Thank you for supporting and inspiring American students and for encouraging all Americans to hear their voices and follow their lead during this dangerous and challenging time in our nation.
Very powerful and moving - thank you for making this video and for your support for all those affected by the tragedy at the MSD High School in Parkland, Florida on 14th February 2018.
If ever there was an argument to get out of the pointless argument around ideology of the amendments and start looking at fundamental, common-sense cause and effect, here it is. 1996. That's 22 years ago folks. Thank you to Dunblane and the time and effort and consideration you poured into this production. Sharing.
Three minutes and twenty seconds that hopefully will help to amend US gun law. Lets hope the selfish few change their minds for the benefit of the many, every child has the right to become an adult, this has to stop. Thanks to all in this film, true Bravehearts. #NeverAgain
Who is really selfish here? The tens of millions of American gun owners who never harmed anyone or those in Parkland demanding that these gun owners have their rights infringed while they ignore the failure of local officials who didn't do a thing about a known threat? I've yet to hear anyone out of Parkland demand answers of Sheriff Israel, Superintendent Runcie, Principal Thompson, the school board, county mental health services, etc. Nikolas Cruz was known to have severe mental illness and a tendency to violence. He wasn't committed to a psychiatric hospital. He wasn't arrested for the crimes he committed prior to the school shooting. County mental healthy services didn't even report his to NICS (federal instant back check system) which would have prevented him from buying that gun.
No one needs the amount of guns available in the US, and no-one needs them to be as easily available. Let's not blame the victims here - whatever the alleged 'misses' you claim about the shooter, the fact remains that guns are easily accessible. If they are not easily accessible, they can't be used for mass shootings. This is not a difficult concept. In the UK, Dunblane happened and we indeed said 'never again' - and took the steps to stop it. I can't understand (and neither can the majority of the British public) why in the US there are so many people who see their right to own something that is useful for nothing but killing more important than the right of children not to die. Those calling for better regulation are not the selfish ones here.
Heather: I didn't actually call anyone selfish. I asked who is really selfish. I also never blamed the victims. I did blame the local officials who failed to do their jobs. That isn't blaming the 14 kids and 3 teachers who were murdered in Parkland. You've twisted what I've said and put words in my mouth which makes it difficult to believe that you are interested in an honest discussion about this. Of all the mass shootings in the USA: Columbine, Aurora Theater shooting, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Westroads Mall shooting, San Bernardino Inland Regional Center shooting, Texas church shooting, etc. They've all been done by someone known to be mentally ill. The only one who may not have been is the Las Vegas Harvest Festival shooter and I say may not have been because the FBI hasn't released any information on that other than to say that he gambled a lot. The UK government is being similarly tightlipped about the Dunblane shooter. Nikolas Cruz was well known to be a danger. The local authorities didn't arrest him despite that he'd committed a number of crimes prior to the high school shooting. They didn't put him in a psychiatric ward despite having violent and sadistic behaviors. They didn't even report him to the national instant criminal background check system (NICS) which would have prevented him from buying a gun. The same thing happened in Texas with the church shooter. He'd been violent to his fellow air force members. He'd been violent to his then girlfriend. He'd been dishonorably discharged from the air force. He, after he was kicked out of the air force, had been put in a psychiatric hospital. No one reported any of this to NICS. Had they done that the Texas church shooter would not have been able to buy a gun. This Texas shooter also escaped from that psychiatric hospital in 2012 and they didn't even bother to find him. They just let that ticking time bomb run around loose for 5 years. They aren't even using the mechanisms in place under currently existing law to stop these mass shooters yet they are wanting to pass even more laws. They'll use any laws passed in future as poorly as the ones in place now. The Port Arthur shooting in Australia was used by Hillary Clinton in one of the 2016 presidential debates as a model for the USA to follow. The Port Arthur shooter is also a person who had violent, reckless, sadistic and other unbalanced behaviors going back to childhood yet they didn't put him in a psychiatric hospital until after he murdered 35 people. The Howard government, in sleight of hand to distract from this failure, forced 700,000 Australians who hadn't harmed anyone to give up their guns. People have a right to live. I recognize this. It's why I don't kill people. Holding someone like me, and millions like me, responsible because of those who do is not just. There are 100 million gun owners in the USA. There are 15,000 murders in a year in the USA, but over half of these are criminals killing other