It's hard to tell what's conspiracy theory these days, but it does appear that Republicans are getting close to being able to hold a Constitutional convention. The whole thing is long overdue for a re-write, IMHO. I hope there is someone out there thinking about this and getting ahead of it. If we wait for a minority rule government to start the process, we'll be in trouble.Good luck to your humble opinion! But as I wrote earlier, even the most remarkable liberal in Congress, Bernie Sanders, is not where the country should be. The Second Amendment should be essentially scrapped. Gun ownership should not be a right; it should be a privilege that is to be earned and maintained through serious scrutiny of mental health and sense of the responsibility of handing a deadly weapon. The Republican friends of the NRA in Congress are far less likely to do it than the Democrats.
You're right; these tragedies are just going to keep repeating. It's too to shut the barn door. Congress is too beholden to the gun lobby to even pass reasonable legislation to regulate gun ownership. It's sad to think about, but this kind of thing is just going to keep happening while Congressmen rake in the PAC money.They’re not only beholden to the gun lobby, they are spinelss cowards. It is apparenly a main qualification to be in Congress or the White House these days. There is no shortage of spineless cowards running for office. LL
Why is it that cicilized people on civilized countries don't seem to feel the need to carry guns for self defense? And why do they so seldom have a need for a gun for self defense? LLAmericans are 10 times more likely to be killed by guns than people in other developed countries! https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-u-s-gun-deaths-compare-to-other-countries/ And that was found before the spectacular firearm homicides in recent years!! Doesn't the USA have a serious reason for being ashamed as a nation? It certainly does and not only because of guns. You did use the word civilized so you answered your own question. Indeed. That’s why I use it. Lois
So, what do you think about the information and my comments above the questions that I asked?I disagree the government is unable to do anything. More likely that politicians are wary about loosing support from the public and donors over an issue that controversial. There has been some word] just recently about the possibility of a bump stock ban. Well THAT should do a lot to lower the rate of firearm deaths.The point is one change in legislation may lead to more. (Not that I want that). ;-) Why is it that other developed countries have a small fraction of the firearm deaths that the US has? Are people in other countries just that much better than Americans—more moral, mor sensible, less intent on criminal behavior? Canada has less than half the firearm deaths per 100,000 population than the US, and they have similar racial make up of its population and similar economic standards. Why do you suppose the rate is so much different in a neighboring country with a 3000 mile border with the US? What are the Canadians doing so right that the US is doing so wrong? Are US residents just naturally more stupid, more psychologically unfit or more criminal? Should stupid and/or psychologocally unfit and/or criminal people have such easy access to guns as they have in the US? What’s wrong with this picture? LoisCanada is bad comparison. Demographically and politically, its very different from America, as are nearly all 'developed nations". The fact is most gun related murders] occur in poverty stricken urban areas. Mass shootings don't account for much.
Gun violence is most common in poor urban areas and frequently associated with gang violence, often involving male juveniles or young adult males.[15][16] Although mass shootings have been covered extensively in the media, mass shootings account for a small fraction of gun-related deaths[17] and the frequency of these events steadily declined between 1994 and 2007, rising between 2007 and 2013.If the urban areas disappeared, the numbers wouldn't be much different from the rest of the developed world.
A mentally deranged man can buy guns; and he shoots to kill 26 people, including 20 lovely little children, at an elementary school. And the President of the USA weeps. His administration and the US Congress remain essentially impotent spectators of this kind of horrible tragedies! One man can buy more than 30 high-powered guns; and he shoots to kill 58 people and injure more than 500 people in an outdoor concert. And the President of the USA is proud to be an American because of the professionalism of the hospital staff that treated the injured and of the victims that showed the bravery to help other fellow victims. But his administration and the US Congress remain essentially impotent spectators of this kind of horrible tragedies! The tragedies keep repeating!! Isn't it overdue for the USA to repeal the second amendment to its Constitution? In civilized human societies, shouldn't ordinary citizens get protection through laws and law enforces? Should they need private ownership of guns? Should guns be so easily available in this country?I don't think you understand the US system, the current US "president" and the republican led US Congress aren't impotent spectators in this epidemic of violence that over 300 million firearms in civilian hands creates in the US, they are accomplices in this ongoing massacre that is only made possible by hundreds of millions of guns on the streets. They take huge "donations" from the NRA and the gun industry and then make damn sure that no laws are passed that will impede the introduction of millions of more guns a year onto the streets. This about pure naked capitalism hiding behind the 2nd. Amendment, nothing more. The entire US political system has been corrupted to the point where it only protects those who are the most ruthless and greedy. The people selling firearms and those who they pay to protect them from any negative repercussions. So yes the law of the law of the jungle is at work in the US, but not just on the streets. It is also the driving force in the halls of power and business in the US to the highest level. There is no chance at all that the 2nd. Amendment will be challenged at all as long as there are republicans in power in the US.
