Carlton Supporters Club

These senseless massacres are so common in the US (apparently this is the 19th mass shooting of 2018) that it’s becoming harder to feel sympathy for the victims and their families.

I can imagine people bleating that it wouldn’t happen if the school had armed guards 

If they had real leaders, the problem would be addressed.

It seems that it is the 29th mass shooting of 2018, not 19 as I stated above.  I wonder what it will take before the ‘right to bear arms’ is addressed?

I wonder what it will take before the issues within their society are addressed? Symptoms and causes.

The Decline and Fall of the American Empire?
Rotting from within?

Interested to read recently about the US constitution which is very strong on protecting the people from oppression and tyranny, including that which could arise from the government. The scarring experiences suffered during the George III regime shaped such a distrust of government that the right to bear arms for citizen protection became paramount. Today of course this seems rather pointless in view of the weaponry the government could theoretically  deploy against the populace but it is not going to be given up easily. I can't see things changing any time soon.

The only reason of the right to bear arms, was because the young US was broke, and couldn't afford a standing army. The minute men were successful in the War of Independence so they relied on armed citizens. It should have been repealed once the US could afford an army.

May have been one of the reasons but the constitution was written to ensure division of governmental power and the protection of citizens from potential tyranny by the government. The second amendment  ensured "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." There is a strong argument put forward by some in the US that abolishing the right to bear arms imperils that freedom and that gun crime is part of the price for that. It does seem like an alien concept to us but I can't see it changing anytime soon, and certainly not without a massive fight. Much easier said than done.

When the second amendment was passed, "arms" were smoothbore muzzle loaders that the average Joe could fire once every 60 seconds and, with a bit of luck, hit the side of a barn at 60 paces.  While that illustrates the folly of being bound by statutes written in another time, I wonder whether it would be possible to define "arms" as "smoothbore muzzle loaders" or perhaps single shot, low powered rifles.  Many states have successfully banned assault rifles so it shouldn't be too hard.

I note that the POTUS spoke about addressing mental illness in his response but didn't mention gun control (or guns I believe).  Addressing mental illness is an important point but equally important is removing firearms that are designed specifically for human targets.