19 children and two adults murdered in school shooting in Texas

Democrats and the public have been begging for gun control measures for decades

We are not even asking to ban guns

Sadly, not sure how much Biden can do under these circumstances

I dont think people living outside the US see how at odds dems and reps are - it is a war about to explode for years, it is like are heading to another civil war

The coup d'etat on Jan 6th 2021 - if you hear it from some reps fanatics' pov, they are the victims and they were only expressing their opinion.

Couples have divorced for political differences, families have had rifts, lost friends....

Until the self-serving politicians funded by the gun lobby are voted out nothing will change. They know who they are. The American people know who they are. A determined effort must be made to equate their actions to hush-money payments they will not be voted out and nothing will change.

Probably said previously, but the President is really powerless unless Congress backs him, and there are too many that do not. It was the same with Obama. He said on leaving the position, that his biggest regret in office was not changing gun laws. My grandchildren are moving from New York state (not city) to Iowa, and I would like to think they will be a bit safer there but there are nutters all over the country. If it weren't for family, I would never set foot in that country again. (Other reasons as well.)

I don't approve either of the ease with which Americans can legally own practically any firearm they want.

However, restricting that freedom, if indeed it can be done without altering the American constitution, is apparently very difficult.

Sadly, even if new laws about ownership of weapons ever does come into force, they will not entirely solve the problem.

This is not just about being able to own a gun.

It is also about a society that has a lot of people, some legally in their right mind, others not, and a category who may be legally sane, but are certainly maladjusted, or desperate through what they perceive as injustice they have suffered.

Not only the US but all of us need to consider solving the underlying problems behind these atrocities. This means changing a long, long list of attitudes and opinions, from racism to the fact that violence is regarded by film companies, TV producers, writers and a very, very large section of the general public as acceptable entertainment.

For years we have been told that all children and youngsters can distinguish between fiction and reality and that violence in films is not harmful.

Surely it is time to consider that this is obviously not so, and is one of the reasons that the very thought of marching into a school or a supermarket and killing as many as you can before you are yourself killed occurs to so many people, not only as a sick fantasy, but as something they are willing to carry out.

Most of Europe has access to the same films and TV as the USA, strangely enough they dont have mass school shootings. It's a mystery what the difference could be.

Another loss of innocent lives, due to idiotic laws. He could legally buy a gun at 18 yrs of age, but it was against the law for him to drink alcohol until he was 21. Ridiculous.

Seems ridiculous 18 year olds can buy guns with ease yet cannot legally buy a beer until 21 years, Kindle eggs are also something they can't buy in case they choke on the small toy inside!!

will somebody please explain why it is against human rights to restrict access to guns as claimed by the NRA. It is claimed that a child is killed in the USA nearly every hour by guns. A lady that had her child killed by a gun stated 120 families a day have their life devastated by guns . I wonder where their human rights fits into the picture?

In my sad experience kjmpde it is always those with the loudest voices who are listened to while the quieter folks are ignored.

kjmpde

will somebody please explain why it is against human rights to restrict access to guns as claimed by the NRA. It is claimed that a child is killed in the USA nearly every hour by guns. A lady that had her child killed by a gun stated 120 families a day have their life devastated by guns . I wonder where their human rights fits into the picture?

I don't think its Human Rights that they talk about, I think its Constitutional Rights.

I was interested to see a "local" person interviewed about their views on owning guns in the USA.
They said that it is the legal right for US citizens to bear arms and they didn't want that right to be taken away !
What about the right of those young children and teachers to have a fulfilled life to it's own natural conclusion ?
I think that if it doesn't directly affect them (ie relative being one of those that were basically murdered) they seem quite happy to turn a blind eye - absolutely appalling!

I recall Charlton Heston making much of the right to carry arms; he announced on TV in his very best Ben Hur fashion that his gun would have to be prised out of his 'cold, dead hand', amidst great cheering. Those poor cold, dead children; it is absolutely horrific, and they were picked off one by one. Thinking of the terror they endured is unbearable, but what will change in America?, and how many massacres of this nature will it take before they do something to control the number of guns so freely available?

The right to bear arms doesn't need to include automatic rifles does it? These are military weapons. Why not restrict the type of gun to hand pistols only? That doesn't infringe on their damn constitution.

My thoughts too Chestnut. One gun per adult, the gun to be below a certain calibre and a minimum age requirement of 21 although older may be preferable, surely wouldn't be an infringement of the constitution.

How many guns does someone need to own?

I have just read that the husband of the older teacher to be killed, has died two days after the shootings, of a heart attack, leaving 4 children orphaned.......

400 million guns in America apparently and you can legally own a gun at 18 in most states but not allowed to buy alcohol until 21.
Guns kill more children there than Cancer or road accidents.
I heard an American man interviewed this afternoon and he said the problem is that there are not enough guns to protect people, that all school staff should have guns, be prepared to use them and have them within reach at all times. Absolutely sickening.

If America changed gun laws tomorrow it wouldn’t make a scrap of difference because there are already more guns than people in the USA. I can’t see a gun amnesty happening any time soon. You can buy a gun at 18 but can’t drink alcohol until you’re 20?! Utter madness.

