Gun madness in the USA

[JamesMuenchen]

A couple of stories from the USA:

https://occupydemocrats.com/2021/06/02/ ... caC48sHlzU
Angelia Mia Vargas was out for an evening cruise with her son when a six-month-old Boxer puppy, Bruno, came rushing across the lawn to say hi. Panicking, Vargas drew a small-caliber pistol and fired three times, thankfully missing the dog but struck her kid in the abdomen instead.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/12-year-boy-1 ... d=78037996
A 12-year old boy and a 14-year old girl left an emergency shelter home in Florida, broke into an unoccupied house, discovered a cache of weapons, and fired on Deputies responding to the break-in. The owner of the house confirmed it was not occupied, but told law enforcement there was an AK-47 variant, shotgun, handgun, and lots of ammunition in the house.

Crazy.

[digitaria]

West Virginia to give away guns as vaccine incentive

[UncleEbenezer]

West Virginia to give away guns as vaccine incentive

First or second shot?

[didds]

You never know when "the government" are going to invade you.

[bluedonkey]

You never know when "the government" are going to invade you.

They've already invaded your body by putting a microchip in the vax shot.

[monabri]

Angelia Mia Vargas was out for an evening cruise with her son when a six-month-old Boxer puppy, Bruno, came rushing across the lawn to say hi. Panicking, Vargas drew a small-caliber pistol and fired three times, thankfully missing the dog but struck her kid in the abdomen instead.

That's ok then!

[Imbiber]

Gun control

Stance, grip, sights, trigger release.

[Itsallaguess]

Crazy

The Onion's got it right -

'No Way To Prevent This', says only nation where this regularly happens -

“This was a terrible tragedy, but sometimes these things just happen and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop them,” said North Carolina resident Samuel Wipper, echoing sentiments expressed by tens of millions of individuals who reside in a nation where over half of the world’s deadliest mass shootings have occurred in the past 50 years and whose citizens are 20 times more likely to die of gun violence than those of other developed nations.

“It’s a shame, but what can we do? There really wasn’t anything that was going to keep this guy from snapping and killing a lot of people if that’s what he really wanted.”

At press time, residents of the only economically advanced nation in the world where roughly two mass shootings have occurred every month for the past five years were referring to themselves and their situation as “helpless.”

https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819576527

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[gryffron]

The Onion's got it right -
'No Way To Prevent This', says only nation where this regularly happens -
https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819576527

And that link is seven years old. Which just shows how much progress they have made.

[Itsallaguess]

The Onion's got it right -

'No Way To Prevent This', says only nation where this regularly happens -

https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819576527

And that link is seven years old. Which just shows how much progress they have made.

Seven years?

I can beat that....

Here's a good clip of John Oliver from 8 years ago - well worth a watch -

The Daily Show - John Oliver's Australia & Gun Control's Aftermath -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVuspKSjfgA

Australia got almost all their gun-control legislation through in just twelve.....short....weeks....

You do begin to wonder just what it's going to take in the US for them to wake up....

Shame really...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[servodude]

The Onion's got it right -
'No Way To Prevent This', says only nation where this regularly happens -
https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819576527

And that link is seven years old. Which just shows how much progress they have made.

That Onion article is a classic - It has it's own wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%27No_Way_To_Prevent_This,%27_Says_Only_Nation_Where_This_Regularly_Happens

The article was first published on May 27, 2014, following the Isla Vista shooting. Since then, The Onion has republished the same article an additional 18 times as of May 2021, nearly verbatim, with only minor changes to reflect the specifics of each shooting.

- and it gets more relevant every time

Australia got almost all their gun-control legislation through in just twelve.....short....weeks....
You do begin to wonder just what it's going to take in the US for them to wake up....

