Sadly few people know the Thomas Hamilton the Dunblane shooter was known to the authorities as someone who preyed on children . He set up clubs they could come to for free but he was indulging in some questionable practises which were not actually illegal so they refused to allow him rent council property. He claimed they were infringing his human rights and won his case. The police were aware of this and the firearms officer described him as "a very unsavoury individual" whose licence should be withdrawn. Tragically the chief constable probably having in mind the human rights case overruled him and he was allowed to keep his certificate. When this came out at the enquiry the officer who made this decision had become head of Scotland's police and consequently resigned.

@@freebeerfordworkers The human rights act came in in 1998 so are you sure that was successful defence ?

@@mirvids5036 I have to admit the story is from The Sunday Times and it was many years ago. Essentially they reported local council knew of his activities and banned him from their property . He then claimed this was some kind of discrimination. What happened then I cannot say but according to The Sunday Times he got a letter from the local MP congratulating him for standing up to the Council. As I say I cannot remember the precise details but essentially The Sunday Times reported they tried to ban him and failed. I do not think there's any question the firearms officer recommended his certificate be withdrawn and was overruled.

@@freebeerfordworkers Don't blame the human rights act that wasn't even in place at the time. The Right wing love to blame the human rights act for criminals"getting away" with stuff. Every attack on it, false or otherwise, gives them an opportunity to weaken support for it

@@alanrmurphy I accept that but by some means Hamilton was able to threaten the authorities enough to frighten the police from withdrawing his firearm certificate.

No lots of people were upset by the lengthening requirements of the weird law but it didn't get reported. Some shooters just moved their guns to NI. It's a bit like when they introduced licencing of air guns in scotland. Even though you can buy them in Berwick with just ID.

Propaganda (Fox news "fake news") has completely brainwashed a lot of the country. The education system is pretty lacking and doesn't create intelligent critically thinking individuals. And that's exactly what the politicians and corporations want. Between that and the far right evangelical church ( that teach hatred instead of actual christian values like compassion) it's almost impossible to fix. Some states it is actually legally allowed for public schools to teach "Creationism" instead of science: evolution, universe, biology, etc

They had a no questions asked scheme for handing in guns I'm also from Scotland this is the way it should be

We still like our gun laws too

I remember that people were asked to hand in all guns and people who didn't need/use them handed them all to police because we UK didn't want that happening again.

👏 well said

Excellent comment

You absolutely nailed it.

Spot on

You can legally own one if you have a valid reason eg pest control on farm land. I was also in the cadets at school and we were trained to use rifles. BUT I have absolutely no valid reason to own a gun in my everyday life, so I can't own one - and I wouldn't have it any other way. But yes, you're quite right - the average person will never see an active gun in the UK and that's just as it should be.

Uk also. Never physically seen a gun anywhere other than a museum or in the hands of a soldier (Irish checkpoint).

Gun deaths increased after the handgun ban....

I visited the States just before the pandemic, Pennsylvania to be precise. During my stay, I aided the friend with whom I was staying with a traffic incident. Sitting in the police station with the attending officer, I was within three feet of the Glock on his belt. That was the first and only time in my life I have ever been anywhere near a firearm. It really brought it home to me that I was definitely in another country.

@@KeplersDream You have never been to London I see. I lived there for 18 years and saw openly armed police a few times a week.

Kinder Egg toys are banned in the US because they're dangerous to children, apparently, but not guns..

You can own a gun under your very own FAC in England when your 14!!! (if an adult buys it for you). You can even shoot it unsupervised. There is no reason the Smith and Weston revolver used at Dunblane in long barrel format couldn't be owned by a 14 year old.

@@davedavids57 and no age for a shotgun certificate if memory serves me correctly.

Well if they have a gun… YOU DONT WANT THEM DRINKING ALCOHOL do u🤦‍♂️🤔

The British army issued me a 7.62 self loading rifle 23 months before i was old enough to order a beer in the naffi

Same with NZ. Guns are used for hunting and pest control. So claiming you want a licence for "self defence" is an automatic rejection. I mean "self defence" means you intend on harming/killing another person.

You cant defend yourself in the UK or here in Ireland. Also almost all gun crime are done by criminals with illegally held weapons same in every country.

There is NO excusing gun ownership. The mass shootings in the US, where Innocent lives are lost are mainly carried out not by criminals but by individuals with mental health issues. Its one thing for criminals to use guns against each other, but there is no defending those who take innocent lives away.

@@andyc6542 that is the dumbest thing ever said. First off no "mass shootings* are not mostly commited by legal.gun owners that is 100% false. Before this one there was around 200 mass shootings in the US this year so far at the time this happened. Two or three were legal gun owners, one was a black gun, one was a white guy the other is this guy a Latino guy. You dont even know anything.... About the subject as displayed by your own comment. US government data also shows that legal gun owners stop anywhere from 500k-3.5 million crimes per year almost all of them without firing a shot. Almost all gun crime is done is states with the most strict gun laws and the lowest gun crime areas are in states with the most liberal gun laws. Chicago has 25+ gun deaths ever single weekend sometimes a bit lower sometimes far higher and all done by criminals with illegally held weapons, as it is near impossible for normal people to get guns in at all. Also when you hear about gun deaths in the US it is total! Gun deaths from all causss including self defense, cops, criminal's, accidental, self inflicted etc... Again people speaking on subjects they know nothing about.

@@yagsipcc287 Which is the difference between the US and everywhere else. A normal person being angry and irrational in the US can turn to a gun they're carrying.

Well its our fault they have a huge belief that their freedom from tyranical governments is tied to gun ownership and citizen militia. It all goes back to the war of independance.

