2nd Ammendment - American Guiser's Shot

[hibsboy90]

LINK (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7704919.stm)

American boy shot as he was out trick or treat.

Another example of lax firearm controls, the shooter - an ex convict.

:bitchy::bitchy:

[stu in nottingham]

What the heck does anybody need an AK-47 in the house for.

[NYHibby]

On the one hand, no one needs or should really have an ak-47 at home. I believe that it is illegal to own at automatic weapon like that anywhere in the US. The problem here isn't the US's looser gun laws. Its the failure of local and state authorities to enforce the laws on the books. This guy was a convict. It was illegal to sell him a gun in the first place. If the guy was on parole, his parole officer should be concerned if he had guns. It was illegal to have an automatic ak-47 in South Carolina. There was a whole series of government failures that allowed this to happen. We don't need more restrictive gun law, we need the government to enforce the existing laws.

Does anyone know what kind of costumes the kid and his family were wearing? The whole situation is less tragic if they were wearing army uniforms with realistic toy guns. One article made it sound like the family stopped at the house after normal trick or treating hours. Since it was dark out, its more understandable that someone who was previously shot and robbed would be concerned about people trying to rob his house again.

I'm not trying to justify what the shooter did as correct, but just trying to point out that this is a complex situation where blame could be shared by many parties.

[--------]

On the one hand, no one needs or should really have an ak-47 at home. I believe that it is illegal to own at automatic weapon like that anywhere in the US. The problem here isn't the US's looser gun laws. Its the failure of local and state authorities to enforce the laws on the books. This guy was a convict. It was illegal to sell him a gun in the first place. If the guy was on parole, his parole officer should be concerned if he had guns. It was illegal to have an automatic ak-47 in South Carolina. There was a whole series of government failures that allowed this to happen. We don't need more restrictive gun law, we need the government to enforce the existing laws.

Does anyone know what kind of costumes the kid and his family were wearing? The whole situation is less tragic if they were wearing army uniforms with realistic toy guns. One article made it sound like the family stopped at the house after normal trick or treating hours. Since it was dark out, its more understandable that someone who was previously shot and robbed would be concerned about people trying to rob his house again.

I'm not trying to justify what the shooter did as correct, but just trying to point out that this is a complex situation where blame could be shared by many parties.


These were broadly my own thoughts, NY. Anyone owning a semi- or fully-automatic rifle for 'home protection' is asking for trouble regardless of whether he has criminal convictions or not. From the point of view of living in a country where gun-control is a great deal tighter than in the US, I find the idea almost incomprehensible. A firearm for self-defence, yes, but a weapon that's basically an infantry light machine-gun? Have to think about that one. :cool2:

But on the other hand, guys at my door after dark, some wearing masks - that's threatening, whatever the date. At the same time, a full magazine from an AK-47 seems to me to be a trifle OTT as a response....

[HibsMax]

LINK (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7704919.stm)

American boy shot as he was out trick or treat.

Another example of lax firearm controls, the shooter - an ex convict.

:bitchy::bitchy:
The story doesn't mention if the gun was acquired legally or not so how can you blame the law?

Terrible story but let's not jump to conclusions.

[HibsMax]

What the heck does anybody need an AK-47 in the house for.
there's no reason other than as a collectors piece and as such it should be, IMO, rendered permanently unusable.

I don't really have a problem with people being allowed to own firearms but there has to be a line somewhere. I think it's obvious to most people that owning an assault rifle is over the line.