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IN THE WAKE of the gun attack on a Louisiana cinema that killed two people, US presidential candidate Rick Perry has said that patrons should be allowed to carry guns in a movie theatre.
Last Friday, John Houser entered a theatre in Lafayette and shot 13 rounds from a legally bought handgun, killing two women aged 21 and 33 and injuring nine others. He then killed himself.
It follows the recent attack in Charleston in which nine black parishioners at a church in South Carolina were killed by white supremacist Dylann Roof.
Speaking yesterday about the murders and gun control, gun advocate and Republican candidate Perry says that he is opposed to ‘gun-free zones’.
“I would suggest that these concepts of gun-free zones are a bad idea,” he told CNN.
I think that you allow the citizens of this country who have been appropriately trained, who know how to handle and use firearms, to carry them.
Asked directly whether patrons in the movie theatre in should have been allowed bring guns with them, he replied that he believes so.
I think that it makes a lot of sense to send a message across this country that, if we believe in the second amendment and we believe in people’s right to protect themselves and to defend themselves and their families, that to tell them that they cannot carry a weapon that they are legally obliged to carry. That they have been through the training for, makes sense to me.
Perry says that laws to prevent mentally unstable people from owning guns is equally important, but he suggested that no new laws are needed.
He said in the cases of John Houser and Dylann Roof, someone failed in their responsibility to stop them getting access to guns. Both shooters, he said, were “obviously mentally impacted”.
“These were individuals who I think someone at some point didn’t do their job in enforcing the laws that are already on the book.”
Democratic candidate Senator Bernie Sanders also spoke about the shooting over the weekend. He said that urban and rural dwellers have different needs when it comes to guns.
“Coming from from a rural state, I think I can communicate with folks coming from urban states where guns mean different things than they do in Vermont where it’s used for hunting,” Sanders said.
“That’s where we’ve got to go. We don’t have to argue with each other and yell at each other. We need a common sense solution.”
- With reporting from Associate Press
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Dumbest nation on earth.
Kids should be given ak47′s. Guaranteed school shootings will stop if every kid packs heat
They also landed men on the moon… Such a large country they’re going to have extremely dumb people but for every one of them they also have many many very smart people
Also this man is a fat right politician
No they’re mostly stupid…really…they are.
Look at the stats on how many believe a missile hit the pentagon or the moon landing was faked, go to snoops.com ‘whats new’ section each week see how many stupid thinks go viral on their social media they buy into (‘Clinton ordered no guns to be carried at military bases’, ‘Shaira law ordered in Seattle’)
Look at things like honey boo boo child…look at how half of them went into a panic at Jade Helm when their own military did an exercise on its own soil…
The universe must feel that since they’ve mostly idiots in the country they should make up for it by producing some of the most brilliant as well.
Psh, the moon landings, brought to you by the same people that gave you the V2 rocket. It’s tempting to equate America of the early 20th century with the imperialistic mess populated with some of the worst of what humanity has to offer, it’s just not terribly wise.
That has a lot to do with the two-tier education system in the U.S. right now. They have some top-quality schools with highly educated teachers and talented students but these schools are fierce expensive and out of reach of the average American family.
It seems to us in Europe that Americans are idiots but that is mainly down to the gulf in education quality.
Very simplistic response to a complex issue, lad.
In a country with over 300 million citizens, you really think it is a “two tier education” system and this is why their are stupid people who kill people with guns?
Perhaps you’re the stupid one for believing everything you read.
You should try to not put words into people’s mouths, lad. Where in my comments have I said that I blame this on America’s poor education system?
I’m well aware that their problem is multifaceted and not a simple ‘fix education, stop mass murder’ affair. It’s a combination of poor education, easy access to guns, a culture of fear and a propensity for handing out psychotropic drugs to anyone who’s feeling a little down.
Ryan, there are a few irish people on here who believe that the moon landing was faked. Tune in more and you will see them comment.
Does he even know what the word obliged means?
Maybe americans are legally ENTITLED to carry weapons, but they are certainly not legally OBLIGED to carry them.
Give it time.
..and theyre only that if you ignore the entire first half of the 2nd ammendment and its history and purpose?
You thinking a Freudian slip?
The NRA aligned , Lunatic gun followers !
They still haven’t figured out, that guns in the hands of people , shoot dead other human beings ???
Eddie
The whole point of the 2nd Amendment is to give law abiding citizens a safety check against tyrannical government. The U.S. currently resembles Nazi Germany if you havn’t noticed and is at war all over the globe fighting an enemy called terror that seems to bread more terror as time goes on. Let law abiding Americans protect themselves when this all goes tits up and the government turns on its own people. Guns were pivotal to us in the creation of the free state. They will also be pivotal in all future wars against oppression. Millions of Americans see what it coming down the road. They are not “gun nuts”, they are patriots, the same as our much revered Irish heroes were.
