Another month and another mass shooting in the US where a large part of the population is in denial about the serious problem of guns. The even more depressing point about the Sutherland Springs massacre in Texas is that many, including Trump, are arguing that more guns are needed to protect people against guns. If ever there was a cycle of destruction, this must be it. The US is awash with guns, many of them automatic or semi-automatic, manufactured primarily for military forces, not private citizens. The weak gun control laws in place now can easily be circumvented simply by the sheer abundance of weaponry.
Compare that to the UK where gun control is rightly very tight and heavily policed. We do have problems with gun crime in some areas but this is tiny compared to the situation in the US. In most circumstances, semi and fully automatic guns are not permitted for civilian use. All those with a firearms certificate have to be assessed regularly and weapons have to kept in appropriate metal cabinets under lock and key. I have first hand experience of this as we have a shot gun in our house. It is over 60 years old, has been disarmed, no one manufactures the cartridges for it any more and it hasn't been fired in over 60 years. Nevertheless, we have to have a firearms certificate, regular police checks and inspections and a steel cabinet bolted to the wall which has to be kept permanently locked.
If only the USA were as sensible when it came to guns.
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