Gun control discussions in the wake of the Newtown, CT deaths

[Moderator]

Protecting them by continuing to promote the culture that guns are okay to have in our everyday lives is doing nothing to remove the threat that this will continue to happen ad nauseum. There are other ways we should be looking to remove the need to have them at all.

[exzel]

“There are other ways we should be looking to remove the need to have them at all.”
Hmmm… Other than voiding the second amendment and allowing the government to confiscate all 200 million or so privately-owned firearms in the US, I don’t know what that could possible mean in practical terms. Or have they perfected at Jedi mindmeld thing I’ve been hearing about?

[Moderator]

You know perfectly well that even though I abhor guns, I've said time and again that I don't feel the Second Amendment should be repealed. What I have said is that we should be looking at other ways to make ourselves safe and address the real problems because escalation of more guns to deal with guns is clearly not working.

[exzel]

I know you’ve said time and again that you don't feel the Second Amendment should be repealed. But since we only seem to “talk” about mental illness -- the key reason behind the mass killings (which almost all seem to happen in gun-free zones), I just don’t see what you’re envisioning happening without gun confiscation.

[Moderator]

I know you’ve said time and again that you don't feel the Second Amendment should be repealed. But since we only seem to “talk” about mental illness -- the key reason behind the mass killings (which almost all seem to happen in gun-free zones), I just don’t see what you’re envisioning happening without gun confiscation.

And putting a bandaid on it by giving us the delusion (I know it should be illusion but I truly believe delusion is a better descriptor) that we are somehow safer if we're toting around a gun or having someone else to do it for us and so everyone should just have more of them is one of the reasons why more has not been done to help rectify that. But the bigger problem has been the continual chipping away at resources for the mentally ill since the Reagan administration. Or pretending that if we could just solve this pesky mental health problem there would never be another situation like this. And it isn't just the massacre shootings that need to be addressed, it's all gun violence-related injuries and deaths. There are many more societal ills we need to focus on than just the mentally ill before the problem is reduced--many of which have been mentioned on this Board. Would it not be better for us as a society to finally deal with these--maybe using some of that money that's currently being diverted to the military or the "war" on drugs that has been such an abysmal failure could be used as this is every bit as much of an issue of our personal safety as fighting battles on foreign shores--so that we truly would be safe enough to not have a need for guns? Do you understand the distinction I'm trying to make? I'm not convinced that there aren't a lot more people who want guns than genuinely have a need for them in spite of their belief that they need them. I would much rather do what we can to make a future world in which our children can grow up feeling secure and safe without, but barring that at least less, guns. Wouldn't you? In other words to raise our standard of living instead of perpetuating the mindset that guns should be used, both for ill and good, to solve or even as a deterrent for our problems. To do otherwise is short-sighted and beneath us and passing on a legacy to our children that is every bit as physically and emotionally harmful for our children as it must be for the children who are already living in violence-torn neighborhoods not just in war zones across the globe, but right here in the U.S.

[staropeace]

Maybe this is a stupid question coming from a Canadian but why do the American people think they have a right to bear arms? How did that come up anyway?
If there is a gun near at hand then it is easy to reach and make a rash decision. Folks say guns are for protection but how many people does one expect to have to shoot in the length or a lifetime? Is it not safer to just make wise choices? Protect your property by installing burglar alarms, have your property well-lit etc. If there is danger, then call the cops. If there was a crack-down on guns then the cops would have much more time to respond to calls for help......they wouldnt be out dealing with shooting incidents all the live long day.

When it boils down to it, guns are for just one thing....to shoot and take a life. I would not to know that my neighbours had that opportunity to lay me low...bruuuuuuuuuu, it is a scary thought.

[exzel]

My comments are about this thread… The massacre shootings of our children is what I am addressing, and how best to protect them. Training school personnel to protect our kids is my point. I believe any who would voluntarily sign up to help keep the kids safe and go through a reserve-officer-training program already have firearms, so we wouldn’t see a rampant all-out blitz to obtain more. As I noted my kid’s school has armed police patrolling it. The kids are not traumatized by this fact, but rather it gives them an added sense of security. And I think any would-be killer might think twice about going to a school where the people can and will fight back.

[Moderator]

My comments are about this thread… The massacre shootings of our children is what I am addressing, and how best to protect them. Training school personnel to protect our kids is my point. I believe any who would voluntarily sign up to help keep the kids safe and go through a reserve-officer-training program already have firearms, so we wouldn’t see a rampant all-out blitz to obtain more. As I noted my kid’s school has armed police patrolling it. The kids are not traumatized by this fact, but rather it gives them an added sense of security. And I think any would-be killer might think twice about going to a school where the people can and will fight back.

I was responding to your comment about mental health issues being the key issue behind these shootings and in that context guns being the answer to prevention of them. That the kids are not traumatized by having guns around says something about what our culture has become IMO and not in a good way.

[exzel]

I was responding to your comment about mental health issues being the key issue behind these shootings and in that context guns being the answer to prevention of them. That the kids are not traumatized by having guns around says something about what our culture has become IMO and not in a good way.

The fact that there are sick and evil people out there committed to perpetrating horrendous crimes against our precious and innocent children, and we don’t do what is most feasible to protect them because of ideology, is unconscionable IMO.

That my kid’s school has taken steps to add a level of protection for them from the reality of individuals who might wish to do them harm (and who could walk into a “gun-free” zone with almost complete impunity) is what makes them feel safer. And as long as there remains sick minds loose in the world, I’m fine with it. And apparently the kids are also.

I know you and I are on opposite positions on this Ms. Mod. And that’s okay (I guess that’s the dialogue SK is looking for). I realize you probably think some of my ideas are dangerous, but realize I feel the same about yours. I just want to protect our kids as fast and feasible as possible, and I feel arming school personnel by training them to become reserve-officers fits that bill.

[Moderator]

The fact that there are sick and evil people out there committed to perpetrating horrendous crimes against our precious and innocent children, and we don’t do what is most feasible to protect them because of ideology, is unconscionable IMO.

That my kid’s school has taken steps to add a level of protection for them from the reality of individuals who might wish to do them harm (and who could walk into a “gun-free” zone with almost complete impunity) is what makes them feel safer. And as long as there remains sick minds loose in the world, I’m fine with it. And apparently the kids are also.

I know you and I are on opposite positions on this Ms. Mod. And that’s okay (I guess that’s the dialogue SK is looking for). I realize you probably think some of my ideas are dangerous, but realize I feel the same about yours. I just want to protect our kids as fast and feasible as possible, and I feel arming school personnel by training them to become reserve-officers fits that bill.

That it's stopping there is what's worrying me. The problem will never get resolved for the future if we lull ourselves into complacency thinking guns are the solution.