How do you all view the Florida shooting?

[Anc1entC0re]

I was hesitant to bring this up on other forums but it seems people are civil enough here to talk about it. 

Trump mentioned that violence in video games and movies is a huge part of the blame and I have to completely disagree. The reason this shooting happened is because guns are too easily accessible. They don't have to be made illegal, they need to, however, be better controlled. From what I read, that kid had problems and it was something MANY students were aware of and some teachers even commented on. So between the kid having mental problems and being able to get a hold of guns, that is what did this. The fact that the school ignored the warning signs makes this even worse. 

[riptide87]

All these shootings just don't make sense to me. I mean that in the way they are handled. They shove the information down people's throats and it ends up being all about people fighting over guns instead of focusing on loss. Kids were killed during this shooting, some were severely hurt. Many will never be the same again. 

Want to fix the problem? Screen for guns on a mental level. Don't sell the damn things online. Make it illegal to own a gun until the age of 24/25 UNLESS you are a registered military person or a police officer. 

[Gh0stRyder]

20 hours ago, riptide87 said:

All these shootings just don't make sense to me. I mean that in the way they are handled. They shove the information down people's throats and it ends up being all about people fighting over guns instead of focusing on loss. Kids were killed during this shooting, some were severely hurt. Many will never be the same again. 

Want to fix the problem? Screen for guns on a mental level. Don't sell the damn things online. Make it illegal to own a gun until the age of 24/25 UNLESS you are a registered military person or a police officer. 

I would say the issue is much deeper than this. The country is having all kinds of issues within the mental standing of the average child these days. 1 in 2 children has a severe medical condition that hinders their quality of life. Mix that in with social detachment through social media and issues like bullying in school and lack of parenting at home... Something is bound to go wrong with some of these kids. 

 

[liquidfire]

I view it as a problem. It isn't a problem that has suddenly just started either. School violence has been getting worse since the 80's. I am at the point where if/when I have kids, they will most definitely be homeschooled. 

[X S]

On 2/23/2018 at 8:37 PM, Anc1entC0re said:

They don't have to be made illegal, they need to, however, be better controlled.

This is the problem, right here.  How do we come to any agreement upon it?  Problem is, you have  too much noise coming from the far extremes, that it drowns out any sensible discussion.

On 2/25/2018 at 9:28 PM, riptide87 said:

They shove the information down people's throats and it ends up being all about people fighting over guns instead of focusing on loss

This is mostly why there is never any sensible discussion on the subject.  Attention is given to the wrong things, and since the media needs to grab views/readers attention, it often distorts and gives undue attention to things that don't deserve it.  When media amplifies the signal, things that may seem important are most likely unimportant.

Many psychological tests have been administer to demonstrate this.  For example, following a large incident in which a bomb went off in Germany, media reports stated that the suspect was a right-wing extremist.   When polling asked what citizens thought was the most important issue of nation, right-wing extremist shot from less that 0% to 35%.  Likewise, following 9/11 in the US, terrorism and national security became the most important issues facing the nation by an outstanding 75%.  As time went on, and  the issue faded from out attention-span, those numbers declined.

Media companies know this human attention flaw, and they often exploit it for their own gain.

[CowBoii]

I read about the mental studies behind showing a person's picture on the news and how it actually increases the likelihood of other people doing shooting sprees. A lot of kids and young adults that do this are unhinged and many seek attention. When they see other people shooting guns and getting their pictures plastered all over TV, it sends a very dark message to these kinds of people. 

No one is going to agree until reasonable people can be heard. Guns can't be made illegal because too many criminals hold unregistered firearms and the police are quite frankly not reliable enough to protect us (look at the 4 dudes that stood out of the school and did nothing). This, however, doesn't mean we can ignore guns completely. Guns are still a problem. If people truly want to stop school shootings, they should back the idea of having armed guards at every middle and high school in America. They should also back metal detectors being used and ID scans to get into these buildings. We have better security at our banks than our schools which is pretty damn sad.

[Skrylaxx]

20 hours ago, CowBoii said:

I read about the mental studies behind showing a person's picture on the news and how it actually increases the likelihood of other people doing shooting sprees. A lot of kids and young adults that do this are unhinged and many seek attention. When they see other people shooting guns and getting their pictures plastered all over TV, it sends a very dark message to these kinds of people. 

