Democratic candidates blame Trump, NRA for inaction on guns

Now look at Japan. The decline in gun ownership is actually becoming a problem as more animal pests are ravaging crops and attacking people. Maybe it should import some NRA members. Er, on second thought, never mind.

@NCIS Reruns

Comparing Japan with America is like comparing apples and oranges. Japanese people were never allowed to carry guns throughout their entire history, and they don't have 300 years of gun ownership tradition written in their own constitution.

Anybody who focuses on guns is misguided, and is only wasting their time. Gun ownership is part of the American culture, and there is no way on Earth anybody will take away all the guns in America. It's more than impossible. As long as there are people making guns, and people owning guns, it would always be easy for a criminal who wants to commit a crime with a gun to buy a gun. Chicago banned all guns, but that didn't stop the gun crimes. Guns are bought from other states. Guns are even smuggled in jails. What chance is there that you would ban all guns in America, and prevent illegal smuggling into the country? ZERO. You are wasting your time focusing on the weapon.

Switzerland and Serbia have higher gun ownership rate on per capita basis than America. Have you ever heard of any mass shootings in Switzerland? No, because the mere availability of guns does not make people commit mass shootings. Mass shootings are rather the result of culture of militarism.

A little known fact is that, mass shooters are disproportionately veterans, former or sometimes even current military people.

There is a connection between the glorification of militarism and mass shootings. SWAT for example was created and run by former military people, and they have been criticized many times for bringing weapons that are normally used in wars and using them for police work.

https://worldbeyondwar.org/u-s-mass-shooters-disproportionately-veterans/

https://taskandpurpose.com/veterans-commit-mass-shootings-alarming-rate

https://abcnews.go.com/US/link-veterans-mass-shootings-complicated/story?id=59057321

It's a very complicated problem, and there are probably more than one factors contributing to it. Focusing solely on guns is completely meaningless, especially when the chances of taking away all the guns is zero. Even if there are "intelligent background checks", it's not going to change anything, because if someone is committed to use a gun, they can always get a gun on the black market.

animal pests

Also known as 'native wildlife'. They wouldn't be ravaging anything if their forests hadn't been replaced with cedars & cypresses. Let's not blame animals for human problems.

Anyway, let's get back to the gun bickering bit....

Again, mental gymnastics.

Walmart is one of the biggest retailers of firearms in the United States, and the El Paso shooting occurred at a Walmart store.

Again, conjecture and the author's attempt to paint a picture for us.

Buttigieg, who recently dealt with a fatal police shooting of a black man in his home city, was asked how he'd address the issue of police shootings.

Please report what really happened: the black crowd surrounded Buttigieg and asked him, "do you really care about black people, or are you here just for votes". The crowd's question can be applied to the democratic party as a whole--which, when done, immediately renders the question a redundant one.

And Biden declared, "no amendment is absolute."

He also declared "truth over facts" and "poor kids are just as bright as white kids". In other words, he has no credibility.

Democrats are going out on a limb, they think by calling the President a racist will give them traction in the polls. Need I remind you, they did the same exact thing about Bush in 2003-2004 demonized the man, ridiculed and called him every name in the book, charged him with racism and called him a racist non-stop, vilified him and still he won re-election. History is repeating itself again.

I won't blame Trump. His responsibility only goes back as far the beginning of his term and this has been happening for a lot longer than that. The NRA though... 100%

100% agree I mean

The Democratic party looks completely impotent on this issue. Thier solutions do nothing and politicized barking is nothing but noise.

Sure, blame Trump, he's only been president for 3 years, and no one blamed Obama for the 169 shootings on his watch. Typical democrat idiocy.

Democratic candidates blame Trump, NRA for inaction on guns

It makes sense to blame Trump for the gun deaths during his presidency. I blame Obama for all the gun deaths while he was president. Obviously presidents control the actions of all 330 million Americans. Remember Black Lives Matter marches when they called for the assassination of cops and later the Dallas sniper killed 5 cops and there was a rash of cops being shot to death in their cars? Leaders of that group got a private tour of the White House. Yep - there is a direct connection- believe it.

Anybody who focuses on guns is misguided, and is only wasting their time. 

