The South Carolina newspaper (the Rock Hill Herald) that printed a large advertisement for guns on sale on the same page as coverage of the Connecticut school shooting has issued an apology. Too little too late. The ad is as nonchalant and enthusiastic as if they were selling cashmere sweaters. This casual promotion of firearms makes the civilized among us shudder and scream for gun control. Sure, it won’t stop the criminals, but hopefully stricter gun laws would make it more difficult for disaffected and angry young men and boys to act out their cruel fantasies. For once, all those cowardly politicians should join together and figure this out. Fast.
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The guns will still be in the wrong people’s hand despite gun control. Less violence in movies, music and video games is a step in the right direction. Movies used to elude to violence with thrillers and suspenseful movies. Now they’re just outright senseless glorified violence. All the coverage on this latest shooting just gives sickos ideas for their 15 minutes of fame and/or going out as a legend. Kids used to have sports heroes as people to look up to. Now it’s serial killers and rappers rapping about violence.
Justine is right! Gun control is not the answer.
There is much that can be done that most reasonable people would agree with: Eliminate Gun Show exemption, Outlaw oversize clips, Outlaw some of the real Assult rifles. Draw attention to the video games and rap music that encourages violence.
It wont take the looneys off the street but the Republicans should seize an initiative for once.
Where is Mr. Hope & Change….not out front and leading for certain!
I say stop running pictures of these murderers like they are some type of celeb. The media always gives the killers more coverage than the victim. Maybe run it once as most are curious but quit plastering on newspapers and tv.
They will have to pry my Glock G21 from my cold dead hands.
Strom, for once you have something worthwhile to say.
Toronto is roughly the same size in population as D.C. and it’s surrounding suburbs.
In the last year there hase been fifty murders with guns in Toronto as compared to two hundred in D.C.
Canada has gun control with a ban on assault weapons and military grade ammo.
What does this tell you?
It tells me Canada is not perfect, but the U.S. has even further to go to catch up to Canada in this regard.
Our babies need to be safe. Especially when in public places, like grammar school.
Taking guns away from responsible, law abiding citizens so that they can’t defend themselves is not the answer. We need to identify the sickos among us and deal with them-not make everybody helpless and unable to defend ourselves. It’s practically impossible to get the mentally deranged off the streets for any period of time anymore. Many people need to be locked up for their own safety and to keep them from preying on the innocent.
Thing is, Kitty. Everyone is a responsible gun owner until…they’re not.
A very miniscule percentage fuck up with the things. And that wrecks it for everyone. And if shit like THIS can happen. Then in my opinion, the dept. of A.T.F. should have a new mandate to hunt down and recover ALL assault type weapons, oversize mags, large caliber semi auto handguns, military grade ammo and bullet proof vests as this shit NEEDS to be outlawed in the States like it is in Canada!
Chinese Justice on this one. Two minutes after the gavel comes down. One in the back of the head. No more expense to the taxpayer. No bullshit disorder or contributing factors nonsense. Put it down like the mad dog it is.
Nearly every week I treat a catastrophic gun shot victim, and it is abundantly clear that aggressive gun control, IS THE ONLY REAL WORLD solution.
It’s time we grew up as a nation, and face our systemic problems as they really are, and begin to better protect our children from the featureless cruelty of violence, racial and religious intolerance and ignorance.
I am exhausted by endless stupidity and terrible greed of the gun lobby, it’s time to say no more guns in the hands of civilians, and begin the long, difficult process of healing this nation.
This is about gun control. It is the accessibility of guns that allows these mass killings to take place in the American public.
All countries have access to American films and television shows, to American music and video games. They all see violence produced as entertainment in America.
But it is only in America where assault weapons and semi automatic handguns are readily available. Controlling access to guns is the only real answer.
Agree with you Janet, Strom, Patrick & Ericka. Well said!
this is the point precisely ….
“Everyone is a responsible gun owner until…they’re not.” posted by Patrick.
and when they’re not, don’t the killers stroll down to the bloody WallMart or friendly gun dealer and buy something to kill many peoples with.
Wake up AMERICA !, why are your streets awash with blood ?, do you really think it’s because there are not enough guns in your hands ?
I am an adult, with children, from another country, and am heartbroken by what has happened. If I can see the cause, why can’t you ?
BAN GUNS NOW !
What about the children’s right to live in a non-violent society ? Does your second amendment really trump their rights or lives ?
