Gun control discussion

[lizbud]

This is monsterous. Current count is 26 dead, 18 children and 8 adults. What kind of society have we become?

[cassiesmom]

This is monsterous. Current count is 26 dead, 18 children and 8 adults. What kind of society have we become?

Who would kill young children right before Christmas? This is tragic.

[Edwina's Secretary]

This is monsterous. Current count is 26 dead, 18 children and 8 adults. What kind of society have we become?

A barbaric, gun-loving society. Where 18th century language is used as an excuse. Where guns are loved more than children.

I am angry and I am crying. This is just too too much.

And please. please - let no one say..."if the teachers were armed this would not have happened." But sadly - someone will...

[pomtzu]

This is monsterous. Current count is 26 dead, 18 children and 8 adults. What kind of society have we become?

I've been watching the coverage and in tears. I am actually sick to my stomach and feel nauseous! What kind of sorry ba$tard could do this to anyone - especially to little kids??? May the Lord have NO mercy on this sorry soul.....

[caseysmom]

Me too pom i feel sick

[Randi]

How terrible and tragic. So many people lost their lives today, most of them children, because of a lunatic with two guns. When will things change? How can so many Americans be in favor of gun ownership! I just don't get it - it has happened several times before.

My sympathy goes to the many families and friends of all these dead people. What a Christmas they will have.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

great, another nutcase making gun owners look bad. You do realize that for every wacko out there that shoots people there are literally thousands of perfectly responible gun owners? From what I understand the guy had the gun illegally anyway, so he already broke the gun laws before he even pulled the trigger.

Two police officers were shot and one of them was killed by a 15 year old in Memphis today. No way in hell was it legal for a minor to have. Granted, if he was a responsible law-abiding model citizen, they probably wouldn't have raided his house to begin with.

And, I'm not a gun nut, believe me! There are several in the house and my boyfriend has a carry permit. I don't like them at all but I know that if they were harder to own, then people would just become more desperate to get them. Think about it... many drugs are illegal to make, distribute, or abuse too and yet there are tons of desperate people out there who would do even more desperate and despicable things to get them.

gun laws are a tricky issue for sure. But every time there are rumors of tightening the reigns on gun owners, they just go out and buy more while they still can, trust me.

[Alysser]

For the record, NJ has some of the strictest gun laws out there. He is from Hoboken, NJ.

NO ONE wanted anything like this to happen. This is sick, twisted and disgusting. I've cried over it today twice. I am assuming he had something against his family, and he apparently killed most of them too. Unfortunately he had to kill 27 others with them...repulsive. I am disgusted that he comes from the same state as me and that I could have walked right past him at any time.

[Karen]

Please keep all the victims in your prayers, and all the families affected. My church organist for the past two years, who recenty stepped down, is from that town, her cousin and godson attend that school. They are both safe, as is her mother, who works in another school there, which was on lockdown all day, of course.

Please do not try to find sense in all this, although endless talking heads will speculate. It was the shooter's mother, and her classroom and students that were the target, but beyond that, we do not know, and there may be no "why" involved.

[RICHARD]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/14/world/...ack/index.html

China was hit by a spate of knife and cleaver attacks that targeted school children in 2010.

A number of measures were introduced at the time, including increased security at schools across the country and a regulation requiring people to register with their national ID cards when buying large knives.

[lizbud]

gun laws are a tricky issue for sure. But every time there are rumors of tightening the reigns on gun owners, they just go out and buy more while they still can, trust me.

You can't tighten the reigns on the owners, but we can & should ban the sale of "assault " type weapons with the potencial to kill a whole bunch
of people with little effort by the shooter. Tell me what good use you know of for a weapon that shoots so many rounds of ammo in just minutes?

[Lady's Human]

Assault weapons are a scam foisted on the public to scare people.

I can think of a number of formerly legal yet now banned (they AWB killed the companies that made the weapons) semi-auto .22s that were banned because of cosmetics under the unlamented AWB. They were no more dangerous than a squirrel hunting rifle, but they looked scary!

The action of the weapon means absolutely nothing, unless you're going to restrict people to single shot weapons. and even then it's a specious argument.

[cassiesmom]

Two police officers were shot and one of them was killed by a 15 year old in Memphis today.

That's awful. Police officers, my goodness. Gun laws are a very tricky issue indeed.

Adding mental health records checks to the NICS system would close a huge loophole which allows many to acquire firearms who shouldn't have them.

LH, a comment, though- mental health advocates aren't going to like this one; they are going to argue for the person's right to privacy. But I think my right to be safe from a person with a history of mental illness purchasing a gun trumps that person's right to privacy. If you step up to a counter and say you want to buy a gun, you should be prepared for your background to be checked. You don't like that, don't buy a gun. Or they will just get around it by acquiring a gun illegally.

[Lady's Human]

LH, a comment, though- mental health advocates aren't going to like this one; they are going to argue for the person's right to privacy. But I think my right to be safe from a person with a history of mental illness purchasing a gun trumps that person's right to privacy. If you step up to a counter and say you want to buy a gun, you should be prepared for your background to be checked. You don't like that, don't buy a gun. Or they will just get around it by acquiring a gun illegally.

There's no need to violate privacy, just have the system set up to flag the app for mental illness without specifying what the illness is. If the individual feels that they are being unfairly targeted for whatever reason, then let them go to court and have a judge rule on the issue.

I know people with absolutely immaculate records who could legally own firearms due to the NICS not having anything to do with a mental health check. Frankly a couple of them shouldn't be able to have anything more dangerous than a flexipen, but because their mental competency isn't part of the equation, they can legally own firearms if they so desired.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

the more I think about it, there are similarities between guns and pitbulls. People who have either one generally love them and don't want to give them up. Anyone who has been attacked or shot, wants them all destroyed or heavily restricted. Responsible owners can safely use dogs or guns to protect family and property, and irresponsible folks collect and show either of them off for "street cred" or to do harm.