criminals. Very few legal gun owners are involved in any criminal activity with their guns. We do have to do a better job of keeping violent people locked up in the USA for the safety of society. My state, in particular, is bad about letting violent people out of prison. This will, sadly, continue until Californians learn not to elect the politicians who are doing this. People who are law abiding and non-violent do tend to resent their rights being infringed. Florida passed a law which prohibited the sale of rifles to anyone under 21. Governor Brown signed that into law one week ago today on March 9, 2018. There has already been a 12 fold increase in the number of people from that age group joining the 2nd Amendment Foundation. The NRA and the Gun Owners of America have also seen increases in membership since Delta Airlines and other companies have boycotted the NRA. The left wing of the American political spectrum often says that the NRA is the most powerful lobby in the USA. The Bloomberg Group, just one of many gun control groups in the USA, spends $51 million per year lobbying the Congress. The NRA spends $3 million. This explains why we've over 20,000 gun laws in the USA. I've no crystal ball, but if the left keeps vilifying law abiding gun owners it could cause enough people to join that this would actually be true. Logically speaking, you'd think they'd not want to galvanize a group of people 100 million strong. This 100 million number is generally considered to be the most accurate estimate of how many people own guns in the USA, but estimates are as high as 120 million and even perhaps more. This is fraught with difficult in the USA for we've no gun registry here. For a people to be free they must have such freedoms that don't harm anyone else, and those who would ban guns advocate just that. This is really about more than regulation of guns. Several American politicians from Diane Feinstein in the 1990s to our new Senator Kamala Harris in 2017 have called for a ban on private ownership of guns altogether. Hillary Clinton gave gun owners genuine cause for concern during the 2016 presidential campaign. Gun rights are an easy right to pick on, but this is not the only right that the American left is trying to undermine. It is getting into dangerous territory when people start accepting government growing beyond it's legitimate role. There are many similarities between the UK and the USA, but obviously many differences as well. We've very different ideas about what the proper and legitimate role of government is. Government should do that, and only that, what it is allowed to do. A government that decides the scope of its own powers is a dangerous thing indeed. That's why a written Constitution is such a very important thing.
Heather: This knee jerk reaction to pass more laws every time something occurs is also a disturbing thing. Too few people are asking what went wrong as things currently are before they want to add laws on top of laws. For instance, a family just had their pet die on an airline because a flight attendant put the dog in the overhead compartment. The Congress is already working on a new law because of that one occurrence. I guarantee that just the fact that this airline will be sued by this family there is already a change in corporate policy at work. Do we really need another law? I don't want to stray too far away from the gun topic, but some things simply aren't a proper role for government. Minimum wages are an example. It isn't a proper role for government to mandate that someone be paid a minimum amount. Some retired people, for instance, used to earn a few extra bucks just helping customers in a small mom and pop hobby shop. It was something social and not that demanding. They chose to do it. Now those types of lightweight, non-demanding jobs simply don't exist. The minimum wage has caused restaurant workers to be laid off in my state because the state is requiring that they be paid more than that labor is worth. A year's wages at the new rate pays for that robot. Now the state government is considering outlawing the replacement of workers with robots. If they do this get ready for restaurants to go out of business. All this has done is cost people jobs. If they ban them from buying robots it will also cost the business owner their livelihood. Government just needs to stop fiddling around in the markets. The bleak situation in the UK in 1978 was a result of government interfering in the economy and markets.
Heather: One more thing. David Hogg, one of the Stoneman High School students, was not happy that the NRA filed suit against the law prohibiting those under 21 from purchasing a gun. I'm not sure what else he was expecting. People will not idly stand by while their rights are infringed. People from the UK, Canada and Australia asked how can a group like the NRA sue the government. We've the right to sue for redress in the USA. No one questions when the ACLU sues the government. The 2nd Amendment has been treated as a 2nd class right for too long. Good progress has been made over the past 25 years, but we've still a long way to go.
Sorry I don't know much about this Scottish case, but I don't believe the official account, who is David Hogg? Who is Sheriff Israel? Sorry don't believe the official account.
Thank you for supporting and inspiring American students and for encouraging all Americans to hear their voices and follow their lead during this dangerous and challenging time in our nation.