Sorry for my English
One other point: Do not let the police of the USA go dressed as military commando’s. Get them out of the stupid fatigues and rambo gear and put them back in a traditional police uniform and a smile on their face.
Great credit the teachers in Conn. who saved lives and some who gave up their own. However, I think the education system has failed in not identifying troubled kids, and just passing them on. If they come down hard on troublemakers, many of whom are black, they are threatened or called racist. Call out the troublemakers! Never let a student get away with cursing or threatening a teacher.
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This is a great day. First time I’ve ever seen insightful thinking from Strom. Keep it up.
Is anyone really surprised that this loner, chemically imbalanced young man who was home “schooled” by his gun-obsessed mother and was pretty much abandoned by his father did something like this?
We may never know but if the mother had simply keep the guns locked up, it’s doubtful this could have happened.
Totally one sided rant:
“Is anyone really surprised that this loner, chemically imbalanced young man who was home “schooled” by his gun-obsessed mother and was pretty much abandoned by his father did something like this?”
But:
Is anyone surprised that young ghetto cruisers, abandoned by parents, who dont choose to attend or participate in school, dont choose to speak a correct English language, dont choose to dress in a way accepted by society, use, sell, and consume drugs, spouse hate through music?
But they do vote Obama so all is forgiven!
Gun control? how about dealing with mental issues? yes, I realize it is tough to do because unless the mentally disturbed person who will murder someone doesn’t always discuss these feelings, it is hard to enforce and make someone get treatment, especially if they don’t want to. mental treatment is only as good as the person’s willingness to talk about everything.
is there a way to tell is someone like this punk in connecticut was about to crack and slaughter all these people?
and if he didn’t have guns he could have driven a truck loaded with bombs into the building
The thing that really needs to change is the ability to have somebody committed. It is almost impossible to do it now until something like this happens and it is too late. Clearly many people knew this kid was a freak. Here in San Francisco there are literally hundreds out on the loose that should be locked up for their protection and more importantly ours. Didn’t I read this kid had been burning himself? Clearly a harm to himself, but yet nothing was done.
Unfortunately it is beginning to look like his mom had all the warning signs but either didn’t seek help for the kid or wasn’t able to get help. She had money so it had nothing to do with that.
The real focus should be who opened that door for Adam???? He had no children at that school, his mother, a teachers aide, did not work there, and there was an altercation with him and a teacher days prior.
This kid was on the autism spectrum with Asperger’s syndrome, like one out of 80 kids in the U.S. now, and one of every 29 boys in New Jersey. Something must be done about this, and it’s both environmental and pharmacological, but God forbid anyone try to make the slimeballs in Big Pharma or Big Agra take any responsibility!! The sellouts at Autism Speaks now say it’s a “genetic epidemic”, which, of course, is utterly ludicrous.
old fashioned americans don’t trust anybody!!
I hate to say this … but I do think the mother was in part responsible for this nightmare. She had taken her son to a shooting range for target practice! If you know your son is mentally unbalanced, why on earth would you allow him to be anywhere near guns? Also, her guns were not locked up, so her son had access to them. Had she bothered to securely lock them away, this never would have happened. Everyone says – guns don’t kill – people kill. But let’s face it – it’s a lot harder to kill 27 people with a knife or strangle them with a rope, than it is to shoot them. We must have stricter gun control laws.
MissEva, the fact the kid was an Aspy doesn’t predicate he or others with the disorder have a malfunctioning “kill switch” in their D.N.A. I would lean more to undiagnosed Paranoid Schitzophrenia as he was at the age where that particular disorder manifests itself. And it is a very dangerous condition. Without the proper meds to stabilize the condition the voices inside are calling the shots. No pun intended.
Aspys are way too concerned with not making themselves look like fools socially. They’re not psychopathic killers.
Diagnosed Aspy’s, Albert Einstein, Dan Akroyd, Tom Hanks, Steven Speilberg, and more than likely Bill Gates. Just to name a few.
I have such mixed feelings about this. My husband and I had a very heated discussion about gun control after all this happened. He is a hunter and believes he has a right to bear anything because he is a law-abiding citizen. I understand his take on this. My take is this: Taking away guns from law-abiding citizens is not the answer. Then, we are left with only criminals having guns, and we have nothing to protect ourselves against them. I believe in the right to bear arms….BUT here is my dilemma: I don’t understand why ordinary citizens can get access to (and own) assault rifles. I think we have every right to bear arms, but i don’t think we need an assault rifle, as a regular citizen. If you are not military or in law enforcement, why do you need an assault rifle?