Because Americans care more about their guns than their children

I was at Glencourse at the time and remember the Scottish Recruits who were from that area being let home immediately

I've had a few lockdown drills before I left school. Even then, it was never for guns! The scariest thing that happened was a kid came in with a knife, there was no injuries and the police came asap. I couldn't imagine the fear of a school shooting! It baffles me that the death of children isn't where the line is drawn.

@jimwalker760 I can help you with that. Americans have always had this idea about freedom stretching back to 1776. They didn't have many guns during those days so insist they will always be free with firearms. It's nonsense of course, the government would mash them like peas if they chose to. Firearms are no defence against drones or nuclear weapons. But that's what the second ammendment was for, completely ignoring the realities of modern warfare. Even their own history shows the second was a failure, the only time it was used, the rebels were defeated. But they fear slavery more then dead children unfortunately

There is something so dystopian about children in USA being drilled on how to hide under a desk. Thankfully when kids in the UK go to school they don't need to contemplate that someone may attempt to kill them before hometime.

As an American, I can say I don't understand the gun-aholics either (alongside many, *many* other regressive ideas that seem to fester here).

Hahaha we don’t send our kids without worrying that’s a complete lie the amount of knife crime is insane especially in teenagers

@@ricksanchez-qx5zz I don’t know where you live. But I can reassure you that where I live we do not fear sending our children to school. I have 3, 2 have left school and one is at high school. I have NEVER worried about knife crime. Maybe we live in very different areas. However the hahahaha is very immature!

@@ricksanchez-qx5zz I went to school in a not-so-great area of Glasgow when it was the knife capital of Europe, I never lived in a state of perpetual fear of being knifed. When I was at school I was threatened with a knife a couple of times, but it is a knife not a gun. If someone stabs you, you can potentially get away, and even if they did get you it would take them time to attack someone else/ you would have more time to seek medical help. I was never that worried. My parents never sent me to school concerned that I wouldn’t come back, or with an insert in my bag to use against someone who was coming at me with a knife. Even so, over the years Scotland passed stricter knife regulations, decreasing the number of knife crime instances. In some areas you might be scared walking down the street, but I’ve never had that translate into schools. Some schools are rougher than other but generally any actual fights took place outside of school. So yes, parents and kids may worry but to no where near the same levels as I imagine those in America do. We have MUCH less to fear.

There are plenty of people in the states who want change, unfortunately they don't have the lobbying power of the money that the NRA have, people don't rule, the almighty dollar does, have said it before "the US is a company, not a country" money talks and the opinions of the masses count for little in comparison

The thing is while there is a problem control is not the solution, guns or knives are not the problem , what is the problem is the lack of response from the police or other agency's in ether mental health checks or acting on intelligence. people lord over gun control like its the fix all solution when in reality it fixes nothing and in the years after the UK did it gun crime and shootings has only increased but now the public are mostly unarmed and in other areas knife crime spiked and has been a yearly rise. the sad reality is people want to kill or rob other people for what ever reason and blocking one weapon just means they will get it illegally or they will move to the next most deadly weapon.

Guns or knifes is a misdirection. The discussion is on us gun deaths . Mental health ? No its fucking guns it only take one of life's twists to turn a responsible normal person beyond breaking point . In the USA people die from guns at an horrific rate compared to the rest of the developed world. This is for both getting shot and sticking the barrel against your own head and splattering the ceiling with your grey matter. "UK did it gun crime and shootings has only increased but now the public are mostly unarmed and in other areas knife crime spiked and has been a yearly rise." Hello it is nowhere near the rate of the US. In the UK having a box cutter without a legitimate purpose is a knife crime. In the US having a switch blade is legal in many states . Whereabouts a favorite propaganda technique of bullshite artists from Russian trolls to NRA sycophants.

@@EQINOX187 No, the access to firearms is definitely a problem too. I don't understand this argument from the pro-gun people. Why do you want there to be only one problem and only one solution? There can be multiple issues and multiple solutions. And the thing with easy access to lethal weapons? Well, it means that they are easy to get a hold off. Duh! I know that I can get a hold of a gun in my country, of course I can. But I've got no idea where to even start. You might say I can just take a knife from my kitchen, but what planet do you live on if you think that's even remotely the same as shooting someone with a gun?

@@SilverEye91 I never said i was pro gun at all, being logical and using your brain does not make you pro gun it just makes you intelligent and able to use your brain, where as assuming something about someone kinda makes you look stupid, in every country that has banned guns or imposed heavy restrictions it did not stop gun crimes or murders committed with guns, and contrary to what you think guns are incredibly easy to get even in places like the UK, few years back a 16 year old kid in the UK robbed petrol station close to where i live and when questioned how he got the gun he said it was easy as going online, So if a kid in the UK with heavy gun control can then a nut job sure can. As for a knife well its clear you do not have a clue , most mass shootings are close range so the gun only gets you a few extra feet in close quarters and in that situation a knife or larger blade is just as effective if not more so as it is silent, In the UK they have massive knife crime and its not always reported on by the media and mass stabbings happen all the time where a nut job goes around stabbing random people, the last one killed 8 people and seriously wounded 27, or how about Germany where a guy armed with a machete and knives entered a shopping center and started slashing and stabbing killing 17 people before he was finally taken down. Banning guns never solves the issue and people like you seem to forget that in the US there are already heavy gun control in place with many laws and regulations and contrary to what you people think it is not as simple as walking into a shop picking up a can of coke a pack of gum and a gun, there are a ton of checks that need to be done before a legal gun sale can be finalized, and so to get a gun the person would have had to pass government checks, and even if he had failed that and could not get a gun he would have simply moved down to the next most lethal weapon and did what he did, so all banning guns would do is change the types of wounds and would not prevent the crime.

