My heart goes out to the kids who lost their lives at the school shooting.

[stevenbalmer]

sad

[Aaron Gustaveson]

Last time I felt like somthing just oculdnt be real, like this was 9/11.

On the gun control thing. Today in china there was another story, a guy slashed some kids and adults at a school with a razor kife. The news said gun laws are strict so knifes are the weapon of choice for violent crimes. I'm not making this up.

http://www.latimes.com/news/world/wo...,6383015.story

[Andrew Maxwell]

The worst assault on a school happened in 1927. A former school board member in Bath Township Michigan killed 45 people with bombs. A week ago a guy killed 3 people with a crossbow. Yesterday a man in china killed 12 kids at a school with a knife. This has nothing to do with the weapon the killer chose to commit his crime. This is an extreme mental health issue we have in this country. A call to ban any type of weapon would be just as effective as our countries war on drugs. The vast majority of gun owners are law abiding citizens and the vast majority of guns used to commit crime in this country are obtained illegally. Plus the "assault rifle" designation is nothing more than a description of the way a gun looks. There are plenty of high capacity semi auto guns that are not classified as assault weapons. The evidence for gun control as an effective way to curb these events is in clear contrast to the truth.

This ^^
Jeff is 100 % correct. The problem we are facing is not one of gun control policy, the problem is with the extreme mental health issue we have in this country. As an EMT I've came across hundreds of mentally unstable people who are going completely untreated because they are uninsured. I have personally taken many diagnosed paranoid schizophrenics who were completely violent and delusional to the hospital for treatment only to see them back on the street a week later, still un-medicated and untreated. The simple fact of the matter is that banning weapons or blaming drugs (bath salt zombies), as we tend to try and do for these tragic events, is not going to help the problem. We need to address mental health in this country by educating the public to spot those with potential mental health issues and make access to treatment available to all who are in need of it. This would be a much greater benefit to our society, not just for preventing these violent acts but also in dealing with other mental issues affecting our country like suicide, depression, extreme anxiety, etc...

[David Rosado]

On the gun control thing. Today in china there was another story, a guy slashed some kids and adults at a school with a razor kife. The news said gun laws are strict so knifes are the weapon of choice for violent crimes. I'm not making this up.

http://www.latimes.com/news/world/wo...,6383015.story

Exactly.

For those claiming that he still would've killed without a gun, yeah but not near as efficiently. Bombs aren't easy to make and he wouldn't have access to really poison them. Take for example the slaying in Casper College not too long ago, a guy killed his own father in class with a bow but was unable to kill anybody else. Still a tragedy, but much less of one than if he had a Glock and Sauer in the same situation.

Bombs are easy to make. High tech bombs aren't easy, but improvised bombs are easy. Why do you think they're such a big problem in the middle east? And poison gas bombs are even easier to make. 2 liter bottle. Draino. Bleach. The killer used guns because they were the easiest. But as the article above explains, killer will kill no matter what. And when they want to kill a LOT of people, they'll figure that out too. Guns are simply tools. Can't blame the gun for the murder. Can't blame the car for the drunk driver.

it's simple math, if ther is a crowd of 100 people & you have 15 rounds in a handgun, you may kill 9 if your a good shot once people scatter. but if you have a 100 round Assault Rifle with 223's you can be half blind and kill 50 people. especially in tight spaces like movie theaters & class rooms. i've been at parties where whole crowds got shot at afterwards with hand guns & no one got hit. i don't know why the NRA & gun nuts just can't admit that Assault Rifle's are more dangerous

Connecticut has an assault weapon ban. So if he had a magazine over 10 rounds, he violated the law. That means that gun control has nothing to do with this. Killers will find a way to kill. Bottom line.

[Justin Credible]

Everybody I know is talkin' about is gun control laws, my question is when did CRIMINALS start following laws ? ? ? I thought that was the WHOLE point in being a criminal. And another problem is the media giving all the shine to the suspect instead of putting the spotlight on the victims of this horrific tragedy, This angers me because I work with elementry children and did not expect for it to affect me the way it did, ppl can't even go anywhere without lookin' over a shoulder anymore .

[Aaron Gustaveson]

Everybody I know is talkin' about is gun control laws, my question is when did CRIMINALS start following laws ? ? ? I thought that was the WHOLE point in being a criminal. And another problem is the media giving all the shine to the suspect instead of putting the spotlight on the victims of this horrific tragedy, This angers me because I work with elementry children and did not expect for it to affect me the way it did, ppl can't even go anywhere without lookin' over a shoulder anymore .

By an extension of your logic, all laws are superfluous because criminals don't follow laws.

[Spínola]

Everybody I know is talkin' about is gun control laws, my question is when did CRIMINALS start following laws ? ? ? I thought that was the WHOLE point in being a criminal.

The harder it is for society in general to own weapons the harder it will be for criminals to, since guns won't be everywhere.

Also a lot of pro gun defenders tend to separate people in two categories: law abiding citizens/Good people and criminals/evil people. They like this very black and white view of the world. We are all people, and people can be negligent, stupid, angry, crazy, sick, jealous, overconfident, drugged, drunk, make mistakes, etc... or in the case of this shooting have a son who takes your legally owned guns and kills all those kids and teachers. Criminals were law abiding citizens up to the point they committed a crime.

Just because killers will find a way to kill, let's not make it easy on them.

I do agree with you that the media should be more responsible the way they cover these stories.

[Matt Hester]

I'm torn on the gun control issues.

I can't help but think that if that chinese guy had a gun, and not a knife, he would have killed more than 10 children. I know that he injured more than 20 kids. You can get a lot more done in shorter time with a few pistols than with a knife.

Maybe only allow non-automatic hunting rifles in the U.S.?

[Aaron Gustaveson]

I'm torn on the gun control issues.

I can't help but think that if that chinese guy had a gun, and not a knife, he would have killed more than 10 children. I know that he injured more than 20 kids. You can get a lot more done in shorter time with a few pistols than with a knife.

Maybe only allow non-automatic hunting rifles in the U.S.?

Seems reasonable. Non automatic shotguns and rifles are hunting tools. If that Chinese guy had a gun more kids would be dead for sure.

[Aaron Gustaveson]

I'm torn on the gun control issues.

I can't help but think that if that chinese guy had a gun, and not a knife, he would have killed more than 10 children. I know that he injured more than 20 kids. You can get a lot more done in shorter time with a few pistols than with a knife.

Maybe only allow non-automatic hunting rifles in the U.S.?

Seems reasonable. Non automatic shotguns and rifles are hunting tools. If that Chinese guy had a gun more kids would be dead for sure.