One man in USA kills 18 and injures many today! No one needs an assault weapon ever, So sad that the USA hasn't outlawed assault weapons!

Wow! Only this kind of cases are happening in USA.

This fetish for guns as if normal domestic implements to such an extent these killings are common, seems confined to the USA.

I know gun-owning is one the country's most divisive matters. I also know by no means all American households own so much as a pop-gun; yet others like to boast of their arsenals of powerful machines like assault-rifles designed purely to kill people.

I think I am right that there are even more shootings than these wilful ones, some tragically fatal, by accident or negligence. The latter includes occasionally, parents having carelessly left a loaded gun lying about the house, readily accessible to an inquisitive young child.

I know it varies from State to State, but the USA's gun laws seem very loose indeed. In some States it is easier to buy guns and ammunition than beer, in ordinary village shops! A friend bizarrely found he could, despite being a foreigner visiting a region that probably sees few foreign tourists. (He could replace ammunition he'd expended by invitation on his hosts' private range, on their farm, but could not prove being old enough to buy some beer.)
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Is there something in the American psyche that fosters shooting as the answer to all problems? It's certainly a violent society, but so are those of many nations.


Pressed, American gun-lovers often hide behind their mystical interpretation of a Constitutional, pre-Army [i]Amendment[/i]". So it can be [i]Amended[/i] again, even abolished, by national will via the nation's normal parliamentary process, but would need that will. So citing the Constitution simply evades the question "Why?" - do you want a gun, or guns.

Why own a powerful gun? Some, perhaps, by fear: "My neighbour has a pistol and looks a bit odd. I'd better buy a shot-gun." Others imagine some undefined, inexplicable apocalyptic event, even a second civil-war, so stock their homes and remote bolt-holes with food and ammunition. Still others seem merely, ghoulishly attracted to anything that can kill any living thing just because it can kill, and the more powerful, the more attractive. Like buying an enormous all-terrain SUV just to go shopping - except that the car is not intended as a killing tool.

Sites like SW suggest a nasty undercurrent of widespread, domestic, physical and mental cruelty in US society (the modern offence of "coercive and controlling behaviour" in UK law). Though perhaps we hear only from victims or boastful bullies, not about happy relationships, so the level is not possible to gauge; and domestic bullying is a world-wide problem anyway.

We also see SW posts revealing a strange desire to "nuke" any other country for anything. That thinking is as lazy as its slang, but perhaps from an outmoded American belief that you can shoot any country into the American way.

Hollywood, TV and video game companies make vast profits peddling images of extreme death and destruction for entertainment; very controversial, but often thought to numb some viewers' sensibilities and encourage the already-callous.


So although all of those factors may foster widespread callousness, it still does not really answer,

"WHY so many random killings, in public places, schools, work-places etc.; to a far higher level than in any other otherwise-stable country?"

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Very often the murderer is shot at the scene; by Police, some other gun-carrier, or suicide. So unless he (I have not heard of female "mass" killers) has left definite evidence at home, his motive is indeterminable. The motive is unique to the incident but some motives may be common in general ways, such as grudges.

Speculation, and blanket assertions by non-psychologists of the perpetrators' unspecified "mental illness", are pointless; but genuine analysis of left evidence and personal knowledge, may at least help explain the incident. Better still, if such shooters are also caught alive, and made to account for their actions personally, perhaps it may be easier to find just what are the common causes of the so many needless deaths .


Something must be there in US society to harbour a uniquely-American problem only Americans themselves can address; but [i]as well as[/i] unthinking gun-fetishism, what?

Sorry , guns are not the problem. Our constitution prevents knee jerk reactions like yours from violating our rights as Americans to keep and bear arms.

The problem is the government , which now does not prosecute criminals but will prosecute conservatives that oppose them . Children are being aborted, murdered , raped, kidnapped , and trafficked daily , yet you only speak up if they are shot. Guns did not commit these crimes, evil did.

By definition, ALL weapons are assault weapons. If someone uses a gun of any type to shoot someone, smack them in the head with the butt, or uses it in any other way that causes harm, that’s called assault.

As for kids? You EDUCATE THEM!!!!!! Teach them that bad AND good people have guns. Answer their questions honestly. And most importantly…never blame the actions of one person or specific weapon on the whole.

The US doesn't allow private citizens to own assault rifles. There are some exceptions but assault rifles have not been used in any shootings.

Now in Maine we have a mentally ill person killing people. This is a mental health issue.

It's very disturbing. A bad person with a gun almost always enjoys a tactical advantage bc they have the element of surprise. No one is expecting it to happen and even police(the trained professionals) responding to this bs can get killed too.

