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US SENATORS HAVE rejected a measure that would expand background checks on gun sales.
The legislation, which was strongly backed by gun crime victim and former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, was the result of bipartisan efforts in the wake of the Newtown elementary school massacre which claimed the lives of 20 children.
In a historic decision last week, the Senate agreed to debate the nation’s gun laws for the first time in years.
If passed, the measure would also have made amendments to the bill to stiffen penalties for gun trafficking and boost school safety.
The vote came in at 54-46 but 60 votes were needed for it to pass. A handful of Democrats stood in opposition, resulting in its defeat.
The deal, which had already watered down some of the Obama administration’s demands about gun checks, would have required background checks for all transactions at gun shows and online. Currently they must only occur for sales handled by licensed gun dealers.
The National Rifle Association opposed the plan, describing it as an ineffective infringement on gun rights.
The vote will be seen as a major blow to the President’s efforts for stricter gun laws in the US.
-Additional reporting by AFP and AP
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It’s hard to understand that mentality. They are effectively saying, “nope, we don’t want to know if you have a criminal or a psychotic background, you want a gun ? you are entitled to a gun! ” I’m not anti-American, … But how do these senators and gun enthusiasts propose to tackle gun crime ??? Don’t bother with the red thumbs, cause I don’t give a shit about red thumbs … Just answer the question I pose.
I agree with you. There’s no sense to it, apart from money. Not anti American either.
They propose to resolve the problems caused by a society awash with guns, by selling more guns.
Seriously.
First you have to remember that the group of Americans that don’t believe in some form of gun restrictions is very small. All polling shows this. The problem is the fringe groups show up to vote in party primaries while regular voters stay at home. These fringe groups can support an opposition candidate in a party primary just as a grudge, even if they know that their actions will cause the other party to win in the regular election.
The arguments that these gun groups make is that the judges don’t enforce the gun laws already on the books. They point to gang members getting off easily after getting caught with illegal weapons as examples. They point to cities like Chicago that have strong gun laws as examples that gun laws don’t work. That is why these cities passing gun laws do more harm than good when effective gun laws need to be enacted on a national level.
The fact of the situation is that the overwhelming victims of gun violence, outside of suicide, are poor black people that live in inner cities. People live 5-10 minutes drive away from these neighborhoods and gun violence is basically unheard of. That is why it takes gun massacres for this to even register in the US.
It’s always about the money
This will isolate those who defeated the motion to political oblivion based on the simple fact that politicians are always behind the people because many are little more than cowardly bullies !
Real men don’t need guns ; cowards do !
Mexico has a total ban on guns but has a higher gun murder rate than the US. Banning guns or restricting them wont work. Gun checks is obviously a good idea but it wont stop this.
When the UK & Australia banned the guns in the 90′s gun crime went up as the criminals still had guns but the law abiding citizens didnt have them to protect themselves.
The mentality of America is different then here. Its in there constitution to own a gun. The second amendment says all Americans should own a gun to stop a tyrannical government mistreating its citizens. Thats what the people of the US are more afraid of…
@Martin:
1. Mexico is not comparable with the USA for reasons that should be quite obvious.
2. When the UK and Australia banned guns, gun deaths declined.
3. The US constitution “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Note the bit about a “well-regulated militia”.
I hope this helps.
That’s not even close to what they’re effectively saying.
Robin, (2) is incorrect; the statistics show that the bans had no effect on gun crime. Read this, particularly the statements by the head of the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/gun-laws-fall-short-in-war-on-crime/2005/10/28/1130400366681.html
And as to (3), it’s a toin coss as to which refutes your idea more strongly: the fact that the Supreme Court of the US and all their case law disagrees with you; or the fact that the second amendment is the foundation of all US gun control legislation and removing it would let Walmart openly sell machine guns in the morning.
Pretty simple really.
Start by enforcing over 200 thousand gun laws already on the US statute books.Boston being a good example of many gun laws and a high crime gun rate with virtually NO enforcement of the gun law.
Cancel maybe four or six joint strike fighters worth over 200 billion dollar,and dubious combat value and invest that money in mental health programmes and inner cities for youth and re devlopment programmes.
Plus kicking the US education system back to touch,and teaching things like reading writing and math rather than gay self awareness or prepardness for pregnancy classes for six year olds.Possibly also a massive investment in anti bullying in high schools.Turns out Lanza ,and the two littleton shooters were scapegoats for many a bully as well.
