This argument is so seriously flawed I don't know where to begin. There's too many guns, so why bother? The bad guys will get the guns and the good guys won't. Come on. This is a problem and we as a country need to solve it with rational arguments and rational gun safety issues that keep guns away from people who should not have them and take certain guns off the market. The simple issue is that some people should not have guns, guns are too easy to acquire, and some types of guns have no business being available to the general public. Every gun you remove from the stockpile you refer to is one less gun that can be used to kill people. Guns kill just as many people as cars in the US every year - about 35,000. The huge difference is that cars serve a useful, necessary purpose. They provide transportation. Guns serve no purpose other than to shoot bullets which kill people. Guns can not be equated with drugs or alcohol as others have intimated, claiming gun control will lead to this "black market." Unlike drugs and alcohol, guns are not consumed and they are not addicting. After you use a gun, you don't need another one and you don't develop a chemical dependency on guns. As for what caused this shooting, we'll need more facts. But the time has come for this country to address gun safety issues so that we take steps to see that other parents and family members don't go through tragedies like this all because of this country's warped obsession with guns.
A law-abiding hunter owning a rifle? I get it. But no one, NO ONE needs an assault weapon. Kindergarden? 5-10 year old CHILDREN? Enough. I've no background in 'psych' sciences and have no idea what makes these monsters tick, but would want to know what 'process' takes place in the brain of these monsters between the time when the anger first takes root - through the 'preparation' stage (buying an assault weapon) - to the point where these heartless bastards reach the point of no return. Again, I'm clueless and don't know squat about this field of study and in no way am trying to sound off-the-wall insensitive, but I'm just wondering: have these people ever had an 'unconditional love' companion such as a dog to better develop their sociability, their ability to interact with people .... I dunno, just wondering.... Thoughts and prayers to those in Newtown and all parents in general. Enough.
I guarantee that gun sales today are going to be way more then normal and a ton of the guns purchased today are straw purchases that are legal and will be sold to secondary players with no background checks at all. The problem is legit legally purchased guns are being sold in the secondary market to criminals by gun dealers who the legal sellers know are gun dealers selling guns to criminals. The problem with gun control is it doesn't exist in any real sense. The Batman killer was mentally deranged and bought his guns legally.
Someone should ask Mr. Huckabee if God has also been removed from movie theaters and shopping malls. Weren't some of the victims of the Portland mall shooting on line to sit with Santa? And what of the shooting in the Sikh temple in Wisconsin? That took place in a house of God, maybe not Huckabee's God, but it is a house of worship. This statement by Huckabee is outrageous, insensitive to the victims and their families, and absurd. More people have been killed in the name of religion over the past 2000 years than one can imagine. Really, how would putting God in the public schools done anything to help these victims??????????? Huckabee is the new Pat Robertson. How can the right wing continue to be so hypocritical? What an idiot.
They're never going to figure out what makes these people tick. We're all crazy in our own unique way. That includes the bat-shit crazy people and the people who have no anger management or impulse control to speak of. If they could figure this out they'd get to serial killers and spree killers before they started. They just can't figure it out because guy A may seem like guy B but he just seems that way. They've got bigger differences than similarities and focusing on the similarities will get you nowhere fast.
Lets start by making everyone in the chain of supply from the manufacturers to the distributors to the retailers liable to the victims for the damages caused by these inherently unsafe appliances. I bet we'll see a lot more due diligence go into who gets their hands on them. Fucking Fairfield County, Connecticut for christ fucking sakes. Jesus.
i drove through newtown a couple times last night. early in the evening before the vigil there were more people than i have ever seen in the town. but i cant even say i saw any faces... it was just unexplainable. and at midnight there were only a few, most of the news crews had left or were leaving to head back east or west... other than the area right around the church it was almost like any town always is late at night... but it wasnt, it was just surreal. im not from newtown and i dont have anyone i am terribly close to that was affected i now know that someone i knows child was 50 feet away from the office and someone i once played football with lost his daughter. and i am heartbroken for your entire community.
