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Democratic senators want ban on assault weapons

30 Comments
By ANNE FLAHERTY

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I'm for banning all military-style assault and semi-automatic weapons for civilian ownership and use.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

“I wish to God she had had an M-4 in her office, locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out and she didn’t have to lunge heroically with nothing in her hands. But she takes him (the shooter) out, takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids,” Gohmert said.

How about this. How about there being no guns, so there can't be an armed-to-the-hilt nutter to wander into a school and slaughter kids, and the Principal doesn't need a frigging M-4 in her office along with her stapler and hole punch as part of her inventory to get through a day on the job?

This shows you where the argument is at in the US over guns. It's distorted, warped and has lost perspective. I can't believe the guy thinks this is a balanced and meaningful contribution to the discussion. The whole thing beggars belief. It's an illness.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

The US Gun Control Act of 1968 is pretty detailed on who can own a gun. Persons convicted of crimes and found to be addicted to certain drugs can't own guns. Yet they don't modify the law to put people who are on prescription depressants from being able to own guns. We have seen that this person has had some mental issues, and this is not being brought up much.

Should they modify the gun laws to make it that if people have persons in their home who have mental disorders and are on depressants from owning guns, I am not sure. I understand the mother was a gun enthusiast, and it was her guns that he used. So I am sure that there are points to this to be discussed.

But I will say it again and again, guns themselves are not the problem, it is the people who misuse them.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

All 31 pro-gun senators declined to appear on the show. I'm sure they'll turn down a similar invitation after the next massacre. Shame on them.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

It does not matter how much yackety-yack goes on in government or congress over guns in the USA.

The Americans have this idea that guns "don't kill people! people kill people!" Well people have been killing each other since human creation from rocks, clubs, spears, bow & arrows, muskets and today the Americans have semi-automatics in any gun shop arround the country.

What is also amazing is that they can buy bullets that are designed for maximum damage as opposed to a musket ball.

If a a weapon is designed for maximum lethal damage to be sold to the general public then I think it is safe to assume this weapon is going to be used for the purpose maximum damage when killing.

These massacres will continue in the USA until someone educated enough will be able to tell the people of America that Guns are designed to kill and all the automatic & semi-automatic guns are designed to kill people by people. RIP USA!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Unlikely anything will be done. Even after Columbine, Virginia Tech, and other such tragedies the uptick in support for new gun control measures never got beyond 40% and quickly went back down after those spikes. By the new year the slim window will have shut and any further attempts to introduce legislation will merely allow the Republicans to start regaining points they've been losing in the budgetary talks.

Gun control advocates say that isn’t true. A study by the California-based Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence determined that seven of the 10 states with the strongest gun laws — including Connecticut, Massachusetts and California — are also among the 10 states with the lowest gun death rates.

Funny, considering that California is in the top 4 when it comes to gun crime. Also notable i the study is that the states with the lowest gun death rates also have the fewest hunting seasons. The gun death rate number in this study is highly skewed by accidental deaths associated with hunting that inflates states such as Alaska, Michigan, Wisconsin, and other mid-western states while painting Eastern states where hunting is less prominent, in a better light.

There is a difference between gun death rate and gun violence rate. The way it was presented gives the impression they are one in the same.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

How about this, Gohmert: "“I wish to God she had had a Tazer in her office, locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out and she didn’t have to lunge heroically with nothing in her hands."

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Unfortunately, even if a ban on assault weapons goes into effect these incidents will be with us for the next 20+ years due to the amount of assault weapons out there now. In the case of this shooter the system in place worked--he tried to buy a gun and was told there was a three day wait, so he walked out without making a purchase--seems like his mother (a prepper nut) had an arsenal in the house...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

But I will say it again and again, guns themselves are not the problem, it is the people who misuse them.

There is no logic in this statement. Guns are a killing instrument, thats all. That's all they were created to do.

Can I ask this question. Why do people need guns?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Americans' attention span for any given news story (short of a military attack on the country) is two weeks. By early January the NRA will have bided its time and prepared its counterarguments and the usual verbal tug of war over gun ownership will resume. Nothing will change.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Can I ask this question. Why do people need guns?

@ Tamarama: I can't answer that question. But I will be able to give you an answer once you tell me why does man kill man? I don't think that it matters whether you are shot, stabbed, run over, etc, if someone is out to kill you, they will use whatever is around including their bare hands.