Thejynxeffect gives us a salutary insight into the paranoiac outlook which motivates the gun nuts.
while at the same time ignoring the part of the amendment that says “well regulated”
@thejynx
Yeah, right, because in Nazi Germany, every idiot owned a gun and went around to cinemas to kill people, may I ask on which planet you are living?
guns don’t kill people. bullets do. ban the sale of bullets and let them have their guns.
It’s actually relatively easy to smuggle ammunition and make your own with the right materials. Banning ammunition sales is a terrible idea and only punishes those who want to shoot responsibly.
Those who want to commit crimes with guns will easily get their hands on firearms and ammunition to supply them.
I think he may have been joking Jason.
For those thumbing me down, you’d be interested in knowing that the Dutch police recently seized an arsenal of weapons, ammunition and drugs in a warehouse last week. In the warehouse were at least 5 fully-automatic Yugoslavian AK-47′s and thousands of rounds of 7.62mm ammunition along with other weapons and ammunition. If someone wants to get it, they will.
ok. Sorry Jason. didn’t mean to be so stupid.
It’s hard to see when people are actually joking or not making that suggestion. There’s quite a few who genuinely believe it would work.
Jason, quit while you’re not too far behind…
Ah yes i can piccture it. Patron walks in and is stopped by the Usher: “Whats that in your bag?” Patron: ” m16 rifle” Usher: “No , beside it”. Patron: ” Bag of popcorn.” Usher: “You can’t bring your own food in here!”
I think most sensible shooters agree that firearms for defence are pretty much a ridiculous idea. Sport and recreation makes sense, but allowing people to keep a loaded handgun under their pillow because the boogie man might appear is dangerous and unhealthy.
This guy is merely sucking up to the gun lobby to get extra funding for his presidential campaign.
We allow gun ownership, and were a living example why anti gun control arguments in US are nonsense:
We don’t allow people to carry their pistols or rifles for self defense outside the home (esp not mental policies like open carry)
We give the local cops huge discretion over who gets a licence and which weapons they can have.
If someone wants to go from rifle to pistol they have to have a deep explanation why they gun they’ve gots not good enough.
We dont’ allow civilians to own assault rifles.
…and are our people helpless victims of active shooters regularly? Nope…we’ve never even had one
How can the Swiss model of gun ownership be implemented? Seems to work pretty well over there.
Its not just their laws its their culture of hyper agression and constant on edge fear that makes them diff
The Swiss system relies on arming the majority of citizen of military age and providing them with basic military or police training. The Swiss system works because the majority of the population actually have the training and understanding to respect the power of firearms and what they can do. The majority of citizens also still have their service weapons at home even after official service has ended.
Easier to do in a small country with relatively low manpower reserves and a reliance on itself for defence, not so easy to do with a massive country like the U.S. where you would need to arm and train hundreds of millions.
Actually the Swiss model is conscription followed by an option to buy your gun on completion of service
And Switzerland recently had its own gun related massacre.
I think that the right to life should prevail over the right to own a device which is primarily, if not exclusively, designed for killing human beings with maximum lethality.
Apparently the Swiss do indeed mostly have firearms however ammunition is heavily regulated.
More guns won’t change anything.
Might lead to more killings.
If someone in that cinema had a gun they could have stopped this mad man.
Sounds like a game of ”Murder in the Dark”.
Or they could have been mentally unstable and killed 10 more.
@Enoch
does it actually hurt to be so ignorant? If everyone in the cinema would have had a gun, you’d be looking at a whole cinema full of dead and injured people.
Lash a bit more petrol on the fire lads! Good luck with that.
You know your society is fecked when a politician wants people to bring guns to the cinema.
Dumbest nation on earth.
Just give every American a gun, and make it a law that everybody must always carry their gun,then you only have yourself to blame if you get shot, problem solved.
People, I give you a moron!
Not much use in having a gun on you, if you’re already dead..
Everyone in the dark cinema has a gun … Someone shoots someone… when the dust settles would anyone make it out alive. … imagine the chaos, panic, friendly fire casualties…
The idiocy is spellbinding, isn’t?
Imagine the same scenario repeated itself and a deranged, heavily armed lunatic opened fire in a dark cinema where everyone was also armed.
Imagine the panic that would set it; it would be a bloodbath.
How can this man not see this every obvious flaw in his approach?
Just so unbelievably stupid…
How would they decide who instigated it!!!!!!
