7 Replies to “Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill”

  1. The suggestion that the solution to the US problem with mass shootings in schools is to arm teachers is so outrageous and absurd that one can’t quite believe it isn’t some kind of Swiftian satire but sadly and unbelievably it is a serious suggestion from the President.
    Many of the politicians who offered ‘thoughts and prayers’ after the latest shooting but felt it was ‘too early’ to talk about the easy availability of guns as a cause of the ever -mounting numbers of young people shot dead in their schools and colleges are the beneficiaries of huge financial contributions from the NRA. Ralph is spot on in pointing out the massive financial interest the gun lobby has in opposing any kind of gun control.

  2. There’s a fascinating take on this from Dave Trott, explaining why far more guns were sold under Obama than Trump.

    It includes these scary statistics:
    About nine million Americans own at least 17 guns each.
    Another 7.7 million own 140 guns each.

    See – https://tinyurl.com/ybzbh9g5

  3. Too young to legally buy alcohol and yet considered old enough to buy a military type assault weapon. Crazy. And I don’t necessarily mean they should lower the age to buy alcohol. In any case, rapid-fire assault weapons are not appropriate except for fully-trained national armed forces. Why would anybody who was sane want 40 guns anyway?

    1. Barack Obama promised more gun control so people rushed to buy guns before Obama could ban them. The gun shops couldn’t stock enough guns. The manufacturers couldn’t make enough guns. So gun sales, and profits, went through the roof. But under Trump, the future of guns is secure, so there’s no longer any rush to buy guns. Consequently, the gun stores are left with lots of inventory they can’t sell. Which means they’ve stopped ordering guns. Which means the manufacturers had to stop making guns. Which means Remington, for one, has gone broke.

      Back in the 1970s, gun ownership in America was in long-term decline. But when Obama talked about gun control, gun ownership started to grow and there now are 88 guns for every 100 Americans. Not all Americans want guns. The purchasers are mainly repeat purchasers. About nine million Americans own at least 17 guns each. Another 7.7 million own 140 guns each. And as perceived scarcity is no longer a threat, the market is saturated.

      The Scarcity Heuristic: “The more difficult it is to acquire an item, the more value that item has.”

      Which is how Obama sold many more guns than Trump.

      after Dave Trott at Campaign

  4. In my opinion no one should.be allowed to own a gun. The current situation is total madness. All guns should be held in a few secure armouries and only issued on license for a particular and approved purpose to a specitiic and approved and responsible person after much checking of the individual,. Once that purpose has been dealt with and with an independent witness present the gun must be immediately returned to the armoury.
    Such a system would include any type of gun including shot guns.
    I know this is idea probably not realistic under a number current government regimes as they have so many vested interests in guns but at least we could start along that road of banning individual gun ownership.
    It would certainly help to halt driven grouse shooting and all the other wildlife killing associated with it and would make the world a better place.
    Idealistic I know bur we should start thinking on these lines.

    1. Yes idealistic, but also impractical and the context of the UK largely irrelevant, the existing firearms legislations are pretty rigorous and fit for purpose in my opinion, and this is backed up by the trends since 2003. Comparing the situations in the UK and US is not very helpful, nor is conflating wildlife crime and school shootings. Illegally held firearms are the big issue in the UK so far as gun crime is concerned – this is the area where more action needs t9 be taken.

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