Not true all, and even if it were, firing on full auto greatly reduces accuracy. Have you ever fired one? I have. Good luck staying on target.

But please tell us how many school shooters used fully automatic military weapons.

What did Thomas Jefferson read? This may get an idea of what the 2nd Amendment meant in at least his eyes.

Thomas Jefferson's Reading Lists

And in other Founding Fathers--

Gun Quotes From Our Founding Fathers - 2nd Amendment

I'm pretty confident that any non-biased person that compares the US to the other G7 countries in school shootings can tell what the cause is. The US is over 50x higher per capita than the other G7 countries combined in school shootings.

There's literally one main difference between the US and those other countries.

I’m tired of hearing of the shootings. No one wants to see kids lives needlessly snuffed out, but banning guns aren’t the answer for the sick mind who did this. We should all count our blessings he didn’t use a pump shotgun with magazine extensions. It would have been much worse. Canada banned assault weapons last year after their last mass shooting where 22 died in Portapique. I guess we will see how that turns out?

The Japanese play violent video games but it does not correlate to gun violence. They make it hard to get guns.They don't have a fraction of the guns we have. They don't have a percent of the deaths we have and no dead children in schools.

I am waiting to hear how the conspiracy works between the NRA and the GREEDY manufactures to induce so many to buy "MANKILLERS" "WEAPONS OF WAR"

If Canada's last mass slaughter was last year, I'd say they are already doing a heck of a lot better than the US is.

Crazies will find a way. Sorry to say the world is full of crazies.

And we are the incubator of “crazies”.

True, but when you commit a crime in Japan, you go to jail and stay there....

You are right, the world is full of crazies, but for some reason the vast, vast majority of crazies who actually do "find a way" are in the good old USA. Do we have smarter crazies? Or do we make is so easy for them to "find a way" that even the dumbest of the crazies manages with few, if any, issues.

Scrolling through the hundreds of comments, the theme I see most often from the gun supporters is "it's not guns, it's mental health, deal with the actual problem". What I don't get is why the objection to keeping guns (or at least high capacity, mass slaughter type guns) out of the hands of folks with mental health issues until such time as they are "cured" or deemed not at a dangerous level of crazy. Yet, even suggesting that is greeted with howls of "2nd Amendment!, 2nd Amendment".
I'm left with the feeling that what gun supporters really want done is nothing. They are fine with a little collateral damage now and then, they’ll shed a couple crocodile tears as long as they can keep their shiny toys.

TJ; our best president. His main worry was Government control. He was worried about the Federal Government becoming too big, too powerful.
We are there !

America: Home of well-regulated women and barely-regulated guns.

The problem is , just who is unstable to the point of being denied the ownership of weapons, over the years we have seen more and more disturbed people wandering the streets,, progress?

I will go one step further, restricting any rights to anyone with a mental illness is the very definition of a slippery slope. Who gets to decide. And what is mental illness?

And every time the Administration changes parties we get another swing in "rights".

When you're shooting into a crowd and hoping to hit as many people as possible with no singular target in mind, then accuracy doesn't matter much.

The more shots you can fire in a short period of time, the more likely you'll hit a lot of people. That's why these weapons are the weapons of choice for *mass shooters*. As opposed to - rocks, knives, single-shot rifles and pistols, 6-shooters, crossbows, baseball bats, a car, or a chainsaw (for example).

The Japanese don't have nearly the amount of freedom that we do. Stop and frisk is common, as are home searches. Possession of cannabis has a jail sentence of up to five years for the first offense. Authorities can detain a suspect for up to three weeks without charges. A lot of people confess before they are told what the charges are. The conviction rate of those prosecuted exceeds 99%. Japan pretty much leads the world in human trafficking.

For what it's worth, the 2021 Fentanyl overdose death count of 14 to 18 years old was about 800.
For the category of 18 to 45 years old the Fentanyl death count was 64,178.

The worst school related mass murder in the USA is still the 1927 bombing in Bath, MI.

The astoundingly, incredibly, overwhelming high count of rampage killings at any school worldwide is 65 since 1913, with about 589 deaths in total. That's 211 fewer deaths than the count of kids aged 14 to 18 who died due to a Fentanyl overdose in one year alone.

List of school massacres by death toll - Wikipedia

Hindsight to be sure, but I don't think too many people would argue that these mass shooters have to have something very wrong with them,, how to predict with any accuracy,, but then as I have pointed out this is historically a relatively new phenomenon, what has changed ?

