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Amid plague of U.S. mass shootings, 'heroes' emerge

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By Charlotte PLANTIVE

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I’m not going to sully the actions of these heroes, but isn’t it sad how people in the US can only look up to these few people rather than the lawmakers who have failed them? What’s better? To stop the problem at it’s roots to prevent it from ever happening, or needing to sacrifice yourself to save others from lunatics with easy access to dangerous tools.

16 ( +22 / -6 )

Exactly, NowegianboyEE,

Shining heroes, psychotic shooters and the corrupt politicians who bury their heads in the sand and ignore the problem.

10 ( +14 / -4 )

Americans know what to do, but they won't. The gun-owning public and the politicians won't allow it... and so you will have more schools coming under attack... more bars, offices, nigh clubs, cinemas... all because of a lump of metal that makes you feel good. Feel big and powerful.

Pathetic

12 ( +18 / -6 )

president said lives could have been saved if concert attendees at the Bataclan theater in Paris were armed during a 2015 jihadist attack that killed 90 people.

what about Las Vegas , where 50 plus people were killed by a fully automtic weapon. armed police couldnt even see where he was let alone shot back before he killed so many.

9 ( +12 / -3 )

...lives could have been saved if concert attendees at the Bataclan theater in Paris were armed during a 2015 jihadist attack that killed 90 people.

Yes, because you want to go out to a club armed like a SWAT member... if they'd worn body armour and helmets they'd have been protected because, you know, a terrorist could appear from anywhere. Be prepared, folks, carry your body armour and helmet at all times. Check your assault rifles and hand guns in at reception... whoops, sorry sonny, you can't take that bazooka in with you.

What a load of bollox. The answer is NOT to arm the general public - that only leads to armed insurgents packing more weapons to defend themselves against armed have-a-go heroes. You don't solve the problem by chucking more weapons into the mix.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

Don't worry, USA trying to find another war soon, which will kill millions of civilians then you will forget this small issue.

4 ( +11 / -7 )

Since 1969 when records started to be kept there have been more people killed in the US through domestic gun violence than US servicemen killed in all the wars since and including WW1. Take a minute to let that sink in.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Enough is enough.

Take the guns first, due process second.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

"heroes"

Hmm yes, risking their own lives for others. Heroes indeed. But we SHOULDN'T have to need heroes. We shouldn't have to have daily shootings in the first place.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Thank you very much for your concern about Japan's suicide and bully problems. However, I think you should take a hard look at your own school system and the state of your own children. This year alone thousands of your children have been gunned down. These numbers are really bad. I suggest you stop worrying about Japan and stop telling us how to raise our children and do something about the warzone you call a school system. 

How many children in the west have to be gunned down before you change? How many children in the west have to be gunned down before JT posters stop pointing the finger at Japan and start looking in the mirror and start to see their own faults?

You must be one of those people that cannot walk and chew gum at the same time. Love that you are assuming that people are incapable of seeing their own faults whilst simultaneously pointing out the faults of others. Hate to break it to you, but that's not how reality works.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

lives could have been saved if concert attendees at the Bataclan theater in Paris were armed during a 2015 jihadist attack that killed 90 people.

Let’s see, a country with a significant number of religious nutters who think theocracy is a good idea with a track record of massacres, should allow guns to be easily available.

Anyone else see a problem with this thinking?

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Students and average citizens step up and become heroes. Some sacrifice their lives in the process of saving others. What America needs is for politicians to step up and become heroes by removing military style weapons from availability for civilian purchase in the US. No pistol of over 6 round capacity and .22 ammunition. No rifle over .22 with 5 round capacity with the exemption on rifles for hunters of large game. No semi auto shotguns.

All weapons stored in a locked weapon safe. Ammunition to be stored separately and securely.

The constitution allows the citizens to bear arms and they still could even with the restrictions on military weapons.

So far few US politicians have show a willingness to risk being voted out of office to save lives, let alone risk sacrificing their lives. It seems that risk is left to those on the spot when trouble happens. Shame on US politics.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Kendrick Castillo became the latest example of this bravery after the 18-year-old confronted one of the gunmen who attacked his school outside Denver on Tuesday.

Kendrick Castillo...thank you for your sacrifice and your bravery.

