School shooting in CT.

[Ultraspontane]

The vast majority of school teachers are not going to want to be carrying firearms while they are teaching kindergarteners, even if they were allowed to do so.

The police officer at Columbine was completely unable to prevent the damage done that day, even after confronting the shooters, he was pinned down under fire. When you have a tag team of suicidal assailants armed with heavy assault weaponry, a police officer may not be able to stop them. What if a James Holmes shows up (Colorado theater shooter) dressed head to toe in ballistic armor and shoots the armed officer(s)? When you have assault weapons with high capacity magazines, all you need are a couple of minutes to kill dozens of people.

Assault weapons are for soldiers storming the beach at Normandy, not for soccer moms with mentally ill sons, or anyone else for that matter. They suck for hunting, the only thing they are made for is killing large groups of people in a very short amount of time. Objects like these have no place in modern civilian culture. If you can't protect yourself and your family with a sidearm and/or hunting rifle, perhaps you should brush up on your skills.

 

[Tedybear]

The vast majority of school teachers are not going to want to be carrying firearms while they are teaching kindergarteners, even if they were allowed to do so.

The police officer at Columbine was completely unable to prevent the damage done that day, even after confronting the shooters, he was pinned down under fire. When you have a tag team of suicidal assailants armed with heavy assault weaponry, a police officer may not be able to stop them. What if a James Holmes shows up (Colorado theater shooter) dressed head to toe in ballistic armor and shoots the armed officer(s)? When you have assault weapons with high capacity magazines, all you need are a couple of minutes to kill dozens of people.

Assault weapons are for soldiers storming the beach at Normandy, not for soccer moms with mentally ill sons, or anyone else for that matter. They suck for hunting, the only thing they are made for is killing large groups of people in a very short amount of time. Objects like these have no place in modern civilian culture. If you can't protect yourself and your family with a sidearm, perhaps you should brush up on your skills.

It's a catch-22. What ever guns they decide to outlaw? The ones that are intent on breaking the laws will still obtain them. Anyone that believes otherwise is fooling themselves.

It's not the guns that kill. It's the minds of the people that do the shooting.

S-

 

[Tominator]

Assault weapons are for soldiers storming the beach at Normandy, not for soccer moms with mentally ill sons, or anyone else for that matter. They suck for hunting, the only thing they are made for is killing large groups of people in a very short amount of time. Objects like these have no place in modern civilian culture. If you can't protect yourself and your family with a sidearm and/or hunting rifle, perhaps you should brush up on your skills.

American troops carried semi-auto rifles at Normandy for the most part but trying to make the difference understood is like hitting your head against a brick wall and expecting it not to hurt.

Assault weapons are full auto and have been heavily regulated since the late 1930's.

The 2nd Amendment wasn't put there for hunting...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The vast majority of school teachers are not going to want to be carrying firearms while they are teaching kindergarteners, even if they were allowed to do so.

I agree.

The police officer at Columbine was completely unable to prevent the damage done that day, even after confronting the shooters, he was pinned down under fire. When you have a tag team of suicidal assailants armed with heavy assault weaponry, a police officer may not be able to stop them. What if a James Holmes shows up (Colorado theater shooter) dressed head to toe in ballistic armor and shoots the armed officer(s)? When you have assault weapons with high capacity magazines, all you need are a couple of minutes to kill dozens of people.

Bulletproof vests only work on pistol rounds and even then still don't stop internal trauma like broken ribs that put you on your butt and out of the fight.

Columbine was during the last ban and only involved 12 gauge shotguns and 9mm pistol/carbine. At least one of the 9mm's along with its high capacity mags was banned during the time and that did not stop them from using it.

Assault weapons are for soldiers storming the beach at Normandy, not for soccer moms with mentally ill sons, or anyone else for that matter. They suck for hunting, the only thing they are made for is killing large groups of people in a very short amount of time. Objects like these have no place in modern civilian culture. If you can't protect yourself and your family with a sidearm and/or hunting rifle, perhaps you should brush up on your skills.

Hunt much?

