11 USA school shootings in this month alone January 2018

[Chinese-Dragon]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42804741

Two schoolchildren died on Tuesday and 14 others suffered bullet wounds when a classmate opened fire outside a school in Benton, Kentucky. It was the third US school shooting in 48 hours and the 11th in the three weeks since the start of the year.

The victims were Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, both 15. A 15-year-old boy was arrested and charged with the attack.

The story fell somewhere into the middle of the day's news agenda. "Americans have accepted these common atrocities as part of life here," wrote one commenter on the New York Times website. "Another day, another shooting spree, and no political will to do anything about it."

But there is political will building behind a certain sort of gun legislation — reforms that aim to increase, rather than decrease, the number of firearms in schools and other public buildings, and arm teachers and school staff as a means of defence.

Hours after the shooting in Kentucky, Republican State Senator Steve West rushed to file a bill that would allow Kentucky schools to have armed school marshals patrol the site. His bill joins another in the state which seeks to loosen gun restrictions around college campuses.

Mr West's bill received cross-party support from state Democratic Senator Ray Jones. "We need armed officers in every school in Kentucky," Mr Jones said. "That is a small price to pay if it saves one child's life."

The bill joins a raft of state legislation in recent years designed at putting more guns in schools. Most recently, the Michigan State Senate passed a bill in November which would allow teachers at primary, middle and high schools to carry a concealed handgun in class. Similar bills have been filed this year in Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, South Carolina and West Virginia.

If successful, those states would join at least nine that already allow some form of concealed carry in high schools. Each fatal school shooting reignites a long-running debate over whether the solution is more gun control, or more guns.

"If we want to talk about preventing school shootings, we should be talking about stopping kids getting their hands on guns in the first place," said Adam Skaggs, chief counsel at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. "Those are the laws we should be looking at."


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So now they are going to give lethal firearms to the teachers as well?

 

[xenon54 out]

What the hell? Is this becoming a epidemic over there?
Now tell me again how gun control wont make US a safer place.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

What the hell? Is this becoming a epidemic over there?
Now tell me again how gun control wont make US a safer place.

Well, Obama is in favour of gun control, therefore it is Communist, just like Obamacare.

Instead, American states are passing laws to allow even primary school teachers to carry guns:

Most recently, the Michigan State Senate passed a bill in November which would allow teachers at primary, middle and high schools to carry a concealed handgun in class.

So if a student (or the teacher carrying the gun) has a mental breakdown, then they don't even need to leave the classroom to find a firearm. There is one right there.

 

[Genesis]

What the hell? Is this becoming a epidemic over there?
Now tell me again how gun control wont make US a safer place.

That's not how politics work. To use the Ottoman Empire as an example, did the Turkish government, not see how the Ottomans are failing? How the Europeans are thriving? Even then, there is limited measures they can take. Even a man such as Enver Pasha couldn't do anything and he had almost dictatorial powers.

Once something is as ingrained as that, it would be impossible to change without throwing everything else out the window as well.

 

[xenon54 out]

Instead, American states are passing laws to allow even primary school teachers to carry guns:

So the answer to a fire became pouring more gasoline in it?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Now tell me again how gun control wont make US a safer place.

It already does. Some states have tough gun control laws while others don't. The only shootings you here about in tough gun law states is inner-city ones (which we can't stop without angering the #blacklivesmatter people).

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

It already does. Some states have tough gun control laws while others don't. The only shootings you here about in tough gun law states is inner-city ones (which we can't stop without angering the #blacklivesmatter people).

So are the American left-wing correct when they try to push gun control?

 

[xenon54 out]

It already does. Some states have tough gun control laws while others don't. The only shootings you here about in tough gun law states is inner-city ones (which we can't stop without angering the #blacklivesmatter people).

So what do you think needs to be done to decrese the gun violance?

 

[Ahmet Pasha]

US should do more to curb terrorism.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

I have noticed that when I talk to some American members like @gambit and @Bilal9 they seem to brush off the risks of American gun culture. Have shootings really become so normalized over there?

US should do more to curb terrorism.

I don't know what they can do though?

 

[Cybernetics]

Currently there is a dichotomy in American's attitude towards firearms. Usually the greater the population density of residence the greater the anti-gun attitudes. This attitude difference is rooted in history and moulded by realism.

American gun culture was a product of the frontier mentality of being self sufficient and feeling empowered with the ability to fend off overreaching powers. Some have stayed in that mentality. For many constitutionalists (pro unrestricted ownership), the firearm represents the ability to overthrow their government (preserving political power) not just a sporting tool. I think pro gun attitudes in America was a default position.

