The 'Americans Getting Shot' Thread

[ENT]

^^^ Agreed.

[Necron99]

It's the open or concealed carry part of it with which I have major issues. There is simply NO reason for the average citizen to feel the need for a concealed handgun.

Point taken and I hate open carry freaks they just make responsible gun owners look bad. That said lawful gun owners who chose to carry are responsible for almost none of the gun violence that happens in America.

I myself own firearms but choose not to carry as I do not see the need. America is frankly not very dangerous however I do support the rights of others to do so.

Open carry is just bizarre beyond belief.
Why do Americans accept that their 1st amendment rights don't extend to yelling "fire" in a cinema, but their 2nd amendment rights allow them walk the streets like it's the OK Corral?

You hate them, but you still support their right....

[Davis Knowlton]

^If I saw some suburban housewife pushing her shopping cart down the aisle of the supermarket with a .357 Magnum holstered on her hip, I would have to conclude that she was quite insane. As was the nation which spawned her and her ilk. "Bizarre beyond belief" is right on the money.

[bsnub]

but their 2nd amendment rights allow them walk the streets like it's the OK Corral?

It is not legal in many jurisdictions. For example you could not open carry in most big cities. You have to understand that law is different in the US then you may be familiar with. There is Federal law, state law, county law and city law. Each jurisdiction is different.

You hate them, but you still support their right....
[at] [at]

I do because they ones I am talking about are pushing the limits and trying to make a political statement that most Americans are opposed to. However I do support the right of individuals to open carry in rural areas like when camping or a cowboy riding the range etc. But not in populated urban areas.

If I saw some suburban housewife pushing her shopping cart down the aisle of the supermarket with a .357 Magnum holstered on her hip, I would have to conclude that she was quite insane.

I agree and I have never seen a woman or anyone else doing it. Maybe in Texas but not here in Washington.

[misskit]

If I was in a supermarket or even the parking lot of a supermarket and saw anyone with a gun besides the security guard or police, I would immediately leave. No use waiting around to see what will happen next.

[rickschoppers]

No problem bearbait. It is too bad those in the UK have allowed the governments tactic to work of programing all citizens to be anti-gun.

It could be said Rick, that having been raised in an extreme gun culture Americans, much like those indoctrinated into religions from an early age, are incapable of discussing the issue objectively.
"You aren't American, you can never understand" sounds suspiciously like "Unless you accept Jesus, you will not understand".

Agreed. The same could be said about those who have been raised in a country which does not allow the right of citizens to own firearms. These countries would have the polar opposite view and could not possibly understand the American gun culture.

We are both saying the same thing, but in different ways.

[Davis Knowlton]

I agree and I have never seen a woman or anyone else doing it. Maybe in Texas but not here in Washington.

All but 5 or 6 states have open carry laws - including Washington State.

Although I hear Washington may ban them until they get a better football team given the number of recent suicides.

[Necron99]

No problem bearbait. It is too bad those in the UK have allowed the governments tactic to work of programing all citizens to be anti-gun.

It could be said Rick, that having been raised in an extreme gun culture Americans, much like those indoctrinated into religions from an early age, are incapable of discussing the issue objectively.
"You aren't American, you can never understand" sounds suspiciously like "Unless you accept Jesus, you will not understand".

Agreed. The same could be said about those who have been raised in a country which does not allow the right of citizens to own firearms. These countries would have the polar opposite view and could not possibly understand the American gun culture.

We are both saying the same thing, but in different ways.

I'm Australian, I grew up with guns, just not assault rifles and people walking around packing in public.
I didn;t agree with the gun buyback, or some of the current laws. But any non felon in Oz can buy a pistol or rifle/shotgun if they want one, they just have to have a valid reason, sport or agricultural use.
Self defense is not a valid reason.
And at all times, it must be stored in an approved way, unloaded and locked.
Police have the right for no notice inspections and make them.
Failing an inspection, gun loaded, not secured by an approved method, is a felony.

[rickschoppers]

How many here are American nationals that have lived in places like Los Angeles, Chicago or even Washinton DC.

I am.

And I think American gun laws are beyond stupid.

To allow virtually any American adult without a felony conviction to walk the streets, prowl Walmart, or go grocery shopping while carrying a loaded, concealed handgun - which almost all will barely know how to use - is the height of idiocy.

I can't think of any other country in the world - or at least in what we claim to be the first/civilized world - that allows Bubba the Braindead the right to stick a .44 Magnum in his pants when he goes down to the local diner for his morning coffee.

It's simply a retarded set of laws.

I do not disagree with you Davis and since you were raised an American, you do know quite a bit more about gun control in America than others being brought up in another country. On the surface, gun control in our homeland appears to be close to what you have stated. You and I know it and we also know there is much much more to the story which is what non-Americans do not take into consideration.

I would be out of my element trying to defend weaknesses in the UK since I was not raised there, which is my point.