My husband and I live in Scotland have handed in guns when my dad died. My husband (crofter) has gun license and a few guns but we just took all my dad's to police and handed them over didn't even cross our minds to do anything else with them they were no longer needed.

And that's just the mass shootings. I looked it up the over the day, there's something like 50+ firearms deaths every day in America. It's so constant that most deaths, most shootings, aren't going to make the news.

A better man than me, I couldn't live with that

The fact that he gave up his life and job to protest and force change is amazing.

Again from the UK perspective, wasn't the second ammendment created so the local population (all able bodied men at the time) could easily form a militia and defend themselves. As such owning the same weapons as an army had an home was the intended outcome. Also the idea that politicians in the states only support gun rights because they are paid by the NRA is a strange one, just look at the figures. Between 1990 and 2020 Gun rights organisations donated: $69.3 million to election campaigns with gun control organisations donating $51.6 million. However that's absolutely peanuts in US terms. Take Bloomberg LP (the company managed by ex Dem NYC major) they donated $171,767,055 in just one year (2019-20). Ted Cruz got $176,274 in donations from the NRA in 2020 (the last year figures are available) out of a total of $54,749,210 raised for his campaign. So that's 0.321% of the money he raised. The actual reason that gun rights organisations are so effective is lobbying. This is mainly through unpaid lobbying by hundreds thousands of pro gun supporters. Gun rights supporters are extremely well organised at a grass route level. Strangely enough the NRA aren't responsible for most of this its actually the GOA (gun owners of america) and similar organisations who provide huge numbers of supporters for canvassing, letter writing and contacting members of legislators.

By 1791 the puckle gun had been around for over 70 years and the kalthoff and cookson repeaters had been around for over 100 years. Cannons were also included under the second amendment. Criminalising drugs hasn't slowed the consumption of them so why would criminalising firearms do the same. We have pretty horrific gun crime here in the UK too and alot of people have them through less than legitimate means. In London in 2010 there were 499 shootings for reference.

@@dahpughie criminalising guns or drugs will not work I agree. However legislating guns could. Half of the US political system just doesn't want to do anything. That's the issue. We had a deaths from firearms rate in the UK of 0.23 per 100,000 in 2020,In the US that rate was 12.21 per 100,000. We had one mass shooting and changed laws, so did Australia, New Zealand and Norway that isn't the only reason but helps keep gun deaths a rarity.

@@thebletchleybiker7780 Americans should probably start using their guns for the intended purpose of the 2nd amendments, their politicians seem shitter than ours lol

The power will only be removed from the gun companies if America makes lobbying of politicians illegal. The system is far from perfect, but it does help prevent any conflict of interest issues, bias & corruption. Again as a Brit, I find it absolutely mind boggling (and incredibly frustrating & infuriating) that these manufacturers have so much power over political decision making. They are essentially dictating. How/when did that loss of control happen? When did the lines become blurred? Where is the boundary? Who is really in charge of decision making? I don't understand how pro gun Americans think that the answer to the issues around mass shootings is to.....have more guns. So by that logic, do you put a house fire out by lighting another fire? Fight fire with fire? One proposed 'solution' is to arm school teachers!! How many teachers even support that? It's madness. You might as well train police officers to be master bakers. That way, when dealing with a hostage situation, or suicidal person, they can just simply whip up a nice, lovely cake or pastry, to defuse the situation. For me, that's how ridiculous & absurd it is to even think about arming teachers.

Sadly ,Emma ,it does happen here too...there was again incident 10 years ago here on the wirral near a school and shops...the gunman even aimed at me my wife and kids as we unknowingly drove into the middle of it all...momentarily in a split second thought of running him over , reversed away at approximately 40 50mph...that's what I was told..the gunman was released from psychiatric hospital and I see him at the local shops most days...banal indeed...

Despite your personal experience, being a victim of a mass shooting, or being even in the same town at the same time as one, in the UK, is significantly rarer than getting struck by lighting.

@@eh1702 fair enough...

nah just stabbed now.

The laws don't keep anyone safe. We have had terrorist attacks which killed terrible numbers because ultimately a person intent on harm will find a way to kill people. Just look at the insane neo-nazi Copeland or the Manchester bombing. Criminals get gun pretty easily and shoot each other or get some innocent bystander. The UK didn't even really have a problem with gun crime before the ban, it's was a tiny fraction of the crimes committed and most of it was by people who owned them illegally. The banning of the right to bear arms is an infringement upon our civil liberties and there are so many crimes which would not have happened if someone were armed. Imagine how many women could have saved themselves from rape if they had a pistol in their purse. How many old people could have shot a burglar? I'm all for background checks and the US already has background checks. There is this ridiculous idea that anyone can just walk in a gun store and walk out within an hour clutching a high powered rifle or pistol. It's not that simple.

100% exactly. Plus, having gone through all those checks (+ that it can be taken off you) you're going to be totally responsible with it (which i'm sure you are anyway). So it's not as though you're going to be lending it out to people, or leave it lying around (etc) either. Which also minimises the chances of unauthorised people getting hold of your firearm, too, so another safety feature. [el'sda2].

It baffles me why this has not happened in the US. It's infuriating! .

Agreed. Especially when Americans keep banging on it's a mental health issue and the system needs more support for these folk but reject vetting or restrictions on guns. I shake my head and wait to hear for the next shooting.

Yes, and as far as the gun licence community are concerned, a policeman is quite welcome to come in an inspect your gun cabinet etc , its a privilege earned. The 2nd Amendment (a relic of history) is wielded as some sort of weird religion.