You gave your life so the others had a chance to escape. RIP, hero.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Where else can you shoot somebody for stepping on your lawn.

This is not accurate at all.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Why do not all the students in a classroom stand ready to throw all the chairs and desks at the shooter when he (always a "he") steps through the door? Has anyone thought of this obvious solution? Duck and cover is ludicrous and leads to people dead on the floor.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Enough is enough. 

I agree. Allow the teachers to train and arm themselves if they so choose.

Take the guns first, due process second.

No, the guns are not the problem and neither is the 2nd amendment, but I do think we should build more mental facilities and NOT allow people that are more prone to have mental illnesses.

-10 ( +6 / -16 )

I’m not going to sully the actions of these heroes, but isn’t it sad how people in the US can only look up to these few people rather than the lawmakers who have failed them?

Laws and law enforcement can only do so much. At the end of the day it's the character of the people themselves that needs to change.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

This is not accurate at all.

Depends on the state.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

The states that have legislatively adopted stand-your-ground laws are Alabama,[4] Alaska,[5]Arizona,[6] Florida,[7] Georgia, Idaho,[8] Indiana, Iowa,[9] Kansas,[10] Kentucky, Louisiana,[6]Michigan,[6] Mississippi, Missouri,[11] Montana,[6] Nevada, New Hampshire,[6] North Carolina,[12]Oklahoma,[6] Pennsylvania,[13] South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,[6] Texas,[14] Utah,[15]West Virginia[6] and Wyoming.[16]

Legal shoot to kill.

Dawkins v. State (2011)

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Its not the guns that are the problem, its the charracter of the shooters. In times past people abhorred cowardly behavior, killing defenseless people, killing women, childrem, unarmed men. This is what has changed.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Legal shoot to kill.

Dawkins v. State

Not for someone merely stepping in your lawn. Try again

3 ( +5 / -2 )

I agree. Allow the teachers to train and arm themselves if they so choose.

Ridiculous. How many hours of firearms and active shooter training do police undertake? Yet they still make mistakes and kill innocent people.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Meanwhile, the gun lobby keeps pushing the mantra that the best way to fight the flood of guns on our streets is to put more guns on the streets.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

at this point the only 2 solutions are to hire armed security guards who are trained and authorized to use deadly force for every school, or take your kids out of school and home school them. The 2nd option is probably the best one, as the public system has run amuck with confused teachers and kids. Once people start over at the community level and instill real values, things will change for the better

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Ridiculous. How many hours of firearms and active shooter training do police undertake?

No, makes perfect sense. Teachers get enough off time, especially in the public schools, all the time that is needed to pass a firearms test.

Yet they still make mistakes and kill innocent people.

You could say that about hospitals as well.

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

Great story about the heroes. But They sure stopped talking about the shooters really fast after their backgrounds were known.

Not too much either about the kids staging a walkout once the gun control politicians showed up to politicize their loss.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

The should bring back corporal punishment in the schools, and arm all staff and conduct morning contingency drills. Have firearms training done during school hours, so any would be confused shooter knows what will happen if he gets a "plan"

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

It’s strange that safe spaces are not mentioned - REAL safe spaces where staff and students might actually shelter in emergencies if there are no obviously safe exit routes.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

The real plague is not the shootings themselves but the impotence of a nation to deal with the underlying causes.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

@NorwegianboyEE

To stop the problem at it’s roots to prevent it from ever happening,

What are “its roots”? I hope you don’t mean guns. Guns are the “How”, not the “Why”.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

@Thunderbird2

Americans know what to do, but they won't. The gun-owning public and the politicians won't allow it... 

Oh? You know? If you were a politician, would you be willing to stand up, announce the solution, enact it then answer reporters’ questions after the incident which your solution was supposed to prevent happens again?

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

@Jimizo

Let’s see, a country with a significant number of religious nutters who think theocracy is a good idea with a track record of massacres, should allow guns to be easily available.

Anyone else see a problem with this thinking?

