It is just catching up to us from the rest of the world. (that in some ways, WE have exported to them by our actions.)

Interesting to note that this latest mass shooting was carried out by a Bosnian Muslim.

deseretnews.com | Police identify gunman as 18-year-old Bosnian

We'll continue seeing rampaging Muslims folks.

Yeah, we need better gun control laws. So all the law abiding citizens will be unarmed and harmless when another Muslim decides to kill as many "infidels" as possible on the way to see Allah.

It's no surprise that a muslim extremist felt right at home in Utah.

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Is our children learning? -George W. Bush

"I think—tide turning—see, as I remember—I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of—it's easy to see a tide turn—did I say those words?"—Washington, D.C., June 14, 2006

"[T]he illiteracy level of our children are appalling."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2004

Oh please, parents should decide when their children are capable of understanding the difference between reality and fantasy long before they pick up a controller. Parents are the most single influence on children's behavior, its well documented and proven and we should stop blaming any invention that we created exclusively. I'll admit that TV & video games /can/ warp your sense of reality and comprehension, but not before some parent allows a 5 year old to watch the Simpsons. Besides, video games are just now getting to the point that movies and the news have been at for years, the only difference being that instead of watching you get to interact in such worlds as Gears of Wars. Its even very simple, most of these games are rated appropriately like those movies, and who turns out to buy them the game for Christmas?

The difference between the U.S. & Canada goes right back to our beginnings. Ours is a nation born of violence; Canada is a nation born of paperwork.

I've lived in El Salvador. I assure you, the murder rates in the streets of San Salvador are worse, per capita, than any American city. The main culprits?:

-easy access to weapons
-high levels of poverty
-high levels of unemployment
-a sense of helplessness
-drugs
-gangs (surely you've heard of MS 13)
-glorification of violence (nearly everything on TV in El Salvador is American shows dubbed into Spanish)
-a civil war that displaced 20% of the population for most of the 1980s & some of the early 1990s; these people largely wound up in Los Angeles (but also Houston, San Diego, Washington, DC, etc.) where they learned Americanized-style gang warfare, which they've transplanted back to El Salvador

El Salvador is a nation recently reborn of violence. Managua & Guatemala City see similar problems. Colon in Panama and Bogota & Medellin are also horrible places to live/visit due to the levels of violence. The common problems between all of them:

-easy access to weapons
-lax (or non-existent) weapon laws
-many of the things I've listed above

I don't know that anyone has a ready-made answer. Surely, it is a complex issue. But if one examines different nations & different cultures & look at the underlying themes, a pattern does emerge. In a neophyte sort of fashion, I've attempted to lay out some possible culprits w/o pretending to be right. . .

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither breaks my leg, nor picks my pocket."

Thomas Jefferson

Your link says he was Bosnian. Do you have a link that says he was Muslim? Or did you just make that up for the fun of it? Your link says nothing about him killing infidels. Do you have a link that says he was killing infidels or is that another one of your fantasies?

Here's an interesting news item that might point to another possible sorce of the violence in this nation.

So, second from last place in the world, eh? Is this what we get after years of "compassionate conservatism"? I think what is wrong with this country is that we've got our priorities skewed as to what the purpose of life is supposed to be all about. The article stated that problems exist due to single- parent families. If that is a problem then what happens when both parents have to work their butts off and don't have the energy to be real parents to their kids and don't have the time and energy to actually get out and do things with them? Does that mean they live in a 1/4 parent family? Maybe that's another possible source of the violence in this country.

Gem

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There is no political solution to our troubled evolution.

"Reality, the left-wing liberal conspiracy. "
Credited to Angry American.

Neither of the firearms the mall shooter had were semi-autos.

Out of curiosity, why do you think a revolver or pump action gun is somehow less dangerous than a semi-auto?

Matt

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De duobus malis, minus est semper eligendum

Revolvers and pump action weapons take longer to chamber and fire so they aren't as overwhelming in firepower as a semi or full auto weapon.
Although I agree with and support the right to own and bear arms I do think that right should be limited to weapons that are not considered weapons of war. If that kid in Salt Lake could do what he did without a semi- auto how much carnage do you think he could have done with a semi or full auto weapon?

Gem

__________________
There is no political solution to our troubled evolution.

"Reality, the left-wing liberal conspiracy. "
Credited to Angry American.

Full auto is a red herring. There are very few lawfully owned fully automatic weapons, and not one owned by a civilian has ever been used in a crime.

As far as semi-auto goes, it's not that much faster that a pump or revolver.

In point of fact, the present world-record holder for speed shooting did it with a revolver.

As far as reloads go, a trained shooter with speedloaders can be just as quick as an auto user changing magazines.

Matt

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De duobus malis, minus est semper eligendum

As Matt pointed out, the speed difference is irrelevant, and bringing full-auto into the equation is a red herring.
So what you're really saying is, you do NOT support the right to bear arms.
Just as much or less. Yes less. Full auto firearms are rather difficult to aim when shot on full-auto.

Of course, since you want use hypotheticals to justify your position, consider how much LESS damage he would have caused if he wasnt the only one armed.

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In case you were wondering, yes, there really ARE more idiots these days....technology has made natural selection obsolete.

Actually, I use a couple of semi-automatics, the SKS being my favorite. When I have the banana clip on, I assure you it fires much faster than any revolver. Of course, I've not spent my life training to be Doc Holliday. . .

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither breaks my leg, nor picks my pocket."

Thomas Jefferson

Yes you do, in Germany for instance.

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It all comes down to this on election day: Are you a racist, or do you look down on spastics?

Sure it can happen anywhere, but what other nation has these sort of incidents anywhere even approaching the frequency that we do?

It is a given that there will be insane individuals anywhere, but why are there more here?

There arent, but it spread like rings in the water when it happens and becomes a trend. Obviously the easy access to descent firearms makes it much easier for the psychos.

__________________

It all comes down to this on election day: Are you a racist, or do you look down on spastics?