That would be a good start.
1]
Hmmm true,one with a total gun ban,high drug high crime and local narco gang armies making a fortune selling weed and Coke to the US,to go off to Coloumbia,Nicaragua,and Boliva so they can but full auto AK47s and RPGs.Or get them fro free off the American BATF in their fukwitted operation Fast &Furious that is STILL being defended by King Obama.
opposite side of the Roi Grande god help you if you are living alone in a isolated ranch in the US border area.There have been cases of people being shot by Mexican/US narco gangs as they wanted a clean space to smuggle their drug loads in quickly and of course this hasnt been reported much if not at all in Europe.Think a genuine assault rifle might be quite handy if you are a rancher living down there???
2] Funny that the “bikkies”[Biker gangs] in Austraila have been busy shooting themselves,police officers and small rural towns to bits with illegall semi auto rifles,and when this ban came in there was a remarkable boost in the sale of PVC pipe and end caps,and gun owners taking trips to the desert in the middle of the night..
3] Persue the “Dick act” of 1902 and numerous supreme court rulings of what the definition of a well regulated milita is and what the two militas actually are organised and unorganised militas.
I hope this helps.
I love shooting and guns but even I think they are barmey not to have good tight background checks when buying a firearm and you don’t need an AR15 or AK47 in the back of your car. Interestingly enough with all the guns no one ever seems to have one to shoot the bad guys.
Most of the guns in Mexico come down from the US. like owning a gun is going to stop the 86nd Airborne or the Marine Corps if they were ordered to take away the guns.
Go home U.S. Senate, you are drunk.
Lots of money involved… they don’t give a sh!t!
I think you’ll find that the NRA certainly does give a shit about money!
That was my point. Add in lobbyists, polititians and arms companies… people are irrelevant! :-/
Just utterly ridicules!
Beggars belief!
Maddening.
Red kneck hillbilly senate members are crazy. NRA are obviously looking after them
No more ludicrous than the 14% here who vote SF
“Hey Yutz, guns aren’t toys! They’re for family protection, hunting dangerous or delicious animals and keeping the King of England out of your face!” – Krusty the Klown
Alas it would seem much of America feels the same way
That coming from a government troll which allows Irish troops into foreign warzones!
Why shouldn’t Irish troops be in foreign warzones? That’s where they are needed
It’s un-American to try to keep firearms away from the mentally ill.
That wasn’t what this bill was intended to do.
It was intended to make private sales of firearms subject to background checks (the majority of gun sales at gun shows are by commercial dealers, and are already subject to background checks).
Those declared mentally ill can’t buy firearms, and that rule has been on their books for longer than you’ve been alive.
Private sales aren’t subject to back ground checks. The mentally ill can’t buy firearms.
I’ll let you figure our the hole in that argument yourself. Come back to me when you get it. Here’s some background reading in the meantime.
http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/04/16/4779922/sc-house-moves-to-ensure-mentally.html
“The bills were introduced after a woman with a history of mental illness went to Ashley Hall school in Charleston in February and attempted to fire a handgun.”
“As Senate Democrats push ahead with a proposed ban on assault weapons and other gun-control legislation, Republicans are still trying to draw attention to what they see as the bigger issue — keeping the mentally ill from owning firearms… “I believe that the best way to interrupt the shooter is to have a mental health system that actually records and enters into the database people who should not be able to buy a gun,” Graham said… raham’s proposal would require that people found mentally incompetent be added to the National Instant Criminal Background System – the database for all new gun sales.”
The hole is illusory – the ban on selling firearms to the mentally ill applies regardless of background checks being mandatory or not and confers liability on the seller.
In other words, if you sell your firearm second-hand to someone who’s holding a conversation with the voices in his head while drooling on his shoes, you’re breaking the law.
The problem, as your links point out, is not that the law doesn’t prevent this (because it renders it illegal and that’s all a law can actually do); the problem is that the mental health system in the US is so bad, you’d have to come to Ireland to find one on a par with it. When your largest mental health institution in the entire country is not a hospital but a wing of the LA County Jail, you know you’ve got a substandard system.
Expect more Sandy Hooks and Boston Marathons as a result… and the damned NRA clinging to their Uzis
you want background checks for pressure cookers?