Yes, I do. Thank you for asking. How many of the religious “nutters” you mention are shooters? I think religious people are more likely to be victims in their churches, synagogues and mosques.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

but I do think we should build more mental facilities and NOT allow people that are more prone to have mental illnesses.

many of the gunmen over the years had no record of menatl illness when the obtained their gun licences, then one day they cracked and did what they did. What are they going to do , do mental health checks on every gun owner monthly, every person has a tipping point it virtually impossible to predict who'll be next.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@Kestrel

Its not the guns that are the problem, its the charracter of the shooters. In times past people abhorred cowardly behavior, killing defenseless people, killing women, childrem, unarmed men. This is what has changed.

Interesting. Ethos of the past I fear.

Not only was killing the defenseless considered cowardly, but even killing an enemy was felt, felt not thought, an abomination. Read Dave Grossman’s intriguing study of combat infantrymen in “On Killing”. In WW2 a very, very small percentage of frontline combat infantrymen in the USA, ETO actually fired their weapons at the enemy though the same men often took great risks aiding wounded comrades under fire. And the closer to the enemy they came, the less likely they were to kill.

The US Army used these studies to revise training. They successfully raised that percentage again and again through Korea and Vietnam. Hesitancy to fire was further reduced, more recently, with simulations such as those found in ... yes ... first person shooter computer games. But we all know that games are just games, and movies are just movies, songs are just songs and NEVER influence anyone.

So, the problem will be solved by taking guns away???

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

No, the guns are not the problem and neither is the 2nd amendment, but I do think we should build more mental facilities and NOT allow people that are more prone to have mental illnesses.

lolz I'm just quoting Donny. Are you saying he was wrong? https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/trump-take-the-guns-first-go-through-due-process-second/2018/02/28/4f767df6-1cec-11e8-98f5-ceecfa8741b6_video.html?utm_term=.2a43a445840f

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Yes, I do. Thank you for asking. How many of the religious “nutters” you mention are shooters?

I was talking specifically about France and its problems with Jihadis. I regard Jihadis as religious nutters who must not have easy access to firearms. Religious nutters in France would be slobbering at the thought of France following the ideas of ignorant tits like Trump.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

There is some chatter of the NRA pushing to allow "responsible teens" with a clean record to pack with conceal carry (including in school). As long as a teenager is at least 16, maintains a "B" average at least and has no juvenile record, they can be allowed to carry. The NRA's logic is that teenagers during the American revolution helped fight and this is something the original framers want. Teens have rights too. It's says "...shall not be infringed..." and nothing about minimum age.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Trump laughs at supporter's proposal to shoot migrants. Gross!

Trump voters are for this and for Trump pardoning them as long as the migrants are murdered on federal land (so they can be pardoned)

2 ( +4 / -2 )

The US gun-culture is a cult phenomena, in which its believers are incapable of doubting their fundamentalist dogma.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

The US gun-culture is a cult phenomena

The NRA is a cult. Proof: They don't allow guns at their conventions. They are a bunch of sheep.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

So, the problem will be solved by taking guns away???

If it can't solved 100% by one single measure then I guess it isn't worth trying, right?

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Trying to put a positive spin on a senseless, unnecessary tragedy doesn't make it any less tragic.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@Jimizo

I regard Jihadis as religious nutters 

Understood.

While it’s tempting to consider them crazy, one must attempt to understand them and their motives through their eyes. They certainly do not consider themselves crazy, but acting quite logically. That a Frenchman might think they are crazy is not of interest to them except perhaps to heighten fear in France which is their objective.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

@ClippetyClop

If it can't solved 100% by one single measure then I guess it isn't worth trying, right?

Beware the law of unintended consequences.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Beware the law of unintended consequences.

Ah yes. The 2nd amendment.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Something wrong with this paragraph, but what?

Quote: “Shootings have remained commonplace in the U.S. According to the website Gun Violence Archives, 115 shootings have wounded more than four people in the country since the start of the year.”

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Having looked at the site (‘Archive’, no ‘s’) I have just realized what the above means. Most shootings only wound one or two people, but in 115 shootings more than four people were wounded each time!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Beware the law of unintended consequences.

If not us, then who? If not now, then when?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Just ban white males from possessing guns for a brief period, just until "we get this thing figured out" I believe is the terminology.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Trump laughs at supporter's proposal to shoot migrants. Gross!

You take everything way too seriously. Remember when Johnny Depp said, what it would be like to kill a President or when was the last time an actor did that? Not a single outrage tweet by the haters. Come on now, leave the hypocrisy at the door.

