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People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

After Colorado: The speech on guns neither Obama nor Romney will ever give - Not facing down the gun lobby is the real cowardice for politicians

Posted on Saturday, July 21, 2012 at 08:17 AM

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President Obama and Mitt Romney

The speech on guns neither Obama nor Romney will ever give - Not facing down the gun lobby is the real cowardice for politicians

My fellow Americans. Something has gone badly wrong in our country. We are seeing more and more senseless killings, more mass murders happening when deeply unstable people open fire on innocent Americans.

Colorado is just the latest example of this madness where a deeply disturbed man had access to major weapons and used them to fire on innocent people, men women and children. He killed 12, injured 58 more including a 4 month old girl. Enough is enough.

I’ve had enough of the Gabbi Giffords, of the dead children, of the grieving parents. It is time to call a halt to this madness.

The reality is that guns are far too freely available in our society. In Europe and other places where guns are not so freely available no such violence occurs.

Guns in our country killed 8,875 people in 2010, latest year I have figures for, with weapons.

The number of homicides in Britain in the same year was 600.

The difference is clearly that the British public does not have the unfettered access to weapons that we have here.

I will dispense with the weasel words and the lack of real action on the issue. We need far stricter gun laws to ensure that innocent people are kept safe.

I have nothing against those who wish to hunt or carry a weapon for personal protection but everyone must undergo strict background checks, have no more than one weapon and let us ban these ridiculous semi-automatic rifles that can kill dozens in seconds like what happened in Colorado.

This clearly mentally ill man bought 6,000 rounds of ammunition on the Internet--legally. How insane is that?

The gun lobby has a responsibility not just to the gun manufacturers but to the citizenry too to ensure that all sane and reasonable precautions be taken to ensure that lunatics don’t have guns.

My fellow Americans, let this Colorado gun massacre of innocents be the last time we will come together and grieve in such a fashion.

By direct and immediate action we can look into our children’s eyes and tell them that we are doing all we can to keep them safe.

As New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg stated “Maybe it’s time that the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it,” “because this is obviously a problem across the country.”

Indeed it is and I accept that. Be safe my fellow Americans, that will be a major priority of my term as president.

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Mike7571 | Jul 21, 2012, 08:20 PM EDT

The liberals answer is always more gun control. Tell me will you, what did that sick man do that was legal? If one person was in the audience had a gun they could have stopped him immediately. And to dare compare us to British subjects? We have certain freedoms in this country and it is because of the right to keep and bear arms that we do have those rights.

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GregShox | Jul 21, 2012, 08:08 PM EDT

Only in America would the word Liberal be an insult. Why is wrong to support tolerance, freedom of religion, freedom of speech and protection of the vulnerable? If that's what makes Liberalism evil, then I suppose I must be evil too.

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seanomelb | Jul 21, 2012, 07:53 PM EDT

The computer glitch on my post should read from 1965 -1975 80,000 Americans died from gunfire(plus 50,000 in Vietnam)

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Belphagor | Jul 21, 2012, 07:40 PM EDT

Why do American's need so many guns? I appreciate that it is written into the constitution but the world is a different place than it was in 1791. I can understand the Military requiring guns and maybe even farmers but surely there are other aternatives to lethal firearms that people can use to fulfill their Rambo ...desires?

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Phaenius | Jul 21, 2012, 07:32 PM EDT

Irish and Proud, I submitted a comment earlier, which did not pass the censurs because of its honesty, or some REALLY bad technical reason making it difficult to post here, that the theater had a sign "No Firearms allowed" or something to that manner, at every ticket booth...though in a way difficult to read some say.

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seanomelb | Jul 21, 2012, 07:21 PM EDT

The last mass killing in Australia was 1996 and in that year the ownership of semi-automatic weapons was banned with (a few exceptions) The USA has 15 times the population of Australia and 100 times the deaths buy gunfire. From 1965-1975 80,000 Americans died from gunfire(plus 50,000 in Vietnam). The major problem appears to be a siege mentality and a blaise attitude toward human life.It,s about time the USA joined the rest of the free world in gun control. The N.R.A. is a corporation which pays its executive six figure salaries and they will say anything to protect their lifestyle.

