people kill people; not guns or knives!!

[PRO NRA]

NO WORDS FOR THIS TRAGEDY.

[Independent]

You should be allowed to have hunting rifles if you hunt & a hand gun for safety, but pray tell me why people need assault weapons in their homes?

[Unbelievable]

Ms Lanza was a school teacher and was a divorcee and well to do. Knowing this Ms Lanza(RIP)had a troubled younger son; to what degree were his mental/emotional issues? We don't know yet but this is what is bothersome to me. A smart, educated teacher didn't have the common sense to ensure the assualt rifle(un fn believable) and the 2 other guns that police carry were locked up or in a safe so tragedies like this don't happen. Responsible gun and assault rifle owner she was not. CT banned assault rifles a while back but she was grandfathered in before the gun laws passed. I blame Ms Lanza. I wonder if she was a responsible teacher? No details yet. Just saddened and sickened by it all. Guess we still haven't learned from the other public shootings. In that town as small as it is, the killer would never have been able to get an assault rifle period. More than likely, there would of been just a few casualties with the 2 guns period. A few casualies still too many. The odds of this happening here in Gaston Co are VERY GOOD.

[Keith F]

Mentally ill and emotionally damaged people with GUNS and knives kill people. To eliminate the guns is not genocide, to get rid of all the people with guns would be genocide. This is a very simple formula. If these weapons of mass destruction were to be outlawed, then those with guns who are not law enforcement could immediately be identified and fired upon without a question of whether they mean harm or not. To have a gun is to mean harm against someone or something. It is very simple. These are instruments of death. Every gun owner carries and probably has training to use an instrument of death. May God forgive us as a nation. But it appears that we are seeing the ramifications of our bad acts. Children dying in our schools. Need it be your child before you agree to take the guns?

[Keith F]

And do not forget that the republican party and NRA are guilty of those children like all the rest dying. The republican party fault valiantly to reduce public programs like mental health, they privatized and put no inspection to the private sector to insure that the mentally ill were being helped, controlled or separated from society. How safe do those politicians feel now? Their goal was to just arm America through the lobbying efforts of the NRA so everyone will have a gun and just shoot at will. Great answer folks, that puts us that much closer to anarchy. Do you think Cheney was mean, intoxicated or just stupid when he shot his friend in the face? And that was a controlled scene with men who had experience using fire arms. Republicans and NRA wants everyone to have those weapons of death. What a great banner to fly....not!

[Keith F]

Independent wrote:

You should be allowed to have hunting rifles if you hunt & a hand gun for safety, but pray tell me why people need assault weapons in their homes?

Guns are not necessary, the danger is too great. We are seeing it played out way to often. Take the guns, get us back to sanity with mental health options for the public. What we have now is failing.

[Keith F]

PRO NRA wrote:

NO WORDS FOR THIS TRAGEDY.

The word is Gun Control. Those are the words. Outlaw private owning and possessing fire arms. that will do it for the long haul. If you protest, then get shot yourself by the law enforcement who are there to take your guns.

[disagree intensely]

Keith F wrote:

<quoted text>
Guns are not necessary, the danger is too great. We are seeing it played out way to often. Take the guns, get us back to sanity with mental health options for the public. What we have now is failing.

while you're at it, take our right to drink alcohol(not necessary but fruits of our labor), take our right to own a gun to protect our loved ones/business(a necessity in todays society as long as you are a responsible gun owner and should be a law to be under lock and key when NOT IN USE,take our privledge to drive(a definite weapon of mass destruction & top it with alcohol). Need I go on? It comes down to mental instability of young teenage boys, young men(98% of perps of mass domestic killings), violent video games and violent movies with assault weapons left and right who are easily swept away by outside influences where all these play a part in this type of mass killings. Usually, there are major signs from six months to the last week just before the killer(s) strike. For example, removes himself from family, friends, drops out of school, a loner-type, nonexistence of love or involvement from parents because they are too busy to take an hour from their schedule and recognize the "stranger in their home" which equates to DENIAL, AND THE THEY WILL SNAP OUT OF IT SYNDROME. It's common sense and the parents today just don't have a clue. Too busy. Cant't even imagine how the survivors, the families of the little angels and brave teachers , and friends are feeling today and the rest of the days of their lives. As the President said"are we still powerless over this type of carnage"? Yes

[Truly Independent]

Independent wrote:

You should be allowed to have hunting rifles if you hunt & a hand gun for safety, but pray tell me why people need assault weapons in their homes?

