There's more factors to contend with in the USA - while there were certainly a few people in the UK who opposed the ban on semi-automatic weapons following the Hungerford massacre and handguns following Dunblane, even prior to those incidents we had far fewer tragedies, when the laws changed the majority of gun owners surrendered their weapons. Could you imagine the response of a large percentage of the US gun-owning public if the federal government announced a ban and ordered all Americans to hand over their guns at police stations? We also always had far fewer shootings even before the bans,which suggests it's not only relatively easy access to guns that leads to so many murders in the USA; I don't know what that is (but I'm sure many of the American users will have theories). I fully agree that the USA should toughen up its gun laws - anything that might help is worth a try when children are being killed, after all - but it'll be a far harder process than it was in the UK.

In England you do not have the right to have a gun in your home or on your person for self defense so you are a lot more likely to be a victim of a crinimal.

There’s also an ‘alternative news/ propaganda industry’ in the US that feeds the trump supporters their ‘facts.’ It’s not that they don’t listen, it’s what they listen to.. It’s like the religious only paying attention during bible study ..while ignoring a science program on evolution. They can reel off reams of BS - yet remain totally unaware of reality…

@Varn I completely agree - this is increasingly what is used for propaganda, worked and still works in a similar fashion here to influence and re-enforce the common Brexiter.
My additional argument would just be that there is an unfortunate asymmetry at work here: it is much easier to convince the tsimple-minded with simplistic nonsense than with complex truths. So while the more intelligent people may be somewhat divided on a complex problem, it is easy for propagandists to skim-off a large portion of the population with little pre-canned phrases and pseudo arguments (make America great again, build the wall, Brexit means Brexit, don't be a remoaner etc).

The midterms are in November. We have nine months to expose all those who accept money from the NRA, and the rest of the gun lobby. It doesn't matter what party they're in, if they take blood money, we should expose them and vote them out.

If it weren’t for the NRA gun control idiots like Obama would seize all of our guns here in spite of the 2nd amendment. In Australia you don’t have a right to have a gun on your person for self defense. I’ll take the NRA any day over what you have in Australia. I’m a life member of the NRA as is my son and 2 grandsons.

@Trajan61 Obama, would not, did not and will not take your or my guns away with or without the NRA. No need to shade the former President to make a point. I am a gun control idiot. I don't need to protect myself from the government with a firearm. My guns are single shot and one has a five round clip. Not very useful for shooting up a school or a church.

He was going to do it with his liberal judicial appointments to the Supreme Court. Hell 4 liberal judges on the court already do not recognize the 2nd amendment as giving private citizens the right to have firearms even in they’re own home. I’m not concerned about the current administration as Trump respects the 2nd amendment and showed it with the appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

@Trajan61 I have seen no evidence that would support anything you have said in this post. The entire bill of rights remain as rights and cannot easily be changed. Don't get caught up in the propaganda of those who have a vested interest in stirring the pot.

And this is exactly why people want to keep their guns, immovable extremist views that seek to dominate other people...whatever the context. Ironically by so passionately making a blanketed statement of what you believe and that "it is not open for debate" you also lend support to what the majority of the people fighting the gun bills are trying to prove.

Yess! Well said

@Aenith There isn't anything "extremist" about what I said. It's basic common sense.

You have just as much Constitutional right to an AR-15 as you do a shoulder mounted rocket launcher, an oozie, or how about those cute little mini-nukes President Cheeto wants to develop. The point is, the notion that the right to bear arms automatically means utterly unfettered rights is absurd. This is the insanity that the propaganda of the current NRA leadership has brought to this country.

@MikeInBatonRouge Well said, Mike! That is exactly my point.

@David1955 Nailed it

Australia is one country that would be screwed if ever its people absolutely needed to rise up and rebel against a tyranny. Not saying that Australia has a tyranny or ever will. It's fucking Australia. But hypothetically they are screwed. They have no means of defending themselves.

I say this being a person that has never owned nor fired a gun in my entire life. I still feel that the second amendment is important and it doesn't make me a 'gun nut' for feeling that way.

@David1955 the bill of rights never contained an amendment expressing a right to own people.

@VictoriaNotes That could definitely happen especially if we continue to elect arrogant left wing idiots like Obama.

@VictoriaNotes In America we have the right to have a gun for self defense in most states. Do you think we should be striped of that right also?

@Druvius There’s millions of semiautomatic weapons already out there in civilians hands. What do you perpose to do about them? The only practical solution for School shootings is more security. Why don’t we arm some qualified teachers. We have security at sporting events and our celeberties and politicians have armed security. Why don’t we have security at our schools? A no guns sign on the door is an invitation for a shooter as they know no one is likely to be shooting back.

@Crimson67 So you believe we should be stripped of our rights to own and carry a gun for self defense here in the US like in Australia?

@David1955 Seeing as how your from Australia why are you so concerned about Trump. Hell so far he’s a lot better leader than that idiot Obama!

The indivual citizen posession of small arms sure hasn't saved Syrians from death and tyranny of their evil government, now has it.

Former Chief Justice Warran Berger said it right when he dissented powerfully from the Supreme Court's narrow majority that decided to ignore the plainly stated reason for armed citizenry. The second amendment says it is the need of the state, not the individual, that informs that amendment. The framers were dealing with a fledgling country with no standing army.

I totally agree with David1955 about everyone having a right to voice opinions. As long as the U.S. President claims to act as the "leader of the free world," an embarrassing claim coming from Trump--who repeatedly praises autocrats like Putin, and as long as there are nuclear weapons at that president's command, Everyone in the free world will have the right to speak out. So David, don't copy fascist statements of only certain people deserving freedom of speech.

@David1955 you mean how many liberals "matured" to become racist, fascist and violent?

@David1955 it's not a liberal propaganda site, it's a site for free thinkers. Your faith in liberalism is sad. Have you seen antifa?

@David1955 Looks to me like your the troll. Arguing with Americans who are sure to know more than you about American politics!

@David1955 yup, you know dick about American politics. Liberal here means leftist. Keep your socialism, we don't want or need it here. We are a super power for a reason, your country isn't.

@David1955 Your comments show you are definitely out of touch with US politics. Hell in my hometown after 8 years of that idiot Obama people were so disgusted with the democrats Trump carried 87% of the vote. In my home state he carried all 77 counties with over 70% of the vote.

It is certainly possible, and it has been proven in the US on the city level (though not the cities most try to use). However, using another country's model that does not fit the same specification of the US do not. Demographics, population, outside influence, economy, illegal supply...all these things need to be taken into account for the U.S. The 2 major examples being used are Britain and Aus, both of which are ocean locked and both of which do not have another country within 2500 miles of any specific point of sovereign land whose economy is heavily boosted by illicit activities. The US needs to pioneer its own solution, maybe borrowing ideas, but ultimately forming its own.

And whici steps do you think should be taken to reduce gun violence?

Umm...frankly I would rather tax dollars going to the CDC (keyword disease) going to something that has to do with what they are actually meant for...not something colleges around the country do every day.

In Australia you don’t have the right to carry a handgun for self defense. In the US you do. I’ll take the US over Australia any day.