American Gun Ownership Highest In 18 Years

[Syt]

Well, in Germany, in order to get a hunting rifle, you'll need a hunting license which involves an exam about wildlife, proper handling of guns, wildlife preservation and also how to properly gut an animal (similar for fishing, btw). Though I don't think I've ever heard of anyone failing such tests.

[Syt]

From the TSA Instagram account:

These are just a few of the firearms discovered in carry-on bags this month. So far, over 1,100 firearms have been discovered in carry-on bags this year, the majority of them loaded. Left to right, top to bottom, the firearms were discovered at Atlanta, Cincinnati, Austin, Baltimore, Wichita, Sacramento, Phoenix, Denver, and Dallas.

http://instagram.com/tsa

[CountDeMoney]

Luluzi, adios, dickhead.  Too bad the parents weren't in the line of fire, too.

9-Year-Old Girl Accidently Shoots, Kills Instructor at Gun Range
Aug. 26, 2014

A nine-year-old girl accidentally shot and killed a shooting range instructor in Arizona, police say.

Charles Vacca, 39, was instructing the girl on how to use an automatic Uzi on Monday when the girl, who was accompanied by her parents, pulled the trigger and then lost control of the weapon, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Tuesday. Vacca was shot in the head and died of his injuries.

Sam Scarmardo, the operator of the shooting range Last Stop where the accident occurred, said the range allows accompanied children age eight and older to handle weapons.

He said Vacca, a longtime military veteran, had been working at the range for roughly two years. Scarmardo also said the range had not had an accident since it was opened more than a decade ago.

The girl's parents were recording the tutorial on their cell phones when the incident occurred and handed the footage over to authorities, according to Scarmardo.

[CountDeMoney]

Here's the video of the incident, clipped right before we go full auto

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/arizona-shooting-range-instructor-killed-girl-uzi-n189611

So the firearms instructor is dead, and died doing what he loved, so don't sweat him;  it's a 9 year old girl has to live with this all her life, somebody that should be worried more about Disney princesses, stickers and a pony instead of a fully automatic 9mm carbine that was standard issue for the Israeli Defense Force.

Psyche: permanently trashed.  Might as well start the cutting, eating disorders and get fitted for the clear heels now.  Way to go, Mom and Dad.  Way to go, Arizona.  Way to go, gun nuts.   

[Syt]

Reminds me of the live fire exercise in Starship Troopers. MEDIC!

[mongers]

Hey don't knock it, a day may come when the US might need those child solders. 

[Syt]

http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/16/gun-deaths-versus-car-deaths/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

[...]

A report out on Tuesday from the Violence Policy Center confirms yet again the lunacy of America's loose gun policies.

The report contains the striking finding that gun deaths exceeded motor vehicle deaths in 14 states and the District of Columbia in 2011, the latest year for which the relevant data are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's up from 12 states in 2010 and 9 states in 2009.

The 2011 states are Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington State, as well as the District of Columbia.

In Alaska, for example, there were 126 gun deaths and 87 motor vehicle deaths. The numbers in Ohio were 1,227 gun deaths and 1,178 motor vehicle deaths.

Nationwide, the number of motor vehicle deaths still exceeded gun deaths: 35,543 to 32,351.  But consider that in 2009 the spread was much larger – 42,624 motor vehicles deaths nationwide and 28,874 gun deaths.

[...]

If gun deaths exceed car deaths in some states then it must mean that cars and driving are overregulated. Let's remove the requirement for licenses and age limits. Let everyone drive whenever and however they want. It's a citizen's right, no?

[CountDeMoney]

If gun deaths exceed car deaths in some states then it must mean that cars and driving are overregulated. Let's remove the requirement for licenses and age limits. Let everyone drive whenever and however they want. It's a citizen's right, no?

[autonut]
The proper terminology is not "car", but "motor vehicle". 

