FLORIDA SHOOTINGS SIGNIFY A SICK SOCIETY.

Yet another murderous rampage in the USA has reignited the debate about gun control but it seems that many Americans are still in denial about their violent society.

Listening to some of the comments of those who were in the vicinity of this latest outrage was at least as terrifying as the event itself. Rather than calling for greater control over the right to own and carry guns, a right granted to US citizens under their 1789 constitution, many claimed that it was more guns, not less, that was the answer. How insane can they be ?

The constitution was enacted nearly 229 years ago, a very different time and when most of what would become the continental United States was largely unexplored. Through the next 100 years the continent was explored and developed, with much conflict, the legends of cowboys and Indians arising, the 'Wild West' and everything that went with it. Vicious killers such as Billy the Kid and Jesse James in conflict with famous lawmen, often little more than hired killers themselves, such as Bat Masterson and the Earp brothers. Good and bad, they all rode around shooting each other and behaving like animals.

How on earth is the lifestyle of those times relevant to today ? Those who argue for more, rather than less guns, as being the answer to the present malaise are living in and glorifying a long-dead past. There is no reason whatsoever why guns of all sorts, shapes and sizes should be freely available to a population in the 21st century in the same way as they were in the 18th. It is not the mental illness of any individual that is the issue but the insanity of an entire section of that society which values violence and aggression above all else.

Several presidents have tried to change things but always the National Rifle Association has stood in their way. This appalling organisation supports a continuation of their 'right' to bear arms and provides vast funding for all like-minded politicians; in many places, it's impossible to be elected without their support. The result is that the US political establishment is dominated by these bought men, and ubiquitous gun ownership remains the order of the day.

In truth, the US is a nation that lives in its past. It has so little history that what it does have it celebrates and glorifies and that includes the shocking butchery of the 'Wild West and even the virtual genocide of the native Americans. It's gung-ho and jingoistic attitudes towards the rest of the world are testament to this as is its readiness to send troops to fight wherever there is the chance of a good bust-up.

There is only one way for this country to prevent incidents such as has just occurred in Florida and that is to introduce draconian laws for the control of gun ownership, as exist in most civilized nations. Sadly, history tells us that this is the last thing that will happen and the regular mass murders in schools and colleges, as well as in other places, will continue.