The Sebring Florida bank shooter grew up in the area I live. He went to Plymouth and Breman high schools (around 20 miles away). He has a record of mental health issues. Once spending time in the Plymouth mental facility. A past girl friend said he sent her texts about kidnaping people and suicide by police.

Instead of calling for weapons bans the schools and community are asking why his conditioned wasn't acted on and how the community can help troubled people like this. His mother was contacted about early comments by school friends but she refused to work with the state police. In a way his mother may hold some responsibility for ignoring his condition.

Mr. Xaver had recently been training to work as a correctional officer at Avon Park Correctional Institution, a prison about 20 miles north of the bank where the shooting occurred.

This is a failure of the legal system to perform proper state and federal background checks. Even the Correctional Institute should have discovered his hospital stay in Plymouth Indiana before hiring him. He has a documented history of mental issues.

Gun control would have done nothing to stop this. Background checks and giving help to those who have mental issues are the only answers.

If we didn't have guns, nobody could shoot them.

It is multi faceted. Those suffering mental illness DEFINITELY need help. And the manufacture and sale of guns DEFINITELY needs safer guidelines and laws, which need to then be enforced.

Just like if we don't have access to drugs addicts won't exist.

Very few are forced to take drugs. Even less ask to get gunned down innocently.

I possess a carry permit from the state of Indiana. Most state laws are similar to each other. Before applying I did a study of state laws regarding hand guns. Federal laws are plenty in abundance. The problem is enforcement is not properly being acted on. If laws that now exist arn't being acted on what will new laws do? In Indiana this individual could never have legally purchased a weapon. He would have had to obtain one illegally.

But then the question of the prison job he had comes up. This is an example of laws and background checks that are on the books now that are not being enforced. Until existing laws are rigorously applied we are wasting our time generating more that, in the end, will only limit legal citizens.

I've argued for decades that we need to earnestly enforce the laws we have. Until this happens I'll never agree to writing more. New laws always seem to work in the favor of the criminal.

After I went through the process of applying the local, state and federal governments took three months to complete there background checks on me. The average citizen has to be squeaky clean. How do these people with mental issues get by? This is an issue that the national news media side steps. They side stepped it big time in Parkland Fl. Fellow high school students who told the news reporters about him hearing voices were told theydidn't need their story. As I've stated for more than a year, the majority of these killers have a psychiatric history. How are they legally purchasing weapons?

In Indiana a person with psychiatric history can't even by a BB gun.

Who's to say that tomorrow you might not suffer a traumatic experience that makes you unfit to own weapons. Will you voluntarily hand them in?

Traumatic experiences themself do not cause mental illness. We all have negative experiences in life. What's important is how we react to these experiences.

That's not an answer to the question posed.

Not that many guns in the UK so they use knives and swords!!
And the terrorists use bombs!!
So just banning guns is not the answer.

With any luck,
the state of Florida will stick the needle
in his arm, and that'll be the end of Xaver.



Unfortunately, HPPA laws protect idiots
like Xaver, until there's a body count.

I don't think there is an answer to ending violence completely. But illegal gun violence would end with no more guns available.

Its kind of like saying, curing cancer isn't the answer to stop sickness, because cancer is not the only way people get sick. It still wouldn't quite be a reason to not cure cancer though.

people will be violent, guns are another tool to assist them in that violence, but they are constitutionally protected in our country as a 'right', so a total absence of the ability to obtain one, or a ban, can never happen. and I imagine only the uneducated would think it can or should, at least here in the US.

Just watching the local news (5:35am):

1. Both high schools have records of him being troubled.
2. He was placed in a mental health facility in 2014
3. High school friends advised his mother of his problems who opted out of asking for help
4. His girlfriend stated he had dreams of killing people
5. His girl friend said he said he wanted to kidnap people
6. In an email he told his girl friend he wanted to commit suicide by cop.

Pure and simple no one wants to get involved. With all of this on his record how could he be hired in as a prison guard and purchase a weapon????