I disagree with the sentiment that, if the guns were locked up, this could have been prevented. If a crazy wants a gun, a locked cabinet is not going to deter him. And this was evidenced when he got into the school by SHOOTING DOWN THE DOORS. No one let him in, he forced his way in the locked doors. My point is that they will find a way if they are determined. They will get their hands on whatever they need by whatever means necessary. So why can’t we limit the access to assault rifles? Okay, so we do that, then we have to tackle the fact that people aren’t paying enough attention to their kids. Could this kid have killed all those people without the assault rifle? Absolutely. Crazy will find a way.
Shoot the shooter.. job done..
“shoot the shooter?” You sound like that dingbat congressman who suggested that if the principal was packin’ she would have saved the day. Or that idiot Mike Huckabee who blames the whole incident on taking God out of the schools. The solution is not to arm everyone, or to talk about God. Even atheists know that killing is wrong.
I’m not sure what the solution is but I do know one thing: no one has ever been able to explain to me why anyone outside of the military or police should own an assault weapon.
As for mental health issues, the folks who really need the help are the ones with the least amount of influence to lobby for funds. Some years ago former Governor Weld here in Mass. cut the budget so deeply in this area the mentally disabled were forced out on the streets.
God bless the lost children of Newtown and their brave teachers and staff. God watch over those they left behind.
So now, (understandably), all schools everywhere are taking extreme precautions, such as locking all doors and not letting anyone in. Duh, it’s far easier for the mental cases to start shooting when school lets out. There is no way in the world whatsoever to protect kids. It is too late. There are too many assault weapons out there already in the hands of nutjobs. This is a case of locking the barn after the horse has been stolen. Prayer helps, but since this world is full of demonic spirits, we have to realize it and thank God we survive each day.
Ditto Mr. Heston.
Where there any cameras in the school to view the shooting? How do we know it was just one shooter or 2 shooters. How do we know if wasn’t the government or a kid that did it?
The best academy award goes to……………..
Barack Obama for his teary portray of caring for kids in america. Come on really he cares!?!?!?!?!? These deaths are more important than the drones he sends out all day, everyday of the year to kill women children and soldiers overseas? He is a psychopath and hypocrite. He assassinates other heads of states that does nothing to anyone in the united states but he cares that teachers were killed?
Why was this shooting so important that he had to travel to Connecticut when there were six already this year? Those deaths were not important?
Banning guns is better but not the drugs that make people suicidal and or kill? Sending troops to guard over drugs is important.
” Leaving aside such helpful remedies as former GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee’s suggestion that the shooting filled the vacuum that was left when prayer left our schools, the larger issue for gun advocates is one of our liberties.
For them, the right to bear arms trumps any attempt to dilute the Constitution’s Second Amendment with restrictions on who bears arms, for what purpose, and exactly what sort of arms they’re bearing. Any attempt to encroach on it, even by an iota, will ultimately lead to our enslavement by a federal tyranny. If we have to suffer an occasional mass murder, it is a necessary price we must endure to insure our freedom.
But what does the Second Amendment actually say? Here it is, in full: “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.”
By lopping off the first half of the sentence, the pro-gun lobby and its apologists have eliminated the Founders’ rationale for this amendment: That those who bore arms did so as members of a well-regulated militia. This was never a license for freelance vigilantism.
Just months before the Constitution was forged, our new nation endured Shays’ Rebellion of 1786-7, in which a militia had to be called out in Massachusetts to suppress an uprising against the government’s fiscal policies before order was restored. The purpose of the Second Amendment was to subdue violent dissent, not enhance it. At the time, we hardly had an army to speak of, so the safest way to ensure the security of the federal and state governments against subversion was “a well-regulated militia.” It derives from Article One of the Constitution, which gives Congress the power “To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.” The Second Amendment says nothing about administering personal justice or taking the law into one’s own hands.
One of the ironies of its deification by the current Supreme Court is that Justice Antonin Scalia, a self-styled “originalist,” has ignored the historical context and the clear intent of the Founders in providing legalistic cover for the gun lobby.