Congress passed a law shielding gun manufacturers from such liability back in the mid 200s, thanks to the NRA.
how long would it take for any gun control to actually start helping? Ten or fifteen years? Maybe we need to start regulating the devaluation of values in society . It is what creates the lunacy to begin with.
I'm surprised this sick fuck didn't Facebook live photos of the massacre before he ended himself. That is the next level in these massacres.
The Columbine shooting took place in 1999, 13 years ago. So if we had taken the necessary steps back then, maybe 20 children would be alive today. We should never ever say it is too late or that it will take too long. What kind of attitude is that???? And this devaluation of values argument is complete BS. What are you talking about? What values would prevent this kind of violence? On the one hand, you argue that these are the acts of a crazy person and not the guns, and then you argue that values would prevent this? Here are some values for you - this country should value the safety and security of innocent civilians who are victims of gun violence every day. How about we value safety and security for these people over some warped view of the 2nd Amendment drafted in 1789 that now permits people to buy an endless supply of weapons that are capable of mass murder in a matter of seconds. Do you really think the founding fathers contemplated this? I have an idea. Let's really be strict constructionists and permit everyone who wants to own a gun to have an 18th century musket. And that's it. No other guns. Haven't we evolved at all? Here is a voice of reason from Robert Reich. Juxtapose this against the nonsense spouted by Huckabee and your argument above: It is now the time for America to stop gun violence. No civilized nation allows what we permit to occur. No modern society tolerates the easy access to guns we take for granted. The weapons recovered at Sandy Hook Elementary School included two handguns and an assault rifle capable of firing up to six bullets a second. A federal ban on assault weapons expired in 2004. Our leaders have been cowed too long. We must take on the National Rifle Association. The Second Amendment was never intended to permit mass slaughter.
So,rather than discuss the nature of the murderer....but you would rather discuss the nature if the inanimate object which keeps citizens from becoming subjects, and prevents the power hungry from becoming kings? Interesting.
Yes - your feeling that there is a threat in 2012 that you will become the subject of some power hungry person wanting to be King of the USA gives you and others the right to own automatic weapons that are being used to murder innocent children in their classrooms. If you can't see the absurdity of that argument, I just don't know what to say. A tyrannical government coming to power in the US through military force has has no chance of happening, but these mass shootings are becoming an epidemic. And when you consider the weapons that a tyrannical US government would have at its disposal, what would an armed citizenry do any way? Perhaps we should view the 2nd Amendment through modern eyes and permit the people to own tanks and stinger missiles and not just guns?? If you want to think like a founding father with an 18th century mentality that has absolutely no basis in 2012, I'd be happy to permit all those who want guns to own a musket.
I assure you teh news crews are back. By teh dozens and dozens. Itis a very surreal place to be right now. Doesnt feel like home, thats for sure.
And do we live in a free state when we cannot protect our children or ourselves from these events in schools, malls, college campuses, movie theaters, street corners, temples......... Did the founding fathers contemplate these events and these weapons??? When was the last (or first) time the citizens of this country needed guns to fight off these power hungry king wannabes?
The news crews will be there for a while. I applaud the decision to place a state trouper with every family of a victim to protect their privacy. The current state of the media in this country has created a morbid fascination with tragedy. I know this is not a remotely close comparison, but this summer, part of my town, including my neighborhood was hit by a micro burst, tornado thing and trees fell on houses and the neighborhood was a mess for days. I live on a quiet street that leads nowhere . The only reason to drive on the street is because you live on it or are visiting. We had people driving through our neighborhood constantly for the next few days just to ogle the damage. I felt like I lived in a people zoo. I can't imagine what Newtown is going through. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you.
I cannot seriously remember being as emotional about an event in all my life. Yesterday was such a devastating day. God bless everyone.
The names are leaking out now. Ive beendreadingthis part. "Oh that's so andso's neighbor"or this one's grand daughter"
and how do you prevent that? laws don't prevent, they punish. hence why people break laws. what would stop a violent sociopath form obtaining a semi-automatic weapon? nothing, unless you are talking about some fantasy Minority Report program. let's discuss reality, not ideal scenarios that cannot possibly be enacted.