A mentally deranged man can buy guns; and he shoots to kill 26 people, including 20 lovely little children, at an elementary school. And the President of the USA weeps. His administration and the US Congress remain essentially impotent spectators of this kind of horrible tragedies! One man can buy more than 30 high-powered guns; and he shoots to kill 58 people and injure more than 500 people in an outdoor concert. And the President of the USA is proud to be an American because of the professionalism of the hospital staff that treated the injured and of the victims that showed the bravery to help other fellow victims. But his administration and the US Congress remain essentially impotent spectators of this kind of horrible tragedies! The tragedies keep repeating!! Isn't it overdue for the USA to repeal the second amendment to its Constitution? In civilized human societies, shouldn't ordinary citizens get protection through laws and law enforces? Should they need private ownership of guns? Should guns be so easily available in this country?I don't think you understand the US system, the current US "president" and the republican led US Congress aren't impotent spectators in this epidemic of violence that over 300 million firearms in civilian hands creates in the US, they are accomplices in this ongoing massacre that is only made possible by hundreds of millions of guns on the streets. They take huge "donations" from the NRA and the gun industry and then make damn sure that no laws are passed that will impede the introduction of millions of more guns a year onto the streets. This about pure naked capitalism hiding behind the 2nd. Amendment, nothing more. The entire US political system has been corrupted to the point where it only protects those who are the most ruthless and greedy. The people selling firearms and those who they pay to protect them from any negative repercussions. So yes the law of the law of the jungle is at work in the US, but not just on the streets. It is also the driving force in the halls of power and business in the US to the highest level. There is no chance at all that the 2nd. Amendment will be challenged at all as long as there are republicans in power in the US. You are right, "impotent spectators" is not the appropriate description of the corrupt gang that runs this country. I stand corrected. (I suppose I was thinking of Barack Obama's weeping after Sandy Hook when I used that mild and inappropriate phrase). I am pleased that you also feel that the Second Amendment is a law of the jungle. It is indeed too sad that there is no chance for that amendment to be scrapped any time soon. As I noted earlier, even the Democrats do not talk about scrapping the Second Amendment. I think it is very important for organizations like the Center for Inquiry to talk about this shame of the USA.
A mentally deranged man can buy guns; and he shoots to kill 26 people, including 20 lovely little children, at an elementary school. And the President of the USA weeps. His administration and the US Congress remain essentially impotent spectators of this kind of horrible tragedies! One man can buy more than 30 high-powered guns; and he shoots to kill 58 people and injure more than 500 people in an outdoor concert. And the President of the USA is proud to be an American because of the professionalism of the hospital staff that treated the injured and of the victims that showed the bravery to help other fellow victims. But his administration and the US Congress remain essentially impotent spectators of this kind of horrible tragedies! The tragedies keep repeating!! Isn't it overdue for the USA to repeal the second amendment to its Constitution? In civilized human societies, shouldn't ordinary citizens get protection through laws and law enforces? Should they need private ownership of guns? Should guns be so easily available in this country?I don't think you understand the US system, the current US "president" and the republican led US Congress aren't impotent spectators in this epidemic of violence that over 300 million firearms in civilian hands creates in the US, they are accomplices in this ongoing massacre that is only made possible by hundreds of millions of guns on the streets. They take huge "donations" from the NRA and the gun industry and then make damn sure that no laws are passed that will impede the introduction of millions of more guns a year onto the streets. This about pure naked capitalism hiding behind the 2nd. Amendment, nothing more. The entire US political system has been corrupted to the point where it only protects those who are the most ruthless and greedy. The people selling firearms and those who they pay to protect them from any negative repercussions. So yes the law of the law of the jungle is at work in the US, but not just on the streets. It is also the driving force in the halls of power and business in the US to the highest level. There is no chance at all that the 2nd. Amendment will be challenged at all as long as there are republicans in power in the US. You are right, "impotent spectators" is not the appropriate description of the corrupt gang that runs this country. I stand corrected. (I suppose I was thinking of Barack Obama's weeping after Sandy Hook when I used that mild and inappropriate phrase). I am pleased that you also feel that the Second Amendment is a law of the jungle. It is indeed too sad that there is no chance for that amendment to be scrapped any time soon. As I noted earlier, even the Democrats do not talk about scrapping the Second Amendment. I think it is very important for organizations like the Center for Inquiry to talk about this shame of the USA.
More than 20 dead in Texas church shooting, reports say
Another senseless tragedy due to a sick person being able to have guns in the USA, quite expectedly!!
