Another mass murder of children and teachers

@MartinII Everything. In our country, that’s who consistently blocks any attempts made to control the influx of weapons, because they’re in bed with the NRA (aka the gun lobby).

@bijouxbroussard My point is that it’s absurd to think that gun control would prevent these outrages, or that lack of it is in any way the cause of it. Thankfully they are very rare in the UK. But the most famous, at Dunblane something like 25 years ago, was perpetrated by a legal holder of a gun.

@MartinII You asked [quote] What’s it got to do with republicans?[/quote]
I replied.

@MartinII [quote]My point is that it’s absurd to think that gun control would prevent these outrages,[/quote]
If only there were other first world countries where the incidence of such events plummeted dramatically ever since serious gun control laws were passed.. like Australia.

@bijouxbroussard But you didn’t convince me that it had anything to do with Republicans, hence my response.

@MartinII I don’t expect to convince you of anything, frankly. But as you don’t [b]live[/b] here and can’t [b]vote[/b], it’s largely [b]irrelevant.[/b] 😳

@bijouxbroussard Well, I hope I will always be convinced by good arguments. As I have said to you before, I’m sorry you think that only Americans can have views on American matters. I’d love to know your views on British ones. Finally, to avoid any misunderstanding, I agree with you on gun control, I just don’t think it would prevent, or is the cause of, outrages like the one in Texas, though it might well reduce them.

@MartinII I have opinions about other countries, based upon [b]what I know[/b]. And I recognize that since I don’t live in those other other countries, there are things I might [b]not[/b] know. I would certainly be cautious about arguing about it. There are people from other countries who do have insights about some of the realities here, and I give credit when it’s due. The fact is, the GOP claims that the phenomenon of mass shooting is a mental illness issue. Even so, they consistently vote against both any legislation that might keep guns out of the hands of the violently mentally ill [b]and[/b] legislation to increase care for the mentally ill. So essentially they have opinions but no solutions.

@bijouxbroussard It was Republicans who voted against stopping mentally ill people, people on Terrorist Watch lists, people with Restraining Orders against them, from buying guns legally. All while they incite violence against groups they don't like.

@Pitchblue Precisely. I’m guessing @MartinII was unaware.

@bijouxbroussard I think opinions but no solutions is what everyone has on this issue. I wasn’t aware of the particular point jwalker mentions. When was that and what was the voting? However, I think it’s quite unfair to say that Republicans generally incite violence. And of course some on the left do that too.

@MartinII Bottom line, [b]you don’t live here.[/b] And you can generalize based upon your own political biases and what you may’ve been told by the right- leaning here. But President Barack Obama recommended that regulation in a 2013 memo following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which left 20 first graders and six others dead. The measure sought to block some people with severe mental health problems from buying guns. It went forward that year, in spite of complaints by the gun lobby. Donald Trump quietly signed a bill specifically revoking it in 2017.
It’s not "unfair to Republicans" to state the [b]truth[/b]: They’ve stopped or blocked any legislation that might’ve curbed these mass shootings, mostly because they are beholden to the NRA and the gun lobby.

@bijouxbroussard So, apparently, no-one voted against. And what I said was unfair was alleging that Republicans generally incite violence. I think the bottom line is that you can’t bear anyone challenging you, and don’t like talking to anyone who doesn’t agree with you. So you won’t be hearing from me after this.

@MartinII Good, I appreciate that. I speak with people with whom I disagree all the time. But generally they are at least speaking from their own experiences here, as I am—not blind arrogance.

It’s people who are not interested in others’ experience who are blindly arrogant.

@MartinII That’s what I said.

@bijouxbroussard How do you assess "blind arrogance" when talking to strangers? People here post sound bites. Bias and prejudice are not unknown, but why assume a person is not speaking from experience?

And why does it matter anyway? People here could write a tome, and most others would not take time to read it, and they would still disagree with a poster.

@FlowersNButterflies It’s a conclusion I might reach after [b]several[/b] conversations over a few years when I find someone arguing with me over the realities of a country where I live and they [b]don’t[/b]. I do find that arrogant, and I don’t apologize for believing so.

@bijouxbroussard Are there a lot of nonAmerican's on this site?

@FlowersNButterflies Yes.