Very powerful and moving - thank you for making this video and for your support for all those affected by the tragedy at the MSD High School in Parkland, Florida on 14th February 2018.
Thank you, Dunblane. Just... thank you, so very much.
Such a beautiful message
Absolutely fantastic message kids. Our admiration goes out to every one of you. So brave to do this message. #standbyParklands
Phenomenal video and message. Well done to all involved.
If ever there was an argument to get out of the pointless argument around ideology of the amendments and start looking at fundamental, common-sense cause and effect, here it is. 1996. That's 22 years ago folks. Thank you to Dunblane and the time and effort and consideration you poured into this production. Sharing.
Three minutes and twenty seconds that hopefully will help to amend US gun law. Lets hope the selfish few change their minds for the benefit of the many, every child has the right to become an adult, this has to stop. Thanks to all in this film, true Bravehearts. #NeverAgain
Who is really selfish here? The tens of millions of American gun owners who never harmed anyone or those in Parkland demanding that these gun owners have their rights infringed while they ignore the failure of local officials who didn't do a thing about a known threat? I've yet to hear anyone out of Parkland demand answers of Sheriff Israel, Superintendent Runcie, Principal Thompson, the school board, county mental health services, etc. Nikolas Cruz was known to have severe mental illness and a tendency to violence. He wasn't committed to a psychiatric hospital. He wasn't arrested for the crimes he committed prior to the school shooting. County mental healthy services didn't even report his to NICS (federal instant back check system) which would have prevented him from buying that gun.
No one needs the amount of guns available in the US, and no-one needs them to be as easily available. Let's not blame the victims here - whatever the alleged 'misses' you claim about the shooter, the fact remains that guns are easily accessible.
If they are not easily accessible, they can't be used for mass shootings. This is not a difficult concept. In the UK, Dunblane happened and we indeed said 'never again' - and took the steps to stop it.
I can't understand (and neither can the majority of the British public) why in the US there are so many people who see their right to own something that is useful for nothing but killing more important than the right of children not to die.
Those calling for better regulation are not the selfish ones here.
Heather:
I didn't actually call anyone selfish. I asked who is really selfish. I also never blamed the victims. I did blame the local officials who failed to do their jobs. That isn't blaming the 14 kids and 3 teachers who were murdered in Parkland. You've twisted what I've said and put words in my mouth which makes it difficult to believe that you are interested in an honest discussion about this.
Of all the mass shootings in the USA: Columbine, Aurora Theater shooting, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Westroads Mall shooting, San Bernardino Inland Regional Center shooting, Texas church shooting, etc. They've all been done by someone known to be mentally ill. The only one who may not have been is the Las Vegas Harvest Festival shooter and I say may not have been because the FBI hasn't released any information on that other than to say that he gambled a lot. The UK government is being similarly tightlipped about the Dunblane shooter.
Nikolas Cruz was well known to be a danger. The local authorities didn't arrest him despite that he'd committed a number of crimes prior to the high school shooting. They didn't put him in a psychiatric ward despite having violent and sadistic behaviors. They didn't even report him to the national instant criminal background check system (NICS) which would have prevented him from buying a gun. The same thing happened in Texas with the church shooter. He'd been violent to his fellow air force members. He'd been violent to his then girlfriend. He'd been dishonorably discharged from the air force. He, after he was kicked out of the air force, had been put in a psychiatric hospital. No one reported any of this to NICS. Had they done that the Texas church shooter would not have been able to buy a gun. This Texas shooter also escaped from that psychiatric hospital in 2012 and they didn't even bother to find him. They just let that ticking time bomb run around loose for 5 years.
They aren't even using the mechanisms in place under currently existing law to stop these mass shooters yet they are wanting to pass even more laws. They'll use any laws passed in future as poorly as the ones in place now.
The Port Arthur shooting in Australia was used by Hillary Clinton in one of the 2016 presidential debates as a model for the USA to follow. The Port Arthur shooter is also a person who had violent, reckless, sadistic and other unbalanced behaviors going back to childhood yet they didn't put him in a psychiatric hospital until after he murdered 35 people. The Howard government, in sleight of hand to distract from this failure, forced 700,000 Australians who hadn't harmed anyone to give up their guns.
