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Guns in the US
Thought it would be interesting to discuss something other than fuel related topics on this forum, and as this site has a lot of US users, it would be nice to get their opinion's on this matter.
Around the World we all know about the US gun culture, but what some of can't comprehend is that despite the shocking stats surrounding shooting, crimes and deaths involving guns, is that nothing changes, and most people don't want to see any changes to US gun laws. According to the stats, every 12 to 15 minutes someone is shot in the US.
What's even more worrying is the number of guns marketed towards children, "My first rifle" etc. I've just watched a documentary filmed in the US called Kids and guns, I was shocked to see kids as young as 4 having pink rifles powerful enough to kill a boar for their Birthdays! The poor girl was more interested in popping the air sacks packed around the gun than using it. She clearly didn't want to use the gun and yet her father forced her to use it. I find this quite scary to think parents think it's normal to bring their children up around weapons, weapons that were designed for one purpose - to kill.
I learnt that sadly 8 Children are accidentally killed EVERY DAY in the US from guns, 8 a day, 3000 a year. That's more than the total number of people killed in car accidents in the UK! They interviewed 2 parents who let their 9 year old child go hunting on his own. He slipped and shot himself in the head with his "toy rifle" and that was the tragic end of his short life at 9 years old. And this happens 8 times every day.
I know it's easy for Americans to say "Guns are safe until they fall into the wrong hands" but given that there are more guns than people in the US, I think it's fair to say that they do fall into the wrong hands, and very often too. There are other countries with high numbers of firearms, but it's the US that seems to have all the issues.
I can almost understand the sporting side of guns, shooting range etc. But how and why is it legal to own an assault rifle? One chap in the program explained how it's a right to own a gun, and all 3 of his kids had guns under their beds. It's a right to defend your home and family, but use a gun, that's a right to murder? If people feel they need a gun to defend themselves, does that not explain how out of hand the situation is? It's like fighting fire with more fire.
It saddens me to think a democratic modern country like the US has to have metal detectors outside it's schools to check the students aren't carrying weapons. There are some Schools in the US where the students have a higher chance of being shot and killed than troops overseas. It seems of all the conflicts and wars going on in the World, the biggest threat to US citizens is not terrorism, it's US citizens!
Sadly it seems too late for the US, unless they ban guns and offer a cash incentive for all handed in weapons, I guess School shootings and murders will continue. I am not trying to cause any offense here, the above is just my opinion, and my desperate attempt to comprehend why the US needs so many guns, and why the laws are not changing. I look forward to discussing other's opinions.
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