But people, including children can own a gun, or two or even 100, without any lessons or tests?

I learned the old school way, my father took us hunting, target practice, showed us how it was done, so it’s possible.

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

@takeda.shingen.1991@gmail.com

Take the guns first, due process second.

Whatever your stance on gun control, the second part of your statement is terrifying. I don't want to live in a country where that is acceptable.

@goodlucktoyou

Your complete lack of understanding of 'stand your ground' laws isn't helping you any.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

I don't see many blacks from Chicago doing a lot of mass shootings. Seems be be almost exclusively white males.

Its just a temporary ban, until we get this thing figured out.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I don't see many blacks from Chicago doing a lot of mass shootings.

I don’t see it either, but I do watch their local WGN and I read the paper every morning, it’s off the charts.

Seems be be almost exclusively white males.

Not nearly as much as the Black on Black gang shootings

Its just a temporary ban, until we get this thing figured out.

I don’t think in Chicago the gangs will wait.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Blacks in Chicago don't need mass shootings - they go for individual kills rather than mass ones.

When you add up the numbers of these so called individual shootings it amounts to a very massive amount monthly.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Whatever your stance on gun control, the second part of your statement is terrifying. I don't want to live in a country where that is acceptable.

It was a quote that came right from the mouth of Donnie Billions Lost himself.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/376097-trump-take-the-guns-first-go-through-due-process-second

3 ( +5 / -2 )

It was a quote that came right from the mouth of Donnie Billions Lost himself.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/376097-trump-take-the-guns-first-go-through-due-process-second

Wow, I had not heard that one. Thanks for pointing it out.

It's still scary, and out of context it's even worse. He really needs to stick to the teleprompter...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Bass4funk:. When you add up the numbers of these so called individual shootings it amounts to a very massive amount monthly.

Great. But I don't have any plans to walk around bad neighborhoods in Chicago. I do have plans to go to Vegas, shopping malls, work, and I have family in schools.

Banning white male gun owners, just temporarily until we figure this thing out, makes the most sense to me personally.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

No, makes perfect sense. Teachers get enough off time, especially in the public schools, all the time that is needed to pass a firearms test.

You've missed the point again. You've also demonstrated your lack of understanding of firearms use. It's a degradable skills, which means if you don't use it, you lose it. One session of training is not enough.

You could say that about hospitals as well.

False equivalency because not just any idiot off the street can play doctor in a hospital, but any idiot off the street can obtain a firearm in the US.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@superlib

Great. But I don't have any plans to walk around bad neighborhoods in Chicago. I do have plans to go to Vegas, shopping malls, work, and I have family in schools.

You know, I gotta say that's actually a pretty insensitive statement. We should ignore bad neighborhoods and worry about places like shopping malls because that's where you plan to go.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

You know, I gotta say that's actually a pretty insensitive statement. We should ignore bad neighborhoods and worry about places like shopping malls because that's where you plan to g

That's not what Super was saying. He was saying that we need to target the perpetrators of mass shootings: white guys. Bass then provided an irrelevant reply in an attempt to obfuscate. Then Super pointed out Bass' irrelevance. You then decided to virtue signal by misrepresenting what Super was communicating.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

That's not what Super was saying. He was saying that we need to target the perpetrators of mass shootings: white guys. Bass then provided an irrelevant reply in an attempt to obfuscate. Then Super pointed out Bass' irrelevance. You then decided to virtue signal by misrepresenting what Super was communicating.

Sorry, no virtue signaling here. Gun violence is gun violence.

But I don't have any plans to walk around bad neighborhoods in Chicago. I do have plans to go to Vegas, shopping malls, work, and I have family in schools.

You can't misrepresent that statement. As worded, it is a completely insensitive statement regarding inner city neighborhoods being less important than places like shopping malls and Las Vegas. If it is not what superlib intended to mean, it should have been phrased better and it still deserves to be called out as such.

Personally, I believe there are more issues to address than just gun ownership, but I thought the point was to end gun violence, not just mass shooting perpetrated by white males.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

@Superlib,

Why the racism? Dont you care that the majority of shooting deaths of black people in the US are perpetrated by black males? Yet you dont advocate banning black male gun owners. Explain yourself please.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

@Jimizo, so why not straight out call them jihadis instead of pussyfooting around the reality by using the term " religeous nutters"?

