Great.....until....a wacko teacher waves it around to get kids to behave or do their homework. We need to get to the source of the problem.......
We need more elaborate gun control. "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." is one thing; an 18 year old being able to walk into a pawn shop and buying an AK47 with 100 round clips and as much ammo as he can afford is another! I'm a gun loving and owning, combat vet from TX and even I can see that. Save all the philosophical retoric for the philosophers. Prayer, parenting, hollywood, mental health screenings, etc are not the cause nor the answers. The roll of the government is to do for the people what the people cannot do for themselves....so get to work legislatures and enact some measures that will keep my babies safe! And for those that say the criminals don't abide by the law... Crooks, thieves, gangbangers and dope dealers aren't the ones committing mass murders... Had a guy tell me today "Guns are just tools...you have to know how to use them." I was in disbelief at his logic. Yea, I guess an assault rifle is a tool.....that was designed for the purpose of killing humans ou:
We need to deal with the issue as a society. We have a broken mental health-care system. Read this: http://thebluereview.org/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother/ Read the article. It's truly scary to imagine having to live like that, and to know those folks are out there roaming among us. If the President wants to do something, that is a good place to start.. I will leave the gun control debate to those who have strong feelings on it, one way or the other.. I really don't, other than to say that I doubt that the lack of a gun would deter a mentally ill person who wants to kill people. Plenty of ways to do it without a gun, some more horrific than we saw Friday. Go back a few pages and follow the link about the Bath, OH school bombing in the 30's.. I find it somewhat distasteful that the media has decided that this tragedy is cause to stir that whole hornet's nest up. I see it as them trying to extend the story, and make more money off of it, by introducing a gun control debate. Took them about 3 hours to start talking about it on Friday. JW
Understood Larry. I should not have directed my comment at your quote alone. I apologize. The shooter's mother was undoubtedly more aware than anyone of his mental state. All of her guns should have been stored securely, thus eliminating his access to them. Ultimately it was the shooter's responsibility though. He and he alone bears responsibility for the carnage. I guess it was your reference to "that rifle" that finally caused me to comment at all, as I feared any personal comments would be viewed as political. Sometimes the line between law and politics can be blurry. Many of the comments in this thread reference "automatic weapons" and "assault rifles". These by definition are capable of sustained fully automatic fire. As I understand it, the Bushmaster rifle used in the commission of the CT murders had no such capability. There have been calls in this thread to prohibit private ownership of guns that have been highly regulated, if not prohibited, since 1934. And hand gun possession by those under the age of 21 years has been prohibited since 1968. I merely wanted to draw everyone's attention to current laws before before stricter laws are suggested. And again, I am sorry that it seemed my comments were directed at you. They were directed at the community at large.
Jim... read this: http://sarahkendzior.com/2012/12/16/want-the-truth-behind-i-am-adam-lanzas-mother-read-her-blog/
Actually, it is perfectly legal in most, if not all, of the US for a person between the ages of 18 and 21 to own a handgun. It just isn't legal for someone under 21 to buy a handgun from a dealer(you can sell or transfer a handgun privately to someone between 18 and 21). And yeah, the guy tried to buy a rifle, and was turned down, and so he just found a way around it. Also, this comment will probably get me in trouble, but why is it so bad to let an 18 year old buy a semi-automatic, beat up old AK-47 on his own, when he could join the Army, and get outfitted with a brand new, fully automatic assault rifle, with grenades as an added bonus, as well as training on how to use said weapons most effectively against human targets. To me that's like saying, "Ok, you can have this gun, but only if you promise to use it on people." I don't have anything against the army, but it doesnt make much sense to me. Then again, I'm 18, so I don't expect people to put much stock in what I say anyway. I just thought I'd comment. I have no desire to own an AK-47, but it doesn't seem fair to me. What I think should start happening is, teachers should be allowed to carry guns if they want(not in plain view, of course), or to keep guns in a secure safe in their desk at the school if they want. Or, police departments dedicated solely to providing school resource officers to all the schools in their area, but that would cost a lot. Also, this might sound horrible, but I almost wish there was a suicide encouragement hotline, for people who are considering killing other people before they kill themselves. Convincing them to kill themselves first would save a lot of tragedy, in my opinion. Unfortunately, that only works in theory, and would never work in practice. I wish though, that these people would at least use some common sense, and kill themselves without hurting anyone else. Or, even better, they could show even more common sense, and not hurt anyone, including themselves.
I stand corrected. A review of statutes does indeed confirm that the transfer or sale of a hand gun, by a licensed dealer, to an individual under the age of 21 is prohibited. There is no law regulating possession of a hand gun by that individual with regard to age alone. In individual transactions, transfer of hand guns to individuals under the age of 18 is prohibited.
Not at all surprised by that Frank.. Would drive me nuts.. Once again, metal health issues, mom and kid. JW
Everyone's family is dysfunctional (even if just a little) and we all have mental health issues (some more than others). Morgan Freeman's statement about these random shootings: "You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here's why. It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. (Their names)... are household names, but do you know the name of a single victim of Columbine? Disturbed people who wo uld otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody. CNN's article says that if the body count "holds up", this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer's face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer's identity? None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next. You can help by forgetting you ever read this man's name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem."
That Morgan Freeman quote is apparently a hoax. Also, unless you are in an active combat zone or on duty I don't beleive you have unrestricted access to weapons and munitions in the Military. Perhaps a vet or active duty member could enlighten us?
Not when I was in (68-70), and I believe highly unlikely today ! ! ! they are in some type of armory or under lock and key in barracks/squadbay.
Don't even know where to start here... 1. Soldiers don't have those weapons issued to them as if they were a pair of socks....those weapons are issued to them when it's time to use them 2. Our national defense through the use of its military is not the same as some kid (with no fire-arms training except for what he learned from his old crazy uncle) buying a "beat up old AK-47" 3. That's what those guns are designed for....killing people. Unless you are a part of "A well regulated militia", there is no practical reason to own a weapon that can fire 20-100 rounds in one sitting. ---------- Post added at 02:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:37 AM ---------- I heard that it was a hoax too...very well said noe the less.
Yes, well written as well i thought. Having fired several fully auto and semi-auto World War Two era Machine guns, I can say they are not practical (they're heavy and expensive) but can be a "load" of fun to operate.
See, but those are the points that I really don't understand. Not because they don't make sense, but because they just don't seem relevant to me, in the big picture. I don't want to go too deep into it, because that's a whole can of worms, and I dont want to make anyone mad, but I think the whole philosophy of national defense should revolve around the fact that the people in the nation are capable of defending themselves. The military can try to keep large forces from invading, but ultimately, foreign and domestic terrorists will always be a threat. Everyone is responsible for national defense, in my opinion. I don't think collecting a government paycheck really changes or enhances that. Somebody shooting this guy that did this school shooting would have been, in my opinion, one of the greatest acts of national defense ever committed. I think the military usually plays more of a role of overseas enforcement than national defense. There's nothing wrong with that, but I just think the military has a role to play, and protecting the people in the US from other people in the US isn't one of them. That would be martial law. And seeing as that isn't their job, it's obviously a job that needs to be filled. Police officers help out a lot, obviously. I want to be a police officer someday. But I still think that people owning guns, even guns that are designed to kill other people, is perfectly alright, and should even be encouraged, if those people are responsible and have no criminal record. I think people should be able to buy almost any military guns, except the ones specifically designed for area damage, like rocket and grenade launchers, because civilians are not that much different than soldiers. Soldiers are simply normal people who are paid to do a specific job, just like police officers. Nobody would argue that police officers are outside the laws of normal society, because they are a part of normal society. "Well regulated militias" at the time of the writing of the constitution just meant, "A bunch of normal guys who quit their day jobs, grabbed whatever weapons they had lying around, got together, did some drills, and then went out to fight the redcoats." And you can imagine how the American Revolution would have ended if none of those guys had not been allowed to own guns. Finally, isn't being issued a gun at the time you need to use it the same as keeping a gun in a safe in your closet until you feel it's time to use it? Annnnnyway, I probably went too far into it...sorry.. ou: I wish this tragedy had never happened, and truth be told, no one will ever know if it could have been stopped. Maybe gun control would have helped stop him. I don't feel it would have, but some people do, and that is their right. Ultimately, he made the choice, and he will have to face the consequences in whatever kind of afterlife exists. I try not to think about it too much, because I can't even comprehend what would make anyone hurt a little kid.
