Re: Why is the United States so violent?
Originally Posted by
Ffosse
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They have around 15000 murders a year compared to 7 or 800 in the UK.
They have five times the population giving a murder rate some 4 times that of the UK. Is it all down to guns?
Watching a programme on television about the ease at which guns can be purchased in the USA, is horrifying! It appears one only has to be aged 21 to buy a handgun from a licensed arms dealer, but, only aged 18 to buy a long gun. In some places, mostly rural areas where hunting is done, children aged only 14 - 16 can buy a rifle!!!
The dreadful truth is that in many states, one only has to be aged 18 in order to buy a semi automatic over the counter!
From what I saw on that programme, a semi automatic is capable of firing between 90-120 bullets per minute. That is 2 rounds per second! Imagine this weapon in the hands of a mentally disturbed individual as has been witnessed in schools and concerts in America. It's truly frightening.
The programme stated there is one school shooting a week!
I do appreciate that we have had our own shooting horrors here in the UK, Dunblane and Hungerford usually come to mind with particular horror. However, thank the good Lord we have on the whole, strict gun laws in this country, otherwise I truly believe the figure for horror shootings would not be far behind the USA if our current knife crime figures are anything to go by.