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

You've missed the point again. You've also demonstrated your lack of understanding of firearms use. It's a degradable skills, which means if you don't use it, you lose it. One session of training is not enough.

No, as a gun owner, I have a better understanding on the pros and cons of firearms and I’m not buying that argument, some people can learn to use them faster than others, so they should have a program, voluntary to allow teachers to become proficient in the usage of firearms. Some people may need a lot time and some people don’t and as long as they’re satisfied the requirements then they should be allowed to become certified if they so choose.

False equivalency because not just any idiot off the street can play doctor in a hospital, but any idiot off the street can obtain a firearm in the US.

Exactly and you make my point for me, the more reason why you want to train someone if you change them they can handle it better and the best way to combat this problem is to give teachers the option to arm themselves. Is it optional beach install metal detectors in the school or to add more security in schools.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

@Anonymous,

Excellent point - that the US army (and all armys learned this lesson) had to systematically condition its soldiers to take lives without too much compunction.

This us what has been happening in the general society over the last 3 -4 decades with video games, inceasing levels of gratuitous and realistic violence in movies/tv etc.

Very disturbing but overwhelmingly ignored.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

@Blacklabel,

Indeed, surprisingly little discussion about the shooters in the MSM now that its known they are LGBTQAI+.

And the kids mass walkout on the politicians looking to further their anti-gun agenda is also absent from the news. If it was the opposite situation we'd be inundated with coverage.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice when they needn’t have if the society in whim they lived protected them as it should. Rest in peace? No, rest in anger, I hope their deaths haunt the NRA, the free reign gun tooting NRA. Shame on them.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

There is a lot of money in guns the economy will always come first.

Did you see the house in LA with over 1000 guns in it on the news today? Estimate the number of guns in America then triple the number you guess.

The Wild West era never really ended. The constitution wanted to offer some protection from looters and robbers to those who did not have a sheriff in their town. Now it is still used to justify drive by killings and housewives carrying a piece in their handbag or their glove box when they head to the all.

Madness all of it.

Trump just fuels it by laughing and cracking a joke when somebody at his rally recommends shooting immigrants. The crowd all cheered.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

So glad to live in a country where I don't feel obliged to teach my 4 year basic urban warfare tactics before sending him off to kindergarten.

Its absolute madness in America.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

All these "heroes" were shot dead. I think they'd rather be alive than some corpse labeled as a hero.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

allot of posters here are blaming the low hanging fruit- the church goers and gun loving people. What they failed to mentioned is that the progressive libs have been hell bent on changing a country whos foundations are rooted in churches and guns for the last 30 years. You cant change the past; it is what it is, and a country is today what it was yesterday. So IMO, its the libs who are most responsible for all this mess. Should of left it all alone to begin with, wasnt all that bad in the 70s and 80s.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

@Jimizo, so why not straight out call them jihadis instead of pussyfooting around the reality by using the term " religeous nutters"?

Read what I posted. I used the terms ‘jihadis’ and ‘religious nutters’.

I’m not pussyfooting around.

Your post makes no sense.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

You can't misrepresent that statement. As worded, it is a completely insensitive statement regarding inner city neighborhoods being less important than places like shopping malls and Las Vegas. If it is not what superlib intended to mean, it should have been phrased better and it still deserves to be called out as such.

Try reading it in context instead of virtue signaling. I left a very explicit roadmap.

Personally, I believe there are more issues to address than just gun ownership, but I thought the point was to end gun violence, not just mass shooting perpetrated by white males.

So you want a different starting point than mass shooters? Seems schools shootings are as good a place to start as anywhere.

No, as a gun owner, I have a better understanding on the pros and cons of firearms and I’m not buying that argument, some people can learn to use them faster than others, so they should have a program, voluntary to allow teachers to become proficient in the usage of firearms. 

This one, really long sentence negates itself. Any real, educated, and intelligent firearms owner knows that proper handling in a high-adrenaline situation takes a lot of training and maintenance. Teachers don't have this amount of time.

Anyome who has been hunting and actually harvested animals knows the excitement and difficulty of drawing a proper bead to put the animal down. Magnify that infinitely for an active shooter situation.