Guns didn’t blow up at the Boston Marathon, and I’m pretty sure bombs are already illegal in the US. While both events you mentioned were tragic stop trying to jump on the sensationalist bandwagon in some desperate attempt to feed your need for green thumbs.
And this law wouldn’t have stopped Sandy Hook anyway. Lanza was already unable to obtain firearms by legal means.
Knew it wouldnt be long before some simpleton tried to connect the two…
Seems absolutely incredible that there is even the slightest opposition to gun checks , especially with the dreadful mass shootings the good people of the USA have been effected by in recent years. The National Rifle Association must be a serious political lobby group. In the immortal words of Albert Einstein ” definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result” … Change the gun laws America.
You should mention that law to Barrack Obama, Mario Coumo,Dianne Feineswine,Joe Biden,Barba Boxer,Sarah Brady,and all the rest of the gun grabbers out there.They are a brilliant example of that law at work.
But Arthur why in God’s name would you want to own upwards of six guns unless you were a serious collector, one gun for protection I can understand and one for hunting if that’s your thing, but 6, 10 etc at a minium of 500 each?
Money is more important to these guys than school kids lives.
What will Obama do with the Democrats who went against it and cost him the vote? Terrible decision.
Absolutely nothing. In the US, there is separation of powers between the executive (president) and legislative (senate & house if reps) wings of government, unlike our British based system.
Nothing as there is no whip system in the US like here.
Yes but it gives the President no power?
was thinking that, but can’t they be deselected or punished in some way? He must be raging with them.
The US Governance System has a more rigid seperation of powers because Executive authority is completely seperated from Legislative authority (Presidency & Congress) as opposed to the parliamentary system in the UK/IRL that has both authorities as members of the same body, ie parliament/oireacthas.
The President of the US is still the leader of his respective party but has no constitutional powers with this roll.
If a member of Congress goes against the party whip the closest thing to punishment that can be used by Party HQ is:
1.) They remove his/her membership of the party. This isnt often used but is a mechanism reserved by most political parties internationally.
2.) Cut their party campaign funding and back another candidate at the Primaries.
This is more often the route that is pursued. However primaries (local selection conventions) are the deciders on the candidate regardless of who HQ backs.
Cheers Sean, option 2 or effective de-selection seems appropriate I would think. Very disappointing vote all the same. Something has to give at some stage surely.
The American dream my hole!!!!
They can have it….
I’m an American… And I don’t want it anymore!!!
Guess you dont want any other of your constitutional rights either???
Ya know what?? We have PLENTY of rights here in the states… We could stand to have this one amended a lil… I find it incredibly selfish that someone would think their RIGHT to own a firearm no questions asked is more important than another person’s RIGHT to live… Cuz it sure as hell doesn’t register like that in my book!!
Are you serious???Considering the “right to life” is a bit of a joke in the USA with the abortion figures and death row inmates???
That’s a completely different can of worms… I’m talkin about an easy start to fixing a major problem… Abortion is totally irrelevant here due to the fact that most woman consent to the procedure.. I don’t think any of the victims of these gun crimes gave consent… As an American, I have no clue where this fascination with firearms comes from… I don’t need a gun in my home to feel safe… I lock the doors… The whole damn thing is stupid!!! No one needs an arsenal of weapons and bullets just for shits and giggles… It’s ridiculous
Isnt it great that you have that “right” to express that opinion first off??
Second it is revelant because it is hyprocritical to say the right to life and yet the US has a top rate of abortions and I doubt very much that mass murders consent to leathl injection or riding ol Sparky.
Great that you can just lock the door and be safe…Where you living ..the White House?? Or some gated community with armed security outside??
YOU might think its stupid.But unfortunatly you are in a minority and most of us fellow Americans dont have the option of having armed secret service men or armed rent a cops outside our doors on instant call.We have to make do with dialling 911 and hoping for the best or having a viable defense tool called a gun in our house.Also who are you to say whats needed or ridicilous in a society that encourages you to own and be free???Typical spoilt fellow American Brat attitude.
