British gun control doesn't work, 12 dead of 25 shot today

[Minisocks]

I grew up poor. How come I didn't turn into a criminal?

Necessary but not sufficient. Criminality is a multifactorial process.

 

[tac]

As somebody who lives, most of the time, over here in UK, and as one of the one and half million gun owners who DOESN'T go around slaughtering innocent people, I'd like to say thank you to those of you who have expressed symapthy with the victims of this appalling act of insane criminality, carried out, it seems, by a man who had some very serious problems with money within his family, and other monies in his bank account that were about to cause him some serious grief with Mr Tax-man.

The county in which this crime took place, Cumbria, also known as the Lake District, is one of the most beautiful parts of the island, and also has the following noticeable statistics -

a. the smallest police force of ANY county in England

b. NO police helicopter

c. only ONE tactical firearms unit [TFU] - therefore, only one bunch of authorised armed police

d. 22,500 registered gun owners, none of whom would have ever thought to have shot back at him, simply because, like all law-abiding gun-owners, their guns were probably locked up.

e. some of the most tortuous and narrow main roads anywhere in the UK apart from Cornwall.

f. it is also extremely hilly - I won't call them mountains - but the local 'sport - fell-running' - involves running up and down them at the highest possible speed - intervisibilty just about anywhere is almost nil.

g. and simply because of where it is - the former home of the poet Wordsworth, the children's author Beatrix Potter, and the location of the most beautiful lakes anyplace in the UK - the roads at this time of the year are jam-packed full of tourists by the hundred-thousand - think of YNP, times ten, in a tenth of the space.

h. one of the lowest overall levels of serious crime anywhere in the UK - there are only a few towns, and no cities.

Add all these things up and you'll see that even if armed police HAD been able to get going in sufficient time, the chances of finding the tax-cab driver killer were pretty remote - remember that his knowledge of the roads was probably far better that that of the even the local police.

It seems however, that three police officers in a car managed to get on his tail but because they were, like 99% of all police in the UK, unarmed, unable to do anything except watch in horror.

I strongly suspect that the call for police to be regularly armed will be high on the agenda pretty soon.

tac
Supporter of The Cape Meares Lighthouse restoration fund

 

[Just Jim]

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010...ders-multiple-victim-public-shootings-europe/

It wasn't supposed to happen in England, with all its very strict gun control laws. And yet last week Derrick Bird shot and killed 12 people and wounded 11 others. A headline in The Times of London read: "Toughest laws in the world could not stop Cumbria tragedy."

Multiple victim public shootings were assumed to be an American thing for it is here the guns are, right? No, not at all. Contrary to public perception, Western Europe, where most countries have much tougher gun laws, has experienced many of the worst multiple victim public shootings. Particularly telling, all the multiple victim public shootings in Europe occurred where guns are banned. So it is in the United States, too -- all the multiple victim public shootings (where more than three people have been killed) have taken place where civilians are not allowed to have a gun.

Look at recent history. Where have the worst K-12 school shootings occurred? It has not been in the U.S. but Europe. The very worst one occurred in a high school in Erfurt, Germany in 2002, where 18 were killed. The second worst took place in Dunblane, Scotland in 1996, where 16 kindergarteners and their teacher were shot. The third worst high school attack, with 15 murdered, happened in Winnenden, Germany. The fourth worst shooting was in the U.S. -- Columbine High School in 1999, leaving 13 killed. The fifth worst school related murder spree, with 11 murdered, occurred in Emsdetten, Germany.

With three of the worst five attacks, Germany may be a surprise to those who believe in gun control. Even by European standards, Germany has some of the strictest gun control laws. Indeed, these laws are far stricter than existing gun control in the U.S., or for that matter, the restrictions currently being discussed in the United States.
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Government protection

jj

 

[Trlsmn]

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010...ders-multiple-victim-public-shootings-europe/

It wasn't supposed to happen in England, with<snip>

Duplicate threads merged

 

[tac]

At the risk of upsetting a few people, nobody seems to have mentioned the Virginia Tech shootings - 33 dead plus the murderer.

tac

 

[Trlsmn]

At the risk of upsetting a few people, nobody seems to have mentioned the Virginia Tech shootings - 33 dead plus the murderer.

tac

It's all upsetting and it's really not a pro-gun or anti-gun issue it's a insanity issue.

My condolences to your comrades Tac.

 

[2zuks]

So it wasn't a freak with a shotgun; it was liberal politicians who killed these people. So if you own C4 and blow up a building, it's not YOUR fault, and it's not the fault of the government for letting you buy the C4, its the fault of liberal politicians who didn't permit everyone else to own the RPGs that may have stopped you at the last minute.

I don't know. If you were carrying concealed at lunch somewhere and a bg came in and started shooting, would you react? I think most of us would. That is why we bother to carry a weapon. Without the benefit of a gun, how do you react? When the government hadicaps their citizens by not allowing them to protect themselves, it's a problem.

Jews and blacks have gone out of fashion, so the blame has evolved. Mexicans are tough to blame things on, because lefties will call you a "racist" for hating all Mexicans, so people just mention hispanic surnames and immigration status. But liberal politicians... Now who can find fault in THAT as a group responsible for everything?

I don't really think blaming Jews has gone out of style. Obama blamed Isreal for the blockade and the bording of the Hamas ship that was supplying the Gaza strip with needed supplies like food and NVG's and whatnot. You know we would have done the same thing in the name of national security, but the Jews are at fault! lol.

I could care less what the lefties call me. I put blame where blame needs to be placed regardless of a title some idiot may try to give me.

I think I'm going to start blaming fat people for everything. Why not? What was the body-mass-index of this shooter anyway? Anyone know? I've got a bad feeling about these porky trouble-makers. Do we have to make them citizens? Can we deport them? I think police blotter notices should report the weight of suspects so we all know what kind of element we're dealing with. I'll bet fatties are responsible for a disproportionate amout of violent crime. And don't even get me started about health care premiums being pushed up by piggy types. Yeah, we gotta do something about the pork chops in this country.

Lol. There might be a couple of people on here who take offence to this and you may experience first hand their violent crime! lol.

 

[tac]

It's all upsetting and it's really not a pro-gun or anti-gun issue it's a insanity issue.

My condolences to your comrades Tac.

Thanks to you, Sir. The first of this POS' victims was buried yesterday - his young wife and two boys were very borne up by the solidarity shown in these small-knit communities in which the victims all lived. He was a farmer and semi-professional rugby league player - a giant of a man in thought, word and deed.

Like all the others, it seems that the murderer called him over to the car and then shot him point-blank in the face. At least two of the survivors will carry the facial scars to the grave.

Long-range shooting was not needed.

We are all sitting here now awaiting the next changes to the gun laws...

tac
Supporter of The Cape Meares Lighthouse Restoration Fund