US woman accidentally shot dead by boy, two, in Idaho Wal-Mart

[subchris]

To be honest Ive been to America quite a few times and my sister has property over there but has chosen not to move due to the gun laws! I did feel safer in controlled park areas and to be honest I was more paranoid of jo public caryying weapons than criminals! How many pissed up arguments in the UK would have ended up
with a shooting if we all carried!! If they were part and parcel of our way of life then surely in the heat of the moment there are going to be a lot of situations where they are used just because they are to hand!
I tend not to put myself in harms way and I try to make sure my family are as safe as we can be and part of that for me is living in a country where just the Police, Army and Criminals are armed!
By the way I have no burglar alarm but I do have 5 shotguns😉

Chris(happy I live here in the UK with my family thanks!)

[gray]

I am not saying that everyone should have the right to carry arms in the UK. It can be controlled in anyway you like... as long as I meet the criteria to carry - sane, law abiding, tea-total, handsome and mature. My compact folding crossbow is quite hard to conceal in the warmer months and a semi automatic 9mm pistol would be just as effective so I have good reason too.

[stooo]

What part of law allows you to use (or even draw) a firearm in public though? Without that there is no possible reason to permit carry.

[beechcustom]

You seem defensive since your last post wasn't quite accurate. I would suggest you try and use factual info to back up your statements. I am not here to try and change your mind on good, bad or what's right nor do I wish to live in your society where liberties are taken away either.

BTW I don't fear hoodies breaking down my door, beating my wife, stealing my things knowing they have little resistance to contend with. Nor do I need a security alarm. The world is a large country with different people and things to contend with in different ways what works for you won't for others. .

Nothing inaccurate about my last post whatsoever. In the UK, the Police Force do not carry firearms. Only highly trained, specialist firearms officers carry guns. This inevitably leads to greatly reduced incidents of civilians geting shot and killed by police officers.

Your second paragraph highlights perfectly the paranoia sprouted by the pro gun lobby that, left unchecked, leads to a mother feeling the need to casually carry a gun in her handbag whilst out shopping in a supermarket.

[SimonK]

What part of law allows you to use (or even draw) a firearm in public though? Without that there is no possible reason to permit carry.

Well, Florida's 'stand your ground' laws for a start (cf Travyon Martin case).

[Dazzler]

For all those people that have guns I wonder how many would be actually prepared to put a round into someone's face or a couple in the chest.

[Huertecilla]

For all those people that have guns I wonder how many would be actually prepared to put a round into someone's face or a couple in the chest.

That is why I returned my license but after several VERY violent daylight burglaries very close I regret that.
The police will never ever be preventing anything nor in time for anything useful out here in the country. As far as the farm life out here is concerned they are just armed, enforcing tax collectors.

[Cirrus]

Well, Florida's 'stand your ground' laws for a start (cf Travyon Martin case).

Some states are also fine with open carry... surprisingly, or at least to me, Texas isn't one of them.

[Cirrus]

For all those people that have guns I wonder how many would be actually prepared to put a round into someone's face or a couple in the chest.

Depends on the situation... if it was him or me (or mine) I would quite happily do so. Twice.

[gray]

For all those people that have guns I wonder how many would be actually prepared to put a round into someone's face or a couple in the chest.

Of course, if the circumstances warranted it. It's just another human being - there's quite a few billion of us here so another one gone is not such a great loss, generally speaking.

[RobinMasters]

It's easy to armchair quarterback without experience. BTW I don't carry a gun nor do I feel the need. I also don't need a security system that over 50% of the UK posters here feel they need for protection.

Feeling the need for protection is a bad thing? So why does the average American gun owner own a gun?

I suggest you move to Chicago for a year and then provide the details of living in the USA within a city where until recently only criminals had guns and has the highest gun crime/deaths in the US.

I'm not sure what your point is about Chicago. Chicago has almost exactly the same population as Greater London. In 2012 there were 154 fatal shootings in Chicago, in London there were 6; London, where only criminals have guns.

[jk103]

Feeling the need for protection is a bad thing? So why does the average American gun owner own a gun?



I'm not sure what your point is about Chicago. Chicago has almost exactly the same population as Greater London. In 2012 there were 154 fatal shootings in Chicago, in London there were 6; London, where only criminals have guns.

RobinMasters

Most and probably a higher percentage of the average American gun owners only have them for sport(hunting, matches, etc) .

Here is a site that tally's Chicago gun crime:

http://heyjackass.com/

Also, what is the percentage of black gang members in Chicago vs London? This might give you a better understanding of gun crime since over 80% is in predominately Black populated areas.

[tekbow]

It seems to me those stats strengthens robinmasters point..

it also seem a little like, after demanding cold hard facts and numbers, when presented with a direct comparison that does take some of the steam out of the "living in fear of hoodies/we should all own guns" argument, the next course of action is to blame what you see as an unfair comparison on black people...

[number2]

Accidents happen can and do happen

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30702344

[Haddock]

OK, I will come clean. While I've been there around 100 times, I don't live in the US and never have. I also recognise that 'facts' in this area are very hard to come by and the statistics are very difficult to compare (eg in the UK we only report homicides that result in a conviction - reducing the number by about 15%). Finally, I don't believe suggesting "ban all guns" is an appropriate response for a country that already has so many of them. However, there is one aspect to the way this subject is handled in the US that has always worried me - the power of the NRA.

In particular, the fact that they lobbied against and managed to stop all research into gun related violence. For 20 years, research into car crashes has significantly improved the safety of cars (another lethal weapon that is very prevalent in most countries). I wonder what improvements in 'gun safety' might have been made if the NRA hadn't stopped this research?

BTW I know that Obama has now re-instated the research, but I imagine it will take some time to build a body of work.