It's still my opinion that the back ground check system isn't working and mentally disturbed people are being ignored. We as a country need to invest more in these types of individuals and less in gun control.

Treat the problem and not the symptom.

Yes we have a rising rate of knife crime in The UK and have suffered terrorist bombings. Your comment would have more credence if knives were no longer used as weapons in The United States.

It's much easier to evade the threat of a sword than that of a handgun.

I am REPEATING a very old fact. " CRIMINALS can always get guns."
***** there you have it. Gun bans take weapons away from honest law-abiding people. Bad guys will have guns ANYWAY. I am against banning guns....but background checks should be complete.

Lets say just for argument's sake, The USA has a population 5 times greater than that of The UK.

How many gun massacres occurred in each of those countries last year?

This is not to say that the UK is perfect. Knife crime is at shocking levels and 2017 saw a massive rise in that - but despite the population of the USA being 6 times more than the UK, you are 160 times more likely to be killed by a gun.
http://www.ladbible.com/news/uk-politics-news-the-difference-in-gun-crime-in-the-uk-and-the-usa-20180306



Honestly though funky, I think it starts with the culture. I think every country has violence, without a doubt, because where there are humans, you can count on violence happening. However, I think the culture of the country, in terms of social responsibility for and to each other, makes a difference.

This is why I say that. There is a chart here that shows gun deaths and ownership by country

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate


Now, if we look at the number of guns, America out guns everyone. But still there are countries with less gun ownership and more gun violence. So, there isnt much correlation there.


Now, there are also many factors like civil unrest and war torn environments that may shade true correlation, so I look at only the 'civilized' Western countries. (I take issue with that determines being civilized, which is why I put that in quotes)

Looking at just the countries in Europe and North America, USA still outguns everyone. But like I said, there is no clear correlation between number of guns owned and the gun violence rate. What is an interesting difference though is this ... America has a very capitalist culture, each get their own, each protect their own, each responsible for themself. If we look at the healthcare, it is by and far universal in other 'civilized' countries, the citizens take care of each other and there is a sense that this is how it should be. Maybe that is indicative of the value of human life in those places. Whereas in the states, the value of human life is summed up by 'I got mine, you get yours, Im not responsible for you'

With that culture of highly promoted narcissist value by 'merit', I think you will have more people who can justify the taking of life, because more people feel like others lives dont have value unless they look or act a certain way, or have a certain title or status.


I dont think it is the guns but the toxic mixture of guns with OUR culture. And I think until the culture evolves, we are doing the best we can to ensure the right to gun ownership within a framework that tries to maintain order and security. I think we can do better. But I think it is too simple to JUST focus on the guns (kind of like JUST focusing on a wall) without seeing the different levels which are coming together to create the perfect storm.

Sorry folks.. but we have way too many guns out there in the U.S... way too many

As one who has used a assault rifle ( U.S.M.C) I can tell you that weapons of personal mass destruction have no business in the hands of citizens... no logical reason.. none

I now do not own a gun, because I saw the end result carnage they can produce.

first amendment rights... all you want to.. there is NO reason for a citizen to own a machine gun.....none

^^^^^^^^^.

Msharmony, Ive not tried to claim that we don't have our problems with crime in The UK. Yet again our knife crime problem has been brought up.

Knives are in every home here, there, the world over. They are utensils for the preparation of food etc. To ban knives would be pretty inconvenient for everybody, unless all our food came ready prepared.

The manner in which the British knife crime problem keeps being brought might convince a ignorant person that no one gets stabbed or slashed in The USA. However, I'm sure that's not the case. Please correct me if I'm mistaken in this belief.

Whilst I do live in England, I've traveled abroad and have fired handguns and various rifles during that time. Without any training I scored 97% accuracy throughout these trials. Now even with my vast experience of using knives almost everyday. I know I'm a much deadlier opponent with a gun/rifle at my disposal but I wouldn't wish to own one. The more guns that are available, the likelier innocent lives will be lost.

Surely those that choose to bring up The current knife crime problem we have here aren't trying to contest it wouldn't be an issue if gun ownership was commonplace in The Uk?