Not trying to make light of this issue, but to just go and take away guns wholesale thinking it will stop people from killing is not the answer. I understand Japan has a lower gun murder rate than the USA, but people still kill people in Japan. Some of the cases makes the news and some don't. So I just don't think taking guns away will solve the answer.

Making the ability to be able to get them by people who may have had a history of being on anti-depressants or drug history along with the other measures we have in place is a good start, as well as an assault weapons ban. I can go for those measures.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Alphaape

No, I agree, man will kill - I'm not suggesting banning guns will stop that.

But it will stop mass killing in short periods of time. Guns make killing easy - they are a coward's weapon, because you don't have to get close, or be hand to hand with your victim. Take the guns away, and all the cowards who fantasize about killing people might not find it so easy all of a sudden. Even if they try to kill with a knife, or whatever, it is still hard to do well. Any old moron can load and shoot a gun.

I absolutely believe taking guns away will solve the problem. They are the problem.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Take the guns away, and all the cowards who fantasize about killing people might not find it so easy all of a sudden.

@ Tamarama: The amount of students killed in this case is very tragic. But it is not the worse case of violence in US schools. Back in 1927 in Bath Township, MI a disgruntled school board treasurer blew up the school along with 58 people (38 kids between the ages of 7-14). He didn't use a gun, but what he had the most familiarity with and killed those people, back when we really didn't have the gun laws in place that we have now.

But then unlike now, I am sure that this was reported, but we have a 24/7 news cycle that will keep this in people's minds for a long time, as well as the very partisan political atmosphere we have in the US in regards to gun control. I am for some more measures like banning assualt weapons, and maybe some stricter controls on who can get a gun and how many one can have.

But I believe that just taking away guns will not solve the problem. Only it wil create more.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I am for some more measures like banning assualt weapons, and maybe some stricter controls on who can get a gun and how many one can have.

Glad to hear that, Alphaape. Unfortunately, what sounds "commonsense" to some is to others the first step down the slippery slope that leads to elimination of all gun rights and the ceding of control over the American government to the United Nations. Not all people are so well-possessed of balance. The shooter's mother, after all, turns out to be a member of the Doomsday Preppers movement - clearly a sign of a tenuous grasp of reality. (I'm sure we'll all soon learn more about the Doomsday Preppers movement than we really want to know.)

There will be howls of outrage and fierce resistance to your quite sensible suggestions, Alphaape - and you know from which quarter these will come.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

There will be howls of outrage and fierce resistance to your quite sensible suggestions, Alphaape - and you know from which quarter these will come.

@ Laguana: I am sure that there will be many, and I say at least discuss it rationally. One of the things that people don't really want to take a look at is the doping of young kids (especially males) today on anti-depressants at an early age in order to make them "fit" in today's schools. Years back, this would probably be handled by strong discipline in schools. But you can't do that today. Wonder if this boy was a "gamer." Not to say that video games in itself are to blame, but you have to take a look at what was used for "First person shooter" games in the past; i.e. young men going off to war or the threat of being drafted and going to war. I am not advocating that we should have more people in wars now, but we have so taken the "risk" out of our society that some may not be able to seperate the real from the imaginary. Being on drugs during your formative years when you are also learing how to deal with emotions is probably not a good thing.

I am sure the Doomsday Preppers will get a closer look and there will be a high profile raid in the near future. But that is not going to change anything. One thing I heard was that this guy may have had some jealousy towards the kids. His mother was well regarded by the school, and maybe he felt that she was paying more love and attention to those kids, since she realized her kid may not be able to respond to the love that she was showing.

No matter what, the bottom line is that this is a sad story. Me personally I don't feel any sorrow for the shooter, but for the kids and the families that were affected, and I hope that they can somehow bounce back from this. I hope that this doesn't just become another "footnote to history" like the case I cited in my previous post.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

true. "guns don't kill people, people kill people" so please don't blame it on the guns! just take away the guns and see what these people will do.. :p BAN THEM.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

On the same day this happened, a man in China stabbed 28 students in a school.

Actually, your quoting of this information supports my argument perfectly. Firstly, he stabbed 22. He killed....wait for it, none. In fact, only 9 of the 22 had to go to hospital. Give him a gun however, and how would those statistics be different?

However, on that same note, one person with a knife did go after adults in Akihabara a few years back and he managed to kill.

Yes, he killed 3 people with a knife. Imagine him with a gun in the crowded streets of Akihabara? Would dozens die? 50? 100?

