26 dead in Connecticut

[Lacquer Head]

As most of us have seen, there's been another school shooting in America. But this time, a 24ish year old gun man walked into a K-4 Elementary school dressed all in black with two pistols, walked into his mothers classroom and started shooting. I assume killing his mother was his main motivation, whatever that might have been...but it just seems incomprehensible to think that a person could kill 18 unknown children in cold blood.The thought filled me with anger for a bit, but it made me think, who's really to blame? The guy was obviously mentally ill, and I can't imagine it not being severe to go through something like this. So I really can't place the blame on him. It's the various different systems that either failed to diagnose the problems or just ignored them out right. We feel the need to spend all of our money on prisons and such, but very little on actual prevention and rehabilitation methods. This should be stopped before it starts.

Thoughts?

[Yoko]

If there's one thing I absolutely love about this forum, its the fact th we never seem to fail to keep updated on current events. I come here and its like reading a newspaper.

I heard about this at work. I was shocked, but as far as the recent news goes as of late, I'm not surprised. The American Society needs more support in the Mental Illness department. If this isn't a clear indication, I don't know what is. If it is as it is up here, in order to get any kind of support, something dire and deadly needs to happen in order for people to react. The thing is.....deadly situations like this happen all the freakin time. People aren't getting the help they need. Whatever their reasons are.

You say it should stop before it starts. People have been doing this since the thought of violence entered the human mind. There are many many mentally ill people out there. How do you stop it then?

[Lacquer Head]

It all starts with proper research. This stuff SHOULD be spotted within 24 years. I understand that not all mentally ill people are obvious, a lot try to hide it, but I do believe with proper work and research, a lot of this can be controlled. Instead of throwing people in prison for the rest of their life to solve nothing, why not take people like the batman shooter in as a research subject?

[ziroth]

I think we all read a little too much into this and it causes some people to lose trust in the schools and ask for things we dont need... Like security or teachers being armed which is quite silly in my view. I think we should enforce metal detectors in all schools and have the doors locked and entry allowed only by comms inside. Some schools in bad neighborhoods have these. Yet I believe all schools should, this might help prevent dumb things like this from happening.
Also If I was a parent whom lost my child like this.. I would sue the school board. It is in a way their fault for such a man to enter the premises. The very least they could do is compensate for the funeral, that should be a given.

[Leon]

Innocent lives were taken today. I would go on a rant about gun control but I'll just do a quick summary. Why is it so hard to afford health care - probably the kind this man needed if he was indeed mentally ill - yet so easy to get a gun? I understand people needing guns to protect themselves, I won't argue with that. I'm just saying don't make it so easy for people to get them.

I do feel bad for the innocent children involved. It just boils my blood to hear about actual children being killed in cold blood.

[ziroth]

I never even had that thought pop in my mind! "Gun Control" Maybe there should be a Terms and conditions of owning a gun, say as too having a complete pysch evaluation to see if your mentally stable enough to own a gun. That might clam things down a bit. I feel such sympathy towards these kids for my little brother and sister are still in school and if such a thing occured to them.. I dont think Im fit to handle those emotions.

[Alpha]

It's a matter of priorities, and in terms of gun control, the States has its priorities the wrong way around. This cartoon reflects my views:



It's not even a matter of banning guns, just having sensible controls on who can own them, the checks that have to be performed to get them, the amount of monitoring that goes into ensuring that these checks are performed, how often licenses have to be renewed, the type of guns/ammunition that can be owned, limiting the number of guns, and so on. Don't tell me that 'this is already happening' -- that may be so, but it's clearly not working, or else this wouldn't be all over my News Feed.

Oh, and universal healthcare.

[Yoko]

Universal healthcare only goes so far. After a certain age up here, those without company benefits have to fend for themselves as far as perscriptions go. They can go to a doctor and be diagnosed for depression or whatever is bothering them, but they can't get the medication needed past what their parent's benefit plan provides. I'm not sure how it works in the States, but that's how it works here.

What Sir Laucqer said...its all about research. There is a whole ocean full of documents online. Millions of books on mental illness. If people would only research, you're probably right. There might not be an issue. However, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Not everyone thinks the same as you and I. People do go astray and it leads to the tragic events of today.

From here, its hard to say what the government should do, but they shouldn't keep turning a blind eye. There is no telling whether it was a family dispute or how he acquired said firearm. The government needs to stop and look at their own country sometimes.