Question for you what messures do you think should be done that arent in place? (I am from Ireland)

@@yagsipcc287 Honestly - I wish I knew. In a country with more guns than people and a culture that has been geared towards "I need a gun to protect me from people with guns", it's going to take a far better person than me to work out what to do. 💚🐇🐴💚

@@BunnyKins1970 so do you blame people who own guns legally for gun crime when almost all gun crime is done by people with illegally held guns? seems like it tbh since you think something ahould be done aginast those people. There is nothing wrong with guns. Also you sont understand. Guns are there to protect you not only from people but the government and any other forces that would try to harm you, what is yours etc... Also states with the most liberal gun laws have the lowest gun crime as well as violent crimes, the places with the most strict gun laws have the worst gun crime by far. US government own data also shows that gun owners stop 500k-3.5 million crimes are stopped by gun owners almost all without firing a shot. Criminals are the ones doing almost all gun crimes not legal gun owners. Here in Ireland if I defend myself by any means I am more likely to go to jail for longer than the person who attacked me, even if they break into my home, we have what is called "reasonable force laws" that are a joke made up by political clowns who think the world is a Kung Fu movie. They actually said "you just have to knock someone out if they break into your home" most people when knocked out are out cold for a couple of seconds max! Also most people wouldn't have a clue how. It's a joke here ha (I am a kixkboxer) also here in the Republic there are just under 5million people and around 220k guns, handguns, rifles (bolt and semi) shotguns etc... Gun crime is going up and it's not by gun owners we now have massive gang problems. (US gun violence is done almost totally by gangs) also it's either Switzerland or Norway has more guns than the US per capita. Not an issue there because again it's criminals who do crimes just like everywhere else.

@@yagsipcc287 OK. I am not commenting any further on this subject as it feels like there is an agenda approaching. I just feel sad that so many people are dying needlessly and I have no solution for it. That is all. Thank you for your time. 💚🐇🐴💚

@@BunnyKins1970 ha ok... So you believe in something is not an agenda but when I do and even point out things it is an agenda. When I point out facts it's a problem, when I point out government data it's a problem, when I point out how almost all gun crime is done by criminals with illegally held guns and point to countries with higher gun ownership it's a problem 🤣 ok cool goodbye.

That's a relatively new thing, I'm 35 and grew up attending a rural primary school where the only thing that stopped us wandering out of the little wooden gate that fastened with a basic bolt was fear of being told off and well-instilled 'stranger danger'. I'm not sure what stopped people wandering in other than it was a small community and a stranger would have been spotted a mile off and asked what their business being there was. Regardless, the idea that someone would walk in with a gun and open fire has always, thankfully, been inconceivable.

Yes the same here. I'm 30 and I could just skive out the back and not be noticed, even the entrance was open as well

This is what gets me about the argument you always hear about "if you take away legal guns, then only the bad guys will have guns". Yes... good! That means if you see someone with a gun, they're almost certainly a bad guy. You take appropriate action. You don't have to wait until the bodies start hitting the ground before you decide they're a bad guy.

@@Murdo2112 100%

Hi neighbour - I’m from Gosport!

Havant here! I'm between you both!

Littlehampton signing in, hello there

I think theY would be semi auto so the type of gun is not the problem but the type of owner of any gun is.

The term "assault rifle" is a completely made up loaded term. Adding an easier to hold grip and replacing the woodwork with low maintenance plastic makes an ordinary gun magically become an "assault rifle" but in reality it hasn't become any more dangerous than it already was. Banning guns just because they're black and feature a wipe-clean finish is absurd, and it's that sort of hysterical stupidity why people won't try to engage in a real common sense conversation on the subject.

@@Dave-bu6bc every name for a type of weapon is made up,the term assault rifle has been in use since ww2 and has specific features ,being select fire is ine of them and it is the literal translation of sturmgewehr,I think you are referring to "assault weapons" which was penned in the 90s by the media to make things like the ar15 sound scarier the a mini14.

"No civilian needs to own an AR-15 assault rifle" According to who? You can go to War at 18 but that's too young to own a gun? Willfull ignorance is the issue.

@@biggzie_ if you are going to war, then you are in the forces....and no longer a civilian!

Why didn't they try and stop his suicide?

@@wolfzmusic9706 they probably would have done if they were alerted before the event. It seems like Rebecca's neighbour was found or help arrived after the event. And simply the fact that he owned guns led to the police presence when they came to investigate. Even if say a paramedic removed a gun from the neighbours hand as they attempted life saving measures and it went off would be a terrible risk - assuming they used a gun. Rebecca, my condolences for your neighbour. So sad.

Yeah, Murray is in the video.

His brother Jamie was also a student. Andy is clearly very moved and angry.

Totally agree, best wishes from the wirral..

As a fellow UK sports shooter, I can't help but think it's only a matter of time until the anti gun lobby over here manage to force the powers that be into legislating us into extinction.

I have my grandfather’s old shotgun that’s a century old and I wouldn’t risk firing and my father has a pump shotgun and a .22 rifle. They don’t get used more than once or twice a year. But here in Ireland, it requires paying a deposit to the gun dealer, taking the serial number, getting forms from the cops, filling them out including your details, your address, your intended use of the gun, the gun’s serial number, make and model, whether it has a suppressor or scope, how much ammo you intend to hold at any one time, your doctor’s name, two names the cops can contact as character references, any gun club you’re a member of and a certificate that you have completed a gun safety course (3 hour NRA course). Then you meet the firearms officer for a short interview, he then sends your application to his boss to sign off on. You then get a certificate in the post which allows you to purchase the gun and get your full licence. It takes couple of months at least. I wouldn’t like to think it was any easier than that.