These are in fact two great examples of what nutters are not capable of achieving in the absence of firearms. And seeing that you can explain why people need guns, it seems like a very straightforward argument to me.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Mods, Alphaape has bought up a very pertinent pair of examples of what happens when people do not have access to guns when attempting to inflict as much harm as they can on a group of strangers.

In the Chinese man's case - he stabbed 22 people, hospitalizing 9 and killing none. The guy in Akihabara killed only 3 people with a knife. In both cases, these happened in some of the most populous places in the world.

What would they have achieved with guns?

You can't discard this response as 'off topic' if you allow his original examples to stand.

Moderator: There is no reference to stabbings in China anywhere on this thread, and even if there were, it would be off topic. That ends discussion on this point.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Who needs an assault rifle other than the army or security/anti-terrorist officers, seriously? Why should your average American be allowed to own something with the capacity to kill many, many people?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Always, after the fact, wake up.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

“I wish to God she had had an M-4 in her office, locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out and she didn’t have to lunge heroically with nothing in her hands. But she takes him (the shooter) out, takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids,” Gohmert said.

Wanted: Experienced teacher with strong skills and a caring heart. Must be able to handle all facets of school responsibilities including advanced planning, students progress tracking, and parent communication. Also must be able to take an M-4 and shoot people who come onto school property (as needed).

This is the type of world people like Gohmert live in.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yep, we should definitely ban assault weapons, because everytime one of these tragedies happens, they always use assualt weapons...

Huh? In this case, the guy used handguns?. Hmm, well, just ban guns in general. If there were no guns, no loony would ever manage to go on a killing spree.

Ahem, Osaka school massacre... Hmm, guess thats not true either. Hmm, ok, lets throw out all the forks, knives, bullets, pointy sticks, and anything potential harmful. We gotta ban it all!

Oh, we should probably ban matches and lighters while we're at it. Can't have these nuts starting fires either.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

...um, banning assult weapons wont make a difference. A hand gun would do as much dmg, it would just take longer to reload. Ugh, I don't want to think about this....

I think what we REALLY need is educating people. If you want a weapon, ANY fire arm you have to go through a class. I have a fire arm, the amo, weapon itself, and the keys to the two locations are seperated. Since I'm the registered owner of the gun I and only I know where those locations are. People know I have a firearm, they just don't know where it is but know it's under lock and key.

And people who say we don't need guns. Well, you don't need a gun sure but more likely than not the person who is assulting you has one. I really would love to live in an era where we don't need guns...but realisticly...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@ Molenir, it's so true!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Sad fact of the matter is, that reactionary laws are not the solution. To be honest, I'm not sure what the solution is. Forcing people to give up their weapons, hasn't worked so well elsewhere. Indeed, in places like England, the criminal elements are very much emboldened that the lack of any potential threat. In Japan, to our sorrow, we've seen all too often, someone using a car, or a knife to do the exact same thing. The body counts may not be as high, but they are no less tragic.

Personally, my own reaction, when I hear about banning guns, is to rebel against it. Why is it that reduced freedom always seems to be the solution, to some segment of the population? No one likes to hear about stories like this. But its not about the weapons involved. Rather the mental health of these individuals who do these horrific acts. Until we can diagnose, and treat individuals, before they go off the deep end, I don't think there will ever be an end to stories like this. Whether the nuts have access to guns, or knifes, or some other weapon.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If the citizens of the country actually have the will to repeal the Second Amendment, then that will be the choice of the actual citizens of the country to decide. The court of general public opinion has no standing. The electorate does, however.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Molenir, agreed. Some segment of the population would feel safest within the confines of a walled and guarded community with heavy surveillance. East Berlin comes to mind. Introducing new, extreme legislation now, as the Patriot Act after 9-11 would only further develop the police state. No thanks.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Wanted: Experienced teacher with strong skills and a caring heart. Must be able to handle all facets of school responsibilities including advanced planning, students progress tracking, and parent communication. Also must be able to take an M-4 and shoot people who come onto school property (as needed).

@ SuperLib: You would be surprised at how many former miitary members would be able to meet your supposed qualifications. There is a thing called "Troops to Teachers" that has been going on getting military members into schools to teach. This may not be a bad thing. Some teachers in Israel are armed and can shoot, but you have to take into effect that they have a completely different environment than in CT.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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