News: Scary and a change needed - Colorado gun sales soar after shooting

Colorado gun sales 'soar after shooting' | SBS World News

The shotgun I saw on TV looked like this one and as far as I am concerned no way  private citizens need weapons like that.
or AR15 rifles
or Glock pistols
all of which the shooter bought legally.
and how did he get the tear gas?

Personally I have used various weapons I served in  Cadet force at school and then National service in RAF. See Ron's Blog: Guns and Rifles for comments on some weapons.

This Australian view mentions our Port Arthur massacre and how our PM John Howard changed our gun laws. Having the courage to defeat law of the gun | Daily Telegraph Miranda Devine Blog
We still have shootings - but the amount of people killed reduced considerably following the new laws in 1996. Worst nowadays we have driveby shootings in Sydney. Our police and Customs are trying to find out how the weapons were imported and a lot have been seized.

Frankly America you need to change your gun laws Charlton Heston when leading the NRA was wrong .

I know USA history is different to UK and Australia. UK had the civil war in 1600s but it took a lot of training for the Parliament side to develop a professional army. And in the end the Cromwell government failed and the real revolution happened in 1688 but without violent action.
Whereas USA had violent frontiers and weapons were needed to defend homes. Also your citizens were able to arm when political events brought war with George III. Your civil war was about soldiers taking sides and not really private people taking up arms.But all these needs are historic.
Nowadays why are such ghastly weapons required by citizens? Why should a private person have a licence for a concealed weapon.
Armies have such powerful weapons that it is really impossible for the people to stage a violent revolt. Such things are achieved by politics. Tunisia is a good example of how to have a revolt. Libya and Syria had violent ones and are a mess.

Have you read The Weapon Shops of Isher - by AE Voigt 
I never saw this book as in praise of guns - after all weapons that are only for self defence are pure science fiction - guns kill.  

However I understand a change is difficult as an enormous retail and production industry is involved.  BUT something has to be done else this kind of killings will continue.

Update: Obama vows gun checks after Colorado shootings | SBS World News
I have to agree with him but of course he doesn't mean just AK47s
"But I also believe that a lot of gun owners would agree that AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals -- that they belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities," Obama  said.