[rickschoppers]

As you can see from my nic I grew up in Australia, From my early teens I always had access to a firearm and used to go out with my mates and go hunting , rabbits , foxes etc, in my late teens I got a job on a station (ranch to all you from the USofA) ,only a small one 3200 square miles.
At weekends my mate and I used to go out shooting roos, we only used a .22 semi auto rifle as we were both reasonable shots and could drop a roo from 50 metres with one shot 95% of the time, we used to take our carcases to a chiller on the property that a professional shooter had.
To cut a long story shorter, when having possession of a gun became almost impossible and roo shooting the same I began using a compound bow, by this time I had left the station and used to hunt pigs with the bow (not very successfully) but I still had a very illegal semi auto 12 guage shotgun with shortened barrel and pistol grip, which used to almost break both wrists when fired but was very effective against a wounded and charging pig.
After that background info, do I miss not having access to guns? No
Am I pleased my 3 boys don't have access to guns? Yes.
I was quite happy being able to go to a supermarket in Aus without having to worry about some 3 yo pulling a gun out of his mothers purse and firing a shot god knows where, there is a reason I have never been to America -- Guess what it is?

A good account of growing up around firearms in Australia however it is a far cry from being raised in the US where firearms are used by others in a much different environment than a STATION. Not really comparing apples to apples are we?

[bsnub]

All but 5 or 6 states have open carry laws - including Washington State.

Well aware of this but that does not mean that they can do so in counties and cities that have passed laws prohibiting the practice.

Although I hear Washington may ban them until they get a better football team given the number of recent suicides.

Huh?

[rickschoppers]

If I was in a supermarket or even the parking lot of a supermarket and saw anyone with a gun besides the security guard or police, I would immediately leave. No use waiting around to see what will happen next.

Misskit, you better never visit Alaska where most citizens carry firearms for protection from brown bears. Man is not at the top of the food chain up there and I have been in many restaurants there which ask customers to check their firearms.

[bsnub]

^ I don't think that example was what she meant.

[Davis Knowlton]

Although I hear Washington may ban them until they get a better football team given the number of recent suicides.

Huh?

No sense of humor, Snub? Superbowl loss ring a bell? Joke, na?

[misskit]

^^^ Alaska is about the last place on earth I want to visit so no problems.

[harrybarracuda]

What is the fascination with shootings in America?

I can answer that.

We are fascinated that testosterone-fuelled, pencil-dicked men demand the right to own guns based on some ancient text that not only meant something different but served a different purpose, and are willing to defend it even if the inevitable cost is the death of thousands of innocent people, including children.

If half of the country had 'flu and it was killing that number of people, the same brain-dead rednecks would demand they be locked up until they are no longer a threat.

The Gun Lobby are clueless fucking idiots being fed bullshit by a hugely lucrative industry.

[bsnub]

No sense of humor, Snub? Superbowl loss ring a bell? Joke, na?

Meh! We still have the best team in the NFL. That was just a fluke loss on a bad play call. We had that game. We will be back as strong as ever next year.

[rickschoppers]

^ I don't think that example was what she meant.

Just trying to add some examples of things that non-Americans would not know or understand. Your statement of America being a very large country and not having a shooting happening on every corner was good. Sometimes I think people expect it to be like the wild west with shootouts going on all around. It is not that way and the country is safer than many others IMO.

It is just too bad that the press spends so much time on these types of crimes, but violence sells.

[rickschoppers]

^^^ Alaska is about the last place on earth I want to visit so no problems.

Too bad since it is very scenic and beautiful during the summer months.

[misskit]

^^I am an American from rural Georgia and I understand very well American gun culture.

If you want hang around a Wallmart at midnight when a drunkard is walking around with a gun on his hip, go for it. Most everyone else is already gone.

^Too many other places on the list.

[rickschoppers]

What is the fascination with shootings in America?

I can answer that.

We are fascinated that testosterone-fuelled, pencil-dicked men demand the right to own guns based on some ancient text that not only meant something different but served a different purpose, and are willing to defend it even if the inevitable cost is the death of thousands of innocent people, including children.

If half of the country had 'flu and it was killing that number of people, the same brain-dead rednecks would demand they be locked up until they are no longer a threat.

The Gun Lobby are clueless fucking idiots being fed bullshit by a hugely lucrative industry.

Another example of someone spouting crap about something they know nothing about. Many firearms are owned by upstanding, intelligent citizens but you do show your ignorance on the topic in your statements above.

[Bettyboo]

We had that game.

For the people that understand America and its gun laws, how would they suggest gunshot child deaths are prevented?

[rickschoppers]

^Gunlocks

[Bettyboo]

^

Recently, we saw a baby/very young child kill his mother, and also we saw a baby/very young child kill himself/herself. There were no gunlocks. How many times does this need to happen before a solution is found because some folks just shrug and say 'well accidents happen' which doesn't seem like a responsible answer.

Also, as shown at the start of this thread and in many other recent threads - US police are very violent. We saw one recently kick a handcuffed seated woman in the head - that's violent, but the woman, we presume, survived. In other cases, the police pull out guns and shoot people - that's common, and seems to be accepted because the police have a tough job or some other strange answer. So you have gun violence/gun deaths at every level from babies/tiny kids to police officers who could easily have used other approaches. From an ignorant foreigner who has been to America 4 or 5 times (& liked it), it seems astonishing that people would accept this as just part of everyday life.

[bsnub]

We had that game.

For the people that understand America and its gun laws, how would they suggest gunshot child deaths are prevented?

You suck for life. Posting that shit.