Hi Fog horn ,   If I had to live in the U.S. I would join an anti gun lobby.

People who believe that the second amendment gives them the right to carry weapons don't understand the amendment's historical roots and why in today's society there is no place  for guns.  I do not envy any resident in the U.S.  They would not know what it is like to feel even remotely safe  . After all there is such a thing as being out gunned.  

Here in Australia the previous government inacted  a very successful buy back of guns after a horrendous massacre, A stringent regulation and registration is now in place and we are now free of the kind of weaponry that is still freely availablei n your country. Yes there are some legal requirements to be met but let's face it most have access with the flimsiest of controls. I wish you good luck - all change has a beginning just add your voice. Cheers, Cate x

I am rabidly anti-gun, but only because I've heard and seen and smelled the results of gun violence.  My life has been touched by violence so many times, but it isn't something that is limited to this time in history.

My Great-grandmother was born in Scotland and her family immigrated to North America when she was very young. She witnessed her father's murder when she was 13 years old. This was in 1903.

In 1931 my grandmother witnessed the murder of her neighbor's wife. She was beaten to death by her husband in front of, not just my grandmother, but her own children.

When I was young I witnessed the murder of my father.It happened almost 40 years ago, but I still have flashbacks.

I have a friend whose mother killed for her lover (knife). I have another friend whose father killed his mother (gun).

A couple of years ago one of my co-workers got home from work and found her boyfriend had murdered his three children and then commited suicide (gun).

I've watched the news and seen babies I've held and toddlers I've pushed on swings grow up and turn into rapists (gun) and robbers (knife).  

I also volunteer with soldiers coming back from Iraq, trying to help them reassimilate.

I'm not sure what we can do about the violence that is rampant in this country.  It's part of our culture, or at least the portion of our culture I'm most familiar with.

I don't think getting rid of guns will solve the issue, people who want to commit violence will find a way no matter what.

Sorry to sound like a moaning old git but in my personal opinion the problem of kids with guns, certainly in the UK, is just a natural progression of the lack of disipline and the breakdown of family units so why is it such a surprise to everyone?

Kids talk about respect when what they really mean is fear, but I worry that they don't understand the difference. They certainly do not understand that true respect cannot be earned at the point of a gun or knife.

Young males, and increasingly females, have no concept of right and wrong because this over-liberal PC society has let them believe that anything they do is OK and somewhere along the line, it's someone elses fault and therefore they suffer no consequences of their actions.

This would just about work if there were good strong role models for these youngsters; parents, teachers, youth leaders and what we used to call the extended familly. But while some of these no longer even exist, others have little or no power to disipline kids when they go wrong. Who the hell would have thought maybe 30 years ago, that kids would be taking parents and teachers to court because they get a smacked arse.

And where parents used to teach kids to respect teachers and police now, from what I've seen, quite the opposite is true. A few years ago, I remember the father of a child in my sons primary achool, walking into the school and assaulting the headmaster because the child had been told off for repeated disruptive behaviour - that kid (he's now 30) to this day has no respect at all for authority.

Something that worries me increasingly is that this is becoming a snowball of decline because certainly around London I see mothers who are scarcely more than children themselves, with no idea of how to bring up a kid because their mother had no idea either - it can only get worse - but please don't anyone tell them they or their poor little kids are doing something wrong because you'll be 'dising' them.

I think I'll stop now as I'm in serious danger of going into one and will no doubt upset someone.

But I'd love someone to convince me that I'm even just a little bit wrong.