Ah yes. I thought someone would have beaten to me to it, so I won't start my own thread.
Condolences to the bereaved in Red Lake.
Redtop - it's not that the WORLD is getting crazier. America is getting crazier. Why do you want to drag the rest of the world into this? It's an American problem, and is the result of a cavalier attitude which prevails in your society with regard to the availability of firearms. I feel a whole gamut of emotions when I read these stories, but surprise is not one of them.
But what are you going to do when you live in a society in which folks openly proclaim that they don't mind if a few thousand people get shot and killed each year, as long as they themselves are allowed to keep and carry firearms. Indeed, some are more than happy with the status quo, and they know who they are.
We had a school shooting in Scotland in 1995. John Major's government introduced legislation in 1996, and Tony Blair's government finished the job in 1997. Not a perfect solution some might say, but much better than the ostrich method which prevails in your country.
Of course, like all types of legislation, gun control legislation can never be 100% effective, but I'll settle for 98%. Such events are mercifully rare in Britain, so I guess it's having an effect.
But... a couple of years ago, some "gangsters" in the West Midlands were involved in a clash with a rival gang. One gang member fired an automatic weapon, discharging 14 rounds in 4 seconds, and two innocent girls were killed. Within the past few days four of them received life sentences, with the judge's recommendation that they each serve a minimum of 35 years. Let's hope that message gets through.
