Gun control discussion

[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.

[RICHARD]

The freedom is the Right to Protect Yourself. Be it with a hammer, a bat, a screwdriver, and yes a firearm. So if you are afraid of a firearm, you should be afraid of all house hold tools as well. As Charles Manson once said, "I can kill you with this book!"

You can kill someone with a magazine, too.

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Proper training with a firearm, any firearm, educates and puts the 'power' into a person. Not the 'power' of being able to kill something, but the power over the object.

Ever wonder what the "United States" would be like if we didn't have firearms?

Well,

We'd probably speak 'British', stop for afternoon tea and Tex/Mex food would be served with scones.

Yeah, We'd have more Native Americans, buffalo and Mexico would own the Alamo now.

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I grew up near Lost Angeles, where we invented and perfected the "drive-by shooting". That never kept me from going outside - yea, I lived in an area where gangs were about.

If we do outlaw guns and only let the Police depts carry?

Do we trust them to do the right thing?

People in Anaheim CA -in the Orange County area are pretty ticked off over a shooting incident, actually two in the last week. Alledgedly an unarmed person was shot in the back fleeing from a cop and another shot at the police.

Interesting.

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In the Olympic Games there are comps with airguns, small bore rifles and shotguns.

There are also archery competitions, but we'll leave that for the Hunger Games fans.

[Alysser]

I live in "the land of the free". Have for a long time. And I don't understand where you are coming from. Not everyone agrees that the right to own a gun is one of those freedoms. That is one interpretation of the Second Amendment.

I do not feel any need to own a gun to feel free. In fact, like Cassiemom's I am afraid of guns. I will not be in a house where there is a gun. I will leave if I find out there is a firearm in the house. It is just too dangerous. My husband would not let his children go to play in houses with guns. Too, too dangerous.

You cannot logically compare a gun to an automobile or a knife or an ax or a can of gasoline. There is a fundamental difference. A car exists to transport people, a knife or ax to cut - food, wood, cloth, etc. Gasoline is to fuel a vehicle. That they may kill is incidental to the purpose for which they exist. Bathtubs can kill too.

A gun exist to kill. Kill. Mostly people. And if you get a fancy enough gun - you can kill lots of people very fast. Guns have no other purpose. They were not invented for sport or for protection. The only "protection" they are perceived to offer is to kill. They were invented to kill.

And that is my opinion. Now the "usual suspects" will flail away saying how wrong I am, etc, etc, etc.... Don't care. I am not going to change my mind - neither will they.

p.s. Did you read about the police officer this week who thought he shot and killed an intruder? Opps! It was his son....

You have your opinion as I have mine. I am not saying your wrong, but I don't necessarily agree with you, no harm in that. I doubt people own a gun to feel free, personally, that'd just seems like a dumb reason to own a gun.

You can compare them, because despite the function of all these objects they can kill people. If you fear a gun sitting in a safe somewhere inside someone's house, you may as well fear the knife set sitting on top of the kitchen counter. It doesn't matter that a car, gasoline, or even a bathtub weren't made to kill - in the wrong hands those things can be used for such purposes just the same as a gun. I am not arguing against the true purpose of a gun, but the purpose of something doesn't matter in the wrong hands.

[Edwina's Secretary]

.

Ever wonder what the "United States" would be like if we didn't have firearms?

Yes, I do...and a beautiful dream it is!


There is curling in the Olympics too. But that does not make the purpose of a broom anything but a tool designed to sweep the kitchen floor!

It is interesting no one can come up with a purpose for a gun that does not involve killing, threatening to kill, maiming or threatening to maim...