It's because it wasn't their kids that died.

everything you said exist all ready in the u.s

@C Summers Well said.

Yes Australia now has similar gun laws to Britain had before the Dunblane Massacre!

As far as the UK is concerned, you have hit the nail on the head. Guns were a complete mystery to everybody around me. My youth was post war when we had been fighting an enemy and the family members that had been to war, my father included, would never discuss guns or the way they had been used. The first gun I ever held was when I joined the army cadets. The .303 rifles we had were converted to .22 but there were strict rules about their use on the gun range. The first time I handled a real gun was when I joined the navy but I really had no overriding need to have any relationship with gun ownership. I am old now but so glad that my children and grandchildren have gone through school and university without ever coming in contact with a handgun, rifle or other weapon. Glad that they didn't have to have instruction about possible attacks by a crazed gunman and were never afraid to go to school. I am so glad that I do not know any person who owns a gun except for a local farmer who has a shotgun. I treat police as my friends, although I expect problems if I break the law, but I am safe in the knowledge that if I was pulled over in my car, I could get out, meet the copper and have a pleasant conversation without getting shot because I put my hand in my pocket. I will live in the UK in safety, you American citizens can do what you like but please do something positive so that your young people can live a life without fear.

What was the problem? Other than your shock and lack of experience clues to a gun?

@@brianwithers162 all of my gun knowledge comes from call of duty and gta lol

@@brutaldeluxe6754 Actually there is no problem. I have no need for any sort of firearm in my life. I know that my neighbours don't want to own one and I know that the criminal fraternity would not come after me with a gun. The penalties for robbery with a weapon are extreme in this country so they do not carry. If they are caught doing a robbery, the penalty is so much less if they are not "tooled up" as they say on TV. I carried a weapon in my duties in the Royal Navy but it wasn't something that gave me a hardon, unlike the effect some American citizens obtain from their weaponry.

I live in Ireland been around guns my entire life (I am 31 now) Go into any gun store they will let you look and hold any weapon they have why you ask? Simple to see how it feels, you may or may not need a shorter or longer stock for it to feel right for you and your body. People who well know nothing about guns of course act weird and "scared" free and ingorence (not insulting you or anything) most non gun people do not know things about guns and it is very well displaced within the US. Example many of the things people want in place are already in place. Also almost all gun crime is done by well criminals just like everywhere else US governemnt own data on gun owners stopping crimes is 500k-3.5 million per year, all while almost all of them never fire a shot.

How did the community gain from you not having a legal firearm exactly?

@@brutaldeluxe6754 The large scale removal of firearms made society safer.We don't have mass shootings, our kids don't learn shooting drills, business don't employ armed guard, our cops aren't scared, American tourists always comment about how safe they feel here and registered gun owners feel secure knowing fruit cakes won't go on a killing spree and thus cause an outcry about guns in society.In a nutshell, Australians don't freak out when a car back fires.

@@petermcculloch4933 My point was that you were a lawful and law abiding gun owner and the community neither gained nor lost from you not having a rifle.. only you lost

@@brutaldeluxe6754 We all gained because we can all go about our business in complete safety.Judging by your comments, we are clearly socialised differently.Australians are, in general, community minded and from where I sit, Americans appear to believe in individual rights.You see this issue in regard to you losing something and I view it as a positive for everyone.

@@brutaldeluxe6754 This may blow your mind, but some people are considerate of other people and of society as a whole. Your comment stinks of “me me me”

there's no legal definition of deranged. anyone can call anyone deranged. A left wing government could label anyone who votes for a right-leaning party as deranged and use that to disarm anyone who opposes them, swap those left/right definitions to suit your political preference.

Sorry, but there have been mass shootings in the USA EVERY SINGLE DAY since the beginning of the year. It's just that only those with multiple deaths get reported on. Because they have become so prevalent that they just don't make the news anymore. There have been a total of 212 mass shootings in the USA since 1.1.2022. Mass shooting definition: any use of firefights involving at least three person with more than five shots fired. Not necessarily involving deaths, or even injuries.

There has so far this year been 228 mass shootings and 11 mass murders in the US.

@@Dave-bu6bc Dude. Please.🤦‍♀️. There IS. It is called the Diagnostic and Statistic manual of Mental disorders. DSM-5... You know... THE guidline on any mental diagnoses. Used worldwide by psychologists and psychiatrists🤦‍♀️.

There's been more mass shooting s in the US than days so far this year, Also sad statistic - firearms are now the main cause of death for children in the US

Did you retire and live in the country. There are more illegal firearms discharges in the UK with illegal firearms than ever before. Hopefully the scumbag gangs keep it among themselvesbut it is increasing problem . You don't need rapid firing weapons though. Hopefully commom sense will prevail

Totally agree, coming from a shooting family. The police would come round and check the house, all very friendly but it absolutely kept us aware that we had a dangerous weapon on the premises and we had to take great care of it. It wasn't a toy.

@@davefool6815 Doesn't alter the fact of how safe England is compared to America as regards guns.

@@DeneF Oh yeah I agree. But you get the scumbags on the rise. And all the guns they use are illegal and unregistered... Not stolen from license gun owners.. they get them whether gun control or not.

