Donald Trump says tough gun control laws in Paris contributed to tragedy

Washington Post ^ | 11/14/2015 | Jenna Johnson

[springwater13]

BEAUMONT, Tex. -- Donald Trump says the tough gun control laws in Paris contributed to the high death toll during a series of terrorist attacks on Friday. The attacks, he added, also reveal the danger in allowing Syrian refugees into the country.

"You can say what you want, but if they had guns -- if our people had guns, if they were allowed to carry -- it would have been a much, much different situation," Trump said to cheers during a political rally at an arena in southeast Texas on Saturday afternoon. "I hear it all the time, you know. You look at certain cities that have the highest violence, the highest problem with guns and shootings and killings -- Chicago is an example, toughest gun laws in the United States, nothing but problems. So our country better get smart because we're not smart right now."

By making that comment, Trump doubled down on a message he tweeted in January, following a smaller-scale terrorist attack: "Isn't it interesting that the tragedy in Paris took place in one of the toughest gun control countries in the world?" As that dated tweet recirculated on Friday evening, the French ambassador to the United States, Gerard Araud, tweeted at Trump: "This message is repugnant in its lack of any human decency. Vulture."

[papertyger]

Can you give a concise summary instead of “floating” qualifiers?

[sitetest]

In that I find the laws somewhat confusing, not more than I offered. Not without sacrificing accuracy for concision. I am not a firearms expert, nor an expert in French law..

[USMCPOP]

When the mayhem breaks loose in a crowded place, what good are a bunch of well-meaning but untrained gunners? Hand grenades or a flame thrower might be more effective. At least they don’t discriminate like little bullets.