Right ! #1. Grandpa's old pump gun with buckshot could do as much damage as anyones so called "assault rifle". #2.Has anybody noticed that the places with the strictest gun control have the most crime? #3.So called "gun free" zones, are crime rich zones. Nobody there to stop the bad guy, and they know it. #4.As the post above stated, criminals don't obey gun laws. They don't obey laws in general, that what makes them criminals! #5.Only a small fraction of 1% of all firearms in this country are ever used in crime. #6.Why would you go after over 99 1/2% of gun owners to TRY to get to the criminal? #7.To enact MORE gun laws in kneejerk,"feel good" response to incidents like the one today, is to completely ignore all of the facts above. And they ARE facts. Skip
High schools, universities, shopping malls, movie theaters, and just when you think these scumbags have sank to their lowest levels, an elementary school. My wife and I are sickened by this news. For the police to have shot and killed this piece of human trash was way too good for him. I'm sure they did what they had to do to stop him, and they are to be commended for it, but personally I think the guy should have had to endure the slowest, most painful torture to his death that can be imagined. This is just incredible. It scares me half to death what we may read about next. A day care? God help us.
This comes from society turning backs on the people who have mental issues. I dealt recently with a guy at work who was doing crazy stuff. I consulted HR, and after a bunch of people were interviewed, was told that it was a closed issue. So, the guy is still on the loose, at work. We've had people shot and killed at work, and people who have sued the company for millions after being abused, and management and HR still don't seem to have learned the lesson. If the mentally sick don't get the help they need, this will continue. As others have stated, people kill people. And, yes, guns are more efficient for this. By the same token, concealed carry has been proven to minimize crime, especially against women. But I don't want a 5-year old packin' heat, before somebody goes there.
As this unfolds, Im sure there will be all kinds of red flags that this guy raised prior to doing this. There were probably many clues this was going to happen with him. No one's rubber band just snaps like this all of a sudden.
I heard about this driving home from work to pick up my son from his bus (he is in kindergarten). Gave him an extra big hug. What a horrible event and tragedy - I feel so bad for all those parents.
Thanks Azeem, my wife thought she heard that the police put him down. I would have preferred to have him hung in the town square and feed him just enough to keep him alive while people throw darts at him for as long as he was still breathing. We have grandchildren this age and just can't imagine what these poor families are going through right now. We honestly can't imagine a more horrific thing happening to anyone. I believe this is the most disturbing and heartbreaking event I have ever heard of in my entire life.
I have two kids - 5 and 7 (kindergarten and 2nd grade). I know this - I DO NOT want them to die before me, and definitely not through an act of senseless violence. In my heart I can't believe there is no common ground between "guns don't kill people..." and "new gun laws" that can't help us preserve the right to own a gun AND to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness of everyone - from defenseless kids in school to the mentally ill, to adults who choose to carry guns, to adults who choose not to carry guns. Let's not stop the search for that common ground before we start. C'mon people - WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS!
Through out the years as I've gotten older I've become jaded to all the news reports about certain things. Admittedly almost to a "glad it's not me or someone I know" point. But yesterday as the reports started coming in I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach over this. Children? What? My God what has gone wrong with society? There are no words to describe how the parents, family members and even friends of friends must feel there in Newtown. And then I heard last night that the parents and or family members were not even allowed to see their deceased children/ husbands and or wives until the investigation is completed and that all the bodies were still in the school and maybe until sunday. They'd need the National guard to keep me out and I understand the reasons for the lockdown. How horrible it must be for even the officials that have to investigate such a scene? It just boggles the mind. Prayers go out to all effected.
I don't have much to add - I had friends who lived in Newtown CT. for a while. It seemed like a really nice place. As a retired public school teacher, I remember the "lockdown" drills that we had after Columbine. I admit that I was skeptical of their effectiveness, but Newtown seemed to show that it works. According to the news this AM, the shootings were confined to two rooms. Still horrendous, but it could have been even worse.