[Lacquer Head]

Gun control will solve gun violence just like the war on drugs is killing all drug use, amiritegaiz? In all seriousness, gun control is fine, but it's really not going to stop anything. You can still buy them underground, on craigslist, etc. No papers. You can also just have some one else buy a gun for you. Gun control is NOT the answer in this case. If there were no guns, people would still kill. Just like the middle ages.

[Heartless Angel]

Though I haven't looked too much into it, I've heard the guy just stole his mother's gun. So yeah, wouldn't have helped here at all to run background checks and psych evaluations on the guy til you're blue in the face, he got a gun he wasn't supposed to have. The overwhelming majority of gun crimes are committed with a gun the offender was not supposed to have. If you're the type of person who is not supposed to have a firearm, you're the kind of person who can and probably will get one anyways.

[Alpha]

Fair points. Universal healthcare it is then.

If there were no guns, people would still kill.

What other ("lower tier") weapon could he have used to cause the same amount of harm? 'If you get rid of guns, people will use knives'. Maybe, but it would take a lot for one crazy dude with a knife to kill a classroom of people. Guns enable violence in a fashion no other form of weapon can or does.

[Clint]

Monsters who murder anybody, let alone children, deserve to be aborted before they're ever born. I don't give a shit if he was mentally ill. That's no excuse to murder innocent people. If he was suffering on the inside, he should have had the common decency to put a gun to his own head and pull the goddamn trigger before shooting anybody else. Unfortunately, he was a miserable asshole, and I'm very glad that he's dead.

That being said, I was very upset when I heard that the shooting happened, especially taking into consideration that this murdering psychopath victimized an elementary school. It's one of the most pathetic things I've ever heard. I don't understand the point of a mass shooting in the first place. What does it accomplish other then setting society back a peg? If stuff like this keeps happening, that 2nd amendment right every American has to bear guns is going to be taken away.

Quite frankly, and unfortunately, due to the action of assholes like this Lanza piece of shit, I believe our right to bear arms should be taken away. Incidents like this keep happening, over and over again. How many people have to die before everybody realizes that nothing good ever comes out of the barrel of a gun? I don't want to fear for my children when they're at school. That's no way to live. School is a place to learn, not to die.

This entire situation is ridiculous and pisses me off, but I can at least be happy in the fact that Adam Lanza is burning in hell, and will continue to burn in agony for the rest of eternity, as he should.

[Lacquer Head]

Explosives are easy to create, conceal and ignite, and they tend to do even more damage. Also, I'm pretty sure a grown man can kill 18 kindergartners with pretty much any weapon.

Off the subject of gun control, I honestly can't comprehend what it would be like to be the parents right now...how could you ever deal with that? I really want to have children one day...just the thought of a 5 year old I don't know just being hurt makes me sick to my stomach...it's just unfathomable.

[Heartless Angel]

What other ("lower tier") weapon could he have used to cause the same amount of harm? 'If you get rid of guns, people will use knives'. Maybe, but it would take a lot for one crazy dude with a knife to kill a classroom of people. Guns enable violence in a fashion no other form of weapon can or does.

A bomb perhaps. Those are easy enough to make. I could make something capable of taking out a classroom and anyone in it with shit in my garage. So could most anyone else if they had the inclination to do so. Not to mention making a gun itself is relatively simple. Granted the average moron isn't going to make an AK-74 in his basement, but putting a small piece of metal in a sealed tube in front of some small explosive force isn't exactly rocket science.

And really, if nobody, including law enforcement had firearms, or other reliable means of projectile weapon, what's to stop a killer from running in with a katana or some shit? Hell, a club. People are fragile, you can kill them with damn near anything if you try hard enough. The only reason most of them have fallen out of favor with criminals, is because law enforcers have guns, and bringing a katana to a gunfight usually wouldn't end well. It doesn't matter what level of technological advancement we have in our weaponry, if law abiding citizens aren't capable of obtaining the same level of armament as criminals, the criminals are capable of killing people in large numbers with little resistance. I'm not saying we need to start handing out guns to everyone or anything, but trying to restrict access to weaponry just isn't going to do anything.

While I'm not on board with universal healthcare in most cases, In the case of psychological care, yeah, that's something worth while, because untreated psychological problems pose a threat to society, not just the health of the afflicted.