An AR15 is a fine hunting rifle, most states have mag capacity limits for hunting large game. They are really nice for target shooting so you don't have to keep reloading smaller mags.

The AR15's .223 round is a mediocre deer round but it is also available in many other calibers (.308 and .243 are stupid common deer rounds) New ones like the 6.8SPC are also a great hunting round that has been catching on (and doesn't require the expensive AR10 chassis to shoot them)

For varmits (foxes, coyotes, groundhogs, prarie dogs...) the .223 is great as is the comfortable lightweight AR platform rifle. Around my house is thick with coyotes and with sheep (the greatest weedeaters known to man) that is going to be problematic but an AR15 would be a great coyote gun. For intruder type home defense I am a staunch believer in a shotgun.

Banning the best selling rifle in america because three nuts made headlines with them in a year is stupid. Care to guess how many thousands were sold this last year before the ban talk spurred record sales?

The previous ban was allowed to expire because "assault weapons" (definitions of which are almost all cosmetic) are used in very little crime. Pistols are where it is at for that, but they are not as scary looking.

EDIT:

I forgot to hit on this at first but I do think something needs to be changed with gun ownership laws in relation to mentally ill people. My pending cousin in law had a few to drink and was just over the limit and a lady blew through a stop sign infront of his truck and her infant was killed. He did time for it and is now a registered felon, and now my cousin has to keep her shotgun at her dad's house. No violent past or nothing be there cannot be a gun or even bow kept in the house. I think moreso than that it should also apply to metally ill people. If someone is off their rocker there should not be a gun kept in the house. It may not prevent all but I think it would help with some. Since the last guys mother appeared to be an otherwise upstanding citizen (questionable judgment but didn't do a thing legally wrong) I think it would have helped there... and barring a car accident on the way to school is about all that would have helped.

My other cousin was a special ed teacher in a bigger city, had to deal with all sorts of wierd kids. They would hit her, cuss her out, kick, bite scream, throw poo... whatever. All she could do is send them to the principles office, parents did nothing but collect $$ for their handicapped kids. She had to wear her husbands middle school soccer shin guards (she is tiny) to work for protection from being kicked. She was told nothing could be done until they really hurt someone and they could get the police involved... that needs to change too. Sounds like a time bomb to me. I was really glad when she left that job...

 

[Ranger1776]

can you believe that some morons BLAME the NRA for the shooting? ridiculous, looking around online i see alot of "All NRA Members Should Be Shot" and they think we are the ones that are off our rockers!! Personally i own an ak-47 (yes me not my dad, and yes im 15) but i would never use it for anything like this, i have it simply as something i can do as an american, exercising my rights, i use it for deer hunting occasionally, squirrel hunting all the time, but when its threatened to be taken away,along with my other guns, Then its purpose becomes "Protect My Other Guns..."

 

[Ultraspontane]

Banning the best selling rifle in america because three nuts made headlines with them in a year is stupid. Care to guess how many thousands were sold this last year before the ban talk spurred record sales?

The previous ban was allowed to expire because "assault weapons" (definitions of which are almost all cosmetic) are used in very little crime. Pistols are where it is at for that, but they are not as scary looking.

I don't know about you guys, but the thought of these types of weapons being hot sellers and ending up in homes all across the country doesn't make me sleep easier at night. The sad fact of the matter is, there are obviously wackjobs out there, and by sheer volume, getting their hands on efficient killing machines has never been easier. There are already 300 million guns in this country, making even more of them probably isn't going to do anything but increase the chance that a deranged person will get their mitts on one. And we won't know until it's too late. One thing people are missing here is that since there are so many guns floating around, that makes it very easy for bad guys and criminals to get their hands on them.

The reason people hate the NRA is because they have this dystopian vision for the future where everyone is walking around packing heat, everyone is a sentinel. I'm sorry guys, but there are a lot of dummies out there who have no business handling a potato gun, let alone AK47s.

can you believe that some morons BLAME the NRA for the shooting? ridiculous, looking around online i see alot of "All NRA Members Should Be Shot" and they think we are the ones that are off our rockers!! Personally i own an ak-47 (yes me not my dad, and yes im 15) but i would never use it for anything like this, i have it simply as something i can do as an american, exercising my rights, i use it for deer hunting occasionally, squirrel hunting all the time, but when its threatened to be taken away,along with my other guns, Then its purpose becomes "Protect My Other Guns..."

