Florida shooting

[D41]

What someone is allowed to do vs. what they will do are two entirely different things.

Otherwise there'd be no crime at all.

[C00kiemonster]

What someone is allowed to do vs. what they will do are two entirely different things.

Otherwise there'd be no crime at all.

At least they put criminals in prison - plenty of them.

[Perkles]

Trumps revelling in all of this,I cant stop watching him I find him fascinating

[Monty]

F@cked up country, sorry D but there's no debating it. America used to be great but not any more.

[D41]

It is??

How much time have you spent here??

It's like anything, it is what you make of it. I'll grant you it's probably not as glorified as any travel brochure would have you believe. But I can hardly complain all things said & done.

And lets not forget the benefits of nostalgia...the human mind's built-in defence mechanism that typically only recalls the better aspects of one's existence, and shuts out the negativity.

PS...Say Hi to British Leyland for me.

[C00kiemonster]

F@cked up country, sorry D but there's no debating it. America used to be great but not any more.

I have to say on my travels to the states in March it was disappointing. Roads and infrastructure a mess and everything the same due to the big corporates. You could tell the country was in trouble, To be honest if Trump does get in then any shred of faith in the US is completely gone - last nail in the coffin.

[C00kiemonster]

lol

[rocket]

I think what I'm struggling to understand is a VALID reason why guns are still legal to buy.

[Kwacky]

Because of the US Constitution, which allows them the right to bear arms. It made sense when the paperwork was drafted, it was to ensure that the US could no longer be taken over by another nation and to allow citizens to protect themselves (aka shoot the locals to make way for farmland)

It's ingrained in American society. We in Europe get an idea of the US as it's shown to us, namely East Coast New York or West Coast California. However there's a massive area in the middle which sees the rest of the country as bleeding heart liberals. This is the bible belt, the heartland, cowboy and farmer and hunter territory. These are the people you will never persuade to give up their guns.

Imagine if tomorrow our government said you could no longer drive a car, you had to use public transport. That's what we're dealing with when you try to tell Americans they can't have guns.

It's hard for us to understand as it's not a country we live in. I still can't see one valid reason why guns should be so readily available though. It makes no sense to me at all.

[Monty]

F@cked up country, sorry D but there's no debating it. America used to be great but not any more.

LOL sorry D too much wine! Started drinking at 2pm with some clients yesterday and didn't get home until 12am. Got up this morning to find I'd installed a new microwave and assembled a new Hoover!

Plus Just checked the garage and it appears I also fitted a new front brake reservoir cap and topped up the fluid!

[Perkles]

For the record I like America and Americans I've travelled it extensively almost every state so not just the major city's.I have some good friends there, I fully understand how hard it would be to change the gun culture but believe something has to be done

[D41]

Kwacky's assessment is a pretty damn good overall view of how things are here.

Myself, I only know a few people who own weapons, and it's usually either because of their job, or as a result of it....a LEO might have a few other weapons 'just because'....similar to a mechanic having tools for every vehicle even though he only works on Fords or sommit.
I know I have a set of Whitworth wrenches/hexes I picked up at an antique store just to have them....they're no bloody use whatsoever,,,and believe me I tried to find a use for them! BUT....they're old, and they're kinda cool just to have, and one of them actually works on sommit, so for $5 I got a whole set of tools, which to my mind is a pretty darn good deal....yes sirree Bob!!

Anyway....a weapon is just a tool, it's there for when/if you need it...you hope you won't ever have to use it, but it'd be a bit of a bugger to find out you'd left it at home come the time when you do.


As to doing something, as Perky mentions....yes, from time-to-time they'll run some kind of program for people to turn in old-and-forgotten-about weapons and get a bit of cash in exchange for them. A lot of this stuff is just inherited from parents etc., and passed on down with no real purpose....they get forgotten about, lost, and eventually fall into the wrong hands.

Hopefully mine!!! MUWAHAHAHAAAAA!!