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ProudCanadian | Jul 21, 2012, 07:05 PM EDT

Deltoid71 yes we have had one or two of these sensceless acts but how many have you had 50 or 60 and don't give me the crap of population cause it isn't going anywhere. You are assuming China is doing that because they are afraid there people will rise up, that is stupid, dictatorship or not that isn't the reason and again you are creating a fantasy to condon the right to kill. I see nothing wrong if I want to get a gun with waiting a couple of years so that they can check and double check my credentials(not that I have anything to hide) that gives the authorities the opportunity to know that I am ok, that is all I'm saying. You are right though unfortunatly I suppose if some one wants to get a gun there is always the black market and that is a big problem. That is where these people got the guns that did the shooting in Toronto. I can guarantee they didn't buy them at the store.

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IrishAndProud | Jul 21, 2012, 07:00 PM EDT

Correction: Colorado allows concealed weapons, but requires a permit for it. And if anyone in that theatre had bothered to do that, perhaps more (if not all) of the dead -- save for the gunman -- would be alive, now.

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IrishAndProud | Jul 21, 2012, 06:53 PM EDT

Ah, yes...the big, bad 'gun lobby.' Yes, it was the gun lobby that made this nut walk into that theatre, pull the triggers and kill all those people. I guess the 'knife lobby' is responsible for every stabbing, and the 'baseball lobby' is responsible for every crime committed with a bat. Patrick, you're (as usual) A) taking immediate advatage of dead people -- practically before they're even cold (and like with Katrina probably happy they're dead, too) -- to promote more of your unconsitutional gun control, and B) being as predictable as stout in a pub, in the process. If Colorado had allowed a concealed weapons permit, perhaps this freak could have been dropped, before he even got started. It's also nteresting, isn't it, btw...that the cities in the USA with the greatest gun crime also happen to have the most stringent gun restrictions...and that most of those gun crimes are committed by inner-city liberals? Come to think of it most gun crime in the USA is NOT committed by NRA types, at all, but by the aforementioned. Just a thought. But the 'gun lobby' is only as powerful as it is because the people BACK IT...overwhelmingly.

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tundish45 | Jul 21, 2012, 06:23 PM EDT

Well, thank goodness. Now we've finally reached the level of real debate. Who's ready for a pint? My turn.

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merefalow | Jul 21, 2012, 06:02 PM EDT

freedom to bear arms,its written into the constitution,also the power of the gun lobby,the massive industry of gun production,how can it be challenged or controlled,to much money in it,this carnage will continue unchecked, psychological profiling security checks on prospective customers, impracticable and it would,nt work anyway, especially as half the yanks who own guns are nutters who love killing animals anyway.a high proportion of people who are cruel to animals go on to kill people.not much hope is there,if they wont bring gun control in after all the presidents they have had murdered they are hardly likely to worry to much about joe public.sickos have little to worry about.

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aloistmartin | Jul 21, 2012, 05:53 PM EDT

A Loaded AR15 in every pot, is George III worst Nightmare ! Unfortunately, it is also the greatest deterrence to the success of Free Enterprise Capitalism. For when the Plutocratic Elite must come to The People, for not only Permission to conduct Business; But for Consent to Govern ? You incur the basal makings, of Dissent, Revolution, Autonomy, Self Determination, and Independence ! There is only #1. Ireland ! Support the Real I.R.A.

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Phaenius | Jul 21, 2012, 05:44 PM EDT

Why bother - real good comment does not show

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irishpjk | Jul 21, 2012, 05:28 PM EDT

wtf Simple solution for Pat is move to Europe. A bit of advice before you go don’t burn your passport when you get there, because sooner or later you will realize that the grass is always greener on the other side. I lived on both sides and to me America with all its guns and other faults is still far ahead.

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tundish45 | Jul 21, 2012, 05:01 PM EDT

@Ajreaper ... little emotional there? You packin?

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