That just shows your ignorance that you have to attack me while I’m exercising my “right” to express my opinion… I live in a lil town called Tappahannock where the sexual assault rate is thru the roof!! No armed guards or rentapigs here mate… I’m by no means spoiled… And as for muderers not consenting to “ol sparky”… They consent the moment they commit the crime… Owning A gun is fine… But then ya have these nutjobs with entire arsenals… Why??? Are they that bad of a shot that they need multiple loaded weapons in the home???? These extended measures could prevent future Sandy Hooks… I have a family member that could very well be the next Adam Lanza… And I think it’s a damn good idea to keep firearms out of his hands….but because of this vote… Gun dealers will never know his background and dx of bipolar disorder and oppositional defiance disorder and will sell him a firearm!!!
Jillian, cannot argue with this guy….
Well he certainly didn’t open my eyes any to the opposing viewpoint… But I did manage to get a headache hahahahaha ;)
Was not his intention to open your eyes to his viewpoint, this one likes to shove it down your throat….
Yes Graham we can debate with him as is OUR right even if he just don’t get it.
This is just farcical… It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so depressing.
Just jaw-dropping. Such an indefensible, sickening, moronic thing to do. The vote put the the senators should have simply been “Who here has taken money from the NRA?”. It would have been simpler and more honest.
As long as drug dealing doctors and psychiatrists keep giving people Ritalin and other dangerous pills, this will continue to happen, gun laws or not. I’ve never held a gun I’m totally anti all that bullshit but this isn’t a gun problem
it’s a social one involving many factors. America has a sick society both physically in terms of obesity and mentally un terms of violence and glorification of their overfunded military.
I’d rather a nutjob had dangerous pills than dangerous weapons. It’s probably more difficult to get ritalin than to get an arsenal of semi-automatic weapons and a cache of bullets.
Daisy, it all depends on the state. Some states like Texas you would be correct in assuming that. New York, on the other hand, has restrictions comparable to European legislation.
A lot of hysterical emotive comments above. The fact is that there is more to this than meets the eye. There is a link between over prescription of psycho active drugs and unpredictable human behaviors. Doctors routinely prescribe drugs to people that have psychosis and suicide as possible side effects. Many of the shooters we hear about were pumped up to the nines with pharmaceutical crap. Such tragedies have happened in this country also.
All facts should be open for discussion.
The US has a long history of allowing law abiding citizens to bear arms.
Yeah, and look where it’s got them
Yea yea yea…. Stfu…. We know all that crap, but seriously, if guns were taken out of the equation would we have half the tragedies happen? God I hate you hug a thug bleedin heart dlckheads…. Take these people in under your roof if you feel that bad for them….
It’s very easy to be abusive online.
Why don’t we meet up and continue the conversation?
My apologies, i have my beliefs, i believe we are soft, and I speak my mind. Sorry to offend and for being rude. The mindless slaughter of children, same age as mine should have been a turning point. But it was not, almost 3,000 more have died in the US since and as far as I am concerned the NRA is a for profit organisation at any cost group. Human suffering does not matter to them, power does. I know pharmaceuticals are another evil group profiting from societies woes too, but the least we can do is take away the gun from the equation. There is simply no need for guns, they are destructive. A high powered rifle is not needed for hunting, NRA will tell you about its rights, but never on these columns here on the journal does anyone speak of the rights of victims. Its always forgotten. Again, my apologies for losing my mind.
It’s fine. Emotive issue it is.
I have kids myself too and those mass shootings are heartbreaking.
Closer to home, we don’t have widespread gun use thankfully, but we seem to have a similar issue with over prescription of drugs. There have been tragic murders and suicides related to this in Ireland.
Live in Toronto, few years back, had the year of the gun, lots of murders. But never like in the states, because gun control is tight. Gun death rates in US are high because getting a gun is as easy as getting milk…. Jeez milk is probably taxed more….
There is so much more to it than how the media portay it in Ireland, for one banning “assault” weapons i.e. AR-15 are only 2% of gun homicides in the USA, handguns can deliver rapid fire also….limiting magazine sizes will not work with the advent of 3D printing…a quick google of 3D printing and guns will shock you….it’s too late for legislation unfortunately. I’m living in Arizona and the guys I work with do genuinely go hunting regularly with both guns and bows, it’s a part of rural America…guys bring in their own Venison and Javelina to eat in work that they kill. A lot of these guys have guns that would have been handed down through the family without up to date paper work and are afraid to lose them….the society is a major factor for the crime rates…in a such individualistic society with a massive divide between the have and have nots in both wealth and education 9of which the unions destroyed) have fed into the high murder rates. The fear they have of a tyranical govt doesn’t wash with me…been to a nuclear silo last week…your 2nd ammenment gun won’t save you. Look it’s unfortunate for America but you have to realise the genie is out of the bottle here..the society needs to be fixed, the lobby groups are just too strong…all we can hope is that we never let Ireland become as broken a society as the USA but it looks to be sliding that way..but at least we don’t have widespread guns to exacerbate our problems
To being the hyperpower on this planet with still the most personal freedom of any society???