All bc we can't get serious with gun control

Wait wait

Is it Tragic this Happened ( You bet your A_s !! )

Yet..
Hadn't this guy even Recently
Threatened to do Exactly as he Did
Isnt so Professing that More then a Casual Threat

So..this guy was under "Observation" for what...2 weeks
Why Wasn't he Arredted for Terrorism
So... which Legal Agency and or People Dropped the Ball here
Enabling a Man who OPEnLY threatened to do Exactly as he did

The guy who Recently Nearly caused a plane to fall from the shy
Where 100+ could of died
That guy is charged with various forms of attempted murder or homicide
It turns out..F.A.A. apparently has major loop holes
That is seen to enable potentially unsafe pilots to fly

So here in Maine
Way too many died and are Injured
Yet
Why the Heck...wasnt that guy Arrested and or Mandates put on him for medical incarceration at the very least..for say..6 months or more

Yet someone ( of legal authority unfortunately ) likely was Like
Ahh..this guy was having a bad moment
Yeah year he is an expert in guns

Nah nah..let him go

Yet..our Failed laws and or Policies Enabled / Allowed this Tragedy to Happen

GOD rest the Souls who Now are in the Light
GOD help those still stuggling

PRAYERS !!

It is not the gun it is the person that pull tje trigger that needs be got rid of

Why outlaw guns? Guns are absolutely harmless unless in the hands of an idiot

Ive read on another site some responses from gun nut Americans,like"If youre not American you dont get it","Its not guns that kill","why should our safety be questioned because of some nut?"...
Among a lot of Americans seems to be a kind of inbuilt paranoia about their Government.
Like they want to be armed in case the Govt tries to attack them,or something.
As if theres a dystopia just around the corner...I think dystopia is already there about 15 years ago.They just like playing with guns.
The way the gun manufacturer lobby rules US politics is disgusting and should be broken down.
You may guess im not American.but i love America,and im sad to see the division and social upheaveals that are prevalent,that are driving people to kill.

* Guns are not used millions of times each year in self-defense
* Most purported self-defense gun uses are gun uses in escalating arguments, and are both socially undesirable and illegal
* Firearms are used far more often to intimidate than in self-defense
* Criminals who are shot are typically the victims of crime
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/gun-threats-and-self-defense-gun-use-2/

[sep][sep][sep]

Are there "1 to 3 million" defensive gun uses per year in the US?

The "1 to 3 million" figure comes from one "random-digit-dialed telephone survey of 4,977 adults conducted from February through April of 1993" and reported by Kleck & Gertz in 1995. Kleck says the random sampling error of his survey is less than 1%, but if so, that would produce far smaller error bars than 1 to 3 million.

Others have tried to replicate Kleck's data; here's a survey of polling
[quote]https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/gun-threats-and-self-defense-gun-use-2/[/quote]
Needless to say, they produce much smaller numbers and likely have their own biases. But here's a useful quote:

[quote]We analyzed data from two national random-digit-dial surveys conducted under the auspices of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center. Criminal court judges who read the self-reported accounts of the purported self-defense gun use rated a majority as being illegal, even assuming that the respondent had a permit to own and to carry a gun, and that the respondent had described the event honestly from his own perspective.[/quote]
What they're saying, in not so many words, is that guns are often used to intimidate. The guy who draws the gun may think he's preventing a crime. But putting another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm is the crime of assault (battery is when you make contact with the other person). So they're running these stories by judges, who say that many reported "defensive" gun uses are actually the offensive crime of assault, unknown to the gun user.

They also say "8. Criminals who are shot are typically the victims of crime; 9-10. Few criminals are shot by decent law-abiding citizens." i.e. they say it's almost impossible to find a criminal with a gun wound who was shot by a law abiding citizen.

And finally,
[quote]Victims use guns in less than 1% of contact crimes, and women never use guns to protect themselves against sexual assault (in more than 300 cases). Victims using a gun were no less likely to be injured after taking protective action than victims using other forms of protective action. Compared to other protective actions, the National Crime Victimization Surveys provide little evidence that self-defense gun use is uniquely beneficial in reducing the likelihood of injury or property loss.[/quote]

I'm not saying this Harvard data is perfect, but it asks a lot of specific questions about defensive gun use; and the results do tend to completely undermine the Kleck 1993 polling result.

[sep][sep][sep]

Here's the peer reviewed report from the two Harvard surveys:
[b]https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/6/4/263[/b]

Same author, an analysis of the National Crime Victimization Survey from 2007-2011 covering 14,000 incidents
[b]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091743515001188[/b]
[quote]Results
Of over 14,000 incidents in which the victim was present, 127 (0.9%) involved a SDGU. SDGU was more common among males, in rural areas, away from home, against male offenders and against offenders with a gun. After any protective action, 4.2% of victims were injured; after SDGU, 4.1% of victims were injured. In property crimes, 55.9% of victims who took protective action lost property, 38.5 of SDGU victims lost property, and 34.9% of victims who used a weapon other than a gun lost property.
Conclusions
Compared to other protective actions, the National Crime Victimization Surveys provide little evidence that SDGU is uniquely beneficial in reducing the likelihood of injury or property loss.[/quote]
SDGU = self-defense gun use

I wonder if those who are pro guns would change their opinions if their spouse or child was killed by a lunatic on a rampage. I don’t think anyone can even say it’s sad because if you do nothing despite it happening so frequently for so many years it’s called insanity

It's odd that no one responded to my comment about Israel. Terrorists in freaking hang gliders landing killing kidnapping. None of which would happen if the people on the ground had been armed .Even only a few responsible gun owners could have taken them out. Try that in the US . With Terrorists streaming across our border the anti gun people might find themselves running to their responsible gun owning neighbors for protection.

