Another senseless deadly shooting spree in our schools.

[Roberta75]

I am in shock and speechless about the events at an Elementary school in CT this morning. May the God in each of us send love, healing, light and peace to all concerned. When will we learn the values of love and the precious gift of life? God be with the families dealing with this senseless tragedy and may he take all those who were killed straight home to the arms of Jesus in his heavenly mansion.

In the name of Jesus my Lord and Savior.

Roberta

[soulster]

I'm sure the NRA is gonna be very quiet about this.

[marv2]

The NRA will remain quiet only until someone like the President speaks up about the need for stricter gun laws. It is all sick and barbaric.

[Jerry Oz]

I almost cried when I heard this news at work today. Too bad Charlton Heston is gone; he swooped into Colombine and held a gun rally after the insanity there a few years ago. He'd absolutely love this.

Our country has been on a steady decline into Hell for years and the worse is yet to come. I wonder what the reaction and response would be if the movie theater massacre, the Virginia Tech shooting, and today's tragedy had been perpetrated by a person of Arab descent? Everybody's scared of a jihadist boogie man when the bigger monster has been gestating in this country for years.

[splanky]

I can't understand killing children. It's like with Jennifer Hudson's family tragedy of the past
I never got how her brother -in-law could kill the kid. To me there has to be something really evil, deep inside someone who could kill a child like that. In this case the shooter
was only 20 himself so it was like a big kid going after little ones. Damn. Another thing that
bothers me is if the mother knew her son had issues before why did she keep guns in the house where he could get to them? I mean, RIP, but the details I'm seeing in the news make
this f'ed up in so many ways...

[soulster]

The NRA will remain quiet only until someone like the President speaks up about the need for stricter gun laws. It is all sick and barbaric.

The NRA and other assorted gun nuts have been waiting for Obama to talk about restrictions. It's their rallying cry, their bear to arms. It's the way they can justify [[in their own minds) that Obama is a "socialist", "communist" looking to take away their guns.

For this shooting: they argue that guns doesn't kill people, but that people kill people. But, I say that those people use guns as their choice of execution. It's the second most cowardice way to kill after using a bomb. There wasn't a mass strangulation of 20 kids and six adults by one person. There wasn't a mass stabbing of 20 kids and six adults by one person. It was a mass shooting!

They had one of those gun nuts on Peirs Morgan last night and Peirs was yelling at him. Why? This jackass kept advocating that people get MORE guns. These idiots think that some heroic good guy can quickly and somehow surgically take out the bad guy. They brought this same stupid argument up with the Colorado theater shooting and the Tucson shooting. I personally know one guy who thinks 5-year-olds should carry guns to school just in case this happens. Some old guy with a cowboy hat who carries two guns on a loose holster everywhere he goes. He lives out in the boonies away from everyone.

[marv2]

The insanity of it all! Check this out:

http://www.conservativedailynews.com...ve+Daily+News)

[soulster]

The insanity of it all! Check this out:

http://www.conservativedailynews.com...ve+Daily+News)

I disagree with conservatives. Conservatives are the problem. Marv, the U.S. conservatives are the radicals.

[Jerry Oz]

You have a 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms, so there are many who will fight to the death to preserve the ability to obtain and possess any firearm you want. If you use one in a crime, they will hold you accountable after the fact even though thousands are slain with guns each year.

You also have the right to vote, but they passed laws in Republican legislatures in multiple states to make sure there was no voter fraud, even if that meant that people who were legally exercising that right were disenfranchised. Keep in mind, you can fill up [[maybe) two pages of a handwritten ledger with all of the people who were convicted of voter fraud in the last ten years.

Why is the right to own a weapon more loosely regulated than the right to vote? Which is most important to our republic?

[robb_k]

People who think everyone should have the right to have as many weapons on their possession or in their house, and should be able to have repeating assault weapons are very sick!

The intent of The United States Constitution with regards to the people being able to protect themselves was NEVER that each citizen should be able to keep firearms in his/her home. It was that communities should have the right to defend themselves against outside threats by being able to organise an armed militia, which means storing arms in a central location [[armory), and dispersing them in time of need. They did NOT intend for anyone to go to an arms sale convention and buy masses of assault weapons and walk the streets carrying concealed weapons and run around killing who they please.

The arms producers and vendors have much too much power in USA as do other billionaires. The society is very sick. They allow a ridiculous amount of dangerous arms to be used, murder is rampant, they don't want their basic population to have adequate health care, healthy food, education, they don't care about trying to get decent housing for hundreds of thousands of homeless people. I could go on and on. That is supposedly the greatest nation in The World. I don't think it is, by a longshot.