What we dont have in guns we Irish make up quite well with knives.
That national database of Canadin firearms owners working out well?? Opppss forgot they junked that as being too expensive,and Canada hasnt sunk into bloody anarchy as was fortold by the anti gun doomsayers up there.
So if Canada couldnt do a national database,what chance in the USA?
Go to a Walmart in US, next to the Bambi DVD, you will find high powered guns…..go to a Walmart in Canada, you will find Bambi DVD. I might be exaggerating, but the mentality ingrained in the minds of pro gun americans belongs to a different era…. English not coming back, russians not invading, neither are the N.Koreans… there is no need when they know people in US will just turn on each other anyway. US constitution was written in a time when law and order was not as it was today. Not too long before that constitution did the believe the Earth was flat and centre of the Universe. There should ideally be no need for a database as only law enforcement and military should have them. And people should get off there lazy ass and vote each and every time!
Your entire arguemnt is hyperbole and exaggeration,and totally debunked anyway.
As for this old chestnut that the 2nd amendment didnt mean this it meant that blah,blah,blah.I think an entire century of learned Supreme court judges and constitutional lawyers views is worth a lot more than some anymonous opinions ranting like spoilt children about a country they know little or nothing about apart from pre packaged media opinions,and when the democratic process goes against them all throw their teddies from the collective pram.
Also you need to re take history 101.The constitution was written long after Columbus and Galleio didproved the flat earth theory.
And the reason the 2nd is there is to counter a totalitarian police and military overlordship and dictators like Obama in Washington DC. Indeed people should vote and they DID in this occasion its reflected in their votes in the Senate….Problem is…Oh sorry you didnt like the vote..Buts democracy for you.
You need reading 101 and less being smart ass. I never said the discovery of a round earth happened 1 week before the constitution. Galileo proved we orbit the sun, and many already knew the earth was not flat. Also I would have voted Obama if I lived there. If Obama was a Dictator, what did that make Bush? Both of them?? I do not go with the media either, I was born with a brain, learned to use it and resolve my own opinions, which you clearly do not like. That is fine with me. I gave an opinion which represented me, and I do not think I attacked you, just disagreed with you.
Also for my opinion, Supreme court judges, lawyers do not get a free pass. They have their own beliefs, ideologies and work the system as much as they can to push that belief, agenda. Also supreme court judges are put in place and can be pro dem/rep. I simply cannot understand we still live in a society that feels the need that we need guns, because its ‘our’ right. Guns kill, thats what they are made for. Kinder Surprise is banned in the US. ?? Logic? Sue the makers, but were are parents???
Supreme court judges, lawyers do not get a free pass
No, but the former’s opinions carry so much more weight than yours that arguing that the Supreme Court of the United States didn’t interpret the US Constitution correctly and you did, is incredibly farcical.
I said work the system in general, by definition they do interpret the constitution correctly, they more or less have to. But sometimes interpretation of wording can be stretched in many ways. It is by no means perfect, but at this time probably the only way to be fair. Honestly too, I thought the formers argument was more of a rant against me, my opinion and an effort to throw it back in my face. I have also stated they are my beliefs, formed by me and no one else. I am very wary of the media, know its just a tool of opposing big brothers. Politics in the US is now so polarized, the system is eventually going to clog up as neither side is willing to give an inch, and the population is now basically split 50/50. The situation is grim.
@ Mark O Flaherty,
Perfect way to make a point. Common sense left the room a long time ago, thats whats wrong… put aside politics, opinions…. people should know whats right in their hearts….
people should know whats right in their heartsâ¦.
You and Mr anker have attacked and put down anyone who has differing opinions, seem to quote a lot of other stuff, then attack other media… You are personal and it seems bitter. Definitely the kind of people I would not like to see owning a gun….. Have a nice day and look forward to your next quote….
So if I think your opinion is factually incorrect and say so, it’s a bitter personal attack on you and that’s sufficient ground to defame me?