Sorry, I don't see the point of the argument against my statement. I stand by it. Semi-autos can be easily converted to full automatic.
...........Regardless, it is normally better in a battle to squeeze off a WELL-AIMED shot than to spray shots around on automatic. I know a man that was on patrol in dense jungle in Viet Nam - it was a tense time because enemy forces were assumed to be in the area. His rifle was set on full auto and he heard a loud noise in front of him. He pointed his weapon at the source of the noise and pulled the trigger. The result was a nice Pheasant to eat back at the base.
..........I am NOT sure if this example shows the value of full-automatic or the opposite.

I was rooting around in google trying to see if background checks include events from when a person was a minor. No luck with that search so far. I was wondering because it seemed to me that running a background check on someone 2 days over 18 was pretty pointless unless the check includes events going back to the person's minor years. Anyway, I did see this:

"The NICS has conducted more than 300 million checks since launching in 1998, leading to over 3 million denials.

The following groups are currently prohibited from owning guns:

Convicted felons
People under federal domestic restraining orders
People convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes against victims they have been married to, lived with, or had a child with
People committed to a mental-health facility, or a court ruled were mentally unfit
Fugitives
People convicted of drug crimes or determined to by a court to be addicted to an illegal controlled substance"

The devil, of course, is in the details. For example, the domestic violence check seems to be fine with someone beating the crap out of their girlfriend or boyfriend, just not their wife or husband.
Also, the Mental Health category is very squishy with poor record keeping and reporting.

It appears that much of the infrastructure is in place to block sales to mentally ill individuals, it's just not being executed very well. Plus, my initial point holds. It's unlikely that the most crazy, homicidal maniac would have a record in the database if they are only 18 by 2 days!

Personally, I think applicants should have to prove they are not mentally ill, rather than the other way round as it is today. Mass Killing is mostly a one and done type of crime, as the perp usually takes the cowards way out or lets the cops do it for him/her.

Yes. I have been trying to argue FOR that point. It IS a STATISTICAL fact. But, here we have facts overwhelmed by EMOTIONS and propaganda repeated by the NRA. Emotions are a POWERFUL factor in winning an argument - they can beat facts, often in the short term.
.........I wonder how often children and adults have to die in mass murders or get hurt in mass shootings before the FACTS and the SOLUTION sink into the American ethos?

Well, that's EXACTLY how it developed. It's not even a conspiracy between the NRA and the GUN manufacturers. The NRA is obviously in bed with the GUN makers - the NRA is the MOUTHPIECE of the GUN makers. I WAS an NRA member until 1967 when their magazine started getting devoted to "weapons of war" and military-style semi-autos. Gone were articles on upland game hunting and best rifles for hunting in thick woods and what was best for hunting on the Western plains - what was best for Alaska.
..........The majority of the NRA magazine articles became about military weapons and their accessories. I finally realized that US citizens began to hunt less so shotguns and bolt-action deer rifles were becoming less profitable. The gun makers began to VIRTUALLY make up their own (more profitable) market by using near propaganda advertisements that tended to equate masculinity and patriotism with the AR 15 style weapons and 30 round banana mags.
..........Most states at that time required deer hunting to be done with magazines of 5 rounds or less. I believe that Ohio required deer and bear hunting with shotguns - which were considered safer than rifles. I don't know if that has been changed. Myself, I think it would be a little humorous to see some fool hunting deer with a 30-round mag. It would be constantly hung up on tree branches as the hunter moved. There was an old saying, "one shot, one deer, but 3 shots, no deer".
..........The Jan 6th insurrection showed how powerful IS the symbolic connection between pseudo-macho-patriotism and the many flags of the insurgents that glorified military-style AR-15s. NRA propaganda had won that day in the distorted minds of the participants.

Agreed !

Nice. Good one! Kudos !

On our way to the "Handmaid's Tale"!

I agree with you. Harden the schools. Even a ten foot fence around the school with an armed security officer at the gate would probably discourage a killing. Of course, then they would just go to a movie theater, church, shopping mall, etc. At least the kids would be safe for a while. At least until they got older.

Yes, I do repeat myself when someone else says the same thing that someone else has said about the subject.

More restricting laws just keeps the good citizens honest while taking away a bit more of their freedom and liberty. It doesn't solve the problem, the mentally unstable. And I would rather an occasional unstable running amok than confined security with no option for our own safety.

Sorry if you took that as aimed at you. Not meant that way. The use of "you" was not meant for any particular person, and I could have just as easily used the word "they" in it's place. I will go back an edit that so that you won't be offended, which is not what I intended. I am sure you know that if intended, I could use much more descriptive verbiage.:)

Serving Rural America — Rural Minds

There are a lot of resources for helping the mentally ill online and other places. There is still a huge stigma attached to asking for help which does stop some people from doing so.

