[ETR3(SS)]

Originally Posted by Steel_Tomb

However, I really fail to understand why you would just carry one around in public? If your going to go shooting at a range or keep it for personal use then I have no problem, but to go armed with lethal weapons casually along the street just seems a wee bit weird! Is it to stroke your ego "hey look I have a big gun".

As far as I know Arizona is the only state that has open carry laws. And without looking it up I think in about half of the US you can carry concealed with a permit. So we don't have the masses running around out here with guns strapped up and down their sides in public, just to clear that up.

It just makes things quite uneasy, I mean imagine if some nut job had such a rifle and decided to go empty a magazine? In a public place? Its mad, quite simply. Its been seen many times when mentally unstable people have gone on a rampage with guns, I'm sure you all remember the Virginia tech killings...

Anybody is capable of killing another person, anybody.

IMHO there isn't enough restriction on the flow of arms in the USA... far more thorough background checks should be used, and anyone with a criminal record should simply be banned from owning such weapons.

I'll let this one slide a little since you are from the UK and most likely not fully informed of all of our gun laws. However, the problem isn't the need for more restrictions, but to enforce what laws are already on the books. If you are a felon in this country you lose your right to bear arms and the right to vote. Your criminal record stays with you for your whole life, whether you are a felon or a misdemeanor.

That was a political rally, with women and children present most likely... personally I find it COMPLETELY unnecessary to carry loaded weapons to such an event, especially as the President was in attendance to it!

1. Who said the weapons were loaded? 2. Personally I would not bring my child to a political event unless they were old/smart enough to understand the political machine. 3. Women are equal to men nowadays. 4. the police and Secret Service were there...armed themselves.

I understand some may not like Obama, maybe its his policies or maybe some white folk can't get over the fact his skin is a different shade to theirs.

This is probably a true statement, but the fellow carrying the AR-15 was black.

Originally Posted by Steel_Tomb

Then perhaps for an instance like that, persons under a certain age (say 25?) should not lawfully be able to personally own their own weapon. They should be able to use weapons owned by family members i.e. their father for either personal protection in the home or for sport whilst accompanied by an adult able to take responsibility for them.

For the record the legal minimum age to purchase a hand gun is 21. Depending on the state you can be as young as 16 to purchase a shotgun or rifle. However to purchase that firearm under the age of 18 you must provide proof of a firearm safety class having been taken(at least here in Wisconsin). This is a little OT but why should a 18 year old be allowed to die for his country and not be able to buy a drink in the bar. Same concept with your minimum age argument.

Exceptions could be made in very specific circumstances, like retired military personnel who could lawfully own a weapon under the "age limit".

This doesn't work at all. If you retire from the military over here you did at least 20 years in.

Such restrictions don't infringe on your "right to bear arms" as you call it, as access to weapons for protecting yourself or your family is still there but would hopefully prevent you from getting guns into a campus.

I dont personally plan on living with my parents until I reach the "minimum age" so I can own a firearm to protect myself and my property.