Gun control discussion

[Lady's Human]

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

Agreed, especially when filled with bias which precludes them from seeing the other side of the discussion.

Gun control is impractical, especially in the US. Guns don't bother me, they are inanimate objects with no will or motivation of their own. It bothers me far more that mental illness is brushed under the rug and ignored. Easier to go after the low hanging fruit than have a serious discussion about solving the real problem. The FBI can set up sting operations which "catch" people in the act of plotting possible terrorist acts, (when in many cases it's questionable whether the person would have gone down that particular road without "help" from the sting op), yet we do nothing about ensuring those who are mentally ill are taken care of. Easier to clean up the mess and ignore it until next time.

We trample all over some people's rights under the aegis of stopping terrorism, but ignore societal issues like mental illness treatment because fixing that particular issue would be too messy. Much like the current budget issues, we prefer to just stick a bandaid on the problem and let someone else come up with a solution at a later date.

I'm willing to bet that someone failed to follow school security protocols, but the AAR won't come for some time. By that time the Media will have moved off the story and gone back to whatever the Kardashians are doing.

[cassiesmom]

School security protocols- my mom told me that the school principal and psychologist tried to head off the shooter and he just shot them and kept going. I know at the schools where my family members teach, there is one entrance to the building that isn't locked after school begins. If anyone needs to get into school during the day you have to go through the front door and be checked in.

A question for those of you who understand this better than I do. What was the intent of the writers of the Bill of Rights when they included the Second Amendment? Was it to allow people to have guns in case they were needed for military service? Was it to allow an individual citizen, not necessarily a militia member, to have a gun? Now we have modern police forces and extremely efficient guns and rifles. They couldn't have seen either of those coming.

And another question. All the news reports have said this is an idyllic suburban community. Why, then, did the shooter's mother have guns in her possession?

I read a column by Mel Robbins in which she argues that taking a look at mental illness needs to be a part of ending these types of shootings. I think she's on to something.

[pomtzu]

If this guy's mother was the gun(s) owner, and was a "responsible" gun owner, I can't help but wonder if this responsible person had the guns under lock and key. If she did, she might still be alive - along with the 20 children and 6 adults that are dead because of her guns!

[Alysser]

I'm sorry, I misworded that. I should have added presumably in front of it to prove my point. They never said if the guns were locked up or not. He killed her at home, I think he would have stopped at nothing to get these guns, and I'm sure she could not have prevented that after he showed up at her house.

You honestly think if they were this wouldn't have happened? I am sure this would have happened either way, unfortunately.

[phesina]

A person in a small town in Connecticut has a Glock, a Sig-Sauer, and an AR-15 type rifle. This is heavy duty stuff. Jack Reacher would not have such an arsenal. But we still have the right to have them on our dressers, don't we? More likely to shoot a family member or companion animal in any case.

A kindergarten teacher in an idyllic small New England town.. Instead, the family member shot her.

[Lady's Human]

A kindergarten teacher in an idyllic small New England town.. Instead, the family member shot her.

Scratch the surface of that small, idyllic New England town and you'll find the same puss and corruption as anywhere else, and in some cases worse.

[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?

[Lady's Human]

A person in a small town in Connecticut has a Glock, a Sig-Sauer, and an AR-15 type rifle. This is heavy duty stuff. Jack Reacher would not have such an arsenal. But we still have the right to have them on our dressers, don't we? More likely to shoot a family member or companion animal in any case.

Heavy duty stuff? Really?

Please, that's not even serious target shooter levels of stuff.

Nowhere near avid collector stuff.

Media, media, media.......

You're living proof of how easy it is to sensationalize and "put the skeer" in people.

[Edwina's Secretary]

I REALLY hope these are facetious comments, otherwise there is just no hope.

This is just someone who really really loves his guns trying to put the "skeer" in you while he sneers at you.

I fear there is no hope. We, as a nation, will just allow the insanity to go on. Too, too many people are more in love with guns than they are with their neighbor.

[Karen]

This is just someone who really really loves his guns trying to put the "skeer" in you while he sneers at you.

I fear there is no hope. We, as a nation, will just allow the insanity to go on. Too, too many people are more in love with guns than they are with their neighbor.