No one is going to agree until reasonable people can be heard. Guns can't be made illegal because too many criminals hold unregistered firearms and the police are quite frankly not reliable enough to protect us (look at the 4 dudes that stood out of the school and did nothing). This, however, doesn't mean we can ignore guns completely. Guns are still a problem. If people truly want to stop school shootings, they should back the idea of having armed guards at every middle and high school in America. They should also back metal detectors being used and ID scans to get into these buildings. We have better security at our banks than our schools which is pretty damn sad.

This. No one will agree until they realize all aspects of the situation. You can't just not do anything and you can't just take all guns away. 

[LinXX]

I don't understand how people are trying to defend guns right now. I get it, not all guns kill people and not all people who own guns are killers but there will ALWAYS be a risk so long as they are legal. They need to be banned already and anyone caught with a gun should be charged heavily. This way even if criminals still have them, if they get caught they go away for a long, long time. Let the cops have them. It is their job to protect us anyways.

[X S]

22 hours ago, LinXX said:

I don't understand how people are trying to defend guns right now. I get it, not all guns kill people and not all people who own guns are killers but there will ALWAYS be a risk so long as they are legal. They need to be banned already and anyone caught with a gun should be charged heavily. This way even if criminals still have them, if they get caught they go away for a long, long time. Let the cops have them. It is their job to protect us anyways.

I understand how that might seem like common sense, but one must consider the unintended consequences, and there are many. 

Toxic gun culture aside, the rationale behind the US Second Amendment carries a lot of noble and philosophical weight.  There are principles behind the amendment, some of which include self-preservation and the ability to defend against government tyranny.  Unfortunately, this message can often be distorted by both toxic gun culture and gun-ban advocates, either by claiming they have a right to own an Assault Rifle or that a civilized population should never need them.  I think both are wrong.

Edited March 4, 2018 by X S

[Hazed0NE]

You can't just change an amendment and forget why it is there in the first place. 

That being said, guns should remain legal BUT not all guns should be legal. They should have anything beyond a handgun or shotgun made illegal to the general public. From there, do mental screening to own guns. If you have a license, then you clearly passed it. As for schools, they need to have better protection. The only people who should be allowed on school grounds are students and teachers/faculty. If you are a parent, you should be cleared in advance to be able to walk in. Give all students over the age of 10 a state ID which allows them access to their school. Have armed guards like colleges do where there is someone at each entrance point of the school as well as cameras. 

Sure, this will take a lot of funding but then everyone will be better protected. 

[GatoNegro]

They really need to fix the issue. I don't even think guns are the main issue here anymore, it is the mental health of the average teenager. So many kids these days are depressed, suicidal, lacking any purpose of meaning... Sounds like someone who would give 0 fks about shooting up a school. 

[DiamondDave]

There is a risk in keeping them legal and there is a risk in taking them away, one has to determine which is worse. I say taking them away is worse because the amount of unregistered guns in America is shocking. 

[LinXX]

On 3/3/2018 at 6:58 PM, X S said:

I understand how that might seem like common sense, but one must consider the unintended consequences, and there are many. 

Toxic gun culture aside, the rationale behind the US Second Amendment carries a lot of noble and philosophical weight.  There are principles behind the amendment, some of which include self-preservation and the ability to defend against government tyranny.  Unfortunately, this message can often be distorted by both toxic gun culture and gun-ban advocates, either by claiming they have a right to own an Assault Rifle or that a civilized population should never need them.  I think both are wrong.

No everyday man needs that level of gun ownership unless they are fighting a war. I get what you are saying. I just honestly hate guns. If the government were to try to rise up against us, then we would need to protect ourselves and we also need to be able to protect ourselves in the event we get invaded or something by another country but there has to be some middle ground here somewhere. Kids getting a hold of guns should not be happening, ever. 

[Archbell]

On ‎04‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 12:34 AM, Hazed0NE said:

You can't just change an amendment and forget why it is there in the first place.