This is what I'm talking about. I don't feel safer knowing that a 15 year old is wielding a Cold War era Soviet assault weapon. And I'd wager that most people would share that sentiment. When I was 15, I shot .22 caliber squirrel rifles.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I don't know about you guys, but the thought of these types of weapons being hot sellers and ending up in homes all across the country doesn't make me sleep easier at night. The sad fact of the matter is, there are obviously wackjobs out there, and by sheer volume, getting their hands on efficient killing machines has never been easier. There are already 300 million guns in this country, making even more of them probably isn't going to do anything but increase the chance that a deranged person will get their mitts on one. And we won't know until it's too late. One thing people are missing here is that since there are so many guns floating around, that makes it very easy for bad guys and criminals to get their hands on them.

And yet gun related crime has gone down in recent years...

And it is much harder to purchase a gun now that it ever has been, used to buy them with the same difficulty as you would a hammer. My 17 year old cousin got carded and turned down on buying arrows for his compound bow because of the mayhem it could cause.

This is what I'm talking about. I don't feel safer knowing that a 15 year old is wielding a Cold War era Soviet assault weapon. And I'd wager that most people would share that sentiment. When I was 15, I shot .22 caliber squirrel rifles.

And a .22 is just as if not more dangerous than a 7.62x39... "its just a .22" They probably kill more people in the US than any other caliber because people underestimate them.

I don't really mind the NRA's stance, we have the libs wanting nobody having guns and the NRA wanting everyone to... hopefully we end up somewhere in the middle. If not for them there is nothing to contest it.

 

[CarsonChris]

I was given my first BB gun at age 8. By ten I had my first air riffle. At twelve I was out hunting by myself carrying a 20 gauge shotgun everywhere I went. Guns are not the problem. There are 310 million guns in America. The majority of which are in law abiding homes. My children have all been taught to use guns. Prior to using guns they were taught right and wrong. The problem in America is that too few are taught right and wrong. We are an immoral society. Do what feels best for you and screw everyone else. The priority should be teaching morality again. Some of it is the removal of religion from home and school. Feinstein is going to introduce gun legislation to remove hand guns and semi automatic riffles from the public.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The problem in America is that too few are taught right and wrong. We are an immoral society. Do what feels best for you and screw everyone else. The priority should be teaching morality again. Some of it is the removal of religion from home and school. Feinstein is going to introduce gun legislation to remove hand guns and semi automatic riffles from the public.

I think a lot of it is we are trying to medicate more people rather than put them away... kinda wonder if maybe that isn't the right approach. I haven't seen any numbers on it but food for thought.

I also wonder if the parents past/present drug usage has something to do with it, if it makes the kids a little... different.

 

[Ultraspontane]

A large number of guns are traded every year under the "gun show" loophole, completely bypassing any background checks, safety measures. It is not difficult to get a gun in this country, by any means. We have some of the most lax gun laws in the entire industrialized world.

Also, if James Holmes walked into that theater with my squirrel rifle, he wouldn't have killed 30 people and wounded 50 more in a matter of minutes. Military spec weapons are for the military.

Look, I support the second amendment. You should be able to defend yourself and others from armed individuals who wish to do you harm. To the contrary, civilians should not have machine guns and grenade launchers, and you shouldn't be allowed to move large numbers of weapons around under the radar due to gun show loopholes. A little common sense and rationality will go a long way.

 

[fredbear1969]

The vast majority of school teachers are not going to want to be carrying firearms while they are teaching kindergarteners, even if they were allowed to do so.

The police officer at Columbine was completely unable to prevent the damage done that day, even after confronting the shooters, he was pinned down under fire. When you have a tag team of suicidal assailants armed with heavy assault weaponry, a police officer may not be able to stop them. What if a James Holmes shows up (Colorado theater shooter) dressed head to toe in ballistic armor and shoots the armed officer(s)? When you have assault weapons with high capacity magazines, all you need are a couple of minutes to kill dozens of people.