So how should someone have to prove they are a hunter to own a rifle? That's about the stupidest things I have ever read on here. This term "assault weapon" is about preposterous as well. If you are stabbed with a kitchen knife, is that now considered an "assault weapon". Almost anything can be made an "assault weapon". If you do not believe me, go work in a prison for a week.
The term "assault weapon" is about as redundant as the word "racist". They've both been used so much that they've lost all meaning.

Secondly, in regards to your question about why people need, sigh, "assault weapons", well here is your answer: People need/want "assault weapons" just as you need/want: air conditioning, HDTV, cable, internet, expensive cars, 4 to 5 bedroom homes (for two people), video games, telephones, soda, high fat foods, sugar, salt, alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, tattoos and anything else people enjoy, but yet CAN live without.

If you do not feel the need to justify why you may need or want anything listed above, then don't try to make me, or take what I want, unless you are willing to give up what YOU want.

[TheTruthWord4Wor d]

Yeah I can see where banning guns would be the answer to senseless deaths by firearms. I mean when the government banned crack and heroin that made everyone immediately stop using those drugs, right? Of course that was a little bit of sarcasm there.

How come you people can't realize that when the government bans certain guns it's not going to stop the bad guys from having them, hence the reason why they're called bad guys they don't obey the law. All the banning of these guns will do is make the law abiding citizens get rid of or not purchase anymore of these guns, that's it. There's still going to be school shootings, mall shootings, and workplace shootings all across the country. The bad guys will steal or make these guns if they have to it's not hard to make these rifles. so go ahead and vote to ban these guns and lose one of your freedoms to protect yourself.

[Keith F]

TheTruthWord4Word wrote:

Yeah I can see where banning guns would be the answer to senseless deaths by firearms. I mean when the government banned crack and heroin that made everyone immediately stop using those drugs, right? Of course that was a little bit of sarcasm there.
How come you people can't realize that when the government bans certain guns it's not going to stop the bad guys from having them, hence the reason why they're called bad guys they don't obey the law. All the banning of these guns will do is make the law abiding citizens get rid of or not purchase anymore of these guns, that's it. There's still going to be school shootings, mall shootings, and workplace shootings all across the country. The bad guys will steal or make these guns if they have to it's not hard to make these rifles. so go ahead and vote to ban these guns and lose one of your freedoms to protect yourself.

Try to focus and let's take care of one problem at a time. Anytime you take "law abiding" humans out of the equation it is much easier to identify those outside of the law. You cannot expect a civil society if you legalize all ills of that same society.

[Keith F]

drug users are not out there randomly injecting lethal drugs into other people and cause mass killings. There are individual accountability. However, guns take death by guns accountability away from those killed by them and puts it into the hands of the criminal and mentally ill. Try to focus on one issue at a time. When the topic is muddied by other issues it makes all problems insurmountable.

[Keith F]

Truly Independent wrote:

<quoted text>
So how should someone have to prove they are a hunter to own a rifle? That's about the stupidest things I have ever read on here. This term "assault weapon" is about preposterous as well. If you are stabbed with a kitchen knife, is that now considered an "assault weapon". Almost anything can be made an "assault weapon". If you do not believe me, go work in a prison for a week.
The term "assault weapon" is about as redundant as the word "racist". They've both been used so much that they've lost all meaning.
Secondly, in regards to your question about why people need, sigh, "assault weapons", well here is your answer: People need/want "assault weapons" just as you need/want: air conditioning, HDTV, cable, internet, expensive cars, 4 to 5 bedroom homes (for two people), video games, telephones, soda, high fat foods, sugar, salt, alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, tattoos and anything else people enjoy, but yet CAN live without.
If you do not feel the need to justify why you may need or want anything listed above, then don't try to make me, or take what I want, unless you are willing to give up what YOU want.

at first I judged your listing as Nuts, but second reading I think you are right. Not that you meant to be for the same reason. People in America seem to want what they want no matter who it hurts. Causing harm is irrelevant to the need to satisfy that desire of personal fulfillment. You are right and how sad our America has become when it is about the individual instead of a quality of life that our founders and ancestor dreamed for us thru their sacrifices.

[Malcolm III]

The phrase "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" needs to be modified to:

"Guns don't kill people, people kill people - Guns just make it a whole lot easier".

The only other country I know of that has school shooting problems is Russia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_ho...

And this article really gives you a lot to think about:

http://churchsecuritymember.com/a-review-of-t...

[TheTruthWord4Wor d]

Keith F wrote:

<quoted text>
Try to focus and let's take care of one problem at a time. Anytime you take "law abiding" humans out of the equation it is much easier to identify those outside of the law. You cannot expect a civil society if you legalize all ills of that same society.