Republicans won’t even approve of laws which increase background checks when buying a gun. My OH owns a couple of guns. He had to get a note from his GP, have the police visit the house to check where he would keep the guns and have a firearms certificate. The police are at liberty to call at any time and do a spot check that the guns are locked away safely.

The law that forbid to sell weapons like ar-15 expired in 2004 - after being valid for 10
years

The government has not been able to put it back into effect since then - despite multiple tries.

This is how military guns are in the hands of civilians- greed, lobbyists and fanatics are a horrible mix

It might not make a scrap of difference to ban guns tomorrow but it would be a start. I can't see any purpose in saying "it will never work"
Machine guns first, obviously.
A lot of Americans are law abiding. Make a law and they will most likely want to obey it.
It is far too easy to access weapons. In Scotland knives are the usual weapon of choice but although they are lethal it's not easy to kill a classroom of children with a knife.
The massacre of children at Dunblane, led to tighter gun law. In New Zealand, after the mosque shootings, their gun laws too were changed
Thumb screws were banned and those grim medieval weapons aren't used anymore. I think Madame Guillotine is in a museum.

Not sure if this has been mentioned but the husband of one of the teachers has died of a heart attack. So terribly tragic.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-61569655

England is a cup of tea.
France, a wheel of ripened brie.
Greece, a short, squat olive tree.
America is a gun.

Brazil is football on the sand.
Argentina, Maradona’s hand.
Germany, an oompah band.
America is a gun.

Holland is a wooden shoe.
Hungary, a goulash stew.
Australia, a kangaroo.
America is a gun.

Japan is a thermal spring.
Scotland is a highland fling.
Oh, better to be anything
than America as a gun.

- Brian Bilston

Hithere

This is more than a weapon issue

In several cases, the shooter displayed examples of intent in social media, friends, etc
In other cases, they were well known risky cases of mental health illness

It is also the lack of seeing the red flags and preventing a tragedy

You are are spot on Hithere. The shut down of mental health facilities are part of the problem. There are people who need serious help & being out on the street they can't get it.

The other part are people who don't want to "get involved" & won't speak out when they should.

My condolences goes out to all of the families who have lost children & adults in Uvalde, Texas. This also extends to the families who have lost loved ones in Liberal-run cities that have allowed criminals & the mentally ill to run at large with their blessings.

No gun owner condones the actions of criminals/mentally ill individuals who have been allowed to freely roam amongst law abiding citizens. It's the lack of prosecution & having a death penalty as a deterrent that has let the thugs run amok. It's the lack of locking up violent mentally ill people in the proper facilities that allow them to act on disgusting thoughts. They know there's no punishment for their criminal activity, thus no determent. (P.S. If you murder, you have forfeited your right to live. Thus, a valid reason for the death penalty.)

Gun owners have children/family members & will protect them. They believe anti-gun owner's children/family members have the right to the same protection. If anti-gun people won't protect their children, the legal gun owners will step forward & put their life on the line to do so when the Shit Hits the Fan. Don't poo-poo this idea. It's those who want to ban guns that are the ones who scream the loudest for the police come & save them. The truth is, the police aren't there for their personal protection, they're there for the investigation AFTER THE FACT. IT IS YOUR JOB TO PROTECT YOURSELF & YOUR FAMILY. And guess what? That calls for weapons folks.

Remember, all of your elected government officials that tell you that you have no right to self-defense in the U.K. are protected by guess what...armed security...with guns!

You can't stop evil people doing evil things. Look at your European history. At no time has any type of deadly weapon killed people by itself. It has taken a human to use that inanimate object be it chair, cast iron skillet, ball bat, stone, brick or fence post. I could go on and on.

Gun owners believe in the rule of law. However, American left-wing politicians favor their personal power over the lives being taken by criminals and/or mentally disturbed by not prosecuting law breakers or locking the mentally ill in facilities.

In America, we have a Constitution that was written by very brilliant men (yes, men) who had incredible foresight. It is very simple & clear cut what they meant. We in America are not SUBJECTS, we are CITIZENS. We aren't a DEMOCRACY, but a REPUBLIC. And I as a female I have the same rights as the men in this country. The reversal of Roe V. Wade isn't taking away any rights of women no matter what you think. Having the Second Amendment isn't causing anyone to murder. It allows us to live freely as God meant human beings to live so no one can take away our God given rights.

I've read the some of the comments & obviously some have seen too many Hollywood movies & read/watched the liberal talking heads of CNN-type news outlets that won't let a tragedy go to waste in order to forward their radical views. Also, the stats are skewed on what constitutes "school shootings", i.e., drug dealers shooting each other on school property after hours is a "school shooting", just as an adult suicide on school property is a "school shooting" with no kids around, etc.

Condemning gun owners, organizations & weapons stating they caused this tragedy is ludicrous. How about putting the blame on where it belongs, the one that committed it! And how about putting it on the prosecutors that won't prosecute violent criminals & let them back out on the street to kill again.

Do you really have to have rounded kitchen knives because your Masters have told you that you will stab one another if they have pointed tips? How do you feel about not having the right to self-defense in your own home?

Please take the time to read all of the founding documents of the United States, you may learn that YOU are the ones not free at all.

Words fail me.