tonrob

The wife and I spent our 1st wedding anniversary in Intercourse last November (well, we thought it would make a funny story to tell the kids) and having spent a few days there and seen many of these lovely, peace-loving people going about their simple, carefree lives it breaks my heart to think of them being targeted by some.... I can't even think of a word to describe the person who did this.

I went onto cnn.com to find out more and saw 2 other current stories relating to gun crime (father shoots family, Las Vegas schools closed after teenager sighted with gun).

I also remember clearly reading the local newspaper the very day I moved here and reading about how a 6 year-old at a local school had taken his father's gun and live bullets to school to show his friends.

I know this will likely never happen but I'll ask anyway: when will they ban guns in this country?

willmore

I just have one question why? What was he trying to accomplish killing some of the most gentle and moral folks around?

My thoughts and prayers are with the families - god have mercy on us!

britvic

It only go's to show no matter where you live or how nice it is this sort of thing can happen anywhere, it's f**king crazy over here

kingfisher241049

ERM!! NEVER!! The right to bear arms is enshrined in the constitution of the united states.

Manc

makes no real difference really.......

ban guns or don't ban guns.
Thomas Hamilton / Michael Ryan did it...................

it's the sickness in the head we need to ban

kingfisher241049

We both visited Lancaster County last year. Carol is a native of Pennsylvania and wanted to show me the beautiful countryside around Lancaster County. She also wanted to take me to places with silly names, like Intercourse, Blue Ball, Paradise and other places. I love it there!!!

tony126

Has not made any difference in the UK from what I understand.

tonrob

I know there have been many gun incidents in the UK, including the recent Brixton McDonalds incident, and I can't claim to have any gun-crimes per head of population stats at my fingertips right now, but surely the easier access to guns in the U.S. must lead to a higher proportion of gun-related deaths or injuries? It's just mad...

kingfisher241049

Very true, criminals can always get guns.

anotherlimey

Yes, you can take the snooker balls from a mental institution, but they'll still hit each other with the cues.

tonrob

Yes, but we're not always talking pre-meditated 'out to rob a bank' criminals causing gun-deaths in the U.S. - we're also talking common or garden loonies who have easy access to firearms

anotherlimey

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/...ap3060402.html

Taking revenge for something that happened 20 years ago.

I bet we'll never find out what that was.

Angry White Pyjamas

He was 32...it was 20 years ago. Sounds like he was jilted by a girl at school. Which just goes to show that mental cases are not fit to walk in society.

Englishmum

How very sad.....those poor little girls in the classroom. What a horrible way for those girls to be tied up and shot in the head.... I've shed tears for them today.

I too have been to the little towns in Lancaster county - and felt guilty for gawking at them as they work the fields using a horse and plough instead of a tractor or trotting down the main road with a pony and cart/buggy; they must be irritated by the large coach parties too and have to put up with everyone staring at them.

The Amish handicrafts are beautiful, especially the quilts but personally I thought they were far too expensive (they can cost around. $500) just to put on my bed.

I have an excellent novel based on the Amish people; 'Plain Truth' by Jodi Picoult and is a good insight into the Amish community; for example the teenagers are allowed to have a year of 'fun' to go out and drink alcohol and party etc. They then have to decide at the end of the year to return to the fold and live a quiet moral life according to the Amish customs, or must choose to live apart from the Amish and live a 'modern' life. Apparently most of them choose to stay with their families.

I highly recommend this book. It's about how a young Amish girl is accused of smothering her newborn baby and the subsequent criminal trial:

http://www.amazon.com/Plain-Truth-Jo...e=UTF8&s=books

TouristTrap

The movie is pretty good too.

The quilts are works of art, and should be displayed.

Sick people will do sick things.