OMG Another school shooting!! :( :( :(

[snuffaluffagus]

You're right. But I would still like to believe the chances are slimmer of that happening than if guns were ready at their disposal "in the heat of the moment." You know what I mean? Sigh, I make a pretty good mere poule as it is ...now I'm never going to want to let them out of my sight and they're not even little any more .

[abbasgirl]

I think this is a multi-facetted issue. Guns are part of the problem. Mass shootings are more common in areas where guns are less restricted and the damage that a gun can do is much greater than many other weapons. But guns have always been legal in the US. Mental illness is almost always a factor and many shooters have also often come from abusive and broken homes. But those issues have also always been with us. I think one denominator that has contributed to the increase in mass shootings (and the apparent attempt by some shooters to do the most horrific damage and be the most infamous) is the internet. Mass shootings are sensensationized by the media and we have access to all the information like never before. You could spend days researching Columbine if you wanted to. Add to that the fact that we can connect with anyone on the internet, including groups of people who idolize mass murderers. So for someone who is already stable and has trouble making friends, the internet can be a dangerous place.

[Arielmac]

Gun homicides by firearms in the USA for 2009: 9,146
Death by Kinder Surprise since 1974: 2

Kinder Surprise is illegal in the states...

'nuff said!

[i_forget]

I am so going to drive to the border and eat an egg In front of a border guard now.....then play with the toy.

[gryphon]

Gun homicides by firearms in the USA for 2009: 9,146
Death by Kinder Surprise since 1974: 2

Kinder Surprise is illegal in the states...

'nuff said!

Does that statistic also include self defense shootings and police shootings?

[Patty Smyth]

Why not? It sums up the feelings I have about people making political hay off this pretty well. And we ARE the majority in North America. Most of us just aren't as vocal as the... others.

Who is the majority Dave? Do you mean gun owners?

[Arielmac]

I am so going to drive to the border and eat an egg In front of a border guard now.....then play with the toy.

The last one that did that got a 300$ fine in 2011 and according to wiki, in 2012 the fine could be up to 2,500$US

[Arielmac]

Does that statistic also include self defense shootings and police shootings?

It talks about Homicides, not self-defense.

[lecale]

.

[Autum]

I heard tonight on the news they were all 6 or 7 years old.Little innocent children who have died so awfully & tragically.Its incomprehensable to me or any of us I think.Heartbreaking...

[Darth Penguin]

CDC gives a figure of 11,493 homicides by gun out of 16,799 homicides.

[Darth Penguin]

According to this site, there are 270,000,000 privately owned guns in USA. That's nearly 1 gun for 9 out of 10 Americans, regardless of age and suitability. The armed forces have 3,054,553 and Law enforcement officers have another 897,400.

for 2009 it gives a homicide figure of 15,241 deaths of which 9,484 were by fire-arms.

[DaveP]

Who is the majority Dave? Do you mean gun owners?

Nope. I mean those who agree with the sanctity of individual rights and liberty, as opposed to control by the nanny state. We are the majority and always have been.

There's ten of me for every one Darth.

And if I believed in God I'd thank Him for that.

[Poirot]

One of the little girls killed was from Winnipeg Ana Grace Marquez Greene.Winnipeg is the murder capital of Canada and this poor little girl gets killed in a so called safe American community.

[Poirot]

The last one that did that got a 300$ fine in 2011 and according to wiki, in 2012 the fine could be up to 2,500$US

That is nuts.