The John Oliver reports (which I imagine is the same video as at here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0FLsIzNxkI - the original link isn't working where I am) are excellent and suggest that not much will ever happen in the US - and they're happy with that.
Jim Jefferies does a sweary bit on the difference between Aus and the USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rR9IaXH1M0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9UFyNy-rw4 that rings quite true in many places (even if his output is generally quite offensive - "I'm a responsible slave owner trained in how use my slave safely")

The UK was also quick to respond when "these things" happened

The Port Arthur Massacre was just two weeks prior to Thomas Hamilton walking through Dunblane Primary - handgun control was put on the table pretty quickly but I think it took about a year for the Acts to pass
- there was push back at the time ("would you ban cricket?') but there was a causal link drawn between guns in the community and the deaths

Similarly the Hungerford massacre the decade before directly caused the ban of assault rifles in about the same amount of time

That cause and effect relationship in the USA seems perversely distorted
- often you'll hear the fear that "only the bad guys will have guns" if you ban them
Perhaps that's true?
And I guess the bad guys are all sitting on massive stockpiles of Kinder Surprise (as they're banned in the USA and you'll be up for a $2500 fine per egg for importing them)

-sd

[BobbyD]

That cause and effect relationship in the USA seems perversely distorted
- often you'll hear the fear that "only the bad guys will have guns" if you ban them
Perhaps that's true?
And I guess the bad guys are all sitting on massive stockpiles of Kinder Surprise (as they're banned in the USA and you'll be up for a $2500 fine per egg for importing them)

The British version of that used to be if you don't arm the police there's no need for every minor crim to carry heat. It's also arguably true that believing that the police who are better armed than most paramilitary organisations don't have carte blanche to shoot you under pretty much any circumstances they deem appropriate reduces the urge to go armed if you foresee running away from them as a likely outcome of your actions.

[didds]

You never know when "the government" are going to invade you.

They've already invaded your body by putting a microchip in the vax shot.

No need for the guns now then.

Next!!!

[dragnips]

Just 18 weeks into 2021, and already the U.S. has experienced 194 mass shootings. That averages out to about 10 a week.
The tally comes from the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, excluding the shooter.
Here's Texas' solution:
Texas to allow unlicensed carrying of handguns
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57239610

[servodude]

Just 18 weeks into 2021, and already the U.S. has experienced 194 mass shootings. That averages out to about 10 a week.
The tally comes from the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, excluding the shooter.
Here's Texas' solution:
Texas to allow unlicensed carrying of handguns
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57239610

It's a different world with different views!

I used to think that carrying a gun was cool
- that I would want to carry a gun everywhere, that would be awesome

One day though something happened to change my view....
..I turned 10 years old

-sd

[DiamondEcho]

You never know when "the government" are going to invade you.

I can imagine it's hilarious/bonkers to those who live in long law-abiding countries; like Europe. But when you've lived years in a country where 'the government', the state or whatever genuinely could invade your home, arrest you and so on then it's not so trivial any more.

Ultimately it's down to 'Who rules?', the people, or the people the people vote for?

[AleisterCrowley]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57368211
"A California judge has overturned the state's ban on assault weapons, describing the popular AR-15 rifle as "good for both home and battle".

Federal judge Roger Benitez said the law went against the constitutional Second Amendment right to bear arms."

'Home & Battle' - sounds like a magazine
New this season - the M1 Abrams tank - ideal for home and battle alike

[moorfield]

This has always put me off visiting/travelling around the USA. However, can tourists carry guns too ?

[gryffron]

However, can tourists carry guns too ?

Yeah but, no but.

Only citizens have rights in the good ol' USA. This is one of several constitutional rights that does not extend to foreigners.

However, there are a few US states where foreign citizens can apply for a hunting license and then legally purchase a gun.

https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-t ... 856ceddbf3

Gryff

[DiamondEcho]

However, can tourists carry guns too ?

Yeah but, no but.
Only citizens have rights in the good ol' USA. This is one of several constitutional rights that does not extend to foreigners.
However, there are a few US states where foreign citizens can apply for a hunting license and then legally purchase a gun.
https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-t ... 856ceddbf3
Gryff

From the linked article: 'For example, a foreigner who manages to obtain a state hunting license and can show proof of residency in that state can legally buy a gun.'
And I used to live/work in the US and decided to go for 'Hunter education' just as a locally popular vocational 'hobby' course with a couple of local friends. That gave me (a Brit) a state hunting/firearms permit, which I was issued, ostensibly for deer hunting. As it happens I left the US shortly after before getting to use it but it was an interesting course to take.

To turn the question around, can foreigners get gun licenses in the UK?
https://basc.org.uk/firearms/visiting-the-uk-to-shoot/