Those picturing a congregation of armed Unitarian Universalists have little insight into what most of us UUs believe. The members of that congregation showed bravery, resourcefulness, restraint, and compassion. They acted with courage & subdued the killer without resorting to guns or lethal force.

Doug, Long Island, USA

It's kind of hypocritical that when a crazy (white) individual like this one commits a crime it's his "personal fault", while if it had it been a Hispanic or black person it would've been their corresponding whole race's fault, and if from the middle east then labeled a "terrorist act". Why differentiate? why the double standard? A terrorist act is a terrorist act.

Jason Garcia, New York, USA

Yes to Martin. To often negative, cruel and hateful opinion is encouraged and sensationalized in our society and media. People are always looking for someone to blame for their problems and the acceptance of the violent rhetoric that occurs by many Conservatives needs to end.

Yellie, Brighton, US

The point is not whether the congregation could have been armed and would have stopped this person. This person may not have even taken the first step, if he were to assume at least someone in the congregation would be armed.

Gun control is a slippery slope toward a police state.

Jon, Katy, TX, USA

Kat from Memphis, are you kidding me?

Memphis (pop. 670,000) had 164 homicides last year; the whole UK (pop 53,000,000) had 725 homicides the same year

I'm not an anti-gun control nut, but your statement that Memphis (!) is safer than the UK is laughable. Do you live in Graceland Kat?

Jay, Annapolis MD, USA

It seems that the hateful rhetoric of bitter evil men like Rush Limbaugh, Pat Buchanan and George W Bush etc is finally coming home to America. Liberals are no real threat yet the most psychotic of Americans (Republicans as they are more commonly known) now sees them as worse than Bin Laden.

Martin, Bristol, UK

Brock- Arab or not it is the act of a piece of garbage and is an act of terror.
Dom- This sort of thing does happen in England and your criminals get any guns that they wish anytime they want. Your gun laws don't always work either.

sonny, Monessen, united states

Dom (Of Huddersfield) is totally incorrect his statement saying that our UK gun control laws would prevent such a thing.
It is a fact that there are now more illegal guns on the streets of Britain than ever before.
I wonder how long it will before something like this happens in the UK

Mike, Chippenham, Wilts

"In case the shooting turned out to be a hate crime"?? What else was it? You take a loaded gun into a crowded place and fire at people, it's not like you love them.

joe, birmingham, uk

Dom, I'm sorry, but you must be terribly ignorant if you think gun control laws keep guns out of people's hands. I have experienced more violence, hatred, and stupidity in my short trips to England than in my entire life at home in one of the most dangerous cities in America. Don't be so naive.

Kat, Memphis, USA

Oh yeah, some one or several members of the congregation could have started shooting the gunman at the front of the church and probably could have "Taken him down" along with several children behind him. I think they call that collateral damage. Yes the answer is to give everyone a gun. Right.

jason, st. louis,

I'm sorry, but gun control laws only keep guns away from law abiding citizens. This man obviously not being law abiding, and wanting to kill, would have gotten a gun anyways. His regard for the law seems non existant. While its cliche it's true that when you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have them.

Frank, Hattiesburg, MS, United States of America

How is this not an act of terror? Oh yeah, he's white. Sorry. Can you imagine the press if he'd been arab?

Brock, Calgary, Canada

This is exactly the sort of thing that does not and cannot happen in the UK due to our gun control laws. Where are all the all the comments from American Pro-gun NRA lobbyists now eh? Surely someone needs to point out that if the congregation had been carrying guns someone could've "Taken him down"?

Dom, Huddersfield, England

We are a violent people and live in a violent society. Also we are the weaklings spending $582 billion to supposedly fight suicide bombers and call it war on terror. Citizen on Citizen violence is not what the founding father had in mind for bearing arms.

KOJINATOR, provo, US

The case for less strict gun control is building up... Just wait for comments along the lines of "if the congregation had been armed to the teeth, the gunman would have been stopped" and also "the right to bear arms is a God given gift" and so on.
From Obama's team perspective: a com' hornets nest

RONNIE, PARIS, FRANCE