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Subscribe to RSSAfter a week of calls for tighter gun restrictions, the National Rifