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USA and Guns --- Boy, 5, Kills Sister, 2, With Children's Rifle ---
britishtrident - 1/5/13 at 08:42 PM

From Sky News not picked up by BBC yet

"Boy, 5, Kills Sister, 2, With Children's Rifle"
link http://news.sky.com/story/1085554/boy-5-kills-sister-2-with-childrens-rifle

When will they ever learn USA sick sad country hooked on guns.


Ian Jones - 1/5/13 at 09:16 PM

i dont think it is the guns fault, but more due to bad parents. who would leave a 5 year old with any type of weapon, gun, knife, etc etc

i bet if aot of these people lived in high flats and not in the houses they do, there would be alot more deaths due to falls.


bi22le - 1/5/13 at 09:52 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Ian Jones
i dont think it is the guns fault, but more due to bad parents. who would leave a 5 year old with any type of weapon, gun, knife, etc etc

i bet if aot of these people lived in high flats and not in the houses they do, there would be alot more deaths due to falls.


We could only hope. . .


loggyboy - 1/5/13 at 09:53 PM

Guns dont kill people, rabbits do....


AdrianH - 1/5/13 at 09:56 PM

Reading the article I get a sense of acceptance from them that this thing happens!

"Down in Kentucky where we're from, you know, guns are passed down from generation to generation. You start at a young age with guns for hunting and everything," Mr White said. "Accidents happen with guns."

I think it is tragic, What is the lad going to think of himself from now on, what will the parents think for letting their lad have a gun.

I do not understand the culture!

Adrian

[Edited on 1-5-13 by AdrianH]


RK - 1/5/13 at 10:18 PM

Whatever you do, don't bring it up with Americans. It is their religion, and their own misinterpretation of their constitution. Many people know it's all out of whack, but they get silenced fairly quickly. It's very sad, whatever is going on down there in Youall Land, and one big reason why I chose not to live there.


Confused but excited. - 1/5/13 at 10:40 PM

Accidents do not happen with guns. Negligents do.


splitrivet - 1/5/13 at 11:22 PM

What sort of nutter would give a gun as a present to a 5 year old.
Cheers,
Bob


Rosco - 2/5/13 at 12:22 AM

Interesting comments above. I'm in Texas at the moment on business and here a just a couple of simple facts to consider.

9/11 was a tragedy with 2,000+ people losing their lives - as a result America went to war (with the UK) killing 100,000s of in Iraq and Afganistan.

Last year 33,000 people died in the US from fire arms incidents (well over 10 time the number of people who dies in 9/11) and over 350,000 in the last 10 years - and apparently that's OK. If there is a problem the gun lobby claims the answer is to have more guns.

???????????


Bare - 2/5/13 at 02:57 AM

There's No being too smug there .
Colleague I worked with, who came from Alabama, 'found' 2 Czech assault rifles (on separate occaisions) lying by the side of the road while he was driving home.
Clearly they are that plentiful :-)
Wayyy too plentiful hardware, coupled with a sadly deteriorated educational system is proving a poor mix.
But from what I've been told and read for myself, the UK's educational system is close to equally rotted... certainly so the 'free' one. Public and private labels are paradoxically reversed, are they not?
Only redeeming difference being that in the UK, weapons are a bit harder to get.. legally.


SPYDER - 2/5/13 at 07:18 AM

The way many Americans will see it will be that if the two year old had been armed then she may have been able to defend herself.


EX01 - 2/5/13 at 07:20 AM

News Flash - Americans are generally dumb –

You only have to watch Prison Break to understand how much things need spelling out to them.


puma931 - 2/5/13 at 09:12 AM

Since Newtown (14th December) 3,803 peole have been killed by guns in the US! Thats around 800 more than 911!!
Of this number, there were 50 children, 165 teenagers and 2953 adults. Nevermind a "War on Terror", they seriously need to sort out their gun rules!


jeffw - 2/5/13 at 10:44 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Bare
There's No being too smug there .
Colleague I worked with, who came from Alabama, 'found' 2 Czech assault rifles (on separate occaisions) lying by the side of the road while he was driving home.
Clearly they are that plentiful :-)
Wayyy too plentiful hardware, coupled with a sadly deteriorated educational system is proving a poor mix.
But from what I've been told and read for myself, the UK's educational system is close to equally rotted... certainly so the 'free' one. Public and private labels are paradoxically reversed, are they not?
Only redeeming difference being that in the UK, weapons are a bit harder to get.. legally.