There is, however, one sort of militia that benefits from the arsenal of heavy weaponry available to all comers. It is the paramilitary groups that practice secretly for a final reckoning with the federal government in the name of a “liberty” known only to them. Who else would need such an arsenal? Yet it is these very anarchic groups that the Second Amendment was incorporated to subdue.
Since the Bill of Rights was written, we now have a powerful Army to defend us from invasion and a National Guard to maintain internal security. We no longer need a militia—except in the paranoid fantasies of the paramilitary. In this case, patriotism is indeed the last refuge of a scoundrel and the scoundrels are the faux Minutemen with their mistrust of, and disdain for, democratic government, together with their enablers in the gun lobby, who make a fat profit off of other people’s misery behind their cynical invocation of “rights.”
Reformers seek not to ban guns but to put reasonable limits on their most egregious use.
The gun lobby, in its triumphalist success, has refused to give an inch in invoking these “rights.” But where would our liberties be infringed if we resumed the assault-weapons ban that ended in 2004? Were we any less free during its tenure? There is plenty of room in gun-control reform to allow hunters their rifles, to let people with valid permits keep a handgun in their homes, or to allow gun fanciers to add to their collection. None of these involve loading up guns that can shoot off 50 or a 100 rounds a minute. There is no reasonable purpose for civilians to be walking around with such weaponry—much less on school grounds, at airports, and in bars—as gun-advocate hard-liners now insist on as an article of faith.
These weapons belong in the hands of the military and law-enforcement officers who are trained to use them. Reformers seek not to ban guns but to put reasonable limits on their most egregious use.
Gun-control critics maintain that since mass shootings are rare occurrences, reform is unnecessary. This is like arguing that since plane crashes are rare, we don’t need air safety. When cornered, they trot out the shopworn anthem of the National Rifle Association: “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” True, but people with automatic weapons can kill many more of them.
Will tighter gun control laws prevent the kind of mayhem that we have recently suffered in movie theaters, malls, temples, coffee bars, universities and public schools? To be sure, it is difficult to prove a negative. But it stands to reason that by making it more difficult for assault weapons to fall into the hands of dangerous, demented people, we are at least limiting the possibility of another Newtown school massacre. It is not much to give up, and it is a sacrifice worth making. Ask the parents of the 20 children at the Sandy Hook School.”
What a rant.
If the mother had simply had those legal guns locked up this tragedy could not have played out. Anyone with guns in the house and children should take a moment to think about how to keep them out of the hands of children, even if the kids are not mentally disturbed.
Much more will probably come out but there seems to have been many warning signs the mother should have considered, and that cost her and many others their lives.
Right on Avoir!
Patrick, I agree with you entirely about the Aspys, and think the Schitz are more likely to be dangerous. They are on opposite sides of the brain spectrum, Aspys are left brained, and Schitz are far right brained.
Avoir makes very good points regarding “the REAL right to bear arms” and the Constitution being bastardized by the N.R.A. to support their self serving cause.
I would add that assault rifles and large clips are W.M.D. and as such should be illegal in the hands of civilians.
And Georgie…the real truth will come out, but that idiot on Anderson Cooper Live who made the comment did a lot of damage. I’m sure councillors everywhere are working overtime to reassure Aspy kids their not going to turn into homicidal maniacs.
Even if one is an atheist and does not believe in the Bible, who could argue with this verse in light of the recent tragedy:
II Timothy, Chapter 3, verse 1:…”This know also, that in the LAST DAYS (**See below**) perilous times shall come.
**The Rapture, Jesus return**
Avoir du pois is not ranting Strom. He’s recalling for us all basic teachings when one studies the history of the Constitution. The bastardization of the Second Amendment has consistently angered me. If the Framers of the Constitution and authors of its Amendments would be rolling in their graves at how their words have been twisted around.
The same historians who brought us that new and improved version of the Second Amendment are largely responsible for completely glossing over the clause requiring the Separation of Church which apparently, means no such thing.
Yeesh. I meant to type, the same historians who brought us that new and improved version of the Second Amendment are largely responsible for completely glossing over the clause requiring the Separation of Church and State which apparently, means no such thing.
