The US is always pointed out as the leader in gun violence . Seems we are the only place on earth were we have these mass shootings . Or are we ? I have just spent about 5 minutes looking up mass shootings in Europe . 1989 at the Raumanmeri school in Rauma , Jokela in 2007 and Kauhajoki in 2008 . Three of them in Finland . School shootings at that . I never even heard of these . I have not looked into the gun laws in Finland yet . When I started this thread I wanted to address the issue of the effectiveness of gun control laws . Will tough laws stop the mass murders ? Will they just switch to a different method of attack ? Something impossible to control ? Perhaps bombs ? I already knew about the Norway attacks . I looked at Norwegian gun laws . Very strict is the only way I can think of to describe them . Well maybe ineffective might apply as well . I know some people are going to immediately think I am indoctrinated and ultra conservative . Sorry to disappoint but I am very middle of the road politically . I despise the bi partisan bickering in this country . I think both sides have some pretty idiotic notions as well . Either side can disgust me when they want to do away with the Constitution . I think any entity that wants to attack constitutional rights should be resisted . Both sides are more than willing to do so . I will cite an example for each side . Conservatives brought us the Patriot Act ,and its laundry list of circumventions of the Bill of Rights . The liberals do love their attacks on the second amendment . Now I know the 2a was put there to protect us from the possibility of an oppressive government . Anyone that thinks differently needs to read it ,and remember why we revolted from England . I have only recently bought two personal weapons . The last time I owned a weapon was 30+ years before . I used them for hunting . Something I lost my taste for a long time ago . To me they were dirty dangerous tools I no longer had a need for . What changed my mind was a gang that is very strong around here started in Oregon prisons . The European Kindred . They do love a good home invasion robbery . They prefer to hit meth dealers but do not limit themselves . The local police being unable to solve any of them . Here is a link to the latest .
http://lebanon-express.com/news/local/still-no-arrests-in-saturday-shootings/article_5f11a480-e72c-11e1-8dda-001a4bcf887a.html
I found out exactly what happened . The two shot each other . The 53 year old is a small time meth dealer . The 28 yo a member of the EK . Him and another member of the EK had robbed this guy at gunpoint a month earlier so the 53 yo armed himself . When he had recovered from the earlier robbery financially the EK decided he was a nice easy victim that did not report them . Since he was "rolling" again it was time to "tax" him again . My investigative technique . A 20 dollar bill and a discreet conversation with some one I went to school with and is now a meth head . EK is fairly well organized but operational security is not a strong point with them . This stuff and the 2004??? Supreme Court decision in Castle Rock v Gonzales stating the police have no legal obligation to protect citizens has forced me to arm myself . I now own an Ithaca 1911A1 and a Mossburg 12 gauge . I have regained my proficiency with my old friend the 1911A1 and rediscovered shooting clay pigeons is just a lot of fun . I pray to God I never have to point either at a living creature . Something I promised myself I would never do again after ETS . I do need a little advice on what is a good round for the 12 gauge for home defense . Any suggestions ?
I'm a fan of the 2nd amendment, but I am kind of on the fence in regards to where you draw the line for civilians. Automatic weapons obviously were not invented when the constitution was drafted. What if they were around back then, and there were mass shootings where dozens were left dead? I wonder if our Forefathers would have put restrictions on them. On the other hand, it's not the weapon that is doing the killing but the person, BUT, an automatic weapon enables them to kill many in a short period of time. I think a person should be able to own a semi automatic weapon if it suites their fancy for whatever reason, but there needs to be more rigorous screening, or training process, which includes a psychiatric evaluation. If you get all the paperwork done, signatures, training program, you can get one. If you fail the psychiatric screening you can try again in a year.
I'm a fan of the principles of the patriot act.
In general in regards to the parties I find party philosophies hypocritical to their cores. The right lives and breathes on "keeping the government out of personal lives", yet they want excessive governement regulation into peoples personal lives when it comes to social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. On the other hand, the left lives and breathes on more government, more regulation to "take care of the people" yet want little to no government regulation on issues such as the patriot act.