robaus Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 robaus, I think you completely underestimate the power of the gun lobby in the US, and the extent to which their prosperity has been forged by the force of arms. The message has been clear long before 9/11 - fuck with the US and we will fuck with you. I agree with Flash - what does Joe Public need with an assault rifle - but clearly there are some very powerful corporations behind the sale of all that hardware. On the point re 'an armed society is a polite society', does that work when alcohol and mental illness enter the picture ? Would you be happy to sit in a bar in Thailand knowing that half the customers, and most of the Thai staff, were carrying concealed pistols ? How about a crowded nightclub with lots of inadvertent jostling, drinks being spilt etc ? I've already seen one Thai guy stagger from a club with blood all over his shirt - dont need to see any more. And, finally, on to the theatre. The guy allegedly threw some sort of tear gas or smoke bomb to make it even harder for anyone to fight back - the coward even wore a bulletproof vest - even if the entire theatre had been armed, what are the odds that they would have bought him down firing blindly in all that panic vs the odds of them shooting one another ? The deterrent effect - potentially a good point, but it's clear that this guy had no plans to escape. The booby-trapped apartment, the timer designed to start loud music and attract cops, the fact that he didnt even get in the car and try to drive off - somewhere in there, his fantasy world clearly dissolved and he found himself in a car park wonder what the fuck he had just done. Thats the only explanation I can come up with - a similar thing happened to Martin Bryant, an even more cold-blooded killer found cowering under a car pleading for the cops not to shoot him. Bryant was a man who, according to an eyewitness, walked calmly to a tree and shot the child cowering behind it. It sickens me that our tax dollars allow him to continue stealing oxygen from the humans on this planet. It’s Catch 22. There’s a high gun ownership in the USA because there’s high gun ownership. When Major Danby criticizes Yossarian for wanting to escape the war he says: "But, suppose everyone felt that way." "Then," said Yossarian, "I'd certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way, wouldn't I?" Personally, I'd much rather live in a society where most people are unarmed because most other people are unarmed too. I realise the NRA is a powerful lobby, but nothing is impossible. We managed it in Oz, admittedly an easier task with a smaller population. There are many examples from history that were accepted as perfectly normal and immutable at the time but are anathema now: Feeding Christians to lions Burning witches Forbidding Scots to wear kilts, or the Irish to speak Gaelic. Slavery, apartheid and the White Australia Policy Imprisoning gays and suffragettes The Iron Curtain. There are nutters in every society, but when you allow them to freely arm themselves as well, there are bound to be many more Auroras, Columbines, and Virginia Techs. I suppose it will eventually reach a point where there are more citizens with a louder voice who are sickened, concerned or affected by the bloodshed with a will to do something about it than not. Not my problem. Up2u Americans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Me thinks Bangkoktraveller is Charlton Heston's long lost love child! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Me thinks Bangkoktraveller is Charlton Heston's long lost love child! I have read somewhere that The USA is country with the most guns in private hands. On the other hand gun ownership among under 30y olds is going down. Anyway I guess with so many assault weapons around I presume that we will see more massacres like this in the US... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 I have read somewhere that The USA is country with the most guns in private hands. On the other hand gun ownership among under 30y olds is going down. Anyway I guess with so many assault weapons around I presume that we will see more massacres like this in the US... If you should go to a USA gun show..... it virtually all Republicans! Democrats stand out like sore thumbs. So I assume gun ownership does have its political element. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbaron Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 When the government says you do not have the right to defend yourself......... I think a good wake-up call is needed. Big difference between "the right to defend yourself" and carrying around a machine gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 When the government says you do not have the right to defend yourself......... I think a good wake-up call is needed. Big difference between "the right to defend yourself" and carrying around a machine gun. The news media claims Aurora, Colorado has a ban on carrying a gun concealed. It is also claimed the movie theater had signage prohibiting guns. Sounds like a sitting duck situation in the making. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Hi, "It is also claimed the movie theater had signage prohibiting guns." It needs one??? Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted July 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 The place had crackerjack security - he was able to go out the exit door near the screen, get weapons from his car and then kick the same door IN to get back into the theatre. I dont know if that is a safety thing - to allow the fire department to get in or somesuch - but clearly no-one was monitoring that exit. No cameras - nothing. Makes you wonder how they held onto the cinema takings, much less protected the lives of patrons. If ambulance chasers are prepared to sue a business if you slip over on their floor, I wonder what a life is worth ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Hi, "It is also claimed the movie theater had signage prohibiting guns." It needs one??? Sanuk! Every bar in Patpong, Nana and Soi Cowboy has a sign in Thai banning weapons inside. Never seen it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unit731 Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Once the mandated medical records go online they will become available for "background" checks. If any US person has seen a physchologist or physchiatrist - no gun. This will take a few years to be fully implemented. My opinion. Legally sell and own real hunting rifles. A Russian or Chinse AK47 is not a hunting rifle. And restrict magazine size for handguns. That's a start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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