a Capitol Hill enforcement officer, trains every week. The other is a high school security guard, and has a concealed carry license. They both asked me about guns in the UK, “how do you protect yourself if you can’t have a gun?”
“Protect myself from what?”
They were baffled that I didn’t feel like everyone was always after me.
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No offense, but they sound like Mall Ninjas.
I think it's a lifestyle choice. The only people I know/have known with guns are from places like Colorado and Florida. They've had pretty simple views; guns are cool, part of our culture and I'm allowed one.
I haven't yet met someone from a big city who has one. Admittedly that is probably skewed by NYC and their fairly strict laws. Equally 100% of the rural Auzzies I've met owned guns.
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I think the USA is in a really difficult bind now where any attempt to try to limit the number or use of guns would be portrayed as exactly the kind of government tyranny the Second Amendment is supposed to protect people from.
It would have to be so clear that any decision came from the consent of the people, and it's clearly not going to come from a Republican-dominated Congress.
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Regardless of which version you look at, imo the fact that all start with a "well regulated militia/Militia" makes it pretty clear that the intention of bearing arms was meant in a military context.
Which to me removes any middle ground of personal gun ownership - if your basis for gun ownership is the 2nd Amendment.
Obviously more learned judges have taken a different view over the years.
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Well, inasmuch as they were arguing for a Swiss-style citizen army that would obviate the need for a large centrally-controlled military force that could become tyrannical, that's true. There's a reason why so much of the libertarian 2A supporting discourse is quite antagonistic to and distrustful of the centralised power of the federal government.
Edit to add - I don't share their views. I think trying to Britsplain the American constitution to Americans is a losing battle though.
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It took a bit longer than that, but yes:
DenGlanzig
Stonehedge
villa-ru
davidual
boristrump
hugo7
hippy
Dammit
TooTallTim
BRM
tbc
DethBeard
h2o-
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@Platini
I think the point people are trying to make when they make comments like that are how much money is spent annually and how many freedoms are impinged as a result of the supposed grand threat of terrorism, yet toddlers kill more people and any loss of freedom is fiercely opposed.
Although now I think about it, in this particular scenario, I imagine the same people would say they need their guns to fight terrorists. They don't need to worry about losing their liberty because they're white.