"Multiple shootings in Britain are rare. In 1987, gun enthusiast Michael Ryan killed 16 people in the English town of Hungerford. In 1996, Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and a teacher at a kindergarten in Dublane, Scotland."
I don't know, but I'm pretty sure you don't have to be an "enthusiast" to do something as hideous as kill a bunch of innocent people? Seems to me a 'gun enthusiast' would have guns and either hunt or do shooting practice because he enjoys it........why mention that a cold blooded murderer is a 'gun enthusiast', unless.............think there's any agenda there by the author of the story? GeeeeZ
z
8 comments:
Nah, he used two rifles, not handguns.
Not your typical gun loon.
Perhaps if gun ownership were allowed in Britain, Bird could have been stopped before he killed 12 people. It looks as though he didn't have a problem finding a gun.
Criminals and killers usually don't. It's the law abiding citizens who are defenseless. Derrick Bird was assured free reign over his potential victims, and he took advantage of it.
To call a killer a gun enthusiast is to imply that if you are a collector of guns, or believe in self defense, you are a potential killer, which couldn't be farther from the truth.
But, since when did the truth get in the way of politicians who are so naive as to believe if they make something illegal, it will go away.
Criminals are called criminals because they disobey the law. Having a gun, when it's against the law, is the least of any potential killer's concerns.
In fact, that law gives him license to kill or commit armed crimes, without interference from a pesky citizen who may be armed to protect himself.
What this article doesn't tell you is that crime has risen since the Brits lost their right to own guns.
But, politicians never let facts and common sense get in the way. It's what makes them feel good that matters.
Pris
Pris "To call a killer a gun enthusiast is to imply that if you are a collector of guns, or believe in self defense, you are a potential killer, which couldn't be farther from the truth."
Wasn't that a nutty thing to include in that article? "the gun enthusiast.." Matter of fact, I'd venture a guess most gun enthusiasts are more careful than a freak like this. Like martial arts experts are more careful not to have to USE their talent, you know? So's not to hurt anybody.
What a dope. The author uses "enthusiast" to modify the wrong noun! It should be paired with "killer" not "gun."
So... What's a genuine gun enthusiast? In addition to Pris' comments:
1) A great grandfather and his family are alive today in Chicago, and many other attempted murders, rapes and robberies are nipped in the bud by a law-abiding citizen who defended himself before police could arrive.
I imagine thousands of their friends and families could now be labelled "gun enthusiast."
2) At one school shooting a vice principal stopped the killer cold with a gun retrieved from his car long before police could arrive. Unfortunately, due to ill conceived federal law, his car was parked some distance from the campus since it contained a firearm, and people had to needlessly suffer while he ran the nearly half mile there and back to retrieve it.
More lives saved by gun enthusiasts:
3) Two teens in Oregon who liked the skill of shooting -- MORE gun enthusiasts -- and had taken gun safety classes sponsored by the NRA, recognized the "unshootable" condition of the gun of a killer stalking their campus. Their enthusiasm for and training in firearms gave them the knowledge that it was safe to tackle the SOB 'cos he couldn't fire his weapon (without giving him time to find out his mistake) - long before police arrived.
Your enthusiasm for guns may just save my life.
BTW, why might killers pick schools? They aren't THAT stupid. They know where the guns AREN'T.
Teens in NYC used to carry their rifles to school on the subway - to have them for after school gun clubs. No school shootings then. Hmmmm..... wonder what changed?
This guy is a gun enthusiast and a terrorist blowing people up is someone who must be understood. Maybe we should start calling them bomb enthusiasts?
Hm.
Problem: Guns are dangerous and wicked people use them to kill other people.
Solution: Lets make guns illegal so only those who don't care about obeying the law have access to them.
Brilliant idea!
Never mind that rocks and ice picks and electrical cords and rat poison and vehicles are also used to kill.
Guess it makes sense to outlaw rock collecting, electric appliances and automobiles, too? As a bonus, there will be less man-made pollution.
I'm amazed at the lengths some will go to avoid the reality that people are capable of being incredibly evil and our laws need to focus on individual accountability for having killed someone.
Heather
Deborah, all VERY GOOD points..thanks.
heather, yes, exactly "guns don't kill, people kill"
And FrogBurger..."bomb enthusiasts"..good one. :-)
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