Shooter incident at elementary school in Uvalde, Texas - 19 children and 2 adults dead (5 Viewers)

[HoustonSaint68]

And these faces didn't mean anything either 10 years ago, so I know very well I'm on a fool's errand.

 

[BayouSAINTJoe]

I think at the very least we all can agree that 18 year olds should not be allowed to buy magazine fed , semi-automatic rifles...right? There's got to be a starting point somewhere right?

 

[Arathrael]

But didn't the homicide rate in the UK actually increase after the gun ban?

Assuming this is referring to the Firearms Act introduced in 1997, the year after the Dunblane massacre in which sixteen children and one teacher were killed, the overall homicide rate in 1996 was 11.4 per million in 1996. In 1997 it was 11.7 and in 1998 it was 11.7. It peaked in 2003 (when the 173 victims of Harold Shipman were recorded) at 17.9, and is currently (2021 figure) 9.9.

For context, the homicide rate in the USA in 1996 was 74 per million, and in 2019 was 50 per million.

So what is it that says? The homicide rate in the UK was already much lower than the USA, and we already had far fewer shootings. So why would anyone expect the 1997 Act to have resulted in an immediate reduction in the overall homicide rate here? Unlike in the USA, there wasn't that much to reduce overall. The goal wasn't to somehow eliminate murder at the stroke of a pen. The goal of the 1997 Act (and similarly, the goal of the Firearms Act 1988, following the Hungerford massacre in 1987) was to greatly reduce the chances of tragic events like those happening.

You know what hasn't happened again to date? Any school shootings. Children here aren't doing active shooter drills. We're not worrying about whether the school has enough guards, or whether they're sufficiently well armed to defend the school against heavily armed attackers.

I believe they want to ban kitchen knives now...

If anyone believes that, they should start seriously questioning the nature of the sources of whatever it is they've read that has them believing it.

The UK is far from perfect, and does recognise knife crime as a problem, and does take measures - sane measures, not 'banning kitchen knives' - to try to limit it.

But then, that might be one reason why the UK's knife homicide rate is also lower than the USA's. Per person, we have vastly fewer deaths from shooting, a bit fewer stabbings to death, and overall, just, much less murder.

That's not to say gun control is the one single solution. But, and I can't stress this enough, there isn't one single solution. It's not sensible gun regulation or improved mental health care or tackling gang violence or addressing causes of crime like poverty and lack of opportunities, it's all of them.

Any attempt to address the problem which tries to put everything on one thing is likely to fail, because if it doesn't do that one thing fantastically well, the consequences are multiplied through the absence of any attempt to address other factors.

 

[Boy_of_wonder75]

You are not going to change the 2nd amendment; PERIOD, end of story. You can add new laws that may make it more difficult for potential owners of guns to be able to purchase the guns. One would be you have to be age 21 and over. But will that be a game changer? We don’t know. It would be at least a step in another direction. The bottom line is. There are too many deranged people nowadays amongst the masses, who have easy access to guns. Either by the ability to purchase, or by theft. The root cause to all that we are dealing with, is the mental aspect of it. You cannot argue against people owning guns legally. But you can argue people with mental health issues are not being addressed properly. They are simply existing and are ticking time bombs, with a fuse that could get lit at any moment.

You have yet to propose the solution you're looking for beyond a vague "we have to do something about mental health" so it's hard to think you anything other than unserious about this.

 

[showtimesaints]

I’m not from America, but I just haven’t been able to stop thinking about this. Seeing these pictures brings tears. It really hurts!

 

[ChrisinNOLA]

Apparently there is a a NRA convention in Texas this week too. Man this is sick.

 

[saintmdterps]

My God, that hurts. I am a father. My daughter is 9.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Not that it makes a difference but if he was so furious about not graduating high school why go to an elementary school?
==================================
Elementary school shooter Salvador Ramos began his massacre by shooting his grandmother because he was enraged over his failure to graduate high school this week, according to a neighbor.

Classmates of the 18-year-old—who murdered at least 19 children and two teachers on Tuesday morning—are due to attend their graduation ceremony on Friday (May 27).

Ramos' fury over his lack of academic success sparked a fight with his grandmother shortly before he shot her and drove to Robb Elementary School to embark on his killing spree in Uvalde, Texas, the neighbor claims...........

Salvador Ramos Was 'Angry That He Did Not Graduate,' Texas Neighbor Says

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

When Sandy Hook happened my kids were 7, 5 and 3. I remember being nauseous and near tears the whole day. Occasionally just being wracked with grief. And it lasted for at least a week - that pervasive sense of grief. And it was months before I stopped thinking about it near daily.

Yesterday, when I first heard about Robb Elementary, I didn't really feel anything other than numbness and a sense of "well of course this happened again". That numbness has slowly turned into a low level sense of smoldering rage and frustration. But I was also shocked by how not shocked I was yesterday if that makes any sense. I'm actually becoming numb to this, God help me.

 

[HoustonSaint68]

Contact | U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana

www.cassidy.senate.gov

E-mail Sen. Kennedy - U.S. Senator John Kennedy

www.kennedy.senate.gov

H.R.8 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019

Summary of H.R.8 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019

www.congress.gov

Text of H.R. 8: Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 (Passed the House version) - GovTrack.us

Text of H.R. 8: Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 as of Mar 11, 2021 (Passed the House version). H.R. 8: Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021

www.govtrack.us

 

[efil4stnias]

I think at the very least we all can agree that 18 year olds should not be allowed to buy magazine fed , semi-automatic rifles...right? There's got to be a starting point somewhere right?

I have long advocated for this.

Having served in the US Army and having operated the M15, and seeing exactly what it does, outside of gun collectors, there is no legitimate reason, IMO, to own an assault style rifle prior to the age of 30 or so.

But ill start at making it impossible for an 18 year old to purchase and own.

 

[ilvdsnts]

Thoughts and prayers for people who are already dead is never going to save anyone’s life.

The thoughts and prayers aren’t for the people who are dead, its for their families and friends.

 

[HoustonSaint68]

 

[HoustonSaint68]

 

[HoustonSaint68]