Gun control discussion

[Randi]

I wonder how many of the victims (the children) parents have guns in their houses and whether they want to keep them or not. I would imagine that their views might change, but who knows. It also seems to me that most of the people in favor of guns are the God loving people and the Republicans in the US.

[Lady's Human]

You know this for a fact, do you? I live in a small village - think I better clean my assault rifle. The gun lovers rhetoric is putting the skeer in me.

Just FYI, I'm in the military & know a bit about the subject of weaponry. I would never keep any in my home.

Yes, I know that for a fact. I grew up in a small New England town. Just as much crime and scandal as anywhere else, just looked prettier in photos.

I'm retired from the military. Qualified expert on damned near everything in the US small arms inventory up to a ma deuce, and spent plenty of time as a weapons range safety NCO, Observer Controller, and a slew of other training positions. Your point?

[catlady1945]

Yes, I know that for a fact. I grew up in a small New England town. Just as much crime and scandal as anywhere else, just looked prettier in photos.

I'm retired from the military. Qualified expert on damned near everything in the US small arms inventory up to a ma deuce, and spent plenty of time as a weapons range safety NCO, Observer Controller, and a slew of other training positions. Your point?

My point (and I do have one) is that amateurs with guns are scary and dangerous.

[Lady's Human]

Incompetent professionals with weapons are more so.

Back to the point, the problem isn't the weapon, it's the person. If you're not competent to the point of being comfortable around weapons, perhaps you need more training, especially if you're in the military. The last thing I want in a unit is someone who's uncomfortable around the tools of the trade.

[sasvermont]

I don't know why parents let their guns be available to kids! I have friends who hunt and their hunting rifles/guns are LOCKED at all times. They unlock the case when they take them and their older children, hunting.

I would never own a gun. It is my choice. I think folks should have a choice.

Why this latest killer's Mom had such assault weapons in her "collection" makes no sense to me. It came back to bite her in the butt, if you will. I wonder if she could have lived with herself, had her son not killed her first.

Responsible gun owners need to be just that. Responsible. Mentally ill people should not have guns/knives etc. Maybe we should lock down the mentally ill?

I think every town, has a collection of people ready to POP. I know my town does. The one I can think of in my town, is mentally unstable. It is just a matter of time until something awful happens. Just last week, this person took a drug over-dose then set his Mom's house on fire, in three places in the house. He survived, taken to the hospital and the house was damaged lots. What do you think his next step will be? His Mom is the sweetest person in the world. He has been through and is in counselling. I don't know if he is medicated. He is a time bomb. I hope they keep him in a mental hospital for a long time. Sad, but true. He is mentally ill. His DAD is mentally ill and has been for years. But he has rights....

Shall I go out and buy a gun to protect myself?

[chocolatepuppy]

I don't think Alysser was insulting anyone.

It was merely a statement of opinion, and further from insulting anyone than your constantly derisive comments about those who disagree with you.

Agree.

I wonder how many of the victims (the children) parents have guns in their houses and whether they want to keep them or not. I would imagine that their views might change, but who knows. It also seems to me that most of the people in favor of guns are the God loving people and the Republicans in the US.

Some parents may go out and buy a gun to try and save their remaining children from a wacko.

I love the Lord, but don't want to meet him anytime soon.

[RICHARD]

I do like guns - not love them.

I like to look at photos of them and if I get to see one in person? Good, Shoot one? Better.

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I don't hunt, but I love to target shoot. I find that the precision and challenge of TS to be a way to forget what bugs me.

When I cannot shoot live ammo? I have an Air Soft gun, a .22 cal pellet gun and a Nerf gun that use around the house.

I used to be able to use the suction tipped Nerf darts on my old TV, not so much on the big screen.

------

I don't 'pack/carry' and I don't fear anyone who does. To me a gun, any gun is a precision tool.

To me? It's not for shooting people or animals.

And while shooting a gun, and hitting what you aim at, isn't the necessary skill needed these days?

It's good to know that I can do it, with reasonable results, and I don't fear the idea, mechanics or the presence of a firearm.


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Oh, BTW?

If you ever have been around a person with a GSW? You do have a heightened appreciation for gun safety and the rules for using and storing guns...

[Catty1]

Totally out of this context, I was told by a friend years ago that if I (for example) was to carry any type of weapon to protect myself I had better be sure I knew how to use it.

RICHARD:

And while shooting a gun, and hitting what you aim at, isn't the necessary skill needed these days?

I can totally understand people wanting to get a gun to protect their family - but training in its use and SAFE STORAGE of same need to be part of the equation.