[cassiesmom]

Can the increase in gun violence be attributed to the increased depictions of violence we see in movies, video games and on TV? I also think guns are still too easy for convicted felons, dangerously mentally ill people and teenage gangbangers to get their hands on -- despite changes to gun laws. When I was a staff nurse I learned that in the gang world, it is considered a mark of honor for a gang member to shoot another person with the result being a head or spinal cord injury. Your opponent doesn't die, but his life is changed forever. You move up on the gang totem pole because you're the one who did it, even if you spend the rest of your life in prison. An honor student going home from school on a CTA bus was shot and killed. What is wrong with that picture. He was mis-identified as a rival gang member, shot and killed. There are the incidents like the one where Rep. Giffords was shot and then there's the chronic daily gun violence affecting Chicago and I am sure other cities too. Just no easy answers. I think it is going to take a combination of the right laws, better use of technology to make sure the wrong people aren't obtaining them in the first place, plus improved access for kids to get jobs, good education no matter where they live; better extra-curriculars like arts, sports and other activities, and just hope for a future other than ending up dead or in prison. I heard about one group that was having inner-city elementary school children work in community gardens. The food they grew went to their homes and food pantries, they had fun doing it and learned to work together to make a garden grow.

[Karen]

It is interesting no one can come up with a purpose for a gun that does not involve killing, threatening to kill, maiming or threatening to maim...

I don't think target shooting kills, threatens or maims anything! Last I knew, paper or wooden targets did not have fears or emotions.

And after all, nail guns help build houses, and might not have been invented without gun technology being improved and developed ... just a thought!

[blue]

Yes, I do...and a beautiful dream it is!


There is curling in the Olympics too. But that does not make the purpose of a broom anything but a tool designed to sweep the kitchen floor!

It is interesting no one can come up with a purpose for a gun that does not involve killing, threatening to kill, maiming or threatening to maim...

Holmes could kill you with that curling broom.

[blue]

I don't think target shooting kills, threatens or maims anything! Last I knew, paper or wooden targets did not have fears or emotions.

And after all, nail guns help build houses, and might not have been invented without gun technology being improved and developed ... just a thought!

Now dont go bringing logic to an anti gunner, that never ends well.

[chocolatepuppy]

I have a loaded gun on my dresser. I have never killed anyone, nor has the gun got off the dresser by itself and killed anyone. But then no one has tried to come through my back door in the middle of the night, yet.

[Catty1]

Avajoy - the term "alleged killer" is a legal one, based on the idea that one is innocent until proven guilty. After the trial, the term will likely change to "convicted killer". If the media doesn't use the term "alleged" they could be in legal trouble.

[RICHARD]

I love the fact that the media made light of the comments by the prez at some get-together last night....

He was talking about assault rifles and said something like "AK-47s should stay in the hands of soldiers".

LOLOLOLOL, "AKs" are what many third world soldiers, dirtbag drugrunners and despots carry. Nothing like getting your facts straight.

[RICHARD]

I have a loaded gun on my dresser. I have never killed anyone, nor has the gun got off the dresser by itself and killed anyone. But then no one has tried to come through my back door in the middle of the night, yet.

I have some scars from being attacked by my dresser back in the days when I'd come home drunk.

I trust the gun more than furniture with sharp edges.

[Alysser]

I didn't argue with the purpose of a gun. But my point is that, if you ban the gun there is SOMETHING else that will become a weapon and the purpose of it won't matter anymore. The purpose of knives is to cut food, but the purpose of them is also to kill, maim, and hunt. So we shouldn't be allowed to cut food anymore just because some people have used knives for murder? Knives are much easier to get than guns, yet they aren't ever brought up. A gun isn't scary when not in use, it doesn't do anything, just like any other inanimate objects. Maybe it's a tool for killing, but the killing is selective when used by rational people, most of which will probably NEVER use it anyway.

If someone came into your house, what would be the first thing you grab to defend yourself? Mine would probably be the baseball bat hanging on the wall (although it's autographed by some Yankees, doesn't stop me LOL). The purpose of the bat isn't to bludgeon someone to death but it can be used that way, and if a person didn't have a gun to kill someone they could easily find a replacement. It wouldn't stop the problem of violence in the least.

[RICHARD]

Olympic 'shooters' comment on Colorado.

http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/sh...lympics-072612

[lizbud]

I love the fact that the media made light of the comments by the prez at some get-together last night....

He was talking about assault rifles and said something like "AK-47s should stay in the hands of soldiers".

LOLOLOLOL, "AKs" are what many third world soldiers, dirtbag drugrunners and despots carry. Nothing like getting your facts straight.

The subject under discussion is gun control. Why not stay on topic & resist your little lame digs on the POTUS.