I think what the Las Vegas incident really shows is that you can't legislate against criminal insanity. If he didn't have a gun he'd have had a bomb or something else.
I suspect that they all tend to think of themselves and people who think like them as good people and people who don’t think like them as bad people.
When your president talks of bombing millions of people into oblivion becaue the leader of that country is doing something he doesn’t like, but has not actually done anything, it sets the yoke for the country mentality.
For balance, the leader of the other country in question has stated publicly and repeatedly that his intention is to develop nuclear weapons capable of reaching US soil and to use them when he's got them. I think that fairly qualifies as doing something which no US President should reasonably be expected to like and which demands some kind of unequivocal response. Whatever his other faults Trump is not responsible for encouraging armed lunatics in the US to murder people at music concerts.
All you need in order to learn how to make a bomb is the internet and I don't think he would have carried out a risk assessment because I don't think personal safety was a big consideration for him. But that's not really the point. The point is he was clearly deranged and intent on killing.
Yes. The fact he blow his own head off before the police could get to him suggest that self-preservation was not his first priority.
There will always be deranged people. There is little you can do about that. However, you can limit access to guns, especially machine guns, that will allow them to carry out mass killings. To not do that is a total abdication of responsibility.
Well he did repeal legislation that sought to limit access to guns by people with proven mental instability.
Nutters will find a way. Whether it be guns, explosives or even a car. You cannot legislate for the actions of a nutjob. With over 300Million people, one or two or several even are bound to arise. Theres probably twice that many firearms or more and overwhelmingly most owners use them responsibly. Whether you agree with guns or not, the gun isnt the issue. Personally I am not into guns. But I can easily hire a truck and then use that just as effectively. I can also make explosives and in my late teens built a small cannon. My late father lived in the boonies in Oregon. He had a number of firearms, crossbows etc. Inc a freaking 50 cal sniper rifle. But he shared his spread with grizzlies, wolves, mountain lions etc. Did a spot of hunting for food, ie duck, deer etc and either consumed his kill or sold some to friends and neighbours. He never shot anything that he couldnt eat. Most Americans I met there were like this. Normal.
I would agree but deadly weapons are a fact of life in the US which isn't going to change any time soon.
There was a short piece by a psychologist at the end of Newsnight last night who said the media has a role to play in changing the way these kind of events are reported. Amongst other measures there should be no sirens or pictures of the shooter shown on TV. He went on to say that each time something like this is reported in a dramatic way there will be two more events triggered the following week. I suppose it would then remove the opportunity for a deranged individual to go out in a blaze of glory and publicity. He is probably right.
Totally agree. Reporting should be more traditional, not the hyperbole rolling 24/7 nonsense we have now. No names, no promotion or mention of cause, full shutdown on anything perp related. Noticed that Isis claimed responsibility within a short time too...
I expect that the NRA shall be along soon to tell us that the REAL problem is that the concert goers did not have assault rifles with them to defend themselves. That would have prevented this, around a hundred or so people returning fire in the dark at a range of 400 metres would have made it all better.
They already have, or at least explained how more people were saved by civilians intervening with their legal weapons than died yesterday. They are taking a stance of politicising gun control rather than safety issue.