People have a right to live. I recognize this. It's why I don't kill people. Holding someone like me, and millions like me, responsible because of those who do is not just. There are 100 million gun owners in the USA. There are 15,000 murders in a year in the USA, but over half of these are criminals killing other criminals. Very few legal gun owners are involved in any criminal activity with their guns. We do have to do a better job of keeping violent people locked up in the USA for the safety of society. My state, in particular, is bad about letting violent people out of prison. This will, sadly, continue until Californians learn not to elect the politicians who are doing this.
People who are law abiding and non-violent do tend to resent their rights being infringed. Florida passed a law which prohibited the sale of rifles to anyone under 21. Governor Brown signed that into law one week ago today on March 9, 2018. There has already been a 12 fold increase in the number of people from that age group joining the 2nd Amendment Foundation. The NRA and the Gun Owners of America have also seen increases in membership since Delta Airlines and other companies have boycotted the NRA. The left wing of the American political spectrum often says that the NRA is the most powerful lobby in the USA. The Bloomberg Group, just one of many gun control groups in the USA, spends $51 million per year lobbying the Congress. The NRA spends $3 million. This explains why we've over 20,000 gun laws in the USA. I've no crystal ball, but if the left keeps vilifying law abiding gun owners it could cause enough people to join that this would actually be true. Logically speaking, you'd think they'd not want to galvanize a group of people 100 million strong. This 100 million number is generally considered to be the most accurate estimate of how many people own guns in the USA, but estimates are as high as 120 million and even perhaps more. This is fraught with difficult in the USA for we've no gun registry here.
For a people to be free they must have such freedoms that don't harm anyone else, and those who would ban guns advocate just that. This is really about more than regulation of guns. Several American politicians from Diane Feinstein in the 1990s to our new Senator Kamala Harris in 2017 have called for a ban on private ownership of guns altogether. Hillary Clinton gave gun owners genuine cause for concern during the 2016 presidential campaign. Gun rights are an easy right to pick on, but this is not the only right that the American left is trying to undermine. It is getting into dangerous territory when people start accepting government growing beyond it's legitimate role. There are many similarities between the UK and the USA, but obviously many differences as well. We've very different ideas about what the proper and legitimate role of government is. Government should do that, and only that, what it is allowed to do. A government that decides the scope of its own powers is a dangerous thing indeed. That's why a written Constitution is such a very important thing.
Heather: This knee jerk reaction to pass more laws every time something occurs is also a disturbing thing. Too few people are asking what went wrong as things currently are before they want to add laws on top of laws. For instance, a family just had their pet die on an airline because a flight attendant put the dog in the overhead compartment. The Congress is already working on a new law because of that one occurrence. I guarantee that just the fact that this airline will be sued by this family there is already a change in corporate policy at work. Do we really need another law?
I don't want to stray too far away from the gun topic, but some things simply aren't a proper role for government. Minimum wages are an example. It isn't a proper role for government to mandate that someone be paid a minimum amount. Some retired people, for instance, used to earn a few extra bucks just helping customers in a small mom and pop hobby shop. It was something social and not that demanding. They chose to do it. Now those types of lightweight, non-demanding jobs simply don't exist. The minimum wage has caused restaurant workers to be laid off in my state because the state is requiring that they be paid more than that labor is worth. A year's wages at the new rate pays for that robot. Now the state government is considering outlawing the replacement of workers with robots. If they do this get ready for restaurants to go out of business. All this has done is cost people jobs. If they ban them from buying robots it will also cost the business owner their livelihood. Government just needs to stop fiddling around in the markets. The bleak situation in the UK in 1978 was a result of government interfering in the economy and markets.
Heather: One more thing. David Hogg, one of the Stoneman High School students, was not happy that the NRA filed suit against the law prohibiting those under 21 from purchasing a gun. I'm not sure what else he was expecting. People will not idly stand by while their rights are infringed. People from the UK, Canada and Australia asked how can a group like the NRA sue the government. We've the right to sue for redress in the USA. No one questions when the ACLU sues the government. The 2nd Amendment has been treated as a 2nd class right for too long. Good progress has been made over the past 25 years, but we've still a long way to go.
I cant really add to that. #neveragain
Sorry I don't know much about this Scottish case, but I don't believe the official account, who is David Hogg? Who is Sheriff Israel? Sorry don't believe the official account.
Emotionally driven propaganda.