One problem we now face is that kids no longer know how to safely handle a gun.

Of cause idiots are idiots and no amount of legislation can legislate against stupidity so accidents will always happen. In fact, there would not be an adult alive who is not aware of the risks of reversing down the driveway when kids are around, yet they sill get reversed over. What's the answer there, legislate that all minors must be housed inside prior to operating a vehicle on your driveway?

The one very distinctive fact here,is we are talking about America.

Having said that, I see no reason why semi auto/auto guns should remain easy to get as at least the only ones here are the illegal ones and no amount of legislation, other than mandatory prison sentencing will curb these. If there was a no exception set of laws for illegal gun possession, each carrying a prison sentence which increases in accordance with the weapon/number, things would change and change very quickly. Ten years no parole for semi auto/hand gun possession would be a huge deterrent I would suggest. But only here because nobody would be game to implement such laws in the US. And if people don't like it, there only option will be to move.

Farmers are now prime targets for firearm theft as many legally own semi autos and many don't lock them away because it is impractical to do so. The police know this and often turn a blind eye as they know the laws are unworkable for farmers protecting livestock. Its become a grey area and one that is near on impossible to police, short of driving farmers off the land as one single mother fox can kill dozens of lambs in a single night so a loaded gun at hand is about the only option for farmers.

Toni,
In the old days, apparently, it was normal for a 12y/o to be given a gun. But they were taught strict firearm safety, and it was drilled into them; if they didn't they'd eat standing up in the woodshed for the next month. These kids would take guns to school, take part in shooting activities at school and shoot rabbits or other animals on the way home, and no-one ever got shot.

ALTRAV,

Take it from me, no one is censoring the forum, (except when someone steps well over the mark), I prefer the use of quotation marks ".....", but often when I use them the system gets upset and tells me to remove them.
Other people use / / or < > for quotes as they have presumably struck the same problem.

Is Mise, thanks for your comments. I was very angry because I saw no consistency in the editing what-so-ever. My comments were not worthy of edit, and because the edit was aimed at the very words I was quoting in response to a previous commentors, I was just perplexed. It's just one of those moments which in my case, now make me look into setting up a forum, which I have considered for quite some time.

<<In the old days, apparently, it was normal for a 12y/o to be given a gun>>. They were called boy soldiers, the British Army and others, made great use of children for cannon fodder. up to. and including WWI. In Africa children are still exploited and used as front line fighters in wars. Disgusting.
One of my favorite posters leoj, reminisced a while back about the "good old days" when pretend child soldiers. school cadets, carried guns on public transport. I suppose he seen them as a useful weapon in the fight against fare evaders.