Newton And The Gun Laws – The Debate Rages On

There has been a lot in the news about the Newton tragedy in The States and its ramifications on the gun debate, but now I find things have taken a weird turn. In the town of Harrold in Texas for instance, drastic measures have been taken to prevent gun crime in schools by arming teachers! Certain members of the teaching staff will carry concealed guns to protect pupils of the school from any repeat of the massacre that took place in Newton. The situation that caused many schools in The States to have metal detectors at the entrance has just got so much worse that now they have to arm teachers?

Wayne LaPierre of the NRA

The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) has just made a call for every school in the country to have an armed police officer on duty, and that is their answer to the many school massacres that have taken place over the last few years. As I write this I still cannot believe what I am hearing! For crying out loud, why not just give all the schoolchildren a gun and they can then defend themselves!!!!

Typical Gun Collection – Why is this necessary?

Guns in the hands of people do no harm if they are mentally stable and responsible and you can argue that this covers the greater majority of gun owners in America, but what of the rest? It is no great task for someone with a grudge to get hold of a gun when the whole country is full of them. It is not difficult for anyone who is completely or temporarily ‘unhinged’ to get their hands on an assault rifle and go on the rampage. The past is full of atrocities committed when even people who have legal permission to carry a gun decide they want to kill a few people, and yet the NRA’s answer is even more guns!!!!

True – A Lot Of It!

It is fair to say that the business of guns in the hands of private individuals, i.e. not the police or military, has proven to be a recipe for disaster in these times. True, the American people love their guns, and for sure any attempt by the government to ban people from owning one will be met by extreme resistance as one previous commenter has said, so you have a choice, either get rid of the guns out of society or continue to mourn the deaths of adults and children in massacre’s like Newton and all the others, for Newton will not be the last by a long way.

Compared to any other nation there is no contest, as can be verified by the fact that the USA is about the only country in the world where members of the general public can legally own a whole closet full of guns, ranging from machine guns and assault rifles to machine pistols and handguns.

Assault Weapons For Sale

It is interesting to note that the sale of guns, and assault rifles in particular have gone through the roof since the tragedy in Newton, in fact Walmart has sold its entire stock and is waiting for a new shipment. Its the same story all over the country. America’s fascination with guns means that some owners have their own arsenal of weapons and I can only guess the reason is its an American obsession based on its violent past. It makes me wonder why Congress doesn’t pass a Bill allowing people to buy anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles also.

But perhaps the people should remember the old saying, “Live by the gun – Die by the gun!” Ok so I  changed it around but the meaning is clear and relevant.

The only way for there to be a real and lasting peace in the United States without one atrocity following another, is to change the mentality of the people and help them learn there is life without a gun in your hand.

Politicians And The NRA

The government response to the crisis is probably going to be the re-enactment of the ban on assault rifles but in my view this is not going to prove very effective for there will still be millions of other guns on the streets and in homes. There can be little doubt that the NRA will not sit by quietly while the government tries to limit the number of guns in the country no matter how well intended. They will fight tooth and nail to be able to retain the law as it is and don’t care a fig for those that die needlessly, even when they are children as young as 5 or 6. In the current crisis the best they could come up with is an armed police officer in every school, as if that is going to make a difference: “The only way to stop gun crime is to have more guns!” What a load of tripe!!!!

Roy.