Wrong. Anyone not focusing on guns and all other factors contributing to mass shootings has a problem with critical thinking and isn’t good at basic problem solving. You need two factors to make mass shootings possible, a person with criminal behavior and a high assault weapon. You need to address both factors to lower the probability of mass shootings. If we are serious about addressing this problem, do the statistical analysis and address the significant variables. You can then calculate the probability of a mass shooting given the intersection of a person with criminal behavior and an assault weapon: P(A|{E1, E2, ... En})

Don’t dismiss guns because you don’t ‘think’ they are the problem. Do the math and find the significant variables. Then address them. Take a scientific approach to solving this. Nothing less will do.

Such weak attempts to deflect Trump's responsibility by the Trumpers here - they ignore the truth staring them right in the face....

**"Shoot them!" the supporter in the audience shouted. Some in the crowd clapped and cheered. Trump them joked "That's only in the Panhandle you can get away with this stuff," 

Well Mr President, one of your white supremacist supporters who internalized your hate thought he could get away with it in El Paso...

How many more of them are out there - ready to act on your hate?

Well, I'm an American and my country's history is filled with genocide, slavery, extream poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, a pop culture that values 'fame' and war, war and more war. I'm not surprised that my country is in this mess. Not at all.

This is not of Trumps doing, it is a symptom of a society obsessed with guns. war, killings, aggression, power. Until the American people address their illness nothing will change, it is in the psyche of the people. It is up to the American people to take control of their government. it is time that the tail stopped wagging the dog. In a "beacon of democracy" it shouldn't be difficult to change the Amendment and the gun laws, if that's what the people want.

The NRA though... 100%

But wait! There are people who are trying to say, even here on JT, that the NRA has ZERO power, politically or otherwise and are not the problem! (100% sarcasm there!)

Want to make purchasing guns harder, fine, make guns like prescription drugs, you have to go to a doctor before you are allowed to purchase one! Not really like that, just ensure that all locations that are licensed to sell weapons need to be federally licensed and monitored, along with stronger background checks, and biometrics as well.

This is not of Trumps doing, it is a symptom of a society obsessed with guns. war, killings, aggression, power. Until the American people address their illness nothing will change, it is in the psyche of the people.

I agree that it’s insane to put the blame on Trump for a mass shooting problem that predates his entrance on the national political scene in America. I disagree with the assumption that the issue is based in an obsession with militarism; unless you want to link this obsession with a relatively new phenomenon such as the popularity of violent video games. America was much more powerful and aggressive in the last few years after WW2 and the decade after than now relative to the rest of the world. There were tens of millions of battle hardened veterans walking the streets but we didn’t see the mass shootings we see today.

No I see this as more of an artifact of a modern culture rotting from the inside out. Young men have no fathers and the role of men and even the idea of masculinity is demeaned and taught to students as an anachronism. Throw in identity politics in a multiracial nation and the result is what you see today.

JustMyThoughts: Well, I'm an American and my country's history is filled with genocide, slavery, extream poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, a pop culture that values 'fame' and war, war and more war. I'm not surprised that my country is in this mess. Not at all.

The vast majority of the nations on Earth have a very similar history.

Of course they do, because the Dems always need to be the victim and find someone to blame for their lack of doing anything.

Throw in identity politics

And machine guns and grenade launchers like the Milkor MGL, on top of a MAGA hat

There were tens of millions of battle hardened veterans walking the streets

Yes like Timothy McVeigh

violent video games

Yes they cause a lot of mass shootings in Japan

put the blame on Trump for a mass shooting problem

Yes

Violent video games

We won’t think bad of you if you don’t believe absolutely all of the stupid things that come out of your captain’s mouth.

It is perfectly justified to blame Trump, leader of the Republican Party, for his inaction on mass shootings.

When Obama faced some of the most horrific acts of mass shooting, he urged Congress to pass gun reforms. The Republicans obstructed any legislative review, which frustrated Obama and many Americans. Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which claimed the lives of 6 and 7 year olds, was the ultimate shock to America. And when Republicans refused to act on that incident, I realized that America had truly slipped into a state of political dysfunction.

Now a Republican is President, a person who could push his party to support gun reform and stronger background checks. But Trump is not interested. Once again we see politics placed over country.

