committing the offence of suicide are either Swiss or European
SteeleRedux,
That'd be the most likely scenario but, why ? Could it be because the majority of crimes there are committed by non-Swiss, non-European & the Swiss & Europeans just had a gutful ?

Hi Issy,

I'm sure if we armed 100 million people like you and me the murder rate would be zero, as we have no propensity to kill people, and that applies to the vast majority of folks who already have a gun at their disposal. We may however accidentally shoot ourselves, you while running away from 'Roger' that notorious scrum bully, and me whilst trying to bend the barrel of my gun around 180 deg. I couldn't say the same if we armed 100 million Martin Bryant's. BTW how many gun owners in Australia fit the profile of a Martin (Ticking Time Bomb) Bryant? Zero, 1, 10, 100, 1000, don't know. You can answer that question.

You asked; "When are you, or someone else, going to explain why countries with strict firearm laws have a murder rate far exceeding that of the USA?"

I did answer that question with this;

The lax gun laws in America simply places the means to commit barbaric acts into the hands of nutters. CM made a good point;

"several critical factors in Latin American cities that contribute to increased gun violence, including economic deprivation, residential instability, family disruption, absence from school, the population’s age structure, and alcohol consumption."

When you add guns to that mix of social depravity and other factors, then there can only be one outcome, a mass number of shootings.

Without a gun, generally some sort of automatic weapon it's very difficult to shoot large numbers of people/children, in fact its impossible.

Paul,
In quite a lot of the US school shootings the murderer gained access to a class room and if only armed with a knife (the gun that never runs out of bullets) could have killed just as many children and teachers because the teachers had no way to defend themselves.

Obviously, from what you say strict gun laws have no effect.
El Salvador and Australia have strict gun laws yet the murder rate in that country is fifty (50) times as high as Australia.

The US Presidential Idiot is talking about banning “assault rifles” and they haven’t yet defined an assault rifle.

PAUL1405 would simply make the guns unworkable would you? And how exactly would you do that? A 'Bolt' as far as a F/A's concerned is an integral piece of that F/A it doesn't mean run away, and hide PAUL1405 a practice you're well attuned.

And now you've found Buddhism. You hope to practice it's precepts and tenants so you may reach a state of nirvana? A worthy objective perhaps for you. Myself I don't have that luxury, I have to face the real world, come what may, like most ordinary folk need to do on a daily basis. It's called pragmatism.

Congratulations on your new team. Have you thought of a suitable name? Being a tag team you must surely put your own stamp of approval on it, lest it might be coveted by another. How about the incomparable, THE...' DAVID F & PAUL1405 ' TAG team of the century! Champions of the LEFT & PURVEYORS of PEACE.

I guess there's some truth in what you've both said. Violence has always been a way of life for most of my existence. And sometimes that violence, in what ever form, instead of being an anathema to me, like it is for most in our community, it just overflows as a plausible solution.

I guess I too, need to look inwards and undertake some legitimate soul searching of myself before I cast too many barbs against others? I was a regular at the Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service, at the Repat. here in Melbourne. I was part of the Nightmare group. And the buggers changed it's name and direction, and they opened it up to include all vets.irrespective where they served. Vietnam Veterans have their own unique form of demons. In so much as we had many of the enemy right here on our streets, calling us baby killers, and worse! It get's you down after a while.

Paul,
You’d do better to ask how.many ticking time bombs are likely copiers of Robert Paul Long, (Childers fire, 15 dead) what with the completely unrestricted availability of highly flammable liquids, igniters and timing devices (both electrical and mechanical).
Not forgetting the simple candle which leaves no evidence, the average household candle gives the arsonist 4 hours to get well away.
Good reliable timers to start a fire remotely are even on sale in Op-Shops.
I saw a 24 hour timer in St Vinnies only a week ago.
Arson is on the rise in Australia, what are your lot doing to combat this rising trend?

Dear o sung wu,

There are too many of my own family whose lives have been changed for the worse by Vietnam for me to feel good about it. Hindsight is 20-20. My cousin Richard planned to make his life in the US military. He got out because of Vietnam & has been drifting ever since. He has borrowed money from most of the family and has not paid it back. We have killed many Vietnamese, and they have killed many of us us. I say 'we' because even though I wasn't there there have been a lot of people who I have been close to who were there. I thing we were terribly, terribly wrong. Just as the Brits let India go we should have let Vietnam go. You have been marked by your experiences. You can't change the past. We have been on opposite sides, but we are both human. My cousin told me about the washerwoman who came on the base with grenades under her clothing. She was caught before she could use them. It was a rotten, stinking unjustified war, and I sympathise with those on both sides who suffered and died. You and I don't have to be enemies now.