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Comments
seriously - i'm glad this kid (only) had a knife.
I am happy that nobody perished, and hope everyone recovers.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/arch…
Keep your head in the sand if you like
You know we put the leaded gasoline genie back in the bottle? The smoking genie? The incandescent light bulb genie?
We've changed before, and we're in the midst of change now.
@2, while Murrysville is relatively rural it's only a 30 minute drive from downtown Pittsburgh. And I knew a lot of people who lived out there but worked in the city. "Really rural and happy about it" is not a description that I'd use.
The other thing about guns vs knives is it's a lot harder to accidentally stab someone to death than accidentally shoot someone to death, because stabbing takes effort.
Columbine: 12 students and 1 teacher killed, 24 injured. Weapons of choice: pistols
Sandy Hook Elementary: 20 students and 6 teachers killed, 2 injured.
Weapon of choice: Bushmaster assault rifle. Most chilling fact, most victims were shot between 3 and 11 times. Imagine someone holding an assault rifle, pointing it at a group of 6 year olds and a teacher trying to shield them with her body, and pulling the trigger more than 60 times.
Franklin Regional Senior High School: 0 fatalities (praying it stays that way) and 20 injuries.
I sense a pattern here. Without guns, fatalities drop in school violence.
'So let's just go ahead and ban guns.'
No more disingenuous willy-nilly bullshit. Now we can have an honest discussion where everyone's motives are on the table.
Bravo, Dan. And I'm sincere when I say this.
Guns are not banned now in Pennsylvania so it wasn't like he was forced to use a knife by some regulation.
The only thing we can say is that we should train our rampage killers to freely go with a knife instead of a gun.
All those were technologies that were not completely banned. They were replaced with other technologies that served the same need.
We still have internal combustion, light bulbs, and cigarettes.
Your analogy would work if it was we about making safer guns with electronic tracking and trigger lock capabilities or some such. Not banning.
Because as history repeatedly proves prohibitions do not work unless the culture changes drastically to accept them. And we are no where near that yet with guns. Yet.
But. Hey. Go ahead and try to mount a "ban all guns" national political campaign. Get used to losing elections.
And you've just validated all the people you described as "gun nuts".
You've now stated that you do want to take their guns.
They already knew that you weren't interested in saving the children whose deaths you mock.
Yes folks, JBITDMFOTP.
My internet stalker who makes thinly veiled suggestions that I kill myself, you have been answered again and again. Japan and England contradict your claims. Both have high suicide rates and low gun ownership rates.
But then you believe that stalking someone is a rational response when disagreeing with them.
http://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives…
"I promise to stop stalking you if you leave The SLOG and never return."
"fagtron"
And?
I have an internet stalker.
And my internet stalker likes to make thinly veiled suggestions that I kill myself.
"Ask people from the UK where stabbings are fairly common."
I'm from the UK. I'm not sure what you mean by "fairly common". Most crimes involving knives in the UK involve possession and nothing more. In fact, in 2012 there were 4 times as many people arrested for possession of a knife or other offensive weapon than there were people treated for stab wounds in the UK.
Less than 5,000 people were treated for stabbings or wounds caused by sharp implements in UK hospitals in 2012. 550 people were murdered in the UK in the same year. 193 murders were committed using a knife or other sharp implement (this can include broken bottles and so on). This is from a population of over 60 million. By comparison, over 500 people were murdered in Chicago, population 2.7 million.
In the case of free speech and trial by jury, I'd say the right is worth the price. In the case of the right to bear arms, it isn't. I dream of the day when the Second Amendment is repealed.
To expand on my comment before, to look more closely at the supposed knife culture in the UK (something that is whipped up by the reactionary press using coded language about 'urban' youth in London):
In 2012 in the UK (population approx. 60 million), there were:
29,503 offences involving knives or other sharp instruments (this includes anything sharp; broken glass and screwdrivers are the most common).
4,490 hospital admissions for wounds caused by knives or other sharp instruments.
193 murders involving knives or other sharp instruments.
So, two-thirds of one percent of all crime in the UK involving knives or other sharp instruments results in death. And less than five percent of all hospital admissions in the UK for wounds caused by knives or other sharp instruments result in death.
In 2012, there were as many gun murders in the US every two-and-a-bit days than there were knife/sharp instrument murders in the UK in the entire year.
In summary, I believe that guns are more deadly than knives.