Guns dont kill people ! - people do ! there are more people killed through the misuse of motor vehicles in the UK than through the misuse of guns - fact ! but they don't ban cars, they ban the drivers and rightly so !! Why then did they ban handguns which were already only approved for club membership target shooting ??? because an agenda exists where they want to remove all firearms, including shotguns from private ownership. It was the same after Hungerford where they had to be seen to do something so the initial stage was to remove self loading part one firearms from public ownership. Law abiding gun owners don't hold up post offices and banks with police registered firearms !! and it is probably much easier to obtain an illicit firearm in Britain than it is to obtain a legally approved one. Also don't forget that people like Hamilton and Ryan were approved by the police authority in their area. Just your luck if the Chief Constable of your licensing area is not disposed to shooting or firearms ??? Personally speaking, I never had any problems with them, but I know of a lot of incidences where law abiding citizens have been treated like suspected criminals which they most certainly were not.

What is your answer to the original reason Americans having the second amendment: protection against a tyrannical government?

@@lmn6440 it’s not the 1600’s anymore?

So you're either saying that tyranny is a thing of the past and can't happen now or that the second amendment won't stop a tyranny. Which one if either?

@@lmn6440 I’m saying Neither. I’m saying it’s the 21st Century, America has the biggest military in the world you aren’t being invaded! Also the sheer size of your populace makes it nigh on impossible for a ‘government takeover’, which is actually a laughable statement when you think about it…. Plus if there was, your AR - 15 ain’t winning against a tank!

@@lmn6440 A government with the most expensive military in the world would laugh at a few nujobs with guns trying to overthrow it. Also, there's no well regulated militia anyway.

Speak for yourself.

Even then it's was written as an amendment! I don't get how Americans think that the constitution can't be changed. The actual bit they are fighting over was an addition in the first place. At a time when hand guns as we know them now weren't a thing, let alone assault rifles! How dare the gun lobby, the people in charge drip feed the madness that is there today that more guns are the answer. Any child can figure it out. Take the guns away!!! If a child is hitting another with a hammer you'd take it off him not give the other kid a hammer and make it a fair fight. Wake up!

Your reply screams ignorance. Advocating having guns is a nonsense. All it takes is ONE mentally unstable person to own a firearm - as they've supposedly got the right to do in the US - and you've got another massacre on your hands, where Innocent lives are lost. Are you seriously saying the rights of those who carry out these appealing shootings are worth more than those of the innocent lives that are lost on a far too regular basis?

meanwhile everywhere else in western world, its priviledge to own one.

Statistically speaking, you have a higher percentage of being shot in Norway, Finland or Sweden, than an average person in the U.S. does. [Sorry, I can not find the video with the information] When you remove suicides, justified homicides, and not involved in gang or criminal activities. Our homicide rate drops to one of the lowest in western society. As per the multi layer problems, they can be summed up as follows. 1. Lack of proper parental oversight and discipline. Along with the breakup of the nuclear family, especially among the poorest demographics. But we also see this same negative effect in middle and upper class families as well. 2. The lack of mental health and support options, especially for men and teens. Along with the over drugging teens and young adults, with psychotropic drugs. [In every public mass shooting, especially the school ones, have one common denominator. All of the shooters were on or supposed to be on psychotropic drugs.] Drugs are not the solution to helping people with mental health issues. Alone they're nothing but a crutch. 3. The absolute breakdown in morality and civility,(which isn't just a U.S. issue)among our youth and political leaders. 4. The total foundational collapse of our public education system, due to the far leftist extremists total take over, from PK to University levels. 5. Lack of full and proper enforcement of existing laws.

@@lennychorn147 I don't think this is true. FBI estimates 13% of gun homicides are linked to gangs. You had, for example, 19300 gun deaths in 2020 (that's not including the suicides). Finland had 2, Norway had 2 and Sweden had 47 (if we're removing gang related shootings even less). Even adjusting for the USA's much larger population the per capita gun death is exponentially higher there.

@@callumlynn1431 The per capita gun related deaths, has little to do with the likelihood of being a victim. Which was my point in making that comment. When you compare population size, to the number of annual victims, as well as the total size of the country. Your chances of ever being a victim of a crime, let alone a violent crime, drops significantly. That overall number also drops significantly further, when you remove justified homicides by police and civilians, as well as accidental(negligent)homicides, that involves firearms. Which are included in the statistics. I honestly have to question that gangs make up only 13 percent of homicides. Especially given that in places like Chicago, they account for at least 80% of homicides involving firearms.

@@lennychorn147 Statistics are like a streetlight to a drunken man -- used to light the way, or to prop yourself up. I think you are using them to prop up a very corrupt system that doesn't care about people, including little children in Texas and 84-year old women in New York State dying unnecessarily.

@@lennychorn147 What is a "justified homicide"? And how is it different from a murder?

220 million US citizens are for stricter gun controls. What i don't understand is why the British haven't arrested that pedophile Prince Andrew yet but seem to be so worked up over the US not protecting children.

And they keep arguing the solution is more guns. How many more guns do they think people need to be as safe? Is it 150 per 100? 200? When is that magic tipping point?

It's false to say the weapons were really primitive, multi shot weapons already existed for decades before the bill of rights was ratified and those ratifying it were well aware of them.. Nobody has been blown away by a "military grade automatic assault rifle", now you're just resorting to falsehood. Do you even know what automatic means? That's a machine gun, takes many years to get the federal firearms license to legally own one. Assault rifle is a made up term designed to sound scary and can mean as little as an ordinary gun with a wipe clean finish. The AR15 which is alleged to have been used is not of a grade that any military would accept, dishonest to call it military grade. Lying like this is why nobody on the pro gun side will even engage in having a conversation about sensible gun laws, it's not a productive conversation if it consists entirely of rebutting falsehoods and debunking breathless panicky screeching. "Any gun in the hands of a decent person is no threat to anybody, except bad people" is clearly not flawed and stupid, good people with guns have stopped mass shootings, and defended themselves and others on numerous occasions. There are multiple examples in the first page of results from a google search for "good guy with a gun". Just because you put your fingers in your ears and pretend to not hear it doesn't make it flawed, that makes YOU flawed, and just because it doesn't work in 100% of circumstances doesn't mean we should reject it altogether. Seatbelts don't work in 100% of circumstances, should we get rid of seatbelts? Not saying I have a better solution to the problem, just saying that engaging in dishonest loaded language and falsehood is not the solution to the problem. How do you get rid of guns from the streets? It's physically impossible. Even if you ban all gun ownership, criminals will not obey your ban, they're criminals, by definition they don't obey laws. if you round up all the guns then you only make it more desirable for a criminal to equip themselves with a gun, you're just creating a stimulus for gun smugglers. Criminals already know the safest place for them to operate with a gun is a gun free zone, that's why over 90% of shootings take place in gun free zones, turning everywhere into a gun free zone will have the opposite effect to what you intend by creating more safe spaces for armed criminals. It's the same flavor of dumb as the idea of reducing crime by defunding the police.