Well I tried to stay quiet. As I had said try to keep this about the extreme loss so many people were cast into last Friday, But everyone seems to be on a new anti-gun crusade, so I figured what the heck.........People can be trained to do just about anything or not trained. It just depends on where you stand.. Lantz here in AZ if you even mention that you are considering hurting yourself or others to a state employee or medical professional, you will get a nice 72 hr lockup in a happy room:eek2:. I have 2 -15 year old boys both with nearly double the standard IQ in their age rangeuzzled:. One is autistic and yes he knows how to handle a gun. The other the smallest of the 2 is also a very good shot. This said we have taught our sons what human life is worth, something that I feel today is not passed down. Our family has been down sized by about 25% in the last ten years or so from other peoples negligence . If your kid is different from other kids be proactive and find out why and what is different. At 1.5 years our son could talk fluently is this odd "hell yes!" I tried to get our son tested for autism and I was dismissed as not knowing what I was talking about. At 1.5 years of age my wife and I started "training" not teaching our son as if he was autistic. Guess what at 5 he was diagnosed as having autism by multiple facilities. We paid to have him tested. The 3 testing doctor's/facilities did not now we were having him tested by other doctors. I am very happy with the outcome as today he is an A student in an advanced learning school and a caring individual. I do think people throw medical labels way to easy these days. If you have a label learn how to overcome that "label" it can be done. Do you folks know how many people today are Autistic? I am getting tired of the be careful of the autistic crap that is starting to stir since Friday. I will be taking my autistic son to go shoot a shotgun soon. I can't wait for that (Ithica 10ga. double) I am sure he will understand Quickly guns are not to be taken lightly:Smarty: Now back to your debateou:
This is sad, all these people that won't ever get to enjoy Christmas, or B-day etc with there loved one's ever again and you guys are fighting over gun control ou: Google (stabbing every year) and see how many people die or get injured every year from knives. One guy drove a truck into a crowd of people then jumpped out and stabbed 12 more people ou: It is page after page of stabbings. Lets make knives and vehicles illegal alsoou: 3497 people were killed in the 911 attacks. OK so lets crush all the planes. At they end of the day, if these head cases really want to kill a bunch of people they will find away. Gun control in Canada was a HUGE failure! They spent over a billion dollars on the program and it didn't work here in Canada. They just recently canned the gun control program here because it was non effective. Mental illness needs to be delt with. They also need to have a major drug intervention. Its not just pot any more. ITS just plain SAD
Not even in an active combat arena are folks armed with an unlimited supply of ammo and a fully automatic weapon. Fully automatic weapons are few and far between, even in the military. Most have been limited to burst (3 rounds per trigger pull) or semi-auto (one round per trigger pull). Ammo is safely guarded and accounted for. Unless you are doing force protection or running missions outside of the wire, you are likely carrying less than 30 rounds. This person and many other who have commited such terrible acts was mentally ill. There were multiple failures by the people around him (family, friends, etc) to help this person. The Gov't cannot save us from ourselves. Personal responsibility at some point has to be excercised. If the individual cannot identify the issue themselve, then their family or friends need to step up to help their loved one. This is true wether we are talking about mental illness or substance abuse.