A mentally deranged man can buy guns; and he shoots to kill 26 people, including 20 lovely little children, at an elementary school. And the President of the USA weeps. His administration and the US Congress remain essentially impotent spectators of this kind of horrible tragedies! One man can buy more than 30 high-powered guns; and he shoots to kill 58 people and injure more than 500 people in an outdoor concert. And the President of the USA is proud to be an American because of the professionalism of the hospital staff that treated the injured and of the victims that showed the bravery to help other fellow victims. But his administration and the US Congress remain essentially impotent spectators of this kind of horrible tragedies! The tragedies keep repeating!! Isn't it overdue for the USA to repeal the second amendment to its Constitution? In civilized human societies, shouldn't ordinary citizens get protection through laws and law enforces? Should they need private ownership of guns? Should guns be so easily available in this country?Of course it is, but we have REPUBLICANS and they’re in the pocket of the NRA. They don’t care how many people get killed or maimed as long as nobody tries to take away their guns. That’s all that matters. They wouldn’t care if a hundred innocent people were killed every day. It would be worth every death and injury just as long as they can keep their guns and buy more.
And then this], about the shooter:
THE “deranged" killer who killed 26 churchgoers in Texas was militant atheist who ranted on Facebook about “stupid" religious people. ... Classmate Nina Rosa Nava write on Facebook that the mass murderer used to rant on the social network about his atheist beliefs. She said: “He was always talking about how people who believe in God were stupid and trying to preach his atheism." Fellow user Christopher Leo Longoria replied: “I removed him off FB for those same reasons! He was being super nagtive (sic) all the timd (sic)." Another Facebook friend of the killer added: “He was weird but never that damn weird, always posting his atheist sh** like Nina wrote, but damn he always posted pics of him and his baby - crazy." ... He said: “'He was the first atheist I met. He went Air Force after high school, got discharged but I don't know why."An atheist! Sigh...
And then this], about the shooter:Yes, the gun-crazy bozos of the USA, many of whom are also religious fanatics, would breathe a great sigh of relief seeing that the criminal was an atheist. They would not realize, or would pretend not to realize, that the court-martialed criminal should not have been allowed to possess a gun. The reality is that the country is too mentally sick when it comes to the ill-conceived right for everyone to bear arms. Blaming an individual mentally sick person is worthless idiocy.THE “deranged" killer who killed 26 churchgoers in Texas was militant atheist who ranted on Facebook about “stupid" religious people. ... Classmate Nina Rosa Nava write on Facebook that the mass murderer used to rant on the social network about his atheist beliefs. She said: “He was always talking about how people who believe in God were stupid and trying to preach his atheism." Fellow user Christopher Leo Longoria replied: “I removed him off FB for those same reasons! He was being super nagtive (sic) all the timd (sic)." Another Facebook friend of the killer added: “He was weird but never that damn weird, always posting his atheist sh** like Nina wrote, but damn he always posted pics of him and his baby - crazy." ... He said: “'He was the first atheist I met. He went Air Force after high school, got discharged but I don't know why."An atheist! Sigh...
Why is it that civilized people in civilized countries don't seem to feel the need to carry guns for self defense? And why do they so seldom have a need for a gun for self defense? LLDifferent histories. No, brain damage among the Americans. It interferes with sensible legislation. One narrative I've heard is the history of how we have dealt with the arms used in war. Early on, you brought your own gun, but when the government issued them, people wanted to have those same guns at home, and that was fine. For a while. Then the guns got bigger.
Texas shooting: Gunman Devin Kelley ‘had row with mother-in-law’
So, a deranged man had row with his mother-in-law, and he could buy guns to kill 26 people in a church!
And, how did this court-martial convicted criminal buy those weapons? None of his criminal records apparently came up on his ‘instant background check when he sought to buy firearms from a sporting goods store in Texas’. He ‘also did not disclose details of his military criminal justice record on his purchase paperwork’.
So, the gun ownership disgrace of the USA is too eager to allow people to buy guns with the silly instant background check, and relies on criminals to reveal their criminal records!!
My heart goes out to the people of Sutherland Springs. God Bless you and may the Lord comfort you in your time of loss. May the peace and love of God be with you always.
Couple of questions.
What is a “Militant Atheist"?
What is “preached atheism"?
I guess Devin Kelley.
[Antireligion is opposition to religion. The term may be used to describe opposition to organized religion, or to describe a broader opposition to any form of belief in the supernatural or the divine. Antireligion is distinct from atheism (the absence of a belief in deities) and antitheism (an opposition to belief in deities), although anti-religionists may be atheists or antitheists.]
