Seventeen people, including a child left in a critical condition, were injured when soldiers fired live bullets instead of blanks during an open day display in Carcassone, France.
Fifteen civilians and two soldiers were injured in the incident, of which the details remained unclear, involving a demonstration by members of a marines parachute regiment of hostage liberation exercises, the regional authority said.
Four of the 17 were seriously injured, with two described as critical following “incomprehensible” scenes at the barracks near Carcassone, in the country’s south-west.
According to local authorities, five children were among the injured.
This is more than an “Oops!”. Combat weapons used on the audience during an exercise require a major screwup.
If owning a gun made one safe, the U.S. would be the safest place in the western world.
Owning a gun does not necessarily make you more safe. However, that doesn’t make the converse any more true. You not owning a gun doesn’t make you more safe either.
Personally, I believe that responsibly owning a gun will make you safer. However, it’s not like responsibility is taught in today’s world.
I’m sorry to hear about your friends. However, had they been taught to fear and respect that firearm from an early age it might not have turned out the way it did.
#31–calin==what “facts” would move your belief system to a knowledge based system or would you go backwards only accepting facts that coincided with your belief system?
Do you separate your personal gun ownership from the prevalence of guns in society or is the whole universe viewed from your personal perspective?
Have you heard of/understand the “Prisoner’s Dilema?”
Given the similar culture as you move through America (homogenization if you will), you will notice that the lowest violent crime rates are in those given in the areas of the highest individual gun ownerships. Likewise, the DC ban on guns did nothing to lower the murder rate in that city. The only way a gun ban will work is if you can guarantee the removal of all guns in private hands today. You cannot make that guarantee, therefore it does not work. The genie is out of the bottle, you can’t put it back.
Not sure what my personal gun ownership has to do with the crime rate in my little corner of the world. I am not a statistic in either way since I’ve never had to use my gun to protect myself, neither have I used it to commit a crime.
Likewise, I’m unsure what some obscure reference to game theory has to do with the topic at hand. I haven’t been arrested, nor have I been asked to turn states evidence on someone.
Calin–gun violence is city vs rural issue. You are part of many statistics regardless of what you do or don’t do as in death by gun in America compared to rest of the civilized world. The reference to game theory was express, not obscure, and its directly on point. How to maximize your safety thru cooperation rather than defect.
Just Not in your belief system.
Fifteen civilians and two soldiers were injured…
Sound like the result of the French resistance in 1940.
#32 Calin — You not owning a gun doesn’t make you more safe either.
Actually I think it does. There are thousands of accidental shootings every year. Just ask Cheney’s friend.
What’s wrong? blank bullets are for wussies. Ask the Tchetchen army how they train! They always train with real bullets, that’s an army!
C-head
>>No it was two friends playing around, trying to
>>be cool I guess. They were teenagers at the time.
Like I said. Morons and imbeciles. In this case, I guess it was their parents who were the morons and imbeciles, letting their kids play around with lethal weapons.
However, banning guns on account of a tragedy like this is like saying we should ban lawnmowers because some dimwit lets his son stick his hand into one when it’s running.
There’s just no way to legislate common sense.
Find out if the French Soldier who “accidentally” put bullets in his gun was muslim.
Oooops! Now that has got to hurt. I suspect somebody just retired from the military.