Let's keep things in the realm of reality.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

changing a country whos foundations are rooted in churches and guns for the last 30 years. 

That you limited it to 30 years demonstrates that you are misinformed.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

@anonymous

Beware the law of unintended consequences.

@Haa Nemui

Ah yes. The 2nd amendment.

(sound of gong) No. Try again.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

This one, really long sentence negates itself. Any real, educated, and intelligent firearms owner knows that proper handling in a high-adrenaline situation takes a lot of training and maintenance. Teachers don't have this amount of time.

Anyome who has been hunting and actually harvested animals knows the excitement and difficulty of drawing a proper bead to put the animal down. Magnify that infinitely for an active shooter situation.

Let's keep things in the realm of reality.

Not really. Depends on the training.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Just an FYI to people who don't live here in America, there is no plague of mass shootings in America and the article claiming there is no end in sight is simply a lie. These horrors are tragic but this asinine narrative that it only happens here and happens every day is simply false. As is the implied message that somehow a couple shootings and a few deaths is worse than numerous countries in Africa and asia where thousands are killed by psychotics with guns every day. Worse still are the comments blaming guns as opposed to blaming the humans, the completely insane belief these psycho murderers became that way because of a gun and otherwise would be nice people. What the problem is, would be liberal ideology and certain religions but mainly a liberal belief that society owes and any means is justify to satisfy whatever grievance the osycho thinks he has. Liberals train children until adults to believe they are victims of society and government will take from others on your behalf and then teach if government doesn't do it, then you can be violent to get what you desire. Some of those kids will take it that far and we end up with a mass murderer

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

this asinine narrative that it only happens here and happens every day is simply false. As is the implied message that somehow a couple shootings and a few deaths is worse than numerous countries in Africa and asia where thousands are killed by psychotics with guns every day.

America: at least it's not a war zone!

Setting the bar high there mate.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Ah yes. The 2nd amendment.

(sound of gong) No. Try again.

Well it certainly doesn't achieve it's desired objective... unless the desired objective is an increasing body count.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

@Andrew Topolski,

Your spot on about the libs and their damages done. When I visit home, I expect to see shooters everywhere but I never see it, so it is over amped in the media I think. We had it much tougher when it came to bullying in my day but nobody ever shot anyone.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

With no end in sight to the mass shootings that have traumatized the country in recent decades, Americans are now finding hope in the actions of "heroes" who have sacrificed their lives to save others amid hails of bullets.

This is the introductory paragraph. It seems like most readers bought into it.

It has all the components of drama. It might even be used to introduce a sequel to Star Wars.

”No end in sight”? Of course not, no one is a seer - except in drama.

”Traumatized”? When do dramas not have victims?

”Hope”? A culture hero arises - we’ve had these since time out of mind.

”Sacrifice”? Aside from sounding pagan - not to slight country folk - is this the type of hero we are to conjure? One who must die?

How about people who can sit down without prejudice and preconceptions to work out a program to at least reduce the violence and then monitor that program for its actual performance with an eye to revision. I’d prefer that politicians not be included as their presence means discord almost by definition. Maybe the total community of every school should take charge. I suspect that many will jump at the chance.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Longtermer, AndrewT, Anonymous,

Well said.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

the progressive libs have been hell bent on changing a country whos foundations are rooted in churches and guns for the last 30 years. 

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Religion and guns - the US is happy to crack down on countries where religion and guns proliferate but won't do a damn thing when it's happening on their own doorstep.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

there is no plague of mass shootings in America and the article claiming there is no end in sight is simply a lie

How do you define mass shooting?

https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Since 1969 when records started to be kept there have been more people killed in the US through domestic gun violence than US servicemen killed in all the wars since and including WW1. Take a minute to let that sink in.

Because US servicemen are well armed?

Hmmm, so having more people armed would decrease the number of deaths.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I agree. Allow the teachers to train and arm themselves if they so choose.

Great idea. And then when an unruly pupil grabs the gun off teach, everything will be just hunky dory.

Is it optional beach install metal detectors in the school or to add more security in schools.

Not sure what beaches have to do with it, but instead of all this turning places of learning into warzones, why not rid the US of the gun culture it worships?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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