This is how it's done:

Meticulous and lengthy background checks

28 day waiting period

3rd party referral

adequate justification ie: profession requirement

pass a safety test

proper locked storage and separation of ammunition

made inoperable with a trigger lock

weak gun lobby

no 2nd amendment

paid licensing like owning a car

gun owner is licensed and every gun is registered with local police

Its just typical of the Democrats trying to point score out tragedy, Trump has nothing to do with this mass shootings have been going on for the last 2 or 3 decades in America. They used to allow buying of assault rifles via mail order in the 1970's and where were mass shootings back then. In nearly all the school shootings the shooter came from broken homes and/or were antipsychotic drugs, in these latest shootings one was a Trump fan the other was an Elizabeth Warren fan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FISEiLG52Y&t=269s

open up the border

Reagan gave out millions of green cards to illegals

you want to offer free health care for everyone who can make it into the country (whether a citizen or not)

This already exists under Trump

are you also offering firearm accessibility to those in the US illegally?

This already exists under Trump

Hey Dems, you are all equally to blame.

Trump gave the OK to shoot Mexicans at his rally, and that is exactly what happened at El Paso

Well Mr President, one of your white supremacist supporters who internalized your hate thought he could get away with it in El Paso...

Ok, so now we have a person that was inspired by Trump who had racists ties to a White Nationalist group and then the other shooter who was an Anarchist, leftist and a socialist who was inspired by Liz Warren and then you have an insane Bernie supporter who almost killed, but seriously wounding a Republican congressman, it’s just so crazy. These people. Both sides need to bring the temperature down a little and talk and the media needs to be more honest....never mind they can’t, that would be fair and balanced.

Biden is the one to fix this. Seeing as he was Vice President during the Parkland shootings and all those kids came to him for guidance.

Bernie supporter who almost killed, but seriously wounding a Republican congressman

That's the Republican congressman's fault

Ok, so now we have a person that was inspired by Trump

Yes and Trump gave the direct "ok" to shoot Mexicans and it happened

Ok, so now we have a person that was inspired by Trump who had racists ties to a White Nationalist group and then the other shooter who was an Anarchist, leftist and a socialist who was inspired by Liz Warren and then you have an insane Bernie supporter who almost killed, but seriously wounding a Republican congressman,

Well, I'm glad we can now all agree that the El Paso shooter was in fact inspired by Trump...

As to the other claims, there's one big difference that Trumpers obviously like to ignore when they say these shootings are equivalent;

One politician attended a rally where a supporter yelled "Shoot Them" when talking about immigrants, and that politician said "only in the Panhandle can you get away with that". He didn't say that would be a felony crime, a violation of due process and human rights, a moral failure; he just made a joke. And by making that joke, and refusing to condemn the supporter, he gave his tacit approval.

Other politicians never attended any function where someone yelled "Shoot Them" - and never joked about using deadly force against others.

So you have one politician who is an Accessory to the crimes his supporter carried out - and the others in no way connected or responsible...no matter how hard they try to "spin" it....

Both parties need to drop the beef for a bit and do something to stop the killings.

If it was a faulty plane, the fleet would be grounded. If the car was dodgy, it would be recalled.

If the material were found to be detrimental to one's health (asbestos etc) it would not be allowed to be used.

Why won't the politicians step up?

Biden is the one to fix this. Seeing as he was Vice President during the Parkland shootings and all those kids came to him for guidance.

Much better than the guy who visits shooting victims and can only talk about how big (small) his crowd sizes are...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/video-shows-trump-joking-about-crowd-sizes-while-visiting-shooting-victims/

Trump's closest associates have all admitted it - Trump is so self-absorbed he can't show any sympathy for someone else - its not in his DNA. He can only think about himself - and it shows every time he opens his mouth or Twitter. Classic narcissist...

That coupled with his ever increasing dementia is clear evidence he should step down...

Switzerland and Serbia have higher gun ownership rate on per capita basis than America. Have you ever heard of any mass shootings in Switzerland? 

I've been pointing that out for years. Just goes to show that guns don't kill people, but the person's desire to kill....is the problem and that's what needs to be controlled. You can abolish guns, but the criminal who has the desire and intent to commit mass murder will find substitute weapons. One can make a very lethal pipe bomb with easily obtained chemicals and hardware.

You need two factors to make mass shootings possible, a person with criminal behavior and a high assault weapon. 

You're right about the first factor, but not the second. Remember Timothy McVeigh and the 1985 Oklahoma bombing that killed 168 people and injured 680? Did he use a high assault weapon? No....he used a rented truck and 5,000 lbs of of ammonium nitrate and nitromethane. Chemicals bought over-the-shelf.

