Obama believes in American exceptionalism, except he believes we are exceptionally prone to mass murder.
After the shootings in San Bernardino Wednesday in which a couple killed 14 and they themselves were killed by police, Obama said, “We don’t yet know what the motives of the shooters are but what we do know is that there are steps we can take to make Americans safer. We should never think that this is just something that just happens in the ordinary course of events because it doesn’t happen with the same frequency in other countries.”
He said this country’s record of mass shootings “has no parallel anywhere else in the world,” and said the U.S. needs stronger gun controls to prevent such events.
Speaking to reporters in Paris the day before, Obama addressed the shooting in Colorado Springs at an abortion clinic, saying, “I mean, I say this every time we go one of these mass shootings, this just doesn’t happen in other countries.” Yes, he was in Paris, the scene of the recent massacre of 129 people and the wounding of hundreds more.
But John R. Lott Jr., writing in Investor’s Business Daily and prior to Wednesday’s shooting, begs to differ and does the math.
Lott notes that in 2015 alone France has suffered more casualties due to mass shootings than the U.S. has had during Obama’s entire presidency — 508 to 394, plus the 35 from San Bernardino, 37 if you count the shooters.
The U.S. actually ranks eighth per capita in mass public shooting fatalities, Lott calculates, well behind European countries with far more strict gun control laws. “Macedonia had a rate of 0.38, Serbia 0.28, Slovakia 0.20, Finland 0.14, Belgium 0.14 and the Czech Republic 0.13,” he writes. “The U.S. comes in eighth with 0.095 mass public shooting fatalities per million people. Austria and Switzerland are close behind.”
Something surely needs to be done, but it helps to start the dialogue with facts instead of false rhetoric.
Shooting scene in San Bernardino (LA Times photo)
4TH ST8 
Something needs to be done Thomas? What do you suggest?
If you see something, say something, Clock Boy.
He is playing games with definition of mass shootings
lol…(mercy, I needed that!)
“The San Bernardino shooting is the 355th mass shooting this year.” http://tinyurl.com/nmrqtjj
“No other developed country in the world has anywhere near the same rate of gun violence as America. The US has nearly six times the gun homicide rate as Canada, more than seven times as Sweden, and nearly 16 times as Germany, according to UN data compiled by the Guardian. In fact, no other developed country comes close to the levels of gun violence that America has.” http://tinyurl.com/h7vlocl
“While the U.S. has 5% of the world’s population, it had 31% of all public mass shootings.” http://tinyurl.com/qxvkfer
“The San Bernardino shooting is the 355th mass shooting this year.”
Guess it’s just luck the pipe bombs failed, huh.
Cuz, after all, 12 pipe bombs in the house is just a normal, everyday thing.
Lets stop the guns from killing people, pipe bombs are much more fun.
Can you explain this Thomas?
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/senate-kills-effort-to-block-terrorists-from-buying-guns-2015-12-03
It’s exactly THIS kind of irrationality that is really going to make all those people that support gun ownership in this country really come to understand how extreme some people have become about the issue.
What do you propose to prevent terrorists making pipe bombs?
Nothing.
And now, maybe you could respond to what I wrote.
Guns need to be stopped but you are fine with pipe bombs.
Steve you ignorant slut.
Patrick, classy, right in line with what I expect from you.
Don’t ever change.
Remember how I told you how much like a woman you are Steve? Because you seem to have this need to have the last word in every discussion believing that this means you “won”?
It has its advantages though. You can discuss issues with him to your heart’s content because he usually replies.
Steve doesn’t really discuss though very often. Mostly he just throws out inanities like he did above.
and you call ME female
HA!
You got to learn to read Steve; I didn’t call you a female. That’s just one of your many problems; you don’t understand what you read.
Sure….in a forum like this your claim is one of perpetual posts…nothing at all to do with reality.
English Steve English.
Last word Patrick…you have changed the topic to be about your interaction with me rather than the blog post by its owner.
You try to take it over and claim to be in control…and it is control of nothing.
So you have the last word.
Awesome!
So here’s the chronology:
Thomas writes article, I ask Thomas how he would deal with issue he raises, I post article regarding guns, with further question to Thomas the Steve asks me a question about pipe bombs that I answer, then in turn I ask Steve to respond to question I asked Thomas.
“Discussion” then goes off rails after Steve authors a nonsensical opinion for me.
Steve then feigns some further nonsensical hurt/offense/pretense at the high ground and finally demonstrates his total inability to understand the words in front of his face.
Steve says:
December 3, 2015 at 8:23 pm
What do you propose to prevent terrorists making pipe bombs?
Patrick says:
December 3, 2015 at 8:47 pm
Nothing.
Mr. Mitchell needs to institute a five dollar fine for whining…Patrick would be buying the next round, for quite some time…
“Mr. Mitchel,l Patrick is whining”
–Apple polisher
That’ll be five bucks sonny…