@@Dave-bu6bc Oh dear... The usual 'total in denial' of the nutty gun lobby. I'm pretty sure an AR15 makes a nasty mess of a young child with soft tissue... Your argument that weapons at time of the constitution being formed were anything like a modern semi automatic or the ammunition used in them is a ridiculous falsehood, but then you already know that don't you ;) But nice try anyway... and go ahead, you keep pretending everything other than weapon type availability is responsible for the death tolls, as long as you believe it I guess that's ok right chump? But reality is that the clock is ticking down to the next slaughter, be it in the next few days, weeks or months - but there WILL be another one coming very soon as you well know, and when it happens the usual guns n' ammo loving crowd like you and the idiot Wayne who runs the NRA will try to gaslight everyone who wants to do something to stop this slaughter with every excuse possible - avoiding the reality that until these military grade weapons are taken off the streets these slaughters are NEVER EVER going to stop..... Can you hear that noise in the background? It's the sound of the clock ticking down to the next batch of American kids killed in their own classrooms - tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.... You know its coming, I know it is and so does Wayne at the NRA. Yet you do NOTHING to prevent it. Shameful.

It was a German who put a man on the moon

@@paulanthony5274 No it wasn't. It was the American flag planted on the moon, carried in a rocket with USA written on the side of it😉🤦‍♂️. Wow, the loonies are really out today.

He means that rocket propulsion itself was innovated in Germany, and that the German engineers (like the ones working on nuclear weapons) were imported wholesale at the end of the war in Europe, to work in the American program.

Yeah I’ve always wondered if that’s part of the reason he shows very little emotion ever and speaks in a very dull way 🤷‍♂️ but maybe I’m just jumping to conclusions

Yes, there are very sensitive issues that must be going through his mind his whole life. Perhaps him getting into his tennis helped him to shut it out and helped make him such a good player. But tennis is just a game where as Dunblane was such an awful tragedy especially for those directly involved obviously!

@@josephkeenan9143 nah he's just Scottish. 😉

@@lizcollinson2692 😂😂 aye cannae argue with that

God had him earmarked for Wimbledon 😊

But the UK government basically did nothing but make the revolver used a bit longer? You can still own it, just it has to be a bit longer. It's so weird concealability wasn't an issue at Dunblane. People don't understand the law so the government just said oh we banned hand guns so this won't happen again, if the gun used is longer it's a rifle so all ok. It's nuts. The law wasn't even introduced in NI. So they can still get hand guns and there isn't even a border. It's a really weird law. Google UK long barrelled pistols.

@@davedavids57 you think it’s as easy to carry around four long barrel handguns that also have a mandatory stock on them? The shooter carried four easy because of their size, try carrying four now and see how quickly you’re stopped; it’s evident it’s worked because when was the last major shooting?

@@davedavids57 They banned the ownership of all guns except for hunting. What they did worked out amazingly

@@TequilaToothpick It's really scary how people are so ignorant of even basic stuff: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/l7mneKqU082sdmg.html

Sad thing about America with every school shooting gun sales go up

@@ianmurray1913 because there is a fear that laws might be passed restricting sales

We didnt only have Dunblane - which changed the ownership and permitted use of handguns, but Hungerford - which I think was shotguns ?

@@highpath4776 Yes I know all about Hungerford, and the same applies regards minority of those affected by the changes in the law. The US is completely different if they stop sales tomorrow of certain types of guns, what % effect would it have, given the guns currently privately owned, if they ban those and stop private ownership, you can argue its potentially a greater reduction regards risk of future attacks, but the UK bans haven't really affected the use or availability of illegal guns by criminals, something that given the number of guns in the US will obviously be a bigger issue. Not arguing regards changes to licensing or increased background checks or anything else, but when you live in a country that has so many guns, someone that is determined to get one, will and by any means

@@brendancasey866 Australia would be a closer example, there was more of a gun culture there than in the UK and successfully changed its gun laws.

They was only little toddlers aswell, just baby's. It's not as if they was teenagers that could have understood what was happening and ran away or hidden. The poor little sods had no chance.

@@gutz323 it was unreal.

😡 If your god existed it would not have permitted this and all other atrocities to occur. Unless it wanted them to happen . . . ‘Mysterious ways’ unknown to us?

@@sirmeowthelibrarycat Like you, I question a deity that allows such things, in fact I question the idea of a deity at all. However, lots of people believe in God, my brother included. I would never scoff at his beliefs or belittle him. To many people those words God Bless You mean something, and to show I care I acknowledge that fact. We all need love in our lives. Is it so to show compassion in such a way,

Sorry my finger slipped. I meant is it so wrong to show compassion in this way?