I am afraid that the only answer is for the basic population to take responsibility and organise to make an effort to do something about this. Just as Hitler's Germany couldn't have been so monstrous without the compliance of its average citizens, the powers in USA couldn't get away with all this, if the basic population would decide they've had enough, and take some action.

[tamla617]

The last time this kind of thing happened in America.The right to own a fire armhas got to go but somebody said they needed a gun to get rid of critters.Well, this nutters mother is/was the legal owner of the FOUR,yeah,FOUR weapons found at the scene with several magazines and100's of rounds.And all that is for critters? You need to sort it out.

[soulster]

You have a 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms, so there are many who will fight to the death to preserve the ability to obtain and possess any firearm you want. If you use one in a crime, they will hold you accountable after the fact even though thousands are slain with guns each year.

You also have the right to vote, but they passed laws in Republican legislatures in multiple states to make sure there was no voter fraud, even if that meant that people who were legally exercising that right were disenfranchised. Keep in mind, you can fill up [[maybe) two pages of a handwritten ledger with all of the people who were convicted of voter fraud in the last ten years.

Why is the right to own a weapon more loosely regulated than the right to vote? Which is most important to our republic?

All most sane people want is for there to be background checks, registration for gun owners and buyers, and for assault rifles to be banned again. No one needs an assault rifle! But, the gun nuts want every man woman, and child to freely buy, own, and carry guns everywhere, and for there to be no restrictions or registration. Do you know what Japan does? They require anyone who wants a rifle to go through rigorous psychological testing first. We should do that, but the gun nuts won't have any of it.

[Jerry Oz]

You don't understand which "critters" they refer to. They interviewed the madman's aunt on television and when asked why her former sister-in-law had so many weapons, she replied that she was worried about "the state of the economy and the direction of the country". There are so many people whose lives literally ended the day that President Obama was elected; it's quite sad that they permit the right wing fear mongers to shape their perception of the world.

[soulster]

You don't understand which "critters" they refer to. They interviewed the madman's aunt on television and when asked why her former sister-in-law had so many weapons, she replied that she was worried about "the state of the economy and the direction of the country". There are so many people whose lives literally ended the day that President Obama was elected; it's quite sad that they permit the right wing fear mongers to shape their perception of the world.

I don't know who your are addressing with the "critters" comment, but there were quite a few suicides and murders when Obama was re-elected.

In Gilbert, AZ, a woman who was distraught over Obama winning ran over her husband with an SUV because he refused to vote. She said if he had voted he would have won. That's the kind of crazy people we have out there.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/s...,6429451.story

There are reports of people who shot up their whole family, then committed suicide just because Obama was re-elected.

[marv2]

I disagree with conservatives. Conservatives are the problem. Marv, the U.S. conservatives are the radicals.

I agree! They say they want to "take our country back.....". What they mean is that they want to wipe out all advances we've made as a nation and take it back to a time when only a select group had universal priviledges! This is not going to happen and I think they know it so they will act as spoilers in any and every way possible.

[marv2]

People who think everyone should have the right to have as many weapons on their possession or in their house, and should be able to have repeating assault weapons are very sick! The intent of The United States Constitution with regards to the people being able to protect themselves was NEVER that each citizen should be able to keep firearms in his/her home. It was thatcommuniyies should have the right to defend themselves against outside threats by being able to organise an armed militia, which means storing arms in a central location [[armory), and dispersing them in time of need. They did NOT intend for anyone to go to an arms sale convention and buy masses of assault weapons and walk the streets carrying concealed weapons and run around killing who they please. The arms producers and vendors have much too much power in USA as do other billionaires. The society is very sick. They allow a ridiculous amount of dangerous arms to be used, murder is rampant, they don't want their basic population to have adequate health care, healthy food, education, they don't care about trying to get decent housing for hundreds of thousands of homeless people. I could go on and on. That is supposedly the greatest nation in The World. I don't think it is, by a longshot.
I am afraid that the only answer is for the basic population to take responsibility and organise to make an effort to do something about this. Just as Hitler's Germany couldn't have been so monstrous without the compliance of its average citizens, the powers in USA couldn't get away with all this, if the basic population would decide they've had enough, and take some action.

AMEN Robb! I am in agreement with you posted here. It disturbs me that crime or gun control was not discussed at all by any of the politicians running for office in this last election cycle. We are deteriorating as a nation here.

[Jerry Oz]

I don't know who your are addressing with the "critters" comment, but there were quite a few suicides and murders when Obama was re-elected.

