An 11-year-old boy is in custody for murder for shooting and killing an eight-year-old neighbour girl with a shotgun . . .

by nicolaou 73 Replies latest social current

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  cappytan

  Most of you know, I'm very attached to my guns. So I won't comment on whether bans should be in place or whether more guns is better, etc.

  But there needs to be some serious penalties for parents and other gun owners that fail to secure their fire arms. I think we can all agree that regardless of whether guns are legal or not, an 11 year old should not have unrestricted, unsupervised access to a fire arm. And that if that 11 year old DOES have unrestricted access to a fire arm, there should be some serious consequences for the negligent gun owner including wrongful death civil liability and criminal manslaughter charges if the unthinkable should happen.
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  nicolaou

  And that if that 11 year old DOES have unrestricted access to a fire arm, there should be some serious consequences for the negligent gun owner including wrongful death civil liability and criminal manslaughter charges if the unthinkable should happen.

  I'm sure that would be a great comfort to the victims family. Seriously though cappytan, can you explain your comment below to someone who just doesn't get it?

  I'm very attached to my guns
• 

  Marvin Shilmer

  But there needs to be some serious penalties for parents and other gun owners that fail to secure their fire arms. I think we can all agree that regardless of whether guns are legal or not, an 11 year old should not have unrestricted, unsupervised access to a fire arm. And that if that 11 year old DOES have unrestricted access to a fire arm, there should be some serious consequences for the negligent gun owner including wrongful death civil liability and criminal manslaughter charges if the unthinkable should happen.

  Amen to that!!!

  ___
• 

  cappytan

  I'm sure that would be a great comfort to the victims family.

  There may not have been a victim's family in this case if the laws and penalties regarding properly securing fire arms were stricter.

  can you explain your comment [regarding being attached to guns] to someone who just doesn't get it?

  In the same way I'm attached to my fly fishing equipment, I'm attached to my guns. I enjoy fly fishing and I enjoy shooting sports and hunting for wild game. I don't want to see either go away.
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  nicolaou

  Okay, fair enough. But surely you can agree that there is little equivalence between a fishing rod and a rifle once they are removed from their context? I don't doubt the legitimate enjoyment that can be had in shooting but just look at the price your country is paying.
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  done4good

  I'm very attached to my guns

  Some of my comment was deleted so it made no sense.

  In any case, I get being attached to something, (I am to my records, stereo, etc.), but anything that requires a constitutional amendment to own and use should be questioned to some degree.

  This isn't Tombstone anymore folks.

  d4g
  
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  cappytan

  look at the price your country is paying.

  What would you like to realistically see happen in our country to solve this issue?

  Idealistically, I'm guessing a total gun ban. But let's be realistic. That's going to be a hard sell in this system of government.
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  Marvin Shilmer

  ... but just look at the price your country is paying.

  I don't want to take away from the utter sadness I feel for the children involved in this horrific incident, but on the bigger question there are multiple and overlapping issues, one of which I'm not sure gets much attention because harsh backlash to the idea is likely and understandable. What am I talking about?

  For the past century the USA has been a world guardian of sorts. Think what the world would look like had not Germany been defeated... twice. And what about Japanese aggression in the mid-20th Century?

  The boys who fought and died under the stars and stripes were nurtured by a country with a rich history in having and using firearms. Had not so many of these boys been raised around firearms I'm not so sure the 20th Century would have turned out as it did. What I mean to say is, things could have turned out far worse.

  I think the day will come and should come when access to firearms in the USA is much tighter than it is today. I don't know when, and I don't know how, but I think the day will come, and probably the result of the whole world advancing socially and not so much just the USA. For one, if I had reasonable assurance that my family would not need to have firearms available for self-defense (not to mention hunting) I'd happily give up my firearms right this second if doing so would stop the madness of human-on-human violence I see.
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  cappytan

  I'd happily give up my firearms right this second if doing so would stop the madness of human-on-human violence I see.

  Same here. Sadly, it would only cut it by a percentage, at best.

  The US has mass shootings, yes. But those tragic mass shootings are a very small percentage of the overall number of deaths by firearm.

  Most of the firearm related homicides come from inner city violence. The US has more heavily populated metropolitan areas, the areas where most gun violence takes place, than the other countries mentioned above.
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  nicolaou

  What would you like to realistically see happen in our country to solve this issue?

  Good question, having more people ask it would be an excellent start. How about a ban on assault and high capacity weaponry? What about a ban on using weapons in public places, in other words the use of guns is restricted to shooting clubs and in areas designated for hunting.

  I'm a Brit' who's never even seen a gun in all my 51 years so I know I don't have the answers. America needs to have an adult dialogue and sort it's own problem out before it leaps the Atlantic . .