[Alysser]

It also seems to me that most of the people in favor of guns are the God loving people and the Republicans in the US.

This is true to a certain extent.

Personally, I am as close to the middle as you can possibly get and I am not religious in the least.

[Edwina's Secretary]

This has got to me one of the MOST ridiculous things I have ever read. No one I know of who is against gun control is "more in love with gun then they are their neighbor" and I am sure that applies to very very little gun owners.. Let's stop making rash generalizations about gun owners simply because you fear the object.

As long as you keep trying to harp on "Gun Control", this will happen, until you start looking at the bigger picture and the REAL issue here, the person behind the gun, and not the inanimate object that has no control over itself.

You certainly topped me for ridiculous!

I do not fear the object. I fear the people who feel the need for the object. And that is the BIGGER picture.

However, we do both agree. It is the person behind the gun.

And in the joyous season???? A shooting at a mall very neat to me last night.

[lizbud]

From a CNN report.


The gun control debate

The deadly shooting that shattered this quiet New England town also reignited the ongoing debate about gun laws in America.

Adam Lanza was found dead next to three guns -- a semiautomatic .223-caliber rifle made by Bushmaster and two handguns made by Glock and Sig Sauer, a law enforcement source told CNN. All belonged to his mother.

Carver, who performed autopsies on seven of the victims, said the wounds he knew about were caused by a "long weapon" and that the rifle was the primary weapon used.

Nancy Lanza was a gun collector and recently showed off a newly bought rifle to fellow Newtown resident Dan Holmes, who owns a landscaping business in the town.

Besides the three weapons found at the school, the shooter also had access to at least three more guns, a law enforcement source said.

[pomtzu]

The following is JMHO - for what it's worth.....


Every time there is another horrific tragedy involving guns, this thread rears it's ugly head and the debate/discussion/argument starts all over again. And what does it accomplish???? - nothing as far as I can tell. There are pros and cons to both sides of the gun ownership issue, and nobody is right or wrong. Everybody has an opinion in the matter and I don't believe that they should be chastised for stating it. Perhaps the energy wasted here would be better spent making your views known to your state representatives, so that perhaps they can take it to the national level. I personally do believe that this latest massacre in CT has given a lot of officials who seemed indifferent to the issues, a big wake-up call, simply because it took so many very young and innocent lives. The loss of any life in a scenario such as this is senseless and cruel - but for little children only 6 and 7 years old it is beyond senseless and cruel. It was barbaric and unthinkable - yet it happened.

It's time to think of and do something constructive, rather than continuing to be destructive and critical of others who don't necessarily agree with you.


And like I said: JMHO

[lizbud]

There is no reason for this discussion to turn into personal attacks on each other. Everyone has their own thoughts & opinions.
It also is not the place to put someone down because they may not know the correct name for a particular weapon. We are not
all military ordinance experts, so lets not quibble over technical terms of a weapon. It's hurtful & doesn't led to any good end.

The more I hear and read about this terrible event, the more I believe this is more than a gun issue, it is also a mental health issue.
The shooter was obviously mentally suspect & should probably should have been in treatment somewhere.

[cassiesmom]

I live in an upper middle class midwestern town. We probably have as much scandal as anywhere else, but like LH said, we make it look pretty good in photos. And we have the means and resources to hide it pretty well.

Connecticut has some of the most stringent gun legislation in the nation and yet a bunch of guns were found and used by a young man who should never have had access to them. Why did the mother not get rid of her entire collection when she knew that something wasn't right with her teenage son?

I know for a fact that there is less crime here than in other places. We had our own unspeakable tragedy almost 14 months ago when a 9th grader was stabbed to death, in her home, by an intruder because she interrupted a robbery. Put the name Kelli O'Laughlin into any search engine and there you will find the story.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That's where we are right now with better gun rights. These shootings happen over and over. We mourn, we grieve, we lower flags to half staff, and we say that something has to change. I'm with Pomtzu - the time has come to do something constructive.

"Give us grace so we'll be safe." -- The Prayer, Yolanda Adams

[Lady's Human]

No, logical extension of your statements, combined with the absolutely juvenile and hyperbolic tone of your earlier posts. If you are comfortable with the tools of the trade, why then are you scared to keep them in your house? No difference between your bedroom and a barracks room in reality.

Pom, I agree with your suggestion that people write their legislature, and have not commented on this thread in some time. However, we have a few posters here who evidently feel the need to constantly post here every time someone stubs their toe with a firearm, and the constant derision of their posts gets increasingly old.