Assault weapons are for soldiers storming the beach at Normandy, not for soccer moms with mentally ill sons, or anyone else for that matter. They suck for hunting, the only thing they are made for is killing large groups of people in a very short amount of time. Objects like these have no place in modern civilian culture. If you can't protect yourself and your family with a sidearm and/or hunting rifle, perhaps you should brush up on your skills.

thats ok if youthink that way even if its the wrong way you see if you let the government to dictate what weapons you are allowed to have it defeats the purpose of the 2nd amendment.the reason we have the right to bear arms is to protect us from an over reaching government

 

[JC 97]

Diane Feinstein ^ ?(ultraspontane)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Also, if James Holmes walked into that theater with my squirrel rifle, he wouldn't have killed 30 people and wounded 50 more in a matter of minutes. Military spec weapons are for the military.

The AR got less than 30 rounds off before it jammed and was dropped (thanks to the high cap mag). The rest was the 12 gauge and the 9mm.

Thirty rounds is 3 10rd mags in my semi auto 702 Plinkster .22 that nobody would notice going off with the shooting in the movie.

The military does not use a semi auto AR-15 because of it slow rate of fire or large magazines because they are not reliable.

The "loophole" is a hype, it is still a felony to sell to someone who you are unsure of being able to own a firearm. It doesn't matter whether they meet at a gun show or a parking lot somewhere it is going to happen. If it is an ongoing thing it would be stupid to do it in a public place like a gunshow anyway. All the dealers (the vast majority of the ones I go to) run background checks.

 

[fredbear1969]

A large number of guns are traded every year under the "gun show" loophole, completely bypassing any background checks, safety measures. It is not difficult to get a gun in this country, by any means. We have some of the most lax gun laws in the entire industrialized world.

Also, if James Holmes walked into that theater with my squirrel rifle, he wouldn't have killed 30 people and wounded 50 more in a matter of minutes. Military spec weapons are for the military.

Look, I support the second amendment. You should be able to defend yourself and others from armed individuals who wish to do you harm. To the contrary, civilians should not have machine guns and grenade launchers, and you shouldn't be allowed to move large numbers of weapons around under the radar due to gun show loopholes. A little common sense and rationality will go a long way.

if you support the second amendment then you wouldnt be ok with the government banning your weapons.the wingnut in new york that shot the firemen shouldnt have been on the street that is a complete failure of the justice system

 

[Tominator]

In the '60s Bobby Kennedy started a process along with the ACLU that made it VERY difficult for a person to be detained in a mental institution. It took years of haggleing in the courts before anyone could be committed. As a result thousands of mentally ill people were turned onto the streets.

After Ronald Regan was elected one of the things he did was to quit funding the emty beds and that closed down many of the facilities where dangerous people with mental problems were 'put away.'

That is the reason the Liberals often blame Republicans for the homeless problem we have today though it is very plain that Democrats created that problem.

Combine that with the ease of getting drugs, throw in some alcohol and you get many dangerous people walking around 'free' just as the ACLU wants it!

I feel much safer around fellow gun enthusaists that are 'packing' than in any large city in the US where guns are banded.

As La Pierre said, we have almost ZERO gun laws being upheld by the federal authorities. In almost all these shootings several laws were already broken before the crime of murder was committed.

I also find amazing is that in all of these type of shootings not one criminal was an NRA member or it would have been smeared across the front page of every newspaper in the nation.

We fund all kinds of gun safety programs for kids and adults and continually preach safety and locking up firearms when not in use. None of these simple, educational steps were taken to prevent these shootings. Most of the thousands of laws on the books are there because the NRA negotiated to put them there. Laws are no good if no one enforces them and more laws only restrict the law abiding and 'invent' criminals.

There are some very uneducated posts amoung the many here and it appears they have fallen for the hype and manipullation of fact put forth by the Liberal media. This has been going on for as long as I can remember.