[ziroth]

All these problems would be solved then if we just had metal detectors and security guards everywhere then geez lmao! I pitch one scenario and you all take it for miles rolling down a hill covered in spikes Well We should just bring back certain laws, inhumane ones at that to reinforce fear to the people and government. Like the death sentence in all states hearsay? Also we need to quit with these "He was sentenced to 2 life sentences" Bullshit. What good is that shit? We should just shoot him instead of feeding him, keeping him warm, letting him watch tv and have sexual after hours(in some prisons). This is half the reason we are in debt, for retards behind a desk trying to make themselves look like good, nice, caring humane people. **** that, be a government for once.

[Odin1199]

It'd be very expensive and would require alot of staff, in other words very inconvenient and expensive. I think we shouldn't make a big deal out of this, because these cases are still very rare. If they were more frequent and persistent, then changing gun laws could help, but US is very big and diverse state law wise, so it wouldn't really work anyways. Let's look the truth straight in the eyes. When you have a country drowning in recession, rising unemployment and poverty, these things will happen more frequently. Also look at the movies these days. Nothing but shooting and action. Video games have alot to do with this as well. Biggest problem is recession, anger, and frustration with not being able to live the dream. It effects all aspects of family life, teens included. Oh yeah, and schools aren't strict enough. Students fool around too much, create hostile environments for drugs, bullying and other bad things. Schools, teachers, rules have to be more stricter, less of what students can do, more of what teachers and principals can.

[ziroth]

Well if we have stricter schools and more serious students, then yes in turn we will have less violence. Then again that means higher standards being set and some stupids are not mentally ready for such strict actions. So if we were to go back to this method then it would take years to achieve this, maybe this would even open new opportunities for those less fortunate by allowing more jobs for students of higher education certainly wouldn't be working at Mcdonalds any time soon. Yet even with an education, it isn't a certainty that a job would be so easy to obtain, there will always be competition. With competition comes anger and stress, with anger and stress come jealously and rage. With Jealousy and Rage comes violence and hatred, with violence and hatred comes crime and punishment. Its a never ending cycle, just set at a higher education level. We will never rid of violence, we will only rid of the illiterate

[Lacquer Head]

All these problems would be solved then if we just had metal detectors and security guards everywhere then geez lmao! I pitch one scenario and you all take it for miles rolling down a hill covered in spikes Well We should just bring back certain laws, inhumane ones at that to reinforce fear to the people and government. Like the death sentence in all states hearsay? Also we need to quit with these "He was sentenced to 2 life sentences" Bullshit. What good is that shit? We should just shoot him instead of feeding him, keeping him warm, letting him watch tv and have sexual after hours(in some prisons). This is half the reason we are in debt, for retards behind a desk trying to make themselves look like good, nice, caring humane people. **** that, be a government for once.

I'm pretty sure the homicidal guy that plans to kill HIMSELF wont be deterred by the death penalty. Most people that commit crimes don't do it because there's a lesser punishment, their whole plan is usually to AVOID said punishment. Eye for an eye is never the answer. We should try to LEARN instead of blindly punish.

It'd be very expensive and would require alot of staff, in other words very inconvenient and expensive. I think we shouldn't make a big deal out of this, because these cases are still very rare. If they were more frequent and persistent, then changing gun laws could help, but US is very big and diverse state law wise, so it wouldn't really work anyways. Let's look the truth straight in the eyes. When you have a country drowning in recession, rising unemployment and poverty, these things will happen more frequently. Also look at the movies these days. Nothing but shooting and action. Video games have alot to do with this as well. Biggest problem is recession, anger, and frustration with not being able to live the dream. It effects all aspects of family life, teens included. Oh yeah, and schools aren't strict enough. Students fool around too much, create hostile environments for drugs, bullying and other bad things. Schools, teachers, rules have to be more stricter, less of what students can do, more of what teachers and principals can.

This happens more frequently than you give it credit for, it's not always a school shooting, but there are plenty of murders every day. I do agree that such extreme measures are not viable when we can't even afford to keep out schools OPEN. Strictness doesn't help a damn thing. Teachers that actually care about a students welfare is what's needed, being strict just makes breaking the rules that much funner. This is basically the same logic used with the war on drugs IE a complete phail.

I still don't see how this is even related to a mentally ill person vOv

[Zargabaath]

I wont quote people b/c it is too damn hard with my phone to move the cursor. So I shall state some points.