Hm. And yet, we wonder why the Americans can’t have a debate on this that meets our strict double standards…
I responded with my opinion, with my belief, each time you two responded in a very belittling way, mocking others. Jillian above was completely mocked for her comment. Mark made a very good statement, but put down. If I offend you I am sorry. We cannot fix everything at once, impossible, but if 1 problem at a time was eliminated, life would be better. People that are not used to seeing guns all the time cannot understand why there is guns in the first place so I believe those opinions are valid. I am from Ballyfermot and live just North of toronto. There is gun problems here but it is simpler for the law if anyone pulled over has a gun, very probable he/she is a criminal and caught. In US, you can bank on someone having a gun beside them in the car, legal or not and that makes law enforcement much harder. Not talking about law or constitution here… Just if life was that simple. Maybe I am one of those ‘simpletons’…..
You don’t offend me Graham; what offends me is that you have a problem here that kills tens of thousands of people every year in the US and everyone’s so obsessed by the simplistic portrayal of the argument as being “guns bad, bans good” that common sense goes out the window, along with evidence-based reasoning — and the end result is that nothing ever changes and every year, tens of thousands more keep dying.
And there are 220,000 people here in Ireland who, if pulled over, might have a firearm. They’re not criminals – in fact each and every one has been personally signed off on by either a Superintendent or a Chief Superintendent. (You might pass that on to George Hook who said the same thing on his show today).
The problem’s not simple; treating it like it was is wrong. Refusing to learn the facts or anything about the law in order to form an opinion is wrong. And the way the media – this site included – keeps pushing the simplistic idea of the problem in a tabloid way, effectively using dead children to sell advertising space – now *that* I find offensive.
I do know the reasoning behind Obama’S legislation is more political than caring, but to be honest I would rather have that than having more mental checks. This would be a boon for pharmaceutical firms, who I also believe are a bigger issue than guns. Ideally there should be no ‘my right to own a gun’. It should be a gun free society. However it is not, and both sides are entrenched…. not good either way… good night all…. watching last few episodes of battlestar galactica….
Now I am a smart ass because I have an opinion you dont like and you cant handle it??Brilliant debating point there!! Maybe Kindergarten level of reading is your forte??? You claimed it was a short period between flat earth theories and writing the constitution..Maybe in the space of the time of the universe,but not in human terms,like maybe 300 years give or take???
I do not go with the media either, I was born with a brain, learned to use it and resolve my own opinions, which you clearly do not like.
Well then you arent using it very much because most of it has been emotive rant and how superior Canada is to the USA,which is a lame joke,and how bad the gun laws are and how wonderful King Obama is…TBH at least GWB didnt care less about badly drafted gun laws.He let another fool Clintons “crime control act” which had nothing to do with crime control but plenty to do with gun banning sunset.But then again if your country was under attack in 9/11 and you were involved with two global conflicts one possibly self inflicted one not and with world approval,you might be a tad pre occupied to worry about hoplophobes and their lunacy??
.And if you cant take some robust banter and disagreement and take everything as a personal attack,maybe you should stay off the internet chat groups???
Right you “cant understand” that we live in a society that…etc..Maybe its because of those guns that we live in a society that is free and not a totalitarian basket case like N Korea..No one is forcing you to own one,but please dont think you have the “right” to enforce a minority opinion on a majority either.
Battle star Galactica…How ironic!!! You do realise that there is an episode in there somewhere that does address gun control and its detrimental effects on fighting oppression??Or am I thinking of the “V” seris??
Life isnt simple,and it is abit niave to belive that you can sort this problem out by simply banning things or having a gun free utopia where we are all happy clappy is going to exist ever.
You seem to be taking your Ballyfermot thinking and are trying to impose it on your new country of choice and life.Its not for the country you choose to emigrate to to bend to your ideals and way of life,well unless you are a Muslim…But for you to adapt to its way of life.Americans and Canadians have guns…Get over it!! They are not going to change for you! Not that it is much of a problem carrying guns in a car in the US provided you obey whatever local rules there are on such,and not everyone is a problem either,and police are well switched onto such a risk in both countries.So no law enforcement isnt much harder.