@@marythurlow9132 many in the US believe in God. And many of those very same people own and love their guns. They fight tooth and nail, in the name of their god, to ban things like abortion. But those very same god loving, gun toting people foam at the mouth the moment anyone suggests tightening gun laws to help protect the lives of those who are actually born. Instead, their solution is more god, more guns, more god bless America, followed by thought and prayers to anyone affected by distracious policies.

@@Ryedo40 Did you not read my earlier reply?

banning doesn't take away access for criminals. By definition criminals don't obey the law. It's already illegal to shoot someone, if criminals obeyed laws they'd obey that law and there wouldn't be a problem. All that happens when you ban guns is that the value of black market guns increases slightly, causing smuggling to become more profitable, which then encourages smugglers to smuggle more until the price goes back down. At very best you cause a temporary shortage.

Ian Trott: 100%correct...

But most of the people responsible for mass shootings were not criminals until they became one. If you're against an outright gun ban, then the next best thing is too have stringent checks on people wanting them. This is now just a vicious cycle that is going to be repeated time after time because your laws say you can own a gun at 18 or lower with no checks or minimal checks but you can't buy a drink at 21. The land of the free where you are free to kill on sight multiple people if the mood takes you is not freedom, but rather creates a siege mentality where the first reaction is to buy more guns to protect from an assassin you can't yet see.

@@Dave-bu6bc Excuses, excuses, excuses... Here's a newsflash for you. Most school shooters weren't criminals until the day they decided to murder, so if it was harder to get a gun for them, the shooting is less likely to happen...

@@Dave-bu6bc You're forgetting that many school shooters were not criminals before. They got access to a firearm legally, and then shot up a school. So by heavily restricting guns, gun deaths will drop drastically. The nonsense that is the "right to bear arms" was created at a time when guns would take several minutes to reload after each shot. Nobody needs something like an AR-15.

Since Uvalde there has been at least 17 mass shooting recorded and not one of them was deemed newsworthy. Personally I'm over feeling sorry for Americans. The majority of them has chosen to live in a shit hole.

We just have backpack bombers and terrorists with knives tapped in to their hands

So your answer is to dissarm eveyone else while even here in GB if someone wants to commit such an act, they can get hold of any weapon they want. Personally I know all it would take is a couple of phone calls and there is not a weapon that could not be got hold of from machine gun to grenades. Yes its extreem but realistic. Its about time people came out of their ivory towers, put away the rose tinted specks and realise that the gun itself is not the problem and stop demonising something that most people have been brainwashed into this hysteria that its the gun that is evil. Its irrational.

@@edwardwilliams4197 it doesn’t happen in the UK because the person on the street cannot get hold of a gun

@@davidrobinson8543 If you believe that then your a big a mug as your comment is irrelevant.

@@davidrobinson8543 Rubbish. The Brits don't have an outdated Wild West culture like the Americans. That's why I moved myself and my family here. Feels great to be safe and relax in my home without needing a gun in my nightstand or worry about my kids at school.

@@bobbybingle1662 you said it it happened once and we changed it

The fact that the home owner said she didn't want guns in the house and they still returned it was also a huge cock up.

The scary thing, His reddit account was leaked and it was so very obvious what he was going to do. It was suspended while I was looking at it and clicked next page. You are definitly right. Especially in the day and age when many people live their lives more through the internet than out in the real world.

Looking at the social media is a very good move

@@jenniferbrewer5204 here in the UK social media is surveilled, however, it is like trying to manage to control a virus, GCHQ do manage to snare bad people...a bit of a Pandora's box..keep safe and well.

Simply incorrect. There is nothing remotely like that at my local comprehensive, junior, or infants school. 2 of them even have public footpaths through the grounds, and the 3rd has a sign saying "this is not a public right of way.. so please be considerate any only use our grounds outside of school hours" - in all cases, all the numerous doors are easily accessable by anyone, and have no security. This isn't uncommon. Maybe your experience is with inner city schools, but it's nowhere near UK wide.

Well, theoretically. My school (literally a couple of years ago) had that set up, but everyone just went in through one of the many side doors and gates (which all had signs on telling you to keep them closed).

@@welshgit All of the schools in Scotland have security doors. I always assumed the rest of the uk was the same.

@@lauriemccormack6645 Really? I'm surprised. I expected it in rough inner city areas but not wider than that. I know for sure my local schools aren't like that. I'm curious now to know how things are at other schools in the south wales area. Mind you, if I start researching it, I'll probably get flagged!

Facts 👏🏾👏🏾

Every country has mental health problems, it the unique ability of those individuals to have such a impact on the wider society in America and am sorry to say it’s the easy accessibility to get such unbelievable weapons, it’s shocking, as a Scottish person I find it incredible that most Americans wouldn’t want to throw their guns away in disgust after seeing that….

There are no more mentally ill people in the US than there are in any other country. The major difference is the US allows citizens to carry lethal weapons. Its illegal in virtually every other country on the planet. Its nothing to do with people being mentally ill, its everything to do with allowing easy access to deadly weapons. The US constitution was written in the days of muskets, its irrelevant today. I'm tired of hearing these right-wing nonsense excuses. Enough.

@@ryanferguson1976 This is exactly what I have been saying. There are always going to be people with mental health issues in every country across the world, the unique difference with America is that it gives them weapons.

the american political system is nearly completely corrupt and utterly unfit for purpose. america sold out to the rich years ago!

@@Roboto82 exactly but again it’s blaming the individual which America loves to do instead of blaming the mechanism that allows a person with no questions asked walk out a shop with assault weapons, in fact any weapons…. If u or I walked into a shop and said eh can I have two assault weapons n loads of amo, u’d think someone would ask… u ok mate