In Gilbert, AZ, a woman who was distraught over Obama winning ran over her husband with an SUV because he refused to vote. She said if he had voted he would have won. That's the kind of crazy people we have out there.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/s...,6429451.story

There are reports of people who shot up their whole family, then committed suicide just because Obama was re-elected.

What I meant by "critters" is the idea of a boogie man coming to erase the American way of life. To listen to the Glenn Becks and Rush Limbaughs of the world, you'd expect a team of special ops soldiers to come to your house tomorrow to take your gun, raise your taxes, take your guns, and make us all join the Communist party. When folks say they need guns for critters, they are obviously lying. They are planning on shooting what they perceive to be two-legged critters.

[soulster]

It's worse than that: they want a White president again. Every day that he is in office, it reminds them that their race, their warped values, are not dominant.

[soulster]

AMEN Robb! I am in agreement with you posted here. It disturbs me that crime or gun control was not discussed at all by any of the politicians running for office in this last election cycle. We are deteriorating as a nation here.

But, it's starting back up. The banning of assault rifles will happen again!

[soulster]

What I meant by "critters" is the idea of a boogie man coming to erase the American way of life. To listen to the Glenn Becks and Rush Limbaughs of the world, you'd expect a team of special ops soldiers to come to your house tomorrow to take your gun, raise your taxes, take your guns, and make us all join the Communist party. When folks say they need guns for critters, they are obviously lying. They are planning on shooting what they perceive to be two-legged critters.

That's exactly what they mean! I've had uncomfortable conversations with some of these paranoid gun nuts quite recently, and what you wrote is exactly what they think.

You know, the KKK used to say they needed guns to hunt "a rabbit or a duck". Liars!

[marv2]

But, it's starting back up. The banning of assault rifles will happen again!

I hope you are right. It has to happen! There are people being murdered everywhere, every night by these weapons in America!

[Jerry Oz]

The only effective use of an assault rifle is to kill human beings. I keep asking myself why in the world the killer's mother had a street sweeper in her arsenal.

Responding to the idea that background checks and psych evaluations should be required, the demon responsible for this massacre didn't purchase his guns. He got them from someone else who probably would have legally obtained them anyway. There's always going to be a father, mother, brother or homeboy who's willing to get a gun for someone who can't get one for himself.

And if there's not, anybody who wants a gun will get one, regardless of the restrictions put in place to prevent it. This gets worse before it gets better, y'all.

[soulster]

The only effective use of an assault rifle is to kill human beings. I keep asking myself why in the world the killer's mother had a street sweeper in her arsenal.

She was one of those gun nuts who though the government was going to take her guns away. She also thought Obama was going to screw the economy. Just another Faux news watcher.

And, BTW, you Canadians: quit watching Fox news and other conservative comment for your U.S. information. It's political propaganda!

Responding to the idea that background checks and psych evaluations should be required, the demon responsible for this massacre didn't purchase his guns. He got them from someone else who probably would have legally obtained them anyway. There's always going to be a father, mother, brother or homeboy who's willing to get a gun for someone who can't get one for himself.

He took them from his mother, whom he shot in the head several times. Under Connecticut law, it was illegal for him to posses them at his age.

And if there's not, anybody who wants a gun will get one, regardless of the restrictions put in place to prevent it. This gets worse before it gets better, y'all.

So should everyone get armed? I think not! the answer to these tragedies isn't more guns.

[marv2]

The only effective use of an assault rifle is to kill human beings. I keep asking myself why in the world the killer's mother had a street sweeper in her arsenal.

Responding to the idea that background checks and psych evaluations should be required, the demon responsible for this massacre didn't purchase his guns. He got them from someone else who probably would have legally obtained them anyway. There's always going to be a father, mother, brother or homeboy who's willing to get a gun for someone who can't get one for himself.

And if there's not, anybody who wants a gun will get one, regardless of the restrictions put in place to prevent it. This gets worse before it gets better, y'all.

Jerry you raise some very good questions. I believe that we should scrape background checks, psych evaluations etc, etc and just ban guns and ownership of guns by the general population. There is no excuse why a housewife or anyone outside of law enforcement should have a gun! Hunting, forget it. It is not a necessity these days as we all know.

[marv2]

She was one of those gun nuts who though the government was going to take her guns away. She also thought Obama was going to screw the economy. Just another Faux news watcher.

And, BTW, you Canadians: quit watching Fox news and other conservative comment for your U.S. information. It's political propaganda!



He took them from his mother, whom he shot in the head several times. Under Connecticut law, it was illegal for him to posses them at his age.



So should everyone get armed? I think not! the answer to these tragedies isn't more guns.

You so very right! She/they are nuts. Those of us that are not nuts need to stand up to this bs!