As HA mentioned, Lanza killed his mother then took her guns so there was no background check, if any would have been at all done on him if he were to purchase. (I don't know CT gun laws.) Second gun laws only stop law abiding citizens from getting certain types of guns. Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws yet homicides were up 35% for the year (this was during the summer) b/c of gang violence which was getting really bad. Criminals don't care about gun laws. Or do those who favor gun laws only care about preventing massacres which are done by non gang members. Cause people die from gang violence everyday and I don't see the outrage over that. Do we just ignore that? Gun laws were less strict back in the day, yet stuff like this did not happen. It is more of the culture, the lack of respect for life that may be a root cause.

Mayor Bloomberg is a big advocate for gun control and nyc has some tough gun laws. My dad told me one fellow who responded underneath an article about a gang killing with, "didn't that guy know that, that gun is outlawed?" B/c it is a joke to think gun laws will help. It will adversely hurt good citizens who.can't defend themselves.

A weird fact is his mother had nothing to do with that school. Initial reports were wrong. That area has had only one other homicide in the past ten years. It is a really good area, an affluent town, like Scarsdale, NY (which perhaps only pete may know here). In order to enter that school a guest needs to be buzzed in. Lanza broke the glass near the door and opened it using the inside handle. The principal and school pyschiatrist ran out to when they heard the commotion which is when he killed them. So I don't fault the school. Besides why should we fault them when it was Lanza who did the killing. Society should stop trying to blame as many as possible and instead focus on the actual perpatrator. Lanza killed those people. Not the school.

Another note, massacres in the US were done from the 90s to the 2000s by about 20 cases. So they are as prevalent. However the world is connected on a level like never before, along with 24 hour nees cycle and social media that it appears to happen more frequently.

[Tiffany]

I've been coming back to this thread trying to figure out if I wanted to say anything. As a parent myself with a kiddo who's very close to the age range of what that asswipe did is really unsettling, and I can't help but look at her and have my heart wrench for the parents who lost their kiddos. I'm having a super hard time wrapping my mind around it. I suppose you can't rationalize irrational behaviour though.

I also keep seeing all these "stats" float around FB, how its like under a 100 handgun shootings in other places of the world but like over 1000 or something like that from the States. I'm not familiar with gun laws down there other than the "right to bare arms" stuff so of course those stats have to be taken with a grain of salt.

I would like to know what exactly IS the gun laws in the States. I know here (only because my husband's family is military and we've talked about it) the gun itself has to be stored in a locked box in one location, bullets in another and the mechanism that fires the gun (no idea what that is) has to be secured in a different location as well. Hubby says that responsible gun owners also have different combinations or keys for each of those 3 things too.

In finding out that this guy used his Mom's guns I guess that'd be a moot point - I read online that she was the one who taught them how to shoot so even if those precautions were in place it'd still happen as he would know the combinations or have access to the keys to get them out.

I don't know if NO guns are the answer, but perhaps stuff like that where everything has to be separate would help? You can't keep everyone from having a gun but I don't know... it does seem kind of off that guns like that are readily accessible to someone. I'm just surmising though, since the dipshit killed himself not sure we'll ever know just how he got access to the firearms.

Those poor children and families. It breaks my heart.

[the_savior21]

It is my understanding that the gun laws vary between states for example in Illinois, my home state, you need to be just own a foid card (firearm owner identification card) and take certain gun safety classes. You cannot purchase a gun if you are not 21 years of age but my little brother who is only 16 has a foid card. In other states such as Missouri for instance, there is a law known as the conceal and carry. The conceal and carry law allows a licenced individual to conceal a weapon on his person for things such as protection. Obviously things like background checks, safety classes and operation classes are needed to acquire a licence. The point is firearm laws vary between states and could be very different in big city areas such as New York or Los Angeles.

[Tiffany]

Thank you!

So theoretically if your state had stricter gun laws, then you could go to a different state and get what you needed there? I wonder if Federal Mandated laws that are the same in each State would help a bit?

Obviously people kill people, guns just help. But it does seem a bit off to me that there is a glaring difference between gun deaths in the US versus gun deaths in every other country. But again you can't tell who the maniac is going to be, and just because guns aren't involved doesn't mean that people can't be stabbed or blown up with explosives.

[Zargabaath]

What other ("lower tier") weapon could he have used to cause the same amount of harm? 'If you get rid of guns, people will use knives'. Maybe, but it would take a lot for one crazy dude with a knife to kill a classroom of people. Guns enable violence in a fashion no other form of weapon can or does.

Coincidently, on the same day, over in china a person injured 22 people in a school with a knife. While none were killed it can happen. Those with intent to harm will find a way.