The China incident and the Connecticutt incident do highlight the difference made by having easy access to powerful guns. The guy in China actually didn't manage to kill anybody -- just stabbed them and slashed them. If he had a couple of assault rifles the result would most likely have been much different and much worse than Connecticutt. Opinions differ on the solution to such an issue, and I have mine. enough said. The nut killing 45 people in Bath back in 1927 highlights another issue -- people haven't really changed -- probably still the same number of nutty sociopaths out there as ever. Everyone at work was asking "what's wrong with people today?"; My opinion was "not much more than ever before." It just seems that nowadays these nuts want their 15 minutes of fame by trying to outdo the last guy. Interesting that for years eperts have said sexually suggesting fare does not increase the odds that the viewer will enage in risque behavior, but that volent fare has a direct and measurable impact on the odds that the viewer will enage in violent behavior. Still, our society continues to glorify vioelnce on TV, in movies, in video games, however else possible, which is probably the root cause of incidents such as these. -- Steve
I'm 63 Years Old. What has happened to Our Country since? What has changed? I never heard of anything like this when I was a Kid. And Really, I hope I dont hear about anything like this again. But I/we know we will. What has happened to OUR children? PONCH
Our prime minister has sent his deepest condolences to your president, on behalf of Queen Beatrix, the Dutch government and the people of the Netherlands. I'm from a country where guns are not for sale legally, and still we had shootings like this in the past. So I don't think this happened because of the gun laws in the US, when people with bad intentions want to buy a gun, they will find a gun for sale somewhere. I know for sure that I will find a gun for sale here in the Netherlands in just a few hours, it's just a matter of asking around in the "right places".
I think root cause is a general de-valuing of life in our society and not teaching our children about personal resposibility. Lately, it seems like it's all about finding the reasons why it's not your fault. You have a condition, or this isn't regulated enough, or that isn't regulated enough. The victim mentality. And when there is a lack of consequences coupled with a vacancy of the threat of having to answer for your actions not only in this life but beyond, then the impulses are acted on freely. Heck my sister-in-law was told at a welfare office when she asked about what was available for her and her daughter she was told "have another kid" and you'll be able to get X Y and Z in addition to what you can get now. So in some instances, children are being born selfishly to parents who just use them as a means to more entitlements.
Newtown is a quiet little community that offers a tranquil setting to raise a family. To think this could happen there is unimaginable. I guess it can happen anywhere. I can't imagine what it must have been like to have been a parent waiting at the fire station for your little one only to be one of the 20 sets of parents whose child did not make it. Heart wrenching to say the least. And brave adults that did their best to protect the children lost their lives in the process as well. May God have mercy on all their souls. It's a time for prayer for those that died as well as those that survived and are deeply wounded mentally. Those scars will never heal completely. So much trauma for such a small community. Simply horrible.
I am a staunch Second Amendment supporter, but also the father of two-a five year old and an eight month old. Things like this really make a person seek answers, seek solutions, say 'there ought to be a law'. But the quick answers aren't the right ones. Evil is evil and crazy is crazy, and if it's not guns it'll be poison in Tylenol or glass in candy, a car driven into a crowd. Like the earlier post stated, we may need to try not to overlook mental illness and personality disorders. The questions I want answered may not be. The news now states the shooter was mildly autistic. Had hw shown violent tendancies in the past? Did he have access to portrayals of violence that he shouldn't have? How did he get to his mother's three firearms? Where is his father? I agree that guns don't kill people, they're just very effective tools if your purpose is to kill. That said, as gun owners we have the responsibility of that ownership. As parents we also must be responsible for the safety of not just our children but the safety of those around our children. My heart is very heavy. I cry when I think about it. Patrick
I lost a child to a tragic accident in 1995 , she was 18 months old . I never thought I would have another chance at fatherhood , my second child was born in 2002 and she is the light of our lives . When I heard the first reports of this I became physically ill , I have felt like I was kicked in my gut ever since and I doubt the feeling will go away any time soon . I am still trying to comprehend what would drive someone to do something this EVIL . I am not a religous person but my thoughts go to the families and my sincere hope is that these folks can eventually find peace in their hearts . As a person who lost a child suddenly I know the pain , and I wish these folks the best and hope they can find some sense of normal in their future . The media presence in this town is not helping either . May peace come to the famlies of the victims quickly and be in their heart . Chuck
:TU:Good post thinking of all you in CONN couldnt begin to imagine the pain.....The lord welcomes all the childeren to his kingdom
Ana Marquez-Greene and her family just moved from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Newton. She was only 6 years old Quote from her father. "Thank you for all of your prayers and kind words of support. As we work through this nightmare, were reminded how much were loved and supported on this earth and by our Father in heaven. As much as shes needed here and missed by her mother, brother and me, Ana beat us all to paradise. I love you sweetie girl."
