The Swiss are heavily armed. But mass shootings are rare here – “But”? Don’t they mean “and”? . . . In Switzerland, the government also banned immigrants from eight countries, including Algeria, Sri Lanka, Turkey and nations of ex-Yugoslavia from owning firearms. This rule stems from political conflicts and hostilities that simmer within these groups, posing “a serious threat” to the safety of our population . . .
Oversight and legal restrictions only go so far. What also keeps gun violence under control is the sense of responsibility deeply engrained in this safety-conscious society.
“The Swiss use their guns for target practice or hunting. Unlike Americans, they don’t arm themselves to protect their families or commit crime,” Martin Killias, criminology expert at Lausanne University told Geneva’s daily newspaper, Le Temps.
Ohio school districts train teachers to handle guns: ‘They are our safety’ – Lots of training for a few teachers or the right to keep and bear arms on school property for all teachers? And administrators. Staff. And parents.
Two school districts near Dayton, Ohio have trained a confidential team of teachers and staff to fire back at an active shooter.
“Our staff members are trained to go to the threat and address the threat. Not to run away,” said Mad River Schools Superintendent Chad Wyen.
The Sidney and Mad River school districts have guns hidden in safes throughout its schools which can be opened only by staff on the armed response team. Each member of the team is vetted, selected by the district, and must have a license to carry. The team goes through “rigorous” monthly training.
“These teachers are trained and trained as well in the use of firearms as the average police officer,” said Sidney Middle School armed guard and veteran tactical officer, Rick Cron. “I made sure that that would happen. I didn’t want someone who wasn’t trained to come to my aid. I wanted people who understood tactics.”
‘The day they ask me to carry a gun in the classroom is the last day I teach’ – Who’s asking? . . .
“That is not what we do as educators,” she said. “Our expertise, our job, our skill set is around teaching and instruction and supporting students and motivating them and inspiring them. It should not be part of our job description to learn how to shoot a gun. That’s what you do in the military, and that’s what you do as a police officer.”
Tommy Chang, superintendent of Boston Public Schools, also condemned the idea.
“The mere thought that teachers should be armed in order to ward off violence is utterly illogical and will only result in making our students and teachers less safe,” he said. “The real issue at hand continues to be access to guns.” . . .
Stone also said arming teachers would “impact the relationship between an educator and their students,” particularly in urban schools where students have experienced gun violence.
“The appropriate bar to set is to negate and eliminate these situations entirely,” by helping teachers address their students’ social and emotional needs and “supporting our lawmakers to create gun laws that will allow us to avoid school shootings,” Stone said.
What I Saw Treating the Victims From Parkland Should Change the Debate on Guns – ER radiologist tells it like it is re: damage caused by AR15 bullets. Why that should “change the debate on guns” is less credible . . .
Banning the AR-15 should not be a partisan issue. While there may be no consensus on many questions of gun control, there seems to be broad support for removing high-velocity, lethal weaponry and high-capacity magazines from the market, which would drastically reduce the incidence of mass murders. Every constitutionally guaranteed right that we are blessed to enjoy comes with responsibilities. Even our right to free speech is not limitless. Second Amendment gun rights must respect the same boundaries. . . .
As a radiologist, I have now seen high velocity AR-15 gunshot wounds firsthand, an experience that most radiologists in our country will never have. I pray that these are the last such wounds I have to see, and that AR-15-style weapons and high-capacity magazines are banned for use by civilians in the United States, once and for all.
Sturm, Ruger & Company Inc. (RGR) CEO Chris Killoy Q4 2017 Results – Earnings Call Transcript – A stock price bounce over the last week (for obvious reasons) but ruh-roh! Ruger experienced 27 percent drop in revenue for the December quarter. The company’s slashed capital expenditures for 2018 by more than half. Even so, Ruger’s CEO says the company will new product its way out of the doldrums.
The decrease in estimated sell-through of the company’s products from the independent distributors to retailers is attributable to one, decreased overall consumer demand in 2017 due to stronger than normal demand during most of 2016, likely bolstered by the political campaigns for the November 2016 election; Two, reduced purchasing by retailers in an effect to reduce their inventories and generate cash; three, aggressive price discounting and lucrative consumer rebates offered by many of our competitors; and four, increased industry manufacturing capacity, which exacerbated the above factors.
New product developments. We believe that the new products are the key driver of demand. New products represented $137.8 million or 27% of firearm sales in 2017, compared to $192.6 million or 29% of firearm sales in 2016.
In 2017, new products included the Precision Rifle, the Mark IV pistols, the LCP II pistol, and the American Pistol. In December 2017, the company introduced the pistol-caliber carbine, the Security-9 Pistol, the EC9s Pistol and the Rimfire Precision rifle.
Republicans Plotting their Own Defeat via More Gun Control – Knock them out of their sox sir, Mr. Knox sir.
Most mass-murderers passed “background checks” to obtain their weapons, most because they had no disqualifying record, and a couple because the system is faulty, and those that did not, generally stole them, not infrequently after killing the legal owner.
Mass-murderers almost always plan their attacks for months or years, picking their targets, analyzing potential obstacles, acquiring weapons, and exploring alternative means of wreaking destruction.
Republicans need to put this issue back into the laps of the Democrats. Rather than try to avoid a debate on gun control and mass-murder, Republicans should embrace that debate, and force the Democrats to justify their calls for restricting the rights of innocent Americans.