Trump's closest associates have all admitted it - Trump is so self-absorbed he can't show any sympathy for someone else -

If he did, you guys would complain and say, he’s not contrite.

its not in his DNA. He can only think about himself -

He’s a politician

and it shows every time he opens his mouth or Twitter. Classic narcissist...

No different than the narcissistic CNN.

That coupled with his ever increasing dementia is clear evidence he should step down.

Liberals among some of their other talents includes mental and physical diagnoses.

You're right about the first factor, but not the second. Remember Timothy McVeigh and the 1985 Oklahoma bombing that killed 168 people and injured 680? Did he use a high assault weapon? No....he used a rented truck and 5,000 lbs of of ammonium nitrate and nitromethane. Chemicals bought over-the-shelf.

And the US finally implemented restrictions and reporting requirements for ammonium nitrate sales - I assume you support common sense gun control also?

https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2011-aug-02-la-na-ammonium-nitrate-20110803-story.html

@Halwick, so what is you are saying that there is something special about Americans that makes them more likely to commit mass murder than the Swiss or Serbs?

In that case, it might not be a good idea have so many guns knocking about. Might be a good idea to make it more difficult for them to reach under the bed, grab a gun, open the front door and start blazing away. You know, until we figure out why they they enjoy slaughtering themselves so frequently.

No different than the narcissistic CNN.

Very different. Unless you think the PotUS is CNN.

Liberals among some of their other talents includes mental and physical diagnoses.

Why not? There may be some liberals (or just people the right disagrees with in general) who may be qualified to diagnose dementia. Or, some of us might be able to recognize it, having witnessed loved ones succumb to the illness.

This is the problem with the elite, they believe everyone is beneath them.

Again the liberals are so fixated on guns that they fail to see that it is the criminal behavior, ie the DESIRE TO MURDER that is the problem. You can eliminate the weapon, but the problem still remains.

Again the liberals are so fixated on guns that they fail to see that it is the criminal behavior, ie the DESIRE TO MURDER that is the problem. You can eliminate the weapon, but the problem still remains.

Undoubtedly. There is a sickness in your society that causes these terrorists to kill and maim people.

But how many lives would be saved if they didn't have access to guns?

You can eliminate the weapon, but the problem still remains.

I know. This insane gun problem we deal with daily here in Japan, where you cannot leave the house without full body armour due to all the illegal assault rifles, is proof of that.

But how many lives would be saved if they didn't have access to guns?

Exactly. You can outrun someone with a knife but you can't outrun a bullet.

But a conservative would tell you someone's asthma might kick in or their heart might give up when they try to defend the gun.

Trump's closest associates have all admitted it - Trump is so self-absorbed he can't show any sympathy for someone else -

If he did, you guys would complain and say, he’s not contrite.

Uh, you may want to google the definition of contrite...that's what we want him to be...show contrition and empathy...

its not in his DNA. He can only think about himself -

He’s a politician

Really? I thought he was the un-politician, you know the outsider here to clean up the cesspool from the politicians? I guess you think he's just a typical cesspool dwelling politician now...

and it shows every time he opens his mouth or Twitter. Classic narcissist...

No different than the narcissistic CNN.

How can an organization be narcissistic? Please reply with scientific sources.

That coupled with his ever increasing dementia is clear evidence he should step down.

Liberals among some of their other talents includes mental and physical diagnoses.

We've asked the Trumpers here numerous times to explain the "my father was born in Germany", "the oranges of the Mueller investigation", "Ifantroopen and lawmurkers"....got nothing but crickets...

Again the liberals are so fixated on guns that they fail to see that it is the criminal behavior, ie the DESIRE TO MURDER that is the problem.

Oh no - we see the desire to murder very clearly - that desire fed and enabled by the hate speech rhetoric from this President - that and his joking about "Shoot Them"...

Democratic candidates blame Trump, NRA for inaction on guns

I agree. Nothing will change unless gun supporters get on board with it since they can block just about anything with the law on their side. Doing nothing and blocking others from doing something means the status quo stays in place, which means it's only a matter of time before the next slaughter.

Nothing will happen. It can't. That's the status quo. That's the swamp Trump was elected to drain. The man who wasn't indebted to anyone, and therefore could enact real change. But he won't do anything. Even though he's supposedly not indebted to anyone. Even though it's what the American people overwhelmingly want.