You can change or repeal an amendment and make new amendments to The Constitution, the 2nd Amendment was put in place to protect the peoples right to bear arms, the reason that amendment and all other amendments are there in the first place is because the United States deemed a change to The Constitution necessary.

I personally believe the United States should seriously consider changing their laws regarding firearms and the control of said firearms but unfortunately I think that the question of how to deal with mass shootings is something that the people of the United States will never agree on an answer to, many Americans love their guns and gun culture is ingrained in many parts of the country.

That's just the opinion of someone from London, England and I'm sure there are United States citizens here who know far more about this issue than me but I thought I may as well give my two cents.

[Hazed0NE]

On 3/11/2018 at 4:24 AM, Archbell said:

You can change or repeal an amendment and make new amendments to The Constitution, the 2nd Amendment was put in place to protect the peoples right to bear arms, the reason that amendment and all other amendments are there in the first place is because the United States deemed a change to The Constitution necessary.

I personally believe the United States should seriously consider changing their laws regarding firearms and the control of said firearms but unfortunately I think that the question of how to deal with mass shootings is something that the people of the United States will never agree on an answer to, many Americans love their guns and gun culture is ingrained in many parts of the country.

That's just the opinion of someone from London, England and I'm sure there are United States citizens here who know far more about this issue than me but I thought I may as well give my two cents.

I get what you are saying. We do have the right to protect ourselves but to what extent? I don't think people should be able to buy things like assault rifles unless they are the shell casing of them (i.e. they don't work). Shotguns and handguns should be okay but anything that is beyond that is ludicrous and people defending those guns have a problem. That is my opinion though. I have a few friends in England. One of them is pro guns and the other 2 are anti-gun. The conversations we have are pretty good but we always come full circle to not agreeing. 

[Archbell]

Yeah, I've spoken to many Americans that hold the same view as you do on assault rifles. In my view, assault rifles are the weapons of war and I would not be able to justify a weapon like that for home defence. I understand why the United States has held on to it's right to bear arms but in all honesty I think that some of the guns and types of magazines you can legally purchase is a major problem.

[GatoNegro]

I think any gun that can hold more than 10 bullets should be illegal but that is just me.

If they want to keep their machine guns then they should be very, very, very hard to get and you should have to pass a test to get one. Not only that but take the test every 3 to 5 years or so to maintain the legal right to own a gun on that level.

[Looney Dan]

There is no reason why school shootings like this should happen. Schools should have better security than banks. With that being said, up the security and get rid of machine guns. 

[D3x]

What I find the most interesting when it comes to guns and gun control is that the top 5 cities in the US that have the most gun-related killings also have the highest rated gun control. Chicago, Detroit, Washington DC, St. Louis, and New Orleans. Take those 5 cities from the statistics and the US goes from 3rd most killings via gun violence to 159th.

[elmZ]

Not to take away from anything here, but school shootings aren't as common as people are making it out to be on the media. In most cases, they are accidents even. Cases where dudes go on a murdering rampage are just not that common and given the number of guns in America, that is actually impressive. It shouldn't happen but you would assume it would happen WAY more than it does. Local schools around here are hiring security guards who are armed now. So at least schools are stepping things up.

[Anc1entC0re]

On 3/22/2018 at 8:59 PM, elmZ said:

Not to take away from anything here, but school shootings aren't as common as people are making it out to be on the media. In most cases, they are accidents even. Cases where dudes go on a murdering rampage are just not that common and given the number of guns in America, that is actually impressive. It shouldn't happen but you would assume it would happen WAY more than it does. Local schools around here are hiring security guards who are armed now. So at least schools are stepping things up.

Yeah same with schools here. I think that they are taking things into their own hands since the government seems to not know what to do or how to handle this stuff. 

[CowBoii]

On 3/15/2018 at 8:29 PM, GatoNegro said:

I think any gun that can hold more than 10 bullets should be illegal but that is just me.

It isn't that easy. You know how many types of guns that are out there? Many of them are single bullet guns yet hold much more than 10. 

[VICKSUN]

The thing I find funniest about this (not the shooting, that is horrible) is how people don't even bring this up now. People have an easy time of getting over things. I do see stuff on the news about students protesting here and there but the general public, I don't hear a peep about it.