You are wrong. His point was those guns were not as "dangerous" in terms of what serious gun collectors handle as the media has made them appear. And gun can be deadly. I have handled far more "deadly" guns than those myself.

I know plenty of gun owners who still have plenty of love for their neighbors, and respect for them. And who would, if it came down to it, be as willing to defend their neighbor or a stranger as themselves if the situation called for it.

Gun ownership has nothing to do with one's love of his or her neighbor, or one's desire to make the world a better place for his or her children.

[Alysser]

This is just someone who really really loves his guns trying to put the "skeer" in you while he sneers at you.

I fear there is no hope. We, as a nation, will just allow the insanity to go on. Too, too many people are more in love with guns than they are with their neighbor.

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.

[Lady's Human]

I REALLY hope these are facetious comments, otherwise there is just no hope.

They aren't facetious at all.

I have a strange feeling that your definition of hope and mine are two radically different things. There is always hope. However, hope is not a method, and you cannot legislate evil out of existence.

[Bonny]

School security protocols- my mom told me that the school principal and psychologist tried to head off the shooter and he just shot them and kept going. I know at the schools where my family members teach, there is one entrance to the building that isn't locked after school begins. If anyone needs to get into school during the day you have to go through the front door and be checked in.

A question for those of you who understand this better than I do. What was the intent of the writers of the Bill of Rights when they included the Second Amendment? Was it to allow people to have guns in case they were needed for military service? Was it to allow an individual citizen, not necessarily a militia member, to have a gun? Now we have modern police forces and extremely efficient guns and rifles. They couldn't have seen either of those coming.

And another question. All the news reports have said this is an idyllic suburban community. Why, then, did the shooter's mother have guns in her possession?

I read a column by Mel Robbins in which she argues that taking a look at mental illness needs to be a part of ending these types of shootings. I think she's on to something.

If the guns were owned by the mom then you wonder how mentally stable she was? Did she drive her son to do this horrific crime? You just don't know what goes on behind closed doors.

[RICHARD]

I once sat on a jury for a case involving a mentally unstable man and a gun.

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The parents of this kid called the cops when their son got the gun out of the car trunk and threatened them with it.

The story was that the father took the gun from the son, to keep it out of his hands, put it into the car and left the keys on a hook in the kitchen.

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So, if we convicted the son (the charge was minor one) he would get help for his short-circuit.t

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My problem was the fact that the parents didn't take the proper steps to assure their kid DIDN'T have access to the gun. Had they taken the steps to get the gun out of their household/easy reach, they would not have to have gone thru the incident.

Are we going to dog-pile on the mom for not securing the weapons? And if she did take the steps to secure them how did the shooter get past them?

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The mental illness issue is an important one.

People are willing to overlook the 'kooky uncle', 'different son', 'crazy brother' as someone who is a PITA and pretty harmless until they fall off their swing.

After that, you can go in front of the camera and say "he did seem to be a little odd....." or " I was waiting for him to snap....", "I USED TO KNOW HIM, HE SEEMED LIKE A REGULAR GUY."

Or the standard, "I am not surprised this guy snapped."

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I go nuts when the media begins to compare it, rate it?, on the Top Ten List of nutbags with guns.

"This is the second highest, third highest, Number One!!!!!!! body count on record!"

My other peeve is with the 'reporting' - it's a bunch of AHs reading tweets and regurgitating it as truth. In El Lay you are more likely to see a reporter with a mike in one hand and reading off a cellphone they have in the other hand.

The media, in their haste to bring you the 'inside scoop', will broadcast any tidbit, then correct it as time goes on.

The horror is two people getting shot in a school, the unreal nightmare is the changing numbers as the facts come out.

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I just saw a murder suicide story that happened at the Excalibur Hotel/Casino.

We can't go shopping, to school or gambling w/o being subjected to possibly being killed?

I am going to stay at home, with my guns.

I feel much safer there.

[Alysser]

RICHARD, I think the mental illness factor is always overlooked and is very important too.

I also have a problem with the way media does things when these tragedies occur. I never understood the "rating" system. It's like giving them glory or something. They freak people out for a few days, and what if in the mean time, someone else starts planning something with all the ideas they get from this one? Who is to say this kid wasn't watching the news when the Aurora CO shooting happened? Who is to say he didn't get any ideas from the media.