Do you think the USA is changing its mind on guns?

I doubt it. It is ingrained. I know a lady who lives in America and she is proud that her adult son carries a concealed weapon. She believes it is necessary so how can you change that mindset.

No the NRA has too much leverage over USA politics.

No, the US will not change in this regard. Apart from the fact it is embodied in their constitution the gun lobby has such a strong hold on the administration no matter Republican or Democrat.

No not gonna happen it’s ingrained.

It seems no matter how many innocents get killed they will not give up their 'right to bear arms'. They are still living in the 18th century. Back then you probably needed a gun for protection, today you really shouldn't need one. There is a Police force and the law says murder is not allowed. A civilised society would take that as confirmation that guns are not required by everyday folk.

To be honest I think its beyond hypocritical to arrest the parents. If you have a culture which is based on the right to bear arms then lots of people are going to die. Legislators and those who support that right also hold responsibility for those deaths.

The parents were not exactly helpful. The Times to-day

Charging parents in connection with a school shooting is rare. Involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Karen McDonald, Oakland County prosecutor, said she was not trying to set a legal standard but the facts of this case merited a criminal prosecution.

She said Ethan was caught searching online for bullets the day before the shooting. The next day a drawing was found on his desk depicting a figure with bullet holes and the words: “The thoughts won’t stop — help me” and “blood everywhere”.

His parents were called in for an urgent meeting but insisted that he remain in school and did not mention that his father had recently bought him a gun, McDonald said.

Charging parents in connection with a school shooting is rare. McDonald said she was not trying to set a new legal standard but that the facts of this case merited a criminal prosecution.

No, the people of the USA will never give up their guns. It is part of their upbring as normal. Like religeon if you have religious parents. I know many lovely Americans and lived there for some years and no way will they give up guns. I’ve often wondered when these horrific school shootings occur ,how many parents of the dead children have guns and also have argued to have them. But as I say , it is the normal in American homes and no matter how many gun slayings will go on being so.

It's their constitutional right 'to bear arms'. I can't see any President getting too far down the route of changing that.

The constitution was first formulated when much of the US was sparsely populated and without a police force.

I believe that what it actually says of carrying guns is something on the lines of "a well-organised armed militia is necessary for the maintenance of order". When you look a little more closely into that, a militia is a picked body of men of good reputation who can be called on swiftly in an emergency, and have been trained to use guns properly, the guns being kept under lock and key in a central place and issued to them when necessary. It is not every man and boy (or woman or girl) in the neighbourhood who wishes to own a gun and fire it and keep it handy, whether or not they have the skill to use it and the wisdom to refrain.

It does make you wonder, what will it take? But I fear it is too ingrained in their society, though I'm sure there are many Americans who do not keep guns.

GrannyGravy13

No the NRA has too much leverage over USA politics.

Exactly right Grannygravy More guns are bought to protect people against the guns they already have, its a vicious circle.

I think there is more to the parents involvement than meets the eye Galaxy

Absolutely no chance that views are changing. They are entrenched - some people for, some people against. We have American friends. The wife is a democrat, the husband is republican. On the day she attended an anti-gun rally, he went to a shooting range to practise.

There was a TV programme about the parents of teenage school shooters, of which there have been quite a few. They were just normal people, shocked to the core by what their child had done and having to spend the rest of their lives accepting it. It often happened when the child was isolated in some way from their school mates and then became introverted and resentful. One mother said she regretted she didn't talk more to her son, but he would just shrug and go off to his room as teenagers do. Another had been moved to a different school and was being bullied. It was all very sad.

It seems some parents are sometime held responsible when a child find the family’s gun and shoots another in the family home. These parents gave the gun to their 14 year old son which is illegal, children should be 15.

No. The gun lobby is so big and so powerful, the odd little spurt of antigun feeling rarely lastst longer than it takes to bury the victims.