this would make me very nervous, record gun sales in US

I suppose it is easy to make a judgement on a situation from a news report , sitting comfortably on the other side of the World , but what is the real situation? Is the level of paranoia , and anxiety in the USA , what it seems from afar? And why ? One million unemployed [ as reported in the media], fear of terrorism, fear of a race war, middle class sliding into the working poor,losing the drug war, all or none of the above? Is the fear rational? Someone looking on from afar , with limited knowledge of the US , could be forgiven for thinking their society is starting to unravel . I personally don't think that, but why do people need to arm themselves? Does it matter? Of course it does. What happens in the US eventually has an effect on all of us. Bob

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Originally Posted by billy bob

Australia holds the record for the most people killed in one massacre.
35 at Port Arthur.
He was able to walk around uncontested and shoot people at will.
In the US someone would have had a gun.
Someone would have shot back.

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That easy is it?,you watch too many B grade movies. Pat

People forget that a firearm needs to be readily available and loaded to be of any value,that also leaves it available for people,children for one to be able to get thier hands on it,it's a fact that more people are shot with thier own firearm than any other means.I for one would not want a loaded gun in my house and wouldn't let my kids go to a house that did,and for you mucho shoot-them-up types,you blokes ever shot a firearm through plasterboard?,you would shoot your robber and your children in the next room. Pat

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Originally Posted by billy bob

Australia holds the record for the most people killed in one massacre.
35 at Port Arthur...

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Port Arthur does not even come close to a World record.

In 2011 we have Anders Behring Breivik who killed 77 Norwegians and in 1809 a Whangaroa Maori killed and ate 66 people from the ship the Boyd.

Although Port Arthur remains Australia's largest mass shooting, however there are doubts that Martin Bryant acted alone in the early part of the day the perpetrator killed and wounded more people than he fired rounds, yet later in the day Bryant fired hundreds of rounds at police without hitting anyone.

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Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

[snip]

Although Port Arthur remains Australia's largest mass shooting, however there are doubts that Martin Bryant acted alone in the early part of the day the perpetrator killed and wounded more people than he fired rounds, yet later in the day Bryant fired hundreds of rounds at police without hitting anyone.

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I was hoping no one would mention anything like that as it could take things off in pretty wild tangent :(

An ex-barrister and Vietnam vet I know has compiled a lot of info on that day and his conclusions are pretty outrageous.
I tended to think he was a more than a little paranoid with his findings and pretty much dismissed them out of hand, but he's a smart boy and a good, solid, logical thinker so who knows ?

There, I've fuelled it even more :angel:

I heard from a friend that knows a guy that he heard it was masked australian soldiers the same ones who were involved with the coup in fiji;)

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Originally Posted by bob10

I suppose it is easy to make a judgement on a situation from a news report , sitting comfortably on the other side of the World , but what is the real situation? Is the level of paranoia , and anxiety in the USA , what it seems from afar? And why ? One million unemployed [ as reported in the media], fear of terrorism, fear of a race war, middle class sliding into the working poor,losing the drug war, all or none of the above? Is the fear rational? Someone looking on from afar , with limited knowledge of the US , could be forgiven for thinking their society is starting to unravel . I personally don't think that, but why do people need to arm themselves? Does it matter? Of course it does. What happens in the US eventually has an effect on all of us. Bob

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America is a great place. I have spent a lot of time there. Just best not to bring up guns or religion.

I have driven through most of the US alone. I have also walked alone around many towns and cities in the US - even in the evening.

Not once have I felt scared and/or threatened.

I have probably walked around areas where many americans would not go and/or would not get out of their cars...

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Originally Posted by PAT303

People forget that a firearm needs to be readily available and loaded to be of any value,that also leaves it available for people,children for one to be able to get thier hands on it,it's a fact that more people are shot with thier own firearm than any other means.I for one would not want a loaded gun in my house and wouldn't let my kids go to a house that did,and for you mucho shoot-them-up types,you blokes ever shot a firearm through plasterboard?,you would shoot your robber and your children in the next room. Pat

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We have a hard enough time keeping our 3-year-old from grabbing a pen and writing on the table . . .

I can't be leave there's so many antis here and some very opinionated ppl here still won't stop me from enjoying my sport no matter how narrow minded some ppl may be

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Originally Posted by 87County

good investment for your super fund
Sturm, Ruger & Company: NYSE:RGR quotes & news - Google Finance
57% rise in 1 yr - 188% in 5 ! compare that with CBA

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Yeah and that's just from the money I've given them !!!!

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Originally Posted by isuzurover

America is a great place. I have spent a lot of time there. Just best not to bring up guns or religion.

I have driven through most of the US alone. I have also walked alone around many towns and cities in the US - even in the evening.

Not once have I felt scared and/or threatened.

I have probably walked around areas where many americans would not go and/or would not get out of their cars...

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I suspect south central L.A. was not one of those places :lol:

I do get the ****s with people who are so ready and eager to rip on Americans. Have such people ever been there?
Ever spoken to Americans for any length of time?
Ever lived with them?

They are just people, and in the large just like you and me.

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Originally Posted by bee utey

The US has a massacre every few months.

The total number of people killed by hand guns in the US far outstrips that in Australia.

Thank goodness for that. I'll put up with our local scenario thanks.

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Um yes. But their population is also a HUGE amount bigger than ours.
Australia approx 22,600,000 (2011)
USA approx 311,600,000 (2011)

If you were to look at deaths as a percentage of population or deaths as a percentage of gun ownership then, though tragic, they are statistically insignificant.

If 20 people die in a "massacre" or "rampage" it's world news and the bleeding hearts are all jumping up and down demanding guns be banned.

If 40 people are killed in a bus crash nobody cares and there are no calls to ban buses.
When many thousands of people are killed a year in cars, there's no calls to ban cars.