Gun control discussion

[sparks19]

it's already illegal for people to kill other people (unless in self defense). so what makes ANYONE think that illegal guns would have stopped this sicko? Oh this gun is illegal? Oh well then i won't go commit mass murder.

Illegal guns are easier to find here than one might think. drugs are illegal here too but we seem to have QUITE the drug problem in this country that's costing us billions in the "war against drugs" that is WORTHLESS.

then of course one can go onto google or youtube and get step by step instructions on how to make a homemade bomb.

You can't legislate the evil out of humanity no matter how hard you try.

why is everyone always fighting about gun laws and never about the dismal way we handle the mentally ill. once you are 18 nothing can be done to force someone into a mental health facility unless they do something like this. We are a "bare minimum" mindset when it comes to mental illness. this guys mother even said after the fact that she's not at all surprised he did this. what does that tell you? does taht tell you that if guns were illegal he would have just gone on with life? NO it does NOT! and the fact that he booby trapped his apartment with bombs and the like. did he just buy those at the corner store?

LAWS do not matter to the non law abiding. like I said it's already illegal to murder people so why didn't that law stop him?

This is all so very unfortunate but should be looked at as a "how do we improve help for the mentally ill in this country" instead of "OMG ban ALL THE WEAPONS" people will always hurt people no matter what tool they use. We need to find a way to TREAT these people BEFORE it gets to this point. but banning guns is simpler right? A bandaid is all it is

[momcat]

Like any other city, there's a lot of shooting in Trenton. There was a story in today's paper about a 76 year old woman who shot and killed her husband. Someone was shot to death about a block from where we live. Sadly, it's a city wide every day event here. I'm terrified of all guns - legal as well as illegal.

[Lady's Human]

Like any other city, there's a lot of shooting in Trenton. There was a story in today's paper about a 76 year old woman who shot and killed her husband. Someone was shot to death about a block from where we live. Sadly, it's a city wide every day event here. I'm terrified of all guns - legal as well as illegal.

Why be terrified of an inanimate object? It's a tool, a mindless, driveless piece of metal. It has no motives of its own. It takes a person to use the tool, and if the person who's using it is evil, it will be used for evil. However, it doesn't take a gun. It could be a knife, a car, or a semi full of fertilizer and fuel.

[cassiesmom]

I read in the newspaper this morning that a group of pastors in Chicago have gotten together and called for a "weekend of peace". I hope it truly happens. There are sad stories on the news almost nonstop around here.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,4793404.story

I'm with momcat - guns terrify me. To be more specific- what terrifies me is that they keep ending up in the hands of impulsive young gangbangers. Or of mentally unstable people (remember the Northern Illinois University shootings on Valentine's Day 2008?) who get hold of a bunch of weapons and shoot up a public place. I should not have to be afraid every time I go out in public. I think my right to be safe and free from fear trumps the right of someone who shouldn't even have a gun in the first place to go on a shooting spree. Something has to be done to keep these incidents from happening. How to manage chronic city-based gun violence is a lot different from a mentally unstable person in a movie theater or a college lecture hall, though.

[Randi]

Because it's a right to own a gun in the US doesn't mean it's right. Have you ever wondered how other countries are surviving without everyone having one.

Yes, I know that if someone really wants to use a gun he/she will get one somehow, but it will be a lot more difficult, and the person might have had time to cool off before he kill someone.

Btw, is it allowed in all States in the US? And how about Canada?

[phesina]

That's what I've been wondering... Are the gun murder and violence rates much WORSE in countries with strict gun control laws (Canada? England? Denmark? etc.?) than in the U.S.?

.. because after all, the bad guys will always manage to get ahold of the weapons but the good people will not be able to arm themselves for protection? ....

[Alysser]

No one said it makes it right, but perhaps if you lived in "the land of the free", you'd understand where we are coming from a bit better. The US was built on a foundation of freedom, and the right to own a gun is one of the freedoms.

LH brought up another point. Elyse, you are right, you shouldn't fear going out in public. But a gun isn't the only thing that is used to kill people that is legal. Fine, make it harder for someone to get a gun...do you think that's really going to stop someone?? Not a chance. They can use an axe, a home-made bomb, gasoline and a match, even a car. The point is, you shouldn't have to fear these objects (including guns), but in today's society you have to. We can't ban every single object that you can use to kill someone with. If you ban the gun, there's always going to be something else to use. The problem does not lie with the object used. It lies with the person using it.

[AvaJoy]

it's already illegal for people to kill other people (unless in self defense). so what makes ANYONE think that illegal guns would have stopped this sicko? Oh this gun is illegal? Oh well then i won't go commit mass murder.

Illegal guns are easier to find here than one might think. drugs are illegal here too but we seem to have QUITE the drug problem in this country that's costing us billions in the "war against drugs" that is WORTHLESS.

then of course one can go onto google or youtube and get step by step instructions on how to make a homemade bomb.

You can't legislate the evil out of humanity no matter how hard you try.

why is everyone always fighting about gun laws and never about the dismal way we handle the mentally ill. once you are 18 nothing can be done to force someone into a mental health facility unless they do something like this. We are a "bare minimum" mindset when it comes to mental illness. this guys mother even said after the fact that she's not at all surprised he did this. what does that tell you? does taht tell you that if guns were illegal he would have just gone on with life? NO it does NOT! and the fact that he booby trapped his apartment with bombs and the like. did he just buy those at the corner store?

LAWS do not matter to the non law abiding. like I said it's already illegal to murder people so why didn't that law stop him?

This is all so very unfortunate but should be looked at as a "how do we improve help for the mentally ill in this country" instead of "OMG ban ALL THE WEAPONS" people will always hurt people no matter what tool they use. We need to find a way to TREAT these people BEFORE it gets to this point. but banning guns is simpler right? A bandaid is all it is

I think the above bears repeating. Especially this sentence:

You can't legislate the evil out of humanity no matter how hard you try.

I also don't get why he is referred to as the alleged killer . . . so absurd. Wonder why he TOLD the police that his apt. was booby-trapped with explosives . . . gee, maybe he felt a twinge of remorse for the murders he had just committed and didn't want to cause any more carnage. Of course I jest. Like other young mass murders have done, at least he could have killed himself but no . . . he wanted to stick around to bask in all the media attention. Too bad the cops couldn't have just dispatched him. I doubt he is mentally ill . . . unless being an intelligent, egomaniacal sociopath who craved fame at any cost could be classified as such. Now it will cost the taxpayers as he is put through the legal trial process.