I SUPPORT THE AAA
[/autonut]

[Berkut]

I think the U.S. missed their opportunity to have some semblance of sensible gun control. IMHO it would make sense to have a regimen similar to getting a diver's license. Have a curriculum, plus a test that covers your knowledge of technical, legal and safety topics and a basic practical test.

I am not sure I would say we "missed an opportunity". The reality is that the gun nuts have won, and the way they won is kind of amazing.

Over the last several decades they've effectively invented a "right" that never existed prior to that, and they've done so through the court of public opinion. It is a impressive example of how if you repeat something often enough, it can become "pravda", even for the Supreme Court.

Every Americun has a right to own their guns, and corporations are people. Go USSC!

[DGuller]

Here's the video of the incident, clipped right before we go full auto

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/arizona-shooting-range-instructor-killed-girl-uzi-n189611

So the firearms instructor is dead, and died doing what he loved, so don't sweat him;  it's a 9 year old girl has to live with this all her life, somebody that should be worried more about Disney princesses, stickers and a pony instead of a fully automatic 9mm carbine that was standard issue for the Israeli Defense Force.

Psyche: permanently trashed.  Might as well start the cutting, eating disorders and get fitted for the clear heels now.  Way to go, Mom and Dad.  Way to go, Arizona.  Way to go, gun nuts.   

Another aspect of that tragedy is that she'll probably be too scarred to ever get trained on the proper use of fully automatic guns again.

[derspiess]

I think the U.S. missed their opportunity to have some semblance of sensible gun control. IMHO it would make sense to have a regimen similar to getting a diver's license. Have a curriculum, plus a test that covers your knowledge of technical, legal and safety topics and a basic practical test.

I am not sure I would say we "missed an opportunity". The reality is that the gun nuts have won, and the way they won is kind of amazing.

Over the last several decades they've effectively invented a "right" that never existed prior to that, and they've done so through the court of public opinion. It is a impressive example of how if you repeat something often enough, it can become "pravda", even for the Supreme Court.

Every Americun has a right to own their guns, and corporations are people. Go USSC!

Funny, I didn't know the 2nd Amendment was that new.

[Berkut]

I think the U.S. missed their opportunity to have some semblance of sensible gun control. IMHO it would make sense to have a regimen similar to getting a diver's license. Have a curriculum, plus a test that covers your knowledge of technical, legal and safety topics and a basic practical test.

I am not sure I would say we "missed an opportunity". The reality is that the gun nuts have won, and the way they won is kind of amazing.

Over the last several decades they've effectively invented a "right" that never existed prior to that, and they've done so through the court of public opinion. It is a impressive example of how if you repeat something often enough, it can become "pravda", even for the Supreme Court.

Every Americun has a right to own their guns, and corporations are people. Go USSC!

Funny, I didn't know the 2nd Amendment was that new.

The "interpretation" of it that would allow a judge to strike down controls on handguns certainly is...which is pretty easy to note considering that bans like that have been around in one form or another since the 2nd was ratified.

[Ed Anger]

This is why you teach them bolt action rifles first.

[DGuller]

This is why you teach them bolt action rifles first.

Taking is slow has a price as well.  What if the girl were attacked by a whole group of bullies at school next week?  In such a situation, the difference between an automatic weapon and a bolt-action rifle can be the difference between life and death.

[Warspite]

I think the U.S. missed their opportunity to have some semblance of sensible gun control. IMHO it would make sense to have a regimen similar to getting a diver's license. Have a curriculum, plus a test that covers your knowledge of technical, legal and safety topics and a basic practical test.

I am not sure I would say we "missed an opportunity". The reality is that the gun nuts have won, and the way they won is kind of amazing.

Over the last several decades they've effectively invented a "right" that never existed prior to that, and they've done so through the court of public opinion. It is a impressive example of how if you repeat something often enough, it can become "pravda", even for the Supreme Court.

Every Americun has a right to own their guns, and corporations are people. Go USSC!

What is also striking is how the gun nuts have actually consolidated their position in the aftermath of shooting tragedies on successive occasions. Truly a masterclass in crisis communications strategies.