Saturday, February 17, 2018

Another Shooting

There was another tragic school shooting in the USA.  18 people, 14 students and three adults, died.  And the only thing more tragic about this is that the American government won't do anything other than offer "thoughts and prayers".  I'm so over the "thoughts and prayers".

Since 1 January 2018, there have been 18 school shootings in America.  There have been more than 300 school shootings since 2013.  That's an average of one per week.

In 1988, Pan AM Flight 103 was brought down by a bomb and 259 people died.  As a result, all US airlines were required to x-ray all checked luggage.

One guy on a Paris flight tried to ignite explosives in his shoes and the TSA began randomly searching people's shoes.

More safety regulations were imposed on auto makers when people die from faulty air bags or seat belts.

So why the hell can't the USA enact reasonable gun control to help keep people safe?  The right to bear arms, was about militias, and this has been distorted by the NRA.  And let's face it, the Constitution said that slavery was okay and the Constitution was changed.  So why the hell is an incorrect interoperation of the 2nd amendment so damn sacred?

I'm quite happy that I live in Czechia which is the 6th most peaceful country in the world.  The gun problem just doesn't exist here in Europe like it does in the USA.

Having gun control doesn't mean that you can't have guns and it's not like there aren't any guns in Czechland.  There are more than 300,000 registered gun-license owners and over 700,000 legally-registered guns here.  But people aren't murdered here like in the USA.  In 2003, 16 people were murdered in Czechia with a legally held gun.  In 2007 it was seven people and in 2008 it was two people.

Over here a person much pass an extensive multiple choice test, take a practical test in front of a police commissioner and pass a medical check.  If your GP thinks it necessary then you also have to take a psychological test.  Once all of these criteria are met then you can get a gun license and legally purchase a firearm.

The closest thing to the NRA over here is Český střelecký svaz, the Czech Shooting Federation, but it has no political leverage.

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