It’s akin to fighting fire with fire. brain dead politicians are everywhere. To think people actually elect these nutters. I dread the world after the next US presidential elections. The republicans will start more wars and set the planet back by ten years…
Lets use science and probability instead of egoistic hero scenarios.
What percentage of shootings end up with a good guy with a gun (non police etc) stopping it? Less than 0.01pc.
Most shootings are murders, accidentally shooting family members…
Sure a civilian with a weapon may help in some scenarios but its not that simple as a be all and end allj
Nothing against per se if your a farmer or licensed hunter. Not sure why every joe blow needs to be carrying them. This knob is just kissing up to the gun lobby. Madness,but most normal thinking people will not buy into this rubbish. You’d think!
Hobby shooting is also common and there is nothing wrong with wanting to put a few rounds down range just for the fun of it. The problem is when people are allowed to handle firearms with no proper training in how to use them or how to respect them.
It’s common in the U.S. to hear about children shooting themselves or a family member with a family gun which was for ‘protection’ which is a ridiculous idea. An assembled gun left lying on a table in most European countries would lose you your licence at the very least and could even result in prosecution.
You can’t even get one here until the local superintendent has inspected your home to see what kind of secure case/locker you have. If your guns in a droor with a wardrobe key your kids could find you won’t be getting a license.
Another diff here is nobody is mental enoigh to WANT say an M4 assault rifle, cool to shoot on a range but for hour house? the hell would you ever need that for? even in the worst case scenario of an active shooter situation like the Dunblane massacre a normal gun would be enough
I prefer the Dutch system which I’m currently going through. Mandatory 6 month training programme with a shooting range for small-calibre weapons before you can become a full member of the range you’re in. Once you’ve successfully passed a full year as a full member, you’re then allowed to purchase a small-calibre weapon which you are certified in as long as you have a secured gun cabinet.
You can also after this time (1.5 years total) also begin do a short training in large-calibre weapons and again after a year you’re allowed to purchase your own. Anything is legal here so long as it isn’t an excessive calibre (no .50′s) and it is not automatic.
It is in my mind a much more structured and organised system than the Irish one, while also trusting shooters a little more with the selection of weapons they can fire. The main trade-off is that you cannot set up a shooting club for hobby shooting officially so you have to compete in competitions if you want to acquire and maintain a license.
Ryan, when it comes to the M4 the civilian version (AR-15) is actually a good weapon for amateur competitive shooting. It has manageable recoil, it is very accurate and it is light meaning it doesn’t strain the shooter easily. That and the .203 Remington is a cheap large-calibre round for practice and you can easily customise an AR-15 to the shooters preferences.
I would certainly consider picking up a semi-automatic AR-15 for target practice or even for amateur competitions here in Holland.
We think the yanks are crazy because of their gum laws – they think Europeans are crazy because of their welfare system – its a cultural difference – personally I find it strange that the richest nation in the world treats it’s poor and vulnerable so bad
meant gun not gum
We have a gun problem which we’re gonna fix with MORE GUNS #OnlyInMurica
A drink problem can only be fixed with more drink, what’s your point?
Only in America…
needs more gun.
A retired cop killed a man in a U.S. cinema because the man would not do what he was told. Guns and light entertainment in a dark and crowded place are a bad mix.
this is the problem of a constitution written nearly 250 years ago. great country crazy laws
Of course, I should have realised that more guns is exactly what the U.S. needs to address the problem of gun violence. Duh!! How could I have been so stupid to believe otherwise. God help us all. You know reason and compassion are in serious shortage in this country, when a presidential candidate can make such abhorrent statements and not be publicly ridiculed for his ignorance. It’s scary to think that this is an acceptable opinion to have for a “leader”! These arguments are made by the right every time something happens and yet they can’t see how the situation is getting worse as they continue to do nothing on gun control. It’s so incredulous it would be funny if it wasn’t so scary.
It is ironic that as a result of a guy bringing a gun into a cinema and using it that the senator wants everyone to bring their guns into a cinema presumably because they could also guns to shoot the shooter. What happens if a shot rings out in a cowboy film? Do the cinema goers then start shooting each other in the dark? Typical American solution to an American problem. The guy in the short sleeves was exercising his right to “bare” arms!!!!!
‘Merica’
“Hey Guys! Who’s up for going to ‘The Expendables 8′, at The Mall?”
No?
Anyone?
Anyone ??
Gun free zones are a bad idea, says Rick Perry from the gun-free zone which is his politicial campaign. Thats right – you cannot bring a firearm into ANY of his events, nor any of the other GOP candidates who all seem to think guns everywhere is a great idea, except when the everywhere is where they are. Added bonus – the GOP national convention and NRA national convention also ban all firearms. It would seem the GOP in America wants guns everywhere, just not anywhere they will be.
have your say