Guns in the USA

Does anyone remember Michael Moore's film "Bowling for Columbine" which researched this subject many years ago after one of the first publicised school shootings? Of course, the gun lobby said it was all hooey. Less biased critics have also said that it was one-sided but even if only half the facts he stated were true it is still bad enough.

On YouTube there are many videos of Americans who have lived or studied outside America, giving examples of "How America messed me up". After they have all discovered that going to the doctor is not financially prohibitive anywhere except in the US, they all have stories of how they dived under the table when they heard a loud bang, only to feel silly when everyone is staring at them when they come out.... ( There are probably lots of videos demonstrating the opposite view but the algorithm finds similar ones once you start watching that kind of thing.)

* And why is it often the religious God-fearin' Right who are the most vocal - those same individuals who are incensed at the prospect of a woman terminating a pregnancy, calling it 'murder', yet who are seemingly well able to tolerate the murder of innocent people (and so many of them school children)?*

And I’ve yet to see any evidence of the same God fearin’ right giving a toss about what will happen to unwanted children if they manage to outlaw abortion in all cases. Don’t generally see them lining up with offers of help, as much as intimidating people outside clinics.

For the most part, there are checks on people who buy guns. The problem is that we are a very large country, with a large, wide ranging society. We have always valued our freedom. There's a difference now, though. The internet, so much easier modes of transportation, etc. make buying guns much easier. We have drugs now that weren't dreamed of even 50 years ago. Most of all, however, society has changed in that the people don't need to work to stay alive anymore. There are plenty of government benefits that will hold people over. Far too many people with too much time on their hands leads to trouble. We don't have the sense of morality or family that we once had. For crying out loud, one of our Supreme Court Justice candidates couldn't even say what she thought a woman was. People have lost their way in more ways than one. Most importantly, of course, is a belief in God and a shared system of morality. We shared a sense of what was right and wrong. Now there are a lot people who don't think much of anything is wrong. People are separated by distance from the beginning and the core of their family, which used to help keep people's behavior in check. I certainly think that you should have to be older now to buy a long gun. As far as the automatic weapons go, a lot of them are not nearly as automatic as opponents make them sound. However, it's like big game hunting once was. People think it's fun to go shoot a gun that will virtually eradicate a target. Eventually, someone who doesn't have a good grip on their mental health will get their hands on one. A lot of the shootings that we have are in the inner city neighborhoods where young black men and children die everyday because someone has a handgun. It isn't because they have a big gun with tons of bullets. Most times those are not the circumstances around the shooting. Did you know that people could make a gun with a 3D printer? How ridiculous is that? There isn't one single answer to the problem, except, in my mind, we should get away from the promotions, activities, ideas etc. which promote such bizarre behavior. Example, the Hollywood elite love to play with guns and get paid for it. They are constantly blowing things up and killing people and they get awards for it. It saturates the society. Yes, we have free speech. However, it seems weird that so many people want to talk in a language that equates murder all the time.

From NYT

U.S. senators reach deal on gun safety
Three weeks after 19 children and two teachers died in a gun massacre at a Texas elementary school, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators yesterday struck a deal on a gun control bill. The agreement includes enhanced background checks for people under the age of 21 and a provision to close the “boyfriend loophole” by extending to dating partners a prohibition on gun ownership for domestic abusers.

The deal, which still faces a perilous path in Congress, amounts to notable progress. But it falls far short of the sprawling reforms that President Biden, gun control activists and a majority of Democrats have long championed, such as universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons.

Democrats hailed the plan, which would also toughen federal laws to stop gun trafficking and ensure that all commercial sellers are conducting background checks, as an opportunity to pass the most significant gun safety legislation in decades. The backing of 10 Republicans suggested that the plan could yet draw the 60 votes necessary to pass the Senate.

Some Americans are still living in the days of the Wild, Wild West. In their minds at least. They sure have big mouths to match.

It’s a first step, if it gets put into law will it stop a repeat of Uvalde?.

NO

nanna8

Some Americans are still living in the days of the Wild, Wild West. In their minds at least. They sure have big mouths to match.

The Wild West of the 1800s was followed by the gangster years of the 1900s. Things seemed to calm down in the 1950s and beyond, but since then guns are very much back in circulation just like the old days. Amazing that as a child I watched those old cowboy movies thinking that was a bygone era and yet here we are. Nothing has really changed.

I live in California. We are appalled by the gun violence in this country. Our daughter thinks about sending her daughter to college in Canada. My young grandkids talk about intruder drills at school and how they practice staying quiet. I no longer have anything to do with some relatives who support Trump. I am so thankful for the January 6 Committee and for the Democrats.

Sounds horrendous Mom3, and no doubt there are many in Texas who agree, (surely?), but clearly not enough.
I wish those seeking change every success.

My fingers are crossed for the January 6 Committee Mom3.

I don't think those, here, who think Trump is great, understand just what this attitude to guns means. The relative who told us about the shootings nearby also checked in with her sister as she had heard of a shooting in a church near where her sister used to live, in Birmingham, AL. On checking it seems all three of her sisters friends who go to that church are okay.

But this happens day, after day, after day.