14-year-old shoots 3 relatives, killing 2

Look at recent history. Where have the worst K–12 school shootings occurred? Nearly all of them in Europe. The very worst one occurred in a high school in Erfurt, Germany, in 2002, where 18 were killed. The second-worst took place in Dunblane, Scotland, in 1996, where 16 kindergartners and their teacher were killed. The third-worst, with 15 dead, happened in Winnenden, Germany. The fourth-worst was in the U.S. — Columbine High School in 1999, leaving 13 dead. The fifth-worst, with eleven murdered, occurred in Emsdetten, Germany.

It may be a surprise to those who believe in gun control that Germany was home to three of the five worst attacks. Though not quite as tight as the U.K.’s regulations, Germany’s gun-control laws are some of the most restrictive in Europe. German gun licenses are valid for only three years, and to obtain one, the person must demonstrate such hard-to-define characteristics as trustworthiness, and must also convince authorities that he needs a gun. This is on top of prohibitions on gun ownership for those with mental disorders, drug or alcohol addictions, violent or aggressive tendencies, or felony convictions.

The phenomenon is not limited to school attacks. Multiple-victim public shootings in general appear to be at least as common in Western Europe as they are here. The following is a partial list of attacks since 2001. As mentioned, all of them occurred in gun-free zones — places where guns in the hands of civilians are outlawed.

Zug, Switzerland, Sept. 27, 2001: A man whose lawsuits had been denied murdered 14 members of a cantonal parliament.

Tours, France, Oct. 29, 2001: Four people were killed and ten wounded when a French railway worker started shooting at a busy intersection.


Nanterre, France, March 27, 2002: A man killed eight city-council members after a council meeting.

Erfurt, Germany, April 26, 2002: A former student killed 18 at a secondary school.

Freising, Germany, Feb. 19, 2002: Three people killed and one wounded.

Turin, Italy, Oct. 15, 2002: Seven people killed on a hillside overlooking the city.


Madrid, Spain, Oct. 1, 2006: A man killed two employees and wounded another at a company that had fired him.

Emsdetten, Germany, Nov. 20, 2006: A former student murdered eleven people at a high school.

Tuusula, Finland, Nov. 7, 2007: Seven students and the principal killed at a high school.

Naples, Italy, Sept. 18, 2008: Seven dead and two seriously wounded in a public meeting hall. (This incident is not included in the totals given below because it may have involved the Mafia.)

Kauhajoki, Finland, Sept. 23, 2008: Ten people shot to death at a college.

Winnenden, Germany, March 11, 2009: A 17-year-old former student killed 15 people, including nine students and three teachers.

Lyon, France, March 19, 2009: Ten people injured when a man opened fire on a nursery school.

Athens, Greece, April 10, 2009: Three people killed and two injured by a student at a vocational college.

Rotterdam, Netherlands, April 11, 2009: Three people killed and one injured at a crowded café.

Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2009: One dead and 15 wounded in an attack on a Sikh temple.

Espoo, Finland, Dec. 31, 2009: Four people shot to death at a mall.

Cumbria, England, June 2, 2010: Twelve killed by a British taxi driver.


:palm:
Yep, no murders in Europe.
 
Topspin said:
17,000 murders annually many preventable.
Europe doesn't have kids gunning down thier families
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Preventable? How?

The pot you smoke on a regular basis is illegal. Have any real trouble finding it?

"* Based on survey data from a 2000 study published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology,[17] U.S. civilians use guns to defend themselves and others from crime at least 989,883 times per year.[18]"

From: http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp




So we have 17,000 murders, but only roughly 10,000 were committed with guns, so you need to be a little more accurate and educated with your figures. And unless you can tell me how many of those were committed by legally obtained guns, your argument that gun control would help is weak at best.

But a reputable publication's research shows civilians use guns to protect themslves and others from crime almost a million times per year.

So for every murder (whether with illegal guns or not) there are 100 crimes stopped with privately owned guns.
 
Topspin said:
to the gun owners it would be, to people who think we are smart enough to eventually do wayyy better not so much.
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Smart? By ignoring the facts you are somehow smarter? By looking at a problem and going with a simplistic, knee-jerk reaction you are smart?

If that is what you call "educated", then thank goodness I was smart before I got my education.
 
Topspin said:
you'll get way more educated when you finish school.
If your point were true, Europe would have way more murders. LOFL
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No, that is not true. You are comparing dissimilar populations. The cultural differences alone make your claims bogus.
 
I find it very interesting that top thinks drug prohibition is a failure but somehow gun prohibition wojld succeed.
 
Socrtease said:
I find it very interesting that top thinks drug prohibition is a failure but somehow gun prohibition wojld succeed.
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Well, of course, because banning something is the same thing as making it disappear. It isn't like criminals might hold on to their guns, they're always honest and immediately follow the law. Right?
 
Damocles said:
Well, of course, because banning something is the same thing as making it disappear. It isn't like criminals might hold on to their guns, they're always honest and immediately follow the law. Right?
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And then we just know that if all the guns were confiscated and destroyed, that there is no way that anyone would ever be able to "design and make" another one; HUH?
 
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