[Jerry Oz]

The genie got out of the bottle back in the '80s when the NRA purchased congress and the Supreme Court. It'd be civil war to try to remove guns out of the hands of the populace at this point. There are more guns in America than people. To say nothing of the fact that a great percentage of cops, soldiers, and National Guardsmen would balk at the assignment. The answer is obviously not to continue to let everyone have any weapon they desire. But at this point, the right wing is being led by madmen who, under the guise of "conservatism" are fomenting anarchy.

I know a guy who insists that Obama's agenda has always been gun control. When I asked him to back it up, he said that the president took surplus military ammunition off of the open market to raise the price of bullets. When I asked why my tax dollars should go to support price control on bullets [[isn't that a "stimulus" for gun enthusiasts?), he gave me a dirty look but no answer. I already know that the next time I talk to him, he's going to suggest that the president either allowed or instigated this tragedy to support a call for gun control.

[soulster]

Jerry you raise some very good questions. I believe that we should scrape background checks, psych evaluations etc, etc and just ban guns and ownership of guns by the general population. There is no excuse why a housewife or anyone outside of law enforcement should have a gun! Hunting, forget it. It is not a necessity these days as we all know.

Good luck trying to ban guns with so many people out there with them.

[MotownSteve]

You have a 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms, so there are many who will fight to the death to preserve the ability to obtain and possess any firearm you want. If you use one in a crime, they will hold you accountable after the fact even though thousands are slain with guns each year.

You also have the right to vote, but they passed laws in Republican legislatures in multiple states to make sure there was no voter fraud, even if that meant that people who were legally exercising that right were disenfranchised. Keep in mind, you can fill up [[maybe) two pages of a handwritten ledger with all of the people who were convicted of voter fraud in the last ten years.

Why is the right to own a weapon more loosely regulated than the right to vote? Which is most important to our republic?

Hi Jerry,
I read somewhere that when the 2nd Amendment was passed muskets were the weapons of choice. Makes we wonder what the NRA would say if we all said anyone could get only a musket.

[soulster]

The NRA hasn't tweeted since Friday, and they have removed their Facebook page.

The tide is turning.

[MotownSteve]

The NRA hasn't tweeted since Friday, and they have removed their Facebook page.

The tide is turning.

I certainly hope so!

[robb_k]

Hi Jerry,
I read somewhere that when the 2nd Amendment was passed muskets were the weapons of choice. Makes we wonder what the NRA would say if we all said anyone could get only a musket.

What would they say if they could only get their hands on a gun at the local armory when their community was threatened by a military force from outside?
Why is it that we in Western Europe don't feel threatened and unprotected walking down the street carrying a concealed weapon, or sleeping in our beds with a loaded gun in a nearby drawer? When I'm in The States, I don't feel that I need a gun to protect myself [[although I much more likely to need protection there than in Europe, Britain or Canada). I've been held at gunpoint in USA twice, and never even seen a policeman hold a gun in Europe, Canada or Britain.

[Roberta75]

If everyone who post in this thread could write their congressperson and state senator and demand gun control and a ban on assault weapons it would be a start. We are all preaching to the converted in this here forum so lets put our energy on paper and write our representatives and tell them we want action. We elect them folks so they need to listen to us.

Roberta

[jobeterob]

All of you from America need to speak up and push for change now ~ it is the kind of change that came for persons of color, latinos, and gay people. Now it must come for gun ownership.

One of your biggest dangers in your day to day life is from the homegrown terrorists within you ~ and they are even in the most peaceful of communities.

The murder rates in the USA are hundreds of times higher than every civilized country in the Western World - all the European countries, Japan, Canada. The USA is ranking right behind South Africa, Columbia and Thailand as the most violent country.

Keep the pressure up guys.

The news media should report the name of these criminals only once and never repeat them again. All it does is encourage people that are near the edge because they think they will be famous for what they do.

[MotownSteve]

The news media should report the name of these criminals only once and never repeat them again. All it does is encourage people that are near the edge because they think they will be famous for what they do.

You make a good point jobeterob. Maybe not mention the criminals names at all. On Facebook someone pointed out that the name of the shooter was all over the news but, at that time, there had been no mention of the victims names.

[stephanie]

Good call JobeteRob. This whole thing makes no sense and I think the focus should be on helping the mentally ill not the guns although this incident DOES bring attention to that..

[soulster]

Good call JobeteRob. This whole thing makes no sense and I think the focus should be on helping the mentally ill not the guns although this incident DOES bring attention to that..

No, the military-style assault rifles are a big part of the problem. Check this out:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/research...all/index.html
Click on the links on the left panel.

Then, check this out:
http://ppl.ug/J13TmLII15k/