People kill people. Premeditatively.

Here's my solution. If an individual or individuals kill another human being premeditated, and the evidence clearly shows that, at the next available scheduled day, that individual should be executed.
Do THAT to one and all of them and watch the crime drop.

Once again, a nutter ruins it for those who are gun-owning, law abiding citizens. And let me tell you something. Until YOU have faced gun violence, and are unable to defend yourself, you don't know jack. I have, and there is nothing worse, and yes, absolutely please, I would unequivocally use an AR to do that.
Secondly, the "have's" cannot control and subjugate the "have-not's",, until they've confiscated all the firearms.
Good luck with that.

You implement the aforementioned solution and carry out swift justice, I guarantee you'll see a sea change. Straight up.

Assault weapons are outlawed, they were outlawed by the National Firearms Act when they outlawed machine guns.

Semi automatic weapons are not Assault weapons...almost all hand guns and rifles are semi automatic. Even Trump outlawed bump stocks, a device used to turn a semi auto into a full auto.

This guy did not have a Assault weapon and despite incorrect popular belief, AR does not stand for Assault Rifle.

@Patriot96

Funny thing about those “BLM Antifa riots”:

So, what"s an assault weapon?

Amazing how no one wants to define what makes a weapon an assault weapon. This is intentional for the obvious reason.

Nothing ever happens

Assault weapons are a lib term used to demonize guns.

Had the killer used a truck to drive through a crowd of people, would you then want to ban assault trucks? Bashing your head against the brick wall of the Second Amendment does nothing. But you would have a disarmed populace while the disease-ridden hoards of military-aged illegal alien men pour across our borders? America did not become America because it cowered to violence.

If the gun enthusiasts want to play with automatic weapons, move to Israel or Ukraine. You can kill all you want there, war is the only place where those weapons are needed. They do not belong in a civilized society, proof is in the news.

I see the IDIOTS Slade and Kodiac have blocked me from replying to their stupid remarks
Great cowards! Guns but NO BALLS

The shooter was an army reservist who taught marksmanship. He had, at the army’s insistence been institutionalized for 2-3 Weeks this past summer and had recently been reporting that he was hearing voices.

The failure here was not civilian access to standard firearms. The failure was on the part of the VA or whoever was treating him. Im quite sure you’re not advocating the disarming of the army but that’s who’s to blame here.

Being safe leads us to demand even more, like peace with other countries.
Conservatives understand that.

People kill people

Don't blame one nut job or the weapon he used

Blame the mental health system & society

@Carazaa I think it's hilarious that they know exactly how many people get killed at any minute in Gaza/Isreal but they can't count how many people get killed by a single shooter in the USA.

[b][i][c=BF0000]Lewiston, Maine mass shootings leave 18 dead as manhunt underway for suspect Robert Card
The Lewiston Police Department said they are searching for suspect Robert Card, who is wanted for multiple counts of murder, following two mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, that left 18 dead Wednesday.[/c][/i][/b]
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/lewiston-maine-mass-shooting-october-26

@redredred


Laws establish military forces but rarely dictate structure and man power.

But basic English dictates plurals mean more than one person.

And tell me without telling me you don't know anything about the second amendment beyond what the NRA newsletter tells you to think.

We need to figure out a way to stop putting guns into the hands of people who are mentally unwell. This appears to be a impossible ask. In the meantime, society needs to do a better job protecting our most vulnerable. 🥺

America's gun homicides in perspective

homicide rate vs OECD


per capita gun deaths by state red vs blue

gun deaths by state

That seems to be a common thing in the states.

The world is just getting more and more insane each day.

The President has nothing to do with it, it's the Gun Lobby and Right Wing courts.

The guy was mentally ill. All the clues were there. But sure...blame the gun. 🙄

@Patriot96 says [quote]And you know he used an ASSAULT WEAPON. Please give us a definition[/quote]

The definition in George H. W. Bush's 1994 assault weapon ban is acceptable. We should also limit magazines to ten rounds. Do you have any problem with the definition of a ten round magazine?

BTW, this is what the Dayton shooter used to kill 9 and wound another 17 in 32 sec. Does anyone really think they can make a case for this killing machine to be in private hands?

Yeah, that's a 100 round drum magazine. There's no excuse for magazines over 10 rounds.

The approach of fighting guns with more guns is FAILING!!!


Australia had a VERY effective gun buyback plus strict controls after a mass shooting, and gun deaths went down dramatically. Australia is a lesson gun nuts desperately want to ignore.