Here we go again 5 shot dead in Florida bank - your thoughts ?

@Imsleepy issue more guns

The problem IMO has many layers to be peeled back and found, and no one wants to do that. Too many palms being greased, too many agendas that will not be interfered with to name two...@Imsleepy

@MasterLee I assure you, you do not want that.

@soar2newhighs The overarching problem has layers, for sure. The immediate problem is access to firearms. Anyone who denies that is either ignorant or lying.

I agree with you, and we have to appreciate how that "access" is made possible.@Imsleepy

@Imsleepy I agree. Limiting access to firearms is like the war on drugs.

that's just another scapegoat/convenient excuse...

examine the applicable variables and the culprit becomes clear. Lets compare two locations, this one for instance. Crime is high in Florida, yet is low here; what are the differences?

access to firearms? Nope... they're even more lax/less restrictive here

how about ethnic/religious/political distribution? this area is about 95% white, and predominately Christian and conservative... Florida is such a mixed mess, I couldn't even venture a guess...

anyways, my point is; you can't "control" guns, drugs, crime, etc. by blaming inanimate objects; as with most problems in society, the origin of the problem is almost always at home; aka, bad parenting, lack of discipline/morals, etc.

@wildbill83 I’m not blaming guns outright, of course it stems from militant beliefs or psychological issues, but we can’t ignore the fact that guns are a part of the issue. They alone aren’t the primary cause, but they are used to cause an effect. It’s not something we can solve overnight, but people have to be honest, swallow their pride.

@Imsleepy guns are merely tools, people are the issue. And so long as there is opportunity for crime, people will use whatever tools they can find...

The UK is a prime example of that; enact heavy firearm restrictions, so criminals start using knives (and gotten to the point that more people get stabbed in London than shot in New York); and how do they respond? By banning knives...

I'm sorry, but that's just fucking absurd.

what's next? baseball bats, hockey sticks, tennis rackets, butter knives, forks, pencils, etc.?

@wildbill83 Yes, but people using guns is the major problem. You literally can not deny that. If the crazy people did not have access to guns, sure, they may use a knife, but they would in no way cause as much damage with a knife as any imbecile can with a gun.

That’s what happened with tighter gun control here. But guns are still avaliable to criminals, and even zippys (home made guns) are popular here. There are 10 times more stabbing murders every year than there had been deaths by gunshots in Australia during the last century. @wildbill83

@SW-User You’re all missing the point. Of course criminals are going to continue commit crimes. The issue is the accessibility to firearms in the U.S.

And that’s going to stop criminals from accessing guns is it? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 pardon my arrogance but that is a complete oxymoron.@Imsleepy

@Imsleepy you mean like Timothy Mcveigh?

My point being, if someone's sole intent is to maim and/or kill as many people as possible, there are far easier and more destructive means than a firearm

As calloused as it may sound, we're fortunate that the majority of the crazies only use firearms as opposed to IED's and homemade chemical/biological weapons (to which, if I were so inclined, could easily throw together with common, readily available household chemicals)

@SW-User You’re mistaking the people who commit mass shooting in the U.S. as the common criminal. You’re wrong. They’re people who have mental issues. The fact that these seemingly ordinary people have such easy access to guns is the problem.

But that itself can be a bit of a heavy long, invasive filtration process. They won’t do it that way, it’s too much work, I’m just pointing out how gun bans have left our country for the worst when it comes to home and self defence.@Imsleepy

@wildbill83 Just because it could be worse doesn’t validate a point that we should ignore the initial one.

you have to pass a background check (which includes mental health) in order to obtain a gun permit to purchase a handgun, carbine, etc.

The problem isn't access to firearms, it's that somewhere along the lines, someone isn't obeying the laws we already have; whether it be someone allowing someone else in their household access to their firearms, or someone selling firearms illegally...

and in both instances, putting more restrictions on all gun owners will do absolutely shit....

I personally don't think that the use of weapons in the commission of a crime should be compared to mass killings provoked by religious ideologies or psychological disorder.

Humans will always find a way to injure or kill each other. Take away weapons and they will bash each other to death with their bare hands. Mass killings on the other hand, would be considerably more difficult without guns.

Yes, there have been shootings in Australia, but with the exception of a few incidents of domestic related shootings using legal weapons, there has not been a mass killing in Australia since Port Arthur.

But I will agree that access to firearms is not the only factor.

trying to think of a way to put this so you'll understand how absurd "gun control" is from a practical point of view...

it's like creating new laws/restrictions for people who buy/sell drugs illegally, as if people who are buying/selling them (which is illegal btw) are going to abide by the law and stop buying/selling drugs... because it's illegal...

I mean, drugs are such a major problem nowadays, maybe we should just ban them... oh wait...

@wildbill83 I’m from the Southern US, so I’ve been around guns my entire life. We both know those “background checks” are far from any significant mental assessment. Take my father for example, he was crazy as fuck, shot his own brother and eventually was killed himself by another man with a gun. I still think accessibility is a problem. I have never once said to ban guns, because I know how ludicrous that is. We do need stricter regulations(along with addressing other issues involved) in my opinion and I guess we are just going to have to agree to disagree.

@Imsleepy "far from any significant mental assessment"

And what would you do? treat every citizen that applies for a gun permit as a criminal, hook them up to a polygraph and make them spend 3 hours talking to a shrink, then charge them $1000 for it?

Sounds like a good way to increase homicide to me rather than prevent it... 🤔

how about, since your father was crazy, lets just assume you have a higher chance/hereditary disposition of becoming crazy yourself and disallow you to purchase a firearm?

sounds reasonable to me, how about you?

or, Since crazy apparently runs in your family, lets disallow you to drive a car, operate heavy machinery, carry a pocket knife, vote, use the Internet, etc.

After all, you might snap one day and turn violent, so lets eliminate any chance that you may inflict harm on others 😅

@wildbill83 Here you are again making assumptions. It is people with your attitude, refusing to compromise in the slightest that are a contributing factor to the problem.