Public and private are not reversed as such. 'Public' schools are independent of the state and are fee paying, a fuller description is here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_school_%28United_Kingdom%29

I do not have any knowledge of the state education system in the US but the UK system seems to work, by and large. It is dependent on the calibre and socio-economic background of the students and parents in the same way as the US system would be.

Gun availability and Gun crime in the UK is a small fraction of the incidents in the US.

"The United Kingdom has one of the lowest rates of gun homicides in the world. There were 0.07 recorded intentional homicides committed with a firearm per 100,000 inhabitants in 2010, compared to the 3.0 in the United States (over 40 times higher) and 0.21 in Germany (3x higher).[4]"

from this article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_the_United_Kingdom

[Edited on 2/5/13 by jeffw]


RK - 2/5/13 at 11:29 AM

No, Mr Bare, those of us in the civilised world, including my country and yours, are infinitely safer than the US. What they don't seem to get, is that having an aresenal at home, is not likely to help in the Sept 11, or Boston tragedies. They seem to think that "invaders" are going to come over in large sailboats, with red coats on. Then they just go: "hang on, just give me a sec to go get my gun from the closet/ bedside table/ nursery, and I'll be right back". They also don't seem to understand that if they carry themselves with a small touch of humility and grace, out there in the big bad world, the world will consider treating them a little nicer. I don't mean to blame the victim here, because it is truly a great place, with nice people, but it all adds up.

At the heart of their country, the Americans believe the government is bad, incompetent, out to get them, never represents them, and therefore they have to represent themselves. It's all about ME. Wait a minute...


MikeRJ - 2/5/13 at 11:36 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Ian Jones
i dont think it is the guns fault, but more due to bad parents. who would leave a 5 year old with any type of weapon, gun, knife, etc etc


Clearly you can't blame the actual gun, but that' not really the point. It's the ridiculous gun laws which have made firearms so prevalent and created the kind of brain dead culture that makes it acceptable to give a rifle to a 5 year old.


swanny - 2/5/13 at 01:17 PM

Ok quiz for you......

"Guns displayed in public in this part of the world are not usually reason for a second glance. They’re everywhere. “Many people feel obliged to keep guns for their personal safety, because of a lack of security.” Lawlessness is part of the culture, and everyone seems to own at least one weapon…..
“Guns are the cause of all miseries in this country,” says one. There are some gun licensing laws on the books, most with little teeth. And there are movements afoot for serious gun control legislation — some here call it disarmament. But there is not much of a gun control debate here, at least as we know it. Cultural change in this part of the world is glacial. “The vision of a gun free country remains as elusive as ever. But the sight of a gun on the street here is generally no big deal… "

which country?

USA?
Iraq?
Afghanistan?

hard to tell really.

Actually its afghanistan, but it does slightly make a mockery of the idea of the USA as some sort of civilising force. when their own country fails to function without every citizen being responsible for their own protection with firearms.

in contrast we live in a relatovely safe/civilised society.


scootz - 2/5/13 at 01:37 PM

I have no problem with guns... they're occasionally very necessary tools.

My problem lies with America's relationship with guns!

This vid terrifies me! It happened days after a shooting spree and was all about an individual 'excersising his rights'!



Just because YOU CAN doesn't mean you HAVE TO or YOU SHOULD!

[Edited on 2/5/13 by scootz]


scootz - 2/5/13 at 01:44 PM


puma931 - 2/5/13 at 02:58 PM

God and the world is worried about Iran and North Korea having nuclear weapons!


quote:
Originally posted by scootz


scudderfish - 2/5/13 at 03:13 PM

And lurching in the other direction.....

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/02/florida_girl_cuffed_in_harmless_explosion/


puma931 - 2/5/13 at 05:06 PM

another one