Shooting at Virginia Tech

rebound · #9 04-18-2007, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tijanaw

While some focused blame only on the gunman, world opinion over U.S. gun laws was almost unanimous: Access to weapons increases the probability of shootings. There was no sympathy for the view that more guns would have saved lives by enabling students to shoot the assailant.

"We took action to limit the availability of guns and we showed a national resolve that the gun culture that is such a negative in the United States would never become a negative in our country," said Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who staked his political career on promoting tough gun laws after a gunman went on one of the world's deadliest killing sprees 11 years ago.

The tragedy in a Tasmanian tourist resort left 35 people dead. Afterward, Australia's gun laws were changed to prohibit automatic weapons and handguns and toughen licensing and storage restrictions.

Handguns are also banned in Britain - a prohibition that forces even the country's Olympic pistol shooting team from practicing on its own soil. In Sweden, civilians can acquire firearm permits only if they have a hunting license or are members of a shooting club and have no criminal record. In Italy, people must have a valid reason for wanting one. Firearms are forbidden for private Chinese citizens.

"Only the names change - And the numbers," read a headline in the Times of London. "Why, we ask, do Americans continue to tolerate gun laws and a culture that seems to condemn thousands of innocents to death every year, when presumably, tougher restrictions, such as those in force in European countries, could at least reduce the number?"

But even in Germany, where gun-control laws are strict, a teenager in 2002 shot and killed 12 teachers, a secretary, two students and a police officer at a high school. The shooter was a gun club member licensed to own weapons. The attack led Germany to raise the age for owning recreational firearms from 18 to 21.

In Italy, there are three types of licenses for gun ownership: for personal safety, target practice and skeet shooting, and hunting. Authorization is granted by the police. To obtain a gun for personal safety, the owner must be an adult and have a "valid" reason.

Mayor of Nagasaki, Japan gunned down by Yakuza - 04-18-2007 , 01:53 AM

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NAGASAKI — Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito was shot in front of JR Nagasaki Station on Tuesday evening, according to news reports.

Ito was taken to a local hospital, however details of his condition have not yet been made available. He did not respond to questions asked by paramedics.The man who shot Ito was subdued on the spot before police apprehended him.Ito is running for the mayoral election slated for April 22 to seek his 4th term. (Mainichi)

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Mayor Iccho Ito was shot on a street near his office, just in front of Nagasaki train station, according to local police official Isao Teramoto.A man with links to organized crime was quickly detained, according to Kyodo News agency. NHK footage from Nagasaki showed several officers escorting a man into a police car, and an ambulance leaving the scene.

It was the second shooting in recent years of a mayor of Nagasaki, which was destroyed by a U.S. atomic bomb in 1945 and whose leaders have actively campaigned against militarism.

In 1990, former Nagasaki mayor Hitoshi Motoshima was shot and seriously wounded in 1990 after saying Japan’s emperor, beloved by rightists, bore some responsibility for World War II.

Yakuza are the Japanese mafia .

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Gun control in Japan is the most stringent in the democratic world. The weapons law begins by stating 'No-one shall possess a fire-arm or fire-arms or a sword or swords', and very few exceptions are allowed. Gun ownership is minuscule, and so is gun crime. As gun crime in other nations increases, many advocates of gun control urge that Japan's gun control policy be imitated.

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And yet, the MAYOR of Nagasaki is gunned down in front of a train station. Looks like criminals will find ways to get what they want, regardless of laws. That's why they're called CRIMINALS.