As far as assult rifle use, does the 16 trillion dollar american military complex use it to kill people overseas?
last comment, last rites, last rights
TO LIVE AND DIE IN AMERICA
3 Shot And Killed In Mich… 18-Year-Old Shot Multiple Times, Dies… Man Kills Wife, Teen, Himself… Man Shoots, Kills Own Son… Cops Shoot Teen Dead… Man Gunned Down In Parking Lot… 5 Dead In Spate Of Shootings… 2 Murdered In Philly… 2 Kansas Cops Shot Dead… Shooter Killed… 4 Die In Apparent Murder-Suicide… Ga. Cop Dies From Gunshot… Argument Leads Teen To Shoot Friend… Man Shot To Death… Teen Dies After Being Tied Up, Shot… Man Shot Dead In Street… Drug Deal Leads To Shooting Death… Mother Of 2 Killed In Road Rage Shooting… Man Shoots, Kills Intruder… 1 Killed In Coney Island… Man Dies From Gunshot Wounds… Cops Investigate Gun Death… Shooting Victim’s Body Found On Bike Trail… Man Charged With Shooting Own Brother Dead… Man Dies After Being Shot In Chest… Body Of Shooting Victim Found In Pickup… Teen Arrested For Robbery Shooting Death… Man Carrying 2-Year-Old Son Shot Dead… Man Fatally Shot Near Home… Parolee Dies In Shooting… 1 Killed In Buffalo Shooting… Man Shot Dead In Apartment Complex… Street Gun Battle Kills Grandma Bystander… Man, Woman Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide… Woman Shot Dead By Intruder… 14-Year-Old Arrested Over Fatal Gun Attack… Man Found Shot Dead In Parking Lot… Woman Shot In Face By Ex-Boyfriend… 1 Woman, 3 Men Shot Dead… 2 Die In Attempted Robbery… Army Reservist Shot To Death In Alley… Man Shot To Death In Bodega… 2 Shot Dead In Burned House… Man Shot During Break-In… Man Fatally Shot… 20-Year-Old Gunned Down… Man Shoots Self During Police Pursuit… 1 Killed In Baltimore Shooting… Cops ID Shooting Victim… 60-Year-Old Man Shot Dead… Shot Man’s Body Found In Vacant House…. Woman Shot And Killed Outside Her Home… Shooting Victim Was ‘Trying To Turn Life Around’… Slain Shooting Victim Found In Street…. Driving Altercation Leads To Shooting, 1 Dies… 3-Year-Old Dies In Accidental Shooting… Man Turns Self In After Allegedly Shooting Wife… Man Shot Dead Outside Home… 3 Slain In Separate New Orleans Shootings… Cops Investigate Shooting Death… Man Shot Dead In Ohio… Teen Shot To Death… Man Dies After Being Shot Multiple Times… Man Charged Over Son’s Shooting Death… Cops Find 2 Men Shot Dead… 1 Dies In Shooting… Man Charged Over Gun Killing… 1 Shot Dead In Confrontation… Man Charged With Murder Over Shooting… Motel-Owner Shot And Killed… Husband Shoots Estranged Wife Dead… Suspect Arrested Over Deputy’s Shooting Death… Police Probe Fatal Shooting… Cops Kill 2 Suspects In 3 Shooting Deaths… Man Killed Fighting Back Against Robber… Man Killed In Home Invasion…. Nightclub Shooting Kills 1… Child Brain Dead After Drive By Shooting… Man Charged Over Shooting Of Ex-Wife…
oh ! apologies,
I should have mentioned that those were the actual gun victims SINCE the tragedy at Sandyhook, it’s terrifying, tragic and pathetic all at once.
Waving the PC flag it seems. How many of those were in cities/states with heavy gun control laws? Many, Many! Blame the gun user.
There is much that can be done that most reasonable people would agree with: Eliminate Gun Show exemption, Outlaw oversize clips, Outlaw some of the real Assult rifles. Draw attention to the video games and rap music that encourages violence.
It wont take the looneys off the street but the Republicans should seize an initiative for once.
Where is Mr. Hope & Change….not out front and leading for certain!
the only initiative the Republicans are likely to really endorse, is a bigger trough on the NRA’s gravy train.
Murder is already illegal, but it doesn’t stop the guy who wants to murder.
Guns are illegal in Washington DC and have been for years, yet bad guys bring guns in and murder all the time. Not sure if banning guns everywhere will change the hearts of bad guys who want to kill.
Let’s not forget the 2,977 victims of 911 terrorist attacks. No guns were used in the murders of innocent people, including children.
The entertainment industry, which is full of anti-gun supporters, needs to cut the needless violence from its movies and video games.