‘Lars Get Ur Gun’ Or ‘Foreign Mass Shootings’

It’s little vindication for 2d Amendment advocates in US arguing “people not guns kill” that South Africa, Denmark & Sweden with strict gun control laws are also now being tragically hit by mass shootings and gun violence.

As Fox News reported, “South Africa was the latest to see a mass shooting, with 19 people killed in two separate [recent] shootings in Johannesburg & Pietermaritzburg … [even though] … civilians in the country are [generally] not allowed to possess semi-automatic weapons … while handgun ownership is permitted” via a limited license. Likewise, Denmark’s similar restrictive gun regulations were unable to prevent the recent mass shooting at a Copenhagen mall where a lone gunman killed 3 shoppers & injured 7 more. And in neighboring gun control minded Sweden, it’s being reported 342 shootings & 46 gun murders in 2021, a shocking increase from only 25 shootings as recently as 2015.

One problem with tighter gun rules suggested by an AP story is that “strict restrictions” can lead to a “large black market” where bad actors, not law-abiding citizens, can still get guns easily enough. In the US, a bipartisan Congress responded to the nation’s most recent mass shootings by passing legislation “aimed at helping stares create red flag laws that would keep guns out of the hands of individuals who could be a danger to themselves or others.” The federal law also expanded background checks for guns being bought by minors, eliminated the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” & funded mental health-related programs. Is it the latter that might be the best prescription to the violence disease?

Davd Soul