Re: So, since 1961 ...
Furthermore, with the horrendous Sandy Hook Elementary School murders of 20 children back in 2012, an opportunity was lost by then President Obama to take a strong lead on rational gun control.
I don't think gun control would make much of a difference. NZ has gun control laws, but we also have a lot of illegal guns in circulation (whether they would actually fire or not is a whole different issue). But gun crime here is relatively low, and while the numbers have increased a fair bit recently shootings are also quite low.
We have self defence laws and yes, they allow for lethal force if necessary - but you will find yourself at a murder trial to determine if you did actually need to kill that person, or if their death was unintended ("I tackled him to the ground while he was chasing her, he hit his head on the curb.."). What we don't have is a culture of "I had a flat tyre, they were walking towards my car, I thought they might be a threat so I killed them without warning" - in that case you'd rightly find yourself on a life sentence.
The US needs to get away from their culture of fear and start to see the value of their neighbours instead of seeing them as something to be afraid of. Instead of wetting yourselves in terror when someone looks at you funny, offer them your hand in a gesture of welcome and make them a beneficial part of your neighbourhood. Get to know and love your neighbours, instead of locking yourselves inside and hating them out of fear.
Then you can all wander around proudly showing off your penis replacements guns knowing that you won't need to use them for anything more than dispatching a few cans and maybe the odd rodent.
Oh, and those who promote this culture of fear? Labour camps would be good for them I think. Ones run by robots. Somewhere they can contribute to society but not be in a place to cause any more pain to others. Let them terrify each other without hurting the rest of your society.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