Am I to assume that Devin was ok with religion, but did not like deities? I bet he didn’t know the difference. I think that it is Fake News when the reporters don’t keep news fully understandable at a sixth-grade levels for the general public.
As far as “preached atheism", words from a classmate. But passed on by the press. Picked up by the public. But how is the public understanding the meaning? Should the reporters or editors have some responsibility of not spreading misleading statements? Should rewording the statements into standard meanings that everyone can understand be done. I have never seen the news quote a Cajun word for word in any news format. So, why is it ok to quote unclear meaning and create misunderstanding? That is Fake News.
“Guns not used in the civilized countries". Does not mean what you intend it to mean. That is Fake also, or misleading at best. I think it would be correct to say there is no murders in countries that do not have guns. But I can’t say that because that is not true. Those countries just use knives or other methods. So, being civilized does not measure the level of common sense of the people. These items are used in misleading ways mostly for political reasons. Watch the Democratic Party pick up and run with the gun issue. The general public is not that stupid and is getting tired of Fake BS.
Texas shooting: Gunman Devin Kelley 'had row with mother-in-law' http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41892838 So, a deranged man had row with his mother-in-law, and he could buy guns to kill 26 people in a church! And, how did this court-martial convicted criminal buy those weapons? None of his criminal records apparently came up on his 'instant background check when he sought to buy firearms from a sporting goods store in Texas'. He 'also did not disclose details of his military criminal justice record on his purchase paperwork'. So, the gun ownership disgrace of the USA is too eager to allow people to buy guns with the silly instant background check, and relies on criminals to reveal their criminal records!!Well, arguments with in-laws can hardly be considered grounds for mental illness, lol. Now it appears USAF neglected] to enter discharge info into government database, wtf.
Texas shooting: Gunman Devin Kelley 'had row with mother-in-law' http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41892838 So, a deranged man had row with his mother-in-law, and he could buy guns to kill 26 people in a church! And, how did this court-martial convicted criminal buy those weapons? None of his criminal records apparently came up on his 'instant background check when he sought to buy firearms from a sporting goods store in Texas'. He 'also did not disclose details of his military criminal justice record on his purchase paperwork'. So, the gun ownership disgrace of the USA is too eager to allow people to buy guns with the silly instant background check, and relies on criminals to reveal their criminal records!!Well, arguments with in-laws can hardly be considered grounds for mental illness, lol. Now it appears USAF neglected] to enter discharge info into government database, wtf. The USA is mentally sick when it comes to gun ownership for ordinary people. Row with someone is not necessarily mentally sick, but his overall background was not mentally healthy enough to be allowed to have guns. A comprehensive background check would have revealed that. 'LOL' or 'we are strong' and 'we honor the victims' kind of statements after this kind of tragedies are signs of mental sickness. What nonsense from leaders and media 'pundits' - 'we honor the victims', when we are unwilling to make any serious effort to stop this kind of victimization from repeating in the country?
Texas shooting: Gunman Devin Kelley 'had row with mother-in-law' http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41892838 So, a deranged man had row with his mother-in-law, and he could buy guns to kill 26 people in a church! And, how did this court-martial convicted criminal buy those weapons? None of his criminal records apparently came up on his 'instant background check when he sought to buy firearms from a sporting goods store in Texas'. He 'also did not disclose details of his military criminal justice record on his purchase paperwork'. So, the gun ownership disgrace of the USA is too eager to allow people to buy guns with the silly instant background check, and relies on criminals to reveal their criminal records!!Well, arguments with in-laws can hardly be considered grounds for mental illness, lol. Now it appears USAF neglected] to enter discharge info into government database, wtf. Row with someone is not necessarily mentally sick, but his overall background was not mentally healthy enough to be allowed to have guns. A comprehensive background check would have revealed that.Clearly. It was an error on the part of USAF, they seem to be accepting responsibility for their negligence.
Why is it that civilized people in civilized countries don't seem to feel the need to carry guns for self defense? And why do they so seldom have a need for a gun for self defense? LLDifferent histories. No, brain damage among the Americans. It interferes with sensible legislation. One narrative I've heard is the history of how we have dealt with the arms used in war. Early on, you brought your own gun, but when the government issued them, people wanted to have those same guns at home, and that was fine. For a while. Then the guns got bigger.Partly true. Up to the civil war the army used a mix of rifles "brought from home" and government issued, but standard infantry rifles have always been similar to what could be owned by civilians. The size of ammunition has fluctuated over time but the size and design of civilian vs military rifles has been comparable from the colonial period up to now. The real issue with this in particular is comfort and familiarity with firearms.
How is the weather in St. Pete’s, it’s getting cold here now.
Do any skating out on Lake Ladoga when it freezes?