[rocket]

Because of the US Constitution, which allows them the right to bear arms. It made sense when the paperwork was drafted, it was to ensure that the US could no longer be taken over by another nation and to allow citizens to protect themselves (aka shoot the locals to make way for farmland)

It's ingrained in American society. We in Europe get an idea of the US as it's shown to us, namely East Coast New York or West Coast California. However there's a massive area in the middle which sees the rest of the country as bleeding heart liberals. This is the bible belt, the heartland, cowboy and farmer and hunter territory. These are the people you will never persuade to give up their guns.

Imagine if tomorrow our government said you could no longer drive a car, you had to use public transport. That's what we're dealing with when you try to tell Americans they can't have guns.

It's hard for us to understand as it's not a country we live in. I still can't see one valid reason why guns should be so readily available though. It makes no sense to me at all.

I live in the countryside and plenty of farmers round here have guns. There is a lot of shooting in my area for sport and to keep control of pests in areas. This i understand but I why do you need a assault rifle or hand gun for hunting.

[kiwikrasher]

F@cked up country, sorry D but there's no debating it. America used to be great but not any more.

LOL sorry D too much wine! Started drinking at 2pm with some clients yesterday and didn't get home until 12am. Got up this morning to find I'd installed a new microwave and assembled a new Hoover!

Plus Just checked the garage and it appears I also fitted a new front brake reservoir cap and topped up the fluid!

Come around to mine, I'll get you liquored up and point you in the direction of a few odd jobs I need done!

[D41]

@ Rocket.

Assault rifles are pretty much just banned to high heaven. There's just no way you can legally own one unless it's been disabled or it's part of a historic collection....sommit along those lines. I don't know much about them TBH other than what I've read on the net or seen on TV.

Handguns are where the real moolah is...the famous "Saturday Night Special"....usually some cheap POS....usually sold on the black market, or handed down as heirlooms etc. (Look what Dad left me after he was killed robbing a bank!!).

Some just get forgotten about and fall into the wrong hands....."If it can happen, it will", etc.

There's no turning back the clock on this stuff. If there was, I wouldn't need one myself. But I do and that's the end of it for me. I can honestly guarantee that I get no kick whatsoever out of carrying a weapon just to take my GF out to lunch....that's just fecking bizarre beyond words. I wish it were different.

[Kwacky]

[video]https://www.facebook.com/METalInternati ... 316252446/[/video]

[D41]

Making a joke of it does not make a point of it.

Like I wrote....it's in The Constitution....the Holiest Of Holies 'round here.
It can be added to, but rarely is something taken away.

The chances are, most people living or visiting the US will never ever see a firearm/weapon other than one held by someone in a legal position to do so.

I've yet to read of someone NOT moving to the USA simply because of the profligate availability of weapons.

We helped you out in two wars or more and this is all the thanks we get???

[Kwacky]

Did you watch all of the clip? Australia banned guns.

[kiwikrasher]

Yup, there had been about 10 mass shootings up to the Port Arthur tragedy, after a major tightening of the gun laws (not an all out ban but very restrictive) there has been none in the 20 yrs following it.

The Victoria State Police are known for being quite keen on shooting people though, but all thoroughly deserve it imo!

Edit: doh, maybe I should've watched the clip first too, pretty much just repeat what was said!

[D41]

@ Kwacky.

I didn't....it was pushing a somewhat tiresome agenda, and one I've heard many times before.

Narcotics trafficking and illegal firearms trade go hand in hand. The Constitution allows weapons. People have them and all the discussion of that fact is not going to change it one bit at a fundamental level. The major drug trafficking border to the USA lies two hours drive from my house. Ausland is an island nation. The US is not. The world is not perfect, I can deal with that.

Let me ask this. If they banned firearms in the US today, would they simply vanish? No, people would go to even more extreme lengths to hide them and/or protest the right to own them.....all hell could break loose.

They're there, and they're not going anywhere....I don't like it, but nothing about that fact will change anything one iota.
I get no pleasure whatsoever going to some of the extremes I have to go to just to live whatever semblance of a 'normal' life I lead. But I'll do it, and I'll never complain about it....the rewards outweigh the downsides by a country mile.