[the_savior21]

I 100 percent agree with you. I am not an anyway trying to justify that he should have had a gun or anything like that. He was obviously deranged and shouldn't have had a gun by any means. I only was explaining what i know about Americas firearm laws.

This is a tragedy by anyone's definition and this guy obviously needed help. I can't imagine how the people with lost loved ones must feel.

[Tiffany]

I think it shows the glaring difference between guns and knives though. Obviously I'd never want anything to happen to anyone, period. But if I had to have a choice, I'd rather it be a knife where the kids (while traumatized and having to heal) are at least alive. Their families will still have them in their lives, if that makes sense?

The kids in CT are gone forever.


I agree as well, people with intent to harm will find a way. So sad.

[Martin]

I suppose that, all told no matter what anyone says about it, this is a heartbreaking and very emotional situation. The list of names now published gives the situation such a terrible reality - when you stop to think of the 20 boys and girls having their entire lives snatched away, with most if not all having Christmas presents under the tree that will never be unwrapped.. It would drive a heart of stone to tears.
I've always been an advocate for sympathy and empathy with those suffering from a mental disorder of some description, but sometimes you just have to take stock and realise that no matter what, some crimes against humanity can never be explained away. I had a friend once who if as the media proclaims to be true had the same disorder that the killer had - basically a split personality, is that right? Now when you see someone with a split personality on television or in films, they're almost always two different people within one mind. Such a pathetic and misinformed description. James basically had one side that was extremely talkative and one side that was painfully shy. Psychoanalysis deemed that to be a split personality, but he was still at all times, James and I can't for the life of me think he would ever snap and kill children. It's tarring with the same brush. And that's why I'm so angry and downright furious that this abhorrent specimen Lanza will tarnish and stigmatize mental health problems once more.
I can almost predict the argument switching from gun legislation to mental health and it's another aspect of this tragedy. I don't know if gun reform is the answer. Guns and the right to bear arms are so entrenched in the American psyche that it's an intrinsic human right almost to be able to arm oneself. I also know it's a convoluted system that as mentioned above is governed by individual state law. Federally something might happen (and I have to admit as an American studier of great detail I hope it does) but what is to say that it will be favoured by all the states themselves? Will there be complaints from the NRA regarding how it will affect businesses and livelihoods? You'd hope not. You'd hope there was common decency. And then you read something like this:

'Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, said that, if there had been armed teachers in the school in Newtown, the tragedy might have been reduced. "Gun control supporters have the blood of little children on their hands. Federal and state laws combined to ensure that no teacher, no administrator, no adult had a gun at the Newtown school where the children were murdered," Pratt said in a statement.'

This was taken from the Guardian newspaper (UK) and the link to the article is here. Such an incredibly shameful statement and designed to inflame those suffering. Would you like to turn places of free thought and learning into prisons? Is that what is going to have to happen to protect the young from those seeking to do harm to them?

Whatever happens.. Think of the families that are suffering. They are in my thoughts, and deserve nothing but the utmost privacy and respect at this simply horrible time.

[Tiffany]

I suppose that, all told no matter what anyone says about it, this is a heartbreaking and very emotional situation. The list of names now published gives the situation such a terrible reality - when you stop to think of the 20 boys and girls having their entire lives snatched away, with most if not all having Christmas presents under the tree that will never be unwrapped.. It would drive a heart of stone to tears.
I've always been an advocate for sympathy and empathy with those suffering from a mental disorder of some description, but sometimes you just have to take stock and realise that no matter what, some crimes against humanity can never be explained away. I had a friend once who if as the media proclaims to be true had the same disorder that the killer had - basically a split personality, is that right? Now when you see someone with a split personality on television or in films, they're almost always two different people within one mind. Such a pathetic and misinformed description. James basically had one side that was extremely talkative and one side that was painfully shy. Psychoanalysis deemed that to be a split personality, but he was still at all times, James and I can't for the life of me think he would ever snap and kill children. It's tarring with the same brush. And that's why I'm so angry and downright furious that this abhorrent specimen Lanza will tarnish and stigmatize mental health problems once more.
I can almost predict the argument switching from gun legislation to mental health and it's another aspect of this tragedy. I don't know if gun reform is the answer. Guns and the right to bear arms are so entrenched in the American psyche that it's an intrinsic human right almost to be able to arm oneself. I also know it's a convoluted system that as mentioned above is governed by individual state law. Federally something might happen (and I have to admit as an American studier of great detail I hope it does) but what is to say that it will be favoured by all the states themselves? Will there be complaints from the NRA regarding how it will affect businesses and livelihoods? You'd hope not. You'd hope there was common decency. And then you read something like this:

'Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, said that, if there had been armed teachers in the school in Newtown, the tragedy might have been reduced. "Gun control supporters have the blood of little children on their hands. Federal and state laws combined to ensure that no teacher, no administrator, no adult had a gun at the Newtown school where the children were murdered," Pratt said in a statement.'