I was elated last night when they did a tribute to a soldier lost on a different battlefield. He had committed suicide due to depression. This tragedy told on the Memorial Day Concert done by Gary Sinise and others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb88V9dEoGs

National Memorial Day Concert | PBS

Make a Donation | Gary Sinise Foundation

And so you say my comment is "childish?" That's OK, I don't take offense easily. Unfortunately, folks that do not wish to be reasonable will discount FACT such as the FACT that over a Million people were saved last year when a GOOD person with a gun intervened. But, they can continue to live in their own world of disbelief.

Why have a bolt action rifle for self defense in your home anyway, when you can have a handgun that is more efficient in your self defense?

I agree that it is too late to do anything about the amount of guns in America. And in my opinion (childish?? ha,ha) that is because of how lenient the courts have become and how rampant robberies and assaults have become. People know that it's true that when seconds count, help is minutes away.

Ronny Reagan once said: "Because you won't get gun control by disarming law abiding citizens. There's only one way to get real gun control: Disarm the thugs and the criminals, lock them up, and if you don't actually throw away the key, at least lose it for a long time.
Another of many:
We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.

Hmm, I would like to know what experience you base your statement upon. I carried a shotgun in Vietnam and it was very effective in jungle fighting. I also carried one as a COP in my car. I also trained and carried a bolt action rifle for sniper use, professionally. It is unlawful to modify a weapon to make it fully automatic. Even bump stock operation was not outlawed in the past because it was not considered a fully automatic operation.

Sometimes people speak out about things they have heard without the benefit of experience.

Selective enforcement is a problem.

My previous wife experienced domestic violence and reported it. Nothing happened. She finally took her kids and escaped to a shelter. Her husband at the time got ****ed, and bought a rifle. Why if that significant? He was a convicted felon and he had no problem buying a gun.

So much for “rules” doing any good. Children are dying. How about some plan to do something to slow down the dying.

Lots of posts about how important it is to own a gun, few post on how to actually some something to just help.

I don’t know why it being unlawful to do something is going to help reduce the murders. I don’t think it is lawful to murder 19 children, but he did.

Debating legalities is not going to lead to a solution, even though I agree with your point it doesn’t help.

I don't disagree with your statement but I will add this. I have lived in Japan twice in my lifetime. Japan has just about the population of half our country from the Mississippi river to the West coast. All those folks are packed into a country Island about the size of California. They are so crowded that the use of a long rifle is almost impossible. It is so crowded that when I rode their trains, passengers were literally packed/pushed into the train cars so that the doors could close. They also have a totally different culture than we do and have a great bit of respect for each other. Ever heard the expression "save face?"

As I have mentioned before, the answer is that US gun ownership went from 300 to 400 million in the last 2 years. That answers, why Mass Murders are increasing. Now the question is WHY that big increase (about 15% per year) in US GUN ownership. Somehow (?) the social fabric togetherness is unraveling?
..........One thing I know, Russia and China are happy about the US unraveling! The Proud Boys, The Oath Keepers, The 3% ers, and other anarchists are overjoyed !
...........Another thing I know is that the US being the 1st world's leader in wealth disparity does NOT make a society MORE stable. The average person sees the problem when the top 1% ers keep getting wealthier. Jeff Bezos's yacht is about 4 football fields long, with a separate baby yacht to land his girlfriend's helicopter. Elon Musk has done a few strange things. A tax base that helped resurrect the middle class is needed today before things get LESS stable.
........Another thing - the near future (now until 2026) looks pretty dire and unpredictable. I wish the US had 100% of its citizens vote like Australia does! We have a lot to lose!

Yes, yes, I saw that movie.

The "OCCASIONAL UNSTABLE" seems to be becoming more and more the norm. We don't have a stable 1950s society today so we need new SOLUTIONS (safety from guns) similar to what other G7 countries have done. WE are falling
behind other countries due to our own stubbornness and glorification of the Western Frontier, rugged individualism, the macho GUN culture, and the AR 15 as a SYMBOL of something (?) emotional.

That was kind of a yeah / boo apology. Sort of blames me a 2nd time. Wonderful, so contrite.
........I thought that was what was wrong with the country? No one takes individual responsibility for anything.
........But, I will let it go as just an agree to disagree situation.

Yes, a shotgun IS useful to a limited extent in close quarters-type military situations. But, it is NOT the STANDARD issue for the majority of Army troops. And shotguns are very useful to Police.

For the poster that suggest I go live in Japan, is a perfect example of the intolerance for ANY suggestions to stop this violence. Let's pull together as AMERICANS and solve this. REALLY REALLY lock schools (obviously this Texas school needs correction, if we see SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING and to lighten this post, I hope it's possible on such a serious subject, just sell guns, NO AMMO, giggle