The point of my comment is this, just becuase the government might make guns illegal doesn't mean that they won't exist and people won't use them.. I was using the drugs as an example to prove my point. The government made the drugs illegal but they're still on every corner of every street, just like the guns will be if they become illegal. The only difference will be is that the bad guys will have the guns not the good guys. Do you honestly believe that if they ban rifles that they won't exist? Because if you do, you should probably join the rest of society down here on earth. Maybe you should go back and read my comment again and you'll understand it, but this time do with your head out of your back side!!

[Bushman]

Keith F wrote:

And do not forget that the republican party and NRA are guilty of those children like all the rest dying. The republican party fault valiantly to reduce public programs like mental health, they privatized and put no inspection to the private sector to insure that the mentally ill were being helped, controlled or separated from society. How safe do those politicians feel now? Their goal was to just arm America through the lobbying efforts of the NRA so everyone will have a gun and just shoot at will. Great answer folks, that puts us that much closer to anarchy. Do you think Cheney was mean, intoxicated or just stupid when he shot his friend in the face? And that was a controlled scene with men who had experience using fire arms. Republicans and NRA wants everyone to have those weapons of death. What a great banner to fly....not!

They were hunting deer, geese, or some other foul, but not hunting people. It was purely accident just like we have car accidents in parking lots and skiers banging into trees on the slopes; like sonny and kennedy, both experienced but both accidents. Everything could be a weapon. Perps use their bare hands to drown or strangle their victims so let's get off this silly debate.

[THIS IS A FACT JACK]

Senator Fienstein will reintroduce a bill that is the same ban on assault weapons that expired in the 1990's. This ban will pass, just as it did then. Bottom line, don't go wasting your money on these guns that will soon be illegal to possess.

[Hobby vs horror]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/12/17/3...

You don't need to own a weapon capable of mass killing in order to protect your family. If the argument is to own one for the

[concerned citizen]

Truly Independent wrote:

<quoted text>
So how should someone have to prove they are a hunter to own a rifle? That's about the stupidest things I have ever read on here. This term "assault weapon" is about preposterous as well. If you are stabbed with a kitchen knife, is that now considered an "assault weapon". Almost anything can be made an "assault weapon". If you do not believe me, go work in a prison for a week.
The term "assault weapon" is about as redundant as the word "racist". They've both been used so much that they've lost all meaning.
Secondly, in regards to your question about why people need, sigh, "assault weapons", well here is your answer: People need/want "assault weapons" just as you need/want: air conditioning, HDTV, cable, internet, expensive cars, 4 to 5 bedroom homes (for two people), video games, telephones, soda, high fat foods, sugar, salt, alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, tattoos and anything else people enjoy, but yet CAN live without.
If you do not feel the need to justify why you may need or want anything listed above, then don't try to make me, or take what I want, unless you are willing to give up what YOU want.

As so many posts have already stated, this is issue of gun control of "assault weapons", not basic hunting rifles or handguns which by the way are already legally controled.Your relating this to one's right for AC,caffeine,expensive cars, cable(to name a few of your listed items) is ludicrous. People have been killed most recently by these high powered guns with magazine clips that could have inflicted even more damage.Mental health in this country also needs some help as well as gun control. Where is your compassion and care for your fellow humans????

[Truly Independent]

concerned citizen wrote:

<quoted text>
As so many posts have already stated, this is issue of gun control of "assault weapons", not basic hunting rifles or handguns which by the way are already legally controled.Your relating this to one's right for AC,caffeine,expensive cars, cable(to name a few of your listed items) is ludicrous. People have been killed most recently by these high powered guns with magazine clips that could have inflicted even more damage.Mental health in this country also needs some help as well as gun control. Where is your compassion and care for your fellow humans????

My point was that some of these things I have listed were things that people crave, but yet CAN live without. How many deaths each year can be linked directly to alcohol or smoking? Why is there not an outcry for banning or creating stricter regulations for those two things? Peoples' interests vary, so therefore I do not believe that you, nor the government, should infringe upon my constitutional rights just because of a few bad apples out of millions just in this nation alone. The mental health system and gun control are two totally different issues and you, or anyone else, should not intertwine the two. Here's another poor, yet good example: Someone is pulling a double shift at work and to stay awake they drink lots of coffee. On the way home after 16 or more hours, they fall asleep at the wheel and crash, killing themself and possibly another. Do you now blame the driver, or the coffee makers for helping to keep this person awake far past when they normally would have been asleep? I believe that as a society, we are more about finding someone else to blame. We should blame the person, and not their means. We should not punish the majority, in order to serve justice on the minority. You might not be an owner of a gun, or high powered rifles, but find something else you take for granted each day, and then ask yourself how you'd feel if all the sudden someone wanted to take it from you.