Where did I rant about Superior Canada? Said I live there, sorry for confusing you. Came here, got job, married, kid, doing regular life stuff….. If thats how it is in Ballyer, sorry for inflicting that here. I made it out of high babies/low babies, thank you very much. Battlestar Galactica was an excellently produced reboot, I do not have a problem with Muslims, or any other religion, race…. Its the thought of people like you ever having power that scares me. You clearly are delusional. If you see something else in this that I did not write, thats your mind.
Funny, we in Ireland have a good number of gun owners I know personally at least ten, shotgun,s. 22 rifles and even a couple with 0.223 rifles, mind you they would as like shoot up a school as fly to the moon. Perhaps that is the REAL difference.
Senators who voted against should be named and shamed…. They are terrorists who condone the murder of children.
All you have to do is look at a congressional website which will provide this info for free.Nothing hidden,and some email addresses and phone numbers where you can inform them of your opinions which they will be glad to hear about.
They listen to constituents?? I am so stupid, thought it was just lobbyists or those whom they can use for PR stunts…. Sorry y’all….
Who run’s the country the President or the senate funny way to run a country? might as well not have a President.
It’s called separation of powers.
If you don’t like it check out north Korea. Kim Jong whats his face wouldn’t be having to deal with such hassles like a parliament.
The President and his cabinet run the country but Congress has to enact the laws. Neither the President nor the Congress can enact laws without the consent of the other.
You don’t need to look as far away as North Korea. Voting on bills before our own parliament is generally a foregone conclusion, with the government parties having decided the outcome before hand. Not that giving the opposition an opportunity to uh… oppose, is a bad thing or anything.
Commenters here are assuming/demanding all English speaking countries share identical values.
Now was the timing of Boston Marathon a coincidence?
Yes.
The Republicans weren’t even going to allow a vote. They were going to philibuster the proposal out of existence. The Democrats who voted against come from rural or conservative states where the gun lobby is strong. This was on the cards but it’s still just unbelievable.
There have been multiple school based shootings every decade since the 1850′s. it’s unlikely in this so called Age of Enlightenment that the US will suddenly change its perspective on availability of mass murdering weapons being available to civilians if it hasn’t done so in the last 160 years
You mean the 1950s first off…
BTW the biggest school massacre wasnt done with any firearm at all.
But with commercail explosive in 1927 in Bath township, Michigan.Still holds the record of 45 dead 58 injured.
Explosives are easier to aquire in the US than firearms any day.Maybe an explosive ban might be more in order??
No I meant 1850′s. there were 13 school shootings in the USA between 1853 and 1898. They have increased in frequency since the 1950′s averaging 15-16 every 10 years since then
If you are taking the Wikipedia article it goes back as far as the 1700s.
When the first school shooting happened when a bunch of red Indians invaded a school house in the Pontiac rebellion in Green castle.
TBH alot of those old school shootings are sucides, accidental,bizarre,revenge,hunting, arguements between teachers and board members,jilted lovers and school sweet hearts,over worked students and teachers,accidents,stupidity of youths and adults alike.But not many were clear premediated mass killings back then.The spree killing seems to start in the 1960s.Somthing to do with mass media becoming more prevailent around then??
The NRA will blame Batman: Arkham City and Die Hard 2 for most gun violence.
Important to be aware of the dangerous far right ideology that’s developing here in Ireland. John McGuirk on twitter today basking in the glory of this “defeat of the lefties” is a perfect example of it. Frightening that people can have that attitude to something like this. It really should be something plain and simple in a normal society, regardless of what lazy political label you’ve decided to fanatically embrace in order to fill the empty void in your pathetic existence.
Also, lobbying is a lovely word isn’t it? Much nicer and more acceptable than corruption.
Nice theory, but I’m a tree-hugging hippie pinko commie, and I thought this bill wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on either, it was a PR exercise.
It was, mind you, good politics – it was a large, public target and was attacked by everyone who would attack this kind of legislation, and losing it lost no measure that would have helped the problem of violence in US society; while the directive and funding to the CDC to carry out the necessary research to create a real solution went through immediately, quietly, and without any real opposition.
And so the innocent shall suffer and the lobbyists shall fill the pockets of the administrators…..
They deserve everything they get.
These massacres never happen at NRA rallies do they? It’s NRA members murdering school kids, college kids, co-workers, former co-workers…
Check this out, a few months ago > http://youtu.be/EDN-llJRSjw …
Dam those spiteful Republicans.
Given the events in Boston this week this was always going to be defeated.
Conspiracy theorists will have a field day linking the two.
have your say