Yet Another Shooting

Oh look, its another shooting incident in the USA.

As many as 12 people have been shot during a Mother's Day parade in the US city of New Orleans, police say.

Police Supt Ronal Serpas told reporters that three or four people required surgery but no deaths are reported.

The victims included a 10-year-old girl who suffered a minor wound, he added.

It is unclear what sparked the shooting, which happened in the city's 7th Ward on Sunday afternoon. Police say two or three suspects were seen fleeing the area.

As usual, I have mixed feelings.  On the one hand, the US has made it clear that they value guns over innocent lives many, many times, and it won't be my children who are sacrificed to the Great God Second Amendment.  On the other hand, I'm not as lacking in basic humanity as the previous sentence suggests; plus I have American friends, who I'd like not to get randomly shot one day.

As I said, though, the debate in the US has been won by the NRA and its allies.  They, of course, like to push the idea that guns are needed for freedom.  We saw this from the people behind the recent printable gun:

The controversial group which created the firearm, Defense Distributed, plans to make the blueprints available online.

... 

Defense Distributed is headed by Cody Wilson, a 25-year-old law student at the University of Texas.

...

Mr Wilson, who describes himself as a crypto-anarchist, said his plans to make the design available were "about liberty".

The idea that without guns you don't have freedom is laughable from the perspective of just about any other first-world country.  I mean, sure, there are civil liberties problems in the UK, for example.  But when you look at recent history in the US, I find it hard to believe things are any better when Republicans call for criminal suspects to be denied the right to a lawyer, Americans can be imprisoned for years without charge, and the Attorney General's office can claim there are no checks on the power of the president.  And those are just the ones that come to mind easily; I left the country shortly after Obama came into office, so I'm not completely up to speed on his violations.

Still.  I'm sure there's no definition of freedom that includes not being gunned down by a random citizen, so there is that.

Edited to add: He hardly needs the link from me, but I just noticed PZ Myers over at Pharyngula make a very telling point: If they use guns, its not terrorism.