Fast-forward to the current era, there is a dichotomy to where Americans live and this greatly shapes attitudes towards the firearm. Those living in urban centers are attune with the dangers of firearms being in the wrong hands. A mid-large American city has more gun crime than all of Canada. Many Americans living in major cities fear the gun for two main reasons:
1. Plenty of people use fire arms to rob, kill, and commit other crimes
2. They are unaccustomed to the notion of the gun due to living in urban areas for generations (2+) absent of the gun

Those living in less densely populated areas see these problems and propose the solution of "only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with the gun", with many citing the example of Texas and how there is lower crime. Their solutions to those in cities is to own guns and practice often. I think this is a downward spiralling feedback loop due to the nature of major urban centers. Major American cities are usually competitive and are structurally designed to produce stratification, gentrification, and if managed poorly, poverty (leading to life crime) as compared to less populated areas. The combination of close proximity to victims, poverty, tendency for crime and firearms is a volatile mix. For many living in urban areas, it is clear the firearm exacerbates the consequences of crime and increases violent deaths, this along with the disregard towards the notion of owning firearms creates an anti-gun attitude.

The pro-gun camp has a romantic and often religious fervor towards their right to bear arms and fear policies of gun control in major cities will spill over to the periphery.

I think gun control in major cities will reduce violent crimes and deaths but not necessarily reduce overall crime. The problem with this idea is implementation. Where do you draw boundaries and how do you defend that boundary from arms smugglers? An incomplete gun control policy leaves only the criminal with guns and a necessity for greater state presence, which often cannot be provided adequately or in time. Implementation has to be complete or nearly complete to be effective.

The fact of the matter is that America is the most armed country in the world, there are more guns than there are Americans. The feasibility of removing firearms is very questionable. For some, guns are a way of life and deaths resulting from gun crime is merely a premium payment for an insurance policy. I don't think it is realistic to assume Americans will change their attitudes towards guns and implement a nation wide gun confiscation like in Australia. The trend I see for urban centers is increased segregation and city within city/bunker/safehouse mentality and urban design. This is pushed by increasing wealth/income inequality, rising unemployment, and decreased work place participation rate. For less densely populated areas, the leaning is towards a doubling down on the gun culture. For the interior, the gun is increasingly becoming the vanguard of the status quo that is the idea of America they love and cherish, the once "Great America" that they want to make great again and they see themselves in a political struggle against the "coastal elites" which they feel are overpowering them demographically. The politics of the gun is their leverage against the the opposition in this national political struggle and will keep them politically relevant for as long as they possess the gun.

Dense cities are structurally designed to not be suitable for guns, creating policies to reduce them while the interior sees the gun as their equaliser in the political struggle against the "liberal elites" demographic encroachment. The divide will remain and likely to deepen.

"Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun" - Mao Zedong

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

So what do you think needs to be done to decrese the gun violance?

Simple...do what the UK did and send all the troublemakers to Australia. After doing that the perceived need to own a gun would plummet.

The reasons for gun ownership vary
1) if you live in a high crime inner-city neighborhood gun ownership is high.
2) if you live in a low crime suburb gun ownership is low.
3) If you live in a rather sparsely populated area gun ownership goes up again because you may feel you are so isolated nobody may come to your help if there is trouble.

Gun problems usually happen in areas 1 and 3.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Simple...do what the UK did and send all the troublemakers to Australia. After doing that the perceived need to own a gun would plummet.

So where is America going to send their troublemakers?

The reasons for gun ownership vary
1) if you live in a high crime inner-city neighborhood gun ownership is high.
2) if you live in a low crime suburb gun ownership is low.
3) If you live in a rather sparsely populated area gun ownership goes up again because you may feel you are so isolated nobody may come to your help if there is trouble.

Gun problems usually happen in areas 1 and 3.

Canada has a high rate of gun ownership, but they have a low number of gun-related homicides?

 

[Kaniska]

I have noticed that when I talk to some American members like @gambit and @Bilal9 they seem to brush off the risks of American gun culture. Have shootings really become so normalized over there?



I don't know what they can do though?

Gun culture is a cultural issue with American society...The number of death due to gun culture is quite high in comparison to other violence in this country..But due to lobby by various groups, nothing happens to stop it.

 

[Beast]

US shall allowed every time dick Harry Americans to arm themselves with gun. Every school children shall bring a gun to school to protect themselves. If you suspect any sign of danger. Just pop out the gun and shoot. You die is better than I get killed.