Good thing you don't get out your cheque book.
I was wondering how tight are the US's laws on licensing buying explosives?
I read the news today oh boy! Page 1,742
The laws vary. It's somewhat difficult to buy readymade stuff like dynamite, but you can buy cans of black powder and smokeless powder at sporting goods stores. They also sell tannerite for making exploding rifle targets.
I think places that sell fertilizer that's suitable for making Oklahoma City type bombs are wary of non-farmers buying large amounts, but I assume you could probably get away with several small purchases.
I think the Boston bombers used the powder from fireworks.
That's what I thought your laws on explosives and explosive making materials are pretty tight.
Hence most of your bombers since Oklahoma with the exception of Boston have been a bust.
Indeed I think in some states knives and bullet proof vests are more restricted than fire arms.
Not a judgement, just an interesting approach.
There have been several successful bombings that I can recall. Most weren't meant to cause mass casualties, but the one in the World Trade Center was massive.
Our gun laws are actually quite strict.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Hi-f**kin-larious
Quote: lofthouse @ 20th June 2015, 4:42 PM BSTHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Hi-f**kin-larious
I reckon that I know just a tad more about American gun laws than you do.
9/11 didn't use bombs though.
Quote: Paul Wimsett @ 20th June 2015, 4:54 PM BST9/11 didn't use bombs though.
I was referring to the 1993 bombing.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing
Sorry Dabutt - but your statement to a UK resident of strict gun control in the USA is laudable.
I'm sure you all believe it - but the facts prove something else.
Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ 20th June 2015, 6:13 PM BSTSorry Dabutt - but your statement to a UK resident of strict gun control in the USA is laudable.
I'm sure you all believe it - but the facts prove something else.
I assume you meant "laughable" but my assertion is correct. Our laws are strict, but there are a lot of people who have no interest in following the law. So certainly what we need are more laws!
Quote: DaButt @ 20th June 2015, 4:58 PM BSTI was referring to the 1993 bombing.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing
You'd think at the very least they'd change their name after that? I know the enemy wasn't Communist, but it still seems an unnecessarily exaggeration here.
Quote: DaButt @ 20th June 2015, 6:27 PM BSTI assume you meant "laughable" but my assertion is correct. Our laws are strict, but there are a lot of people who have no interest in following the law. So certainly what we need are more laws!
Any law-abiding citizen in the United States is allowed to own or carry a gun.
That right comes from the US Bill of Rights and the second amendment to the United States Constitution, the country's supreme law, which was written in 1791.
It reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Anyone over the age of 18 is allowed to buy a rifle or shotgun from a licensed dealer in any state with over-21s able to buy handguns too.
Certain people are banned from owning weapons including convicted criminals, people with mental health illnesses or non-US citizens.
There are also special rules banning guns in and near schools
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/18950937/newsbeats-guide-to-us-gun-law
You may read that as strict, me I'm not so convinced. Coming from the UK with very different laws on gun control this just seems insane to allow such easy access to guns.
Sadly you are right some people regardless of the laws on gun control will ignore them & tragedies will happen regardless. But the simple fact is that gun control in USA is far more relaxed than in other parts of the world & sadly the stats for shootings reflects that as well.
Quite impressed, I didn't resort to making the obvious joke about arming bears.
The UK's gun laws didn't prevent Derrick Bird from killing a dozen people, so I can't see how stricter gun laws in the United States would benefit us. It's already illegal to murder and to carry a gun without a license, but untold numbers of criminals do so daily. Any legislation that removes firearms from the hands of law-abiding citizens while leaving them in the hands of law-ignoring criminals is a bad, bad thing and will not be tolerated by the citizens.
Random, mass shootings are a statistical blip that politicians and the media seize upon in order to frighten the population into accepting infringement upon our Second Amendment rights. The same can be said about the fixation upon so called "assault rifles" because more people are murdered with bare hands than are murdered with rifles of any kind.
Our country has a gun crime problem. But the heart of that problem is drugs, gangs and inner city street violence; the average American is untouched by gun violence.
Until I am afforded 24/7 armed(!) bodyguards like the president and his cronies in Washington, I will continue to oppose any attempts at removing my ability to defend myself and my possessions from criminals and nutcases.
Dereck Bird is a statistical blip he was maybe one spree killer in 5 years.
He also used a collection of low capactity, slow rate of fire hunting rifles. His really lethal skill was his knowledge as a taxi driver that allowed him to evade police via country back roads.
The chances are he wouldn't have been able to renew his licenses that year.
Really poor example.
You see the US gun laws are perverse. As a responsible citizen there are multiple laws preventing you going postal as far as possible.
But there are multitudinous loop holes, that if you did flip your wig. You could easily buy a shooter in a state where gun shows are poorly registered or they can be ordered off the small ads.
Yes you'd get caught. But most spree killers kill themselves or let the cops do it.
Beneath your spree killers are plenty of death by cops, or guys who just wanted to kill their spouses.
Even if you blocked off all these loop holes and the NRA are working perversely hard to stop this happening.
There's still so many guns out there, that again if you got into your head to kill someone. How many friends do you know with guns who you could borrow or steal one from? Assuming you weren't planning to live through the experience.
And if you're just a Charles Bronson, Dirty Harry obsessed nut then the multitudinous stand your ground legislations give you're addled brain the idea that you may get away with shooting someone who threatened you or made you feel threatened.
That's before you get onto the fact that such an irrationally heavily armed populace hands huge power back to the police. How many people have been shot, because the cops thought he had a gun or might have a gun. Waco about one of the most awful massacres by a police force happened because first of all the ATF thought the Davidians had a few ver shortened shot guns.
Then they had one WW2 armour piercing rifle that probably didn't work.
I'll take the very, very occaisonal Brit with a gun and a mental disorder over all of that.
Quote: sootyj @ 21st June 2015, 4:14 PM BSTif you're just a Charles Bronson, Dirty Harry obsessed nut...
Bronson and a Zimmer frame, dreamy.
Just checked and the gun death rate in America is currently 223 times higher than in England.