Yet another school shooting in the USA

Ive just watched Trump saying that no child must be scared in America. That they must take action on mental health problems. Whilst guns are easily available every citizen shoukd be scared.

A friend of mine did a UK/US exchange and was supposed to spend a year teaching in the US and living in the house of the American teacher who was living in theirs and teaching at their school.

They were so appalled by the US school where their children were supposed to go that they came straight home; at huge financial loss - loss of salary and loss of their own home, as they had signed an agreement for the US teacher to live in theirs. But they were happy to take the hit rather than see their children in such an environment.

Until a president/administration get to grips with the gun culture then this will go on happening.

But I cannot see this happening. Trump has been talking about everything but gun control in the wake of this misery.

How lovely of Trump to lay the blame on people with MH problems.

There are people with mental health problems in all other countries,, but these people, and other people, do not have such easy access to lethal weapons.

If the shooters are white then Trump always says it's mental health problems. If they're not white then they're terrorists.

varian I do not know, I watched it with tears in my eyes and anger too.

If they have mental health problems - how are they legally allowed to buy guns!?
and very

Trump is a republican which is supported by the gun lobby

I have lived in America and have many American friends. It never ceases to amaze me that whilst they all abhor these shootings when they happen they still say they have to have a gun for protection in their homes. It would be interesting to have a count of how many of the 3000 pupils homes of this particular school where this tragedy has taken place own a gun. And in haveing one or more their children would then have access to the firearms. Such lovely people but they have a huge blind spot where guns are concerned.

Obama couldn’t get gun laws changed no matter how hard he tried, I doubt that Trump will even try ( although even if he did, he wouldn’t get anywhere.)
So, the US will either have to put up with all these shootings at schools ( 18 of them last year) in order to keep their weapons, or decide it will stop.They will choose guns most probably.

I can’t believe that there have been 18 gun incidents (not all resulting in fatalities) in schools in US in 2018 already! Apparently it’s usually about one incident a week. I would be scared to let my children go to school there.

But Trump won’t do anything about gun control. The NRA (National Rifle Association) are a huge contributor to the Republican Party giving $37 million a year.

The genie is out of the bottle where guns are concerned. Security will have to be stepped up in schools which will mean more guns to protect the children from guns.

It's a no win situation now.

I am always reluctant to advocate rescinding citizens rights but in the case of the right to bear arms I really think the USA should be considering some sort of control. Why does anyone need to own a semi-automatic rifle?

My son and family live in the US and the gun situation scares the sh*t out of me.

The awful thing is, I fear people are becoming inured to these shootings. I feel that the response on my own social media and even to this thread are very muted compared to how it might have been five years, or maybe even two years ago.

It's either become a fact of life for people or people have given up hope of anything changing so there's no point in commenting.

That’s exactly it SueDonim

We all deplore what happened in all those cases, but we know it will continue happening.

I agree Sue - it’s just part of life in the States - their attitude to guns will never change so I’ve stopped caring or commenting frankly. Why bother? It’s a non story.

I care because of my small grandchildren.

I can understand why others now just shrug their shoulders, though.

The gun lobby in America is so powerful and wealthy nothing will change. As Annie said they supported Trump's campaign so he will do nothing. A big set back for mental health services that this is laid solely at the door of mental health problems.

How can anyone not care that young lives have been wiped out,

This is just another instance of impotence in the face of lunacy. No-one makes loud noises about it here because there is absolutely bugger all we can do. I feel for you Sue having GC at school over there. But what can you do?

As I outlined above, a friend of mine who was planning to live there for a year took one look and came straight back, not wanting his children brought up in this culture.

A little over a month after his inauguration, on Feb. 28, 2017, President Trump signed HJ Resolution 40, a bill that made it easier for people with mental illness to obtain guns. CBS News then asked the White House to release the photograph of Mr. Trump signing the bill, making the request a total of 12 times.

President Obama had pushed for the rule following the Sandy Hook massacre and it went into effect in December 2016. Had it been allowed to remain effect, it would have added about 75,000 names of mentally ill Americans to a database that would have stopped them from buying a gun.

On the day the bill was signed, the National Rifle Association (NRA) put out a press release quoting NRA Executive Director Chris Cox: "Today marks a new era for law-abiding gun owners, as we have now have a president who respects and supports our right to keep and bear arms."

The NRA release says that had the Obama rule been allowed to move ahead it "would have resulted in 75,000 Social Security recipients who use a representative payee losing their Second Amendment rights without due process." But in fact, the rule applied to Social Security recipients who weren't able to manage their affairs because of "marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease."

www.cbsnews.com/video/white-house-refused-to-release-photo-of-trump-signing-bill-that-overturned-gun-rule/

So one of Trump’s first acts on coming into office was to deliberately protect the gun lobby by removing Obama’s law to screen gun licence applicants for mental health issues!
A nice thank you to the NRA for funding the campaign. It’s pretty blatant isn’t it?
And yet he blames the shootings on mental health problems without accepting that he has actually made it easier for people with mental health issues to obtain guns.
That’s appalling.

What more can I say or add. Short term all I can think is that schools, colleges, wherever will have to be guarded by armed guards? teachers will have to carry guns? A dreadful situation but what else can anyone do at least short term to protect children and staff from this sort of horror?! Off course it's an appalling way to have to carry on but how else in a gun slinging nation can the innocent be protected?!

I have no sympathy with the US . If that's how they want to live, with assault rifles etc so be it.

Gun control campaigners say it is bewildering that after so many incidents of gun violence, politicians remain seemingly unwilling to act to control guns, especially when the American public supports regulation.

A poll by Quinnipiac University last November, found 94 per cent of Americans believe there should be background checks for all gun purchases, 79 per cent believe there should be a mandatory waiting period for purchases, 64 per cent support banning assault-style weapons and 64 per cent support banning the sale of magazines that carry more than 10 rounds. Tellingly, 63 per cent said it was possible to make new gun laws without interfering with gun rights as afforded by the US Constitution.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/florida-shooting-us-gun-violence-why-epidemic-control-permits-law-a8212946.html