Full Disclosure: I am not a Republican nor a Conservative who generally favour citizen ownership of firearms. That said I do favour ownership of firearms for hunters, target shooters and citizens in general. I am not as far right ideologically as those in the U.S. who believe that private ownership of guns by citizens is the only way to deter their own government from enslaving them. That said I am historically aware that NONE of the horrible massacres and tragedies involving individual citizens murdering their fellow citizens can ever hold a candle to the death, mayhem and murder orchestrated by governments (left or right wing) around the world for hundreds/thousands of years. Just count the deaths in the Ukraine over the last three months etc.. .............................................................................................. There appear to be huge commonalities in many of the U.S. murders/shootings. Many, many of the shooters are very young males who either feel disenfranchised or in effect are. Many of these young shooters are in the middle of a mental health crisis. Some of them have eagerly embraced the American love for firearms and attitudes of them versus us. They have also embraced both Hollywood themes and others that guns are the solution to many social problems. They are not. Just as an alcoholic depends upon beer and liquor to ease their pain so to do many think that guns will ease theirs. In fact while alcohol and drugs kill thousands, guns have ended up killing both their users and thousands of nearby innocents. Many mass shooters have targeted peers and classmates that they feel have either disrespected them or bullied them. In one aspect these commonalities should make identifying potential future shooters possible ahead of time and initiating appropriate interventions including discussion, therapy and mental health assessments. ................................................................................. There is no perfect panacea. There are older males who commit mass murder (Gabriel Wortman in Canada). There are occasionally women shooters. But as Joe Biden has said surely the U.S. can do better. Better at mental health interventions. Better at enforcing laws restricting gun ownership to our very young, perhaps up to the age of 21 or older. Guidance counsellers, social workers, teachers, neighbours all need to be listened to. If they honestly have concerns that a person might be a danger to themselves or others AND they somehow have access to firearms then a combination of police and social workers together need to step forward and ascertain the reliability of the concern and the extent of any possible threat of illegal action. The United States need to do so much better. I would suggest that every other country in the world have done so and now the U.S. need to step up for the sake of their own children and citizens.
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