On Apr 17, 6:57 am, Peter Hendra wrote:
I know that this is off topic but it is very saddening to hear of yet
another mass killing in America.

I had thought of making a quip about yet another "Christian terrorist"
but the thought of the parents, siblings, grandparents and friends
unconsolable grief at this time would make it too flippant and in poor
taste.

Wilbur, and those others of you who support your "constitutional right
to bear arms" consider this as an example of why you should not make
owning hand guns so easy.

I could have bought any weapon during my 5 day sojourn in Florida
recently. A friendly policeman with whom I was having coffee - real
coffee - Cuban, not that brown dishwater that poses as coffee that
Americans seem to prefer, explained that after three days of making an
application I could walk out of a store with any type of weapon I
desired, even an M-16 which is standard issue to Malaysian Customs.
Why a citizen would want such a weapon is beyond me. They are not a
hunting rifle. They are an offensive, not defensive weapon for killing
people.

In New Zealand, it is illegal and virtually impossible for anyone to
possess a hand gun. The police do not even carry weapons. Most do not
even bother to carry their batons. They have access to them when
required as well as training in their use, but the armed offenders
squads seldom shoot to kill; they usually disable the offender by
shooting the legs. Don't think that we don't have violent crime and
robberies in God's Own, we do. It's just that the criminals generally
don't have access to handguns. If procuring one was as easy as in the
U.S., then no doubt the situation would be diferent. We also have a
law that makes it an imprisonable offence (at the worst) if a citizen
does not go to the aid of a policeman who requests it or who fails to
help if they see a policeman in trouble. Our police are also well
trained in unarmed defence.

At 16 I acquired a licence to own a rifle which I used to hunt deer,
pigs and goats in our forests. You cannot have an automatic weapon,
there is no need for this in hunting.

Handguns are made to kill human beings, not rabbits or other species.
The Virginia Tech. killer used two pistols, one a 9mm automatic. I
have one of these as part of my uniform. It usually is kept locked in
a desk drawer. My belt holster is a good place for cigarettes. After
the initial cocking, each pull of the trigger will fire a bullet and
with 15 bullets to a clip, you can shoot them all in about 15 seconds.
Why would a private citizen need a weapon like that?

In Malaysia it is a capital offence to possess an unlicenced firearm.
Robbers must therefore resort to knives.

I am a loss to understand how you can be so strident in defence of
your "constituational right" to carry a firearm when you didn't even
raise a murmur at the Patriot Act which removes more of your rights
and freedoms.

Frankly, I would be afraid to live in a country where any psycopath or
inadequate person could pull out a gun and "get even" with me over
some minor imagined slight, but then I have issues with those wanabe
Rambos who aim paintball guns at other humans.

I know that this is off-topic but I wanted to express my saddness.

cheers
Peter Hendra

Peter, With all due respect Tim McVei, the Oklahoma Bombers mass
murder was commited with diesel and fertilizer. Should we ban fuel and
fertilizer? Also I hear the 9mm had the serial numbers removed, so gun
control would not have done anything to prevent this wacko from
aquiring the weapon.

On May 18, 1927, in what became known as the Bath School disaster,
Andrew Kehoe, a cash-strapped farmer and local school board member
killed his wife, bombed every building on his farm before explosives
he had secretly hidden under the school building located in the
central business district went off. He later drove to the school in a
truck rigged with more explosives which he detonated next to the
school superintendent. In all, Kehoe killed 44 people and himself, in
the worst school violence in U.S. history. Only half of the 1000 lb
(450 kg) of explosives set under the school went off, probably greatly
lowering the death toll. Thirty-eight out of the 314 students, three
teachers, the superintendent, the postmaster and a local farmer
assisting at the scene were killed. Most of the dead were students
from second to sixth grade. Fifty-eight others were injured.

You can many many more examples of mass murder by people not using
guns.

Ever hear the old saying "guns don't kill people, people kill people"

Joe