This was taken from the Guardian newspaper (UK) and the link to the article is here. Such an incredibly shameful statement and designed to inflame those suffering. Would you like to turn places of free thought and learning into prisons? Is that what is going to have to happen to protect the young from those seeking to do harm to them?

Whatever happens.. Think of the families that are suffering. They are in my thoughts, and deserve nothing but the utmost privacy and respect at this simply horrible time.

WOW. That bolded part legitimately shocked me!

I agree too, the right to have guns IS a big part of the american culture. In a Mom's group that I'm a part of a lady on there (from the states, lives abroad now) actually has already purchased a gun for her 15 month old baby. I fail to see the need in that, of course she will wait until her kid is old enough to use it... but why the need to buy one now?

I dunno, I just don't understand it.

[Heartless Angel]

I don't know if gun reform is the answer. Guns and the right to bear arms are so entrenched in the American psyche that it's an intrinsic human right almost to be able to arm oneself. I also know it's a convoluted system that as mentioned above is governed by individual state law. Federally something might happen (and I have to admit as an American studier of great detail I hope it does) but what is to say that it will be favoured by all the states themselves? Will there be complaints from the NRA regarding how it will affect businesses and livelihoods? You'd hope not. You'd hope there was common decency. And then you read something like this:

'Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, said that, if there had been armed teachers in the school in Newtown, the tragedy might have been reduced. "Gun control supporters have the blood of little children on their hands. Federal and state laws combined to ensure that no teacher, no administrator, no adult had a gun at the Newtown school where the children were murdered," Pratt said in a statement.'

This was taken from the Guardian newspaper (UK) and the link to the article is here. Such an incredibly shameful statement and designed to inflame those suffering. Would you like to turn places of free thought and learning into prisons? Is that what is going to have to happen to protect the young from those seeking to do harm to them?

I fail to see what is indecent about stating a position in an argument. And a valid one at that. If a teacher was allowed to carry a concealed firearm, odds are significantly higher that this guy would've been stopped. Not a certainty by any means, but armed civilians can resist a criminal a lot better than an unarmed civilian can.

If you want to talk about inflaming those suffering, imagine how somebody who is pro second amendment rights feels when somebody tries to use a tragedy involving their family to try to further a political agenda to remove their rights. Using somebody's tragedies to try to rally the masses with worthless rhetoric, now THAT'S shameful. The world isn't divided into 'good guys' who share your opinions and 'bad guys' who don't, there are shades of gray all throughout, many people holding many beliefs, for many reasons.

I fail to see how you get prison out of armed teachers. People carry concealed firearms for self defense, not so they can threaten everyone they see with a firearm. Having a gun tucked away ready to take out an armed psychopath is not that same as holding students at gunpoint while teaching them. There is absolutely no comparison between armed civilians prepared to defend themselves, and prisons.

[Lacquer Head]

1. Even if all guns were COMPLETELY illegal doesn't make them magically vanish. You can easily access guns no matter the law. A trained knife/sword user could be just as dangerous to a class of kindergartners as a dude with a gun.

2. There are different forms of split personality disorder and such, just because you know one guy that isn't as extreme doesn't mean the next guy will be just as lax.

3. The last thing you need are children caught in the crossfire of a shoot out with teachers and some gunmen.

Going after one weapon is just moronic, it's basically an excuse to look like some action is being taken. As I've stated before, there are PLENTY of weapons less and more dangerous than guns. Some being illegal, yet incredibly easy to make. Please explain to me how a homicidal/suicidal mentally ill person is going to be persuaded to make a bomb or whatever because it's a nono? I believe that gun control is a good thing, we shouldn't just hand them the **** out, and that's not at all "TAKIN' ERR SECUND AMERNDMEN' RAHTS!" but it's not going to stop CRIMINALS.

[the_savior21]

Thats exactly why conceal and carry is a good law voice implemented. The fact that weather its illegal or not its still easy to get access to a gun. Either way killers will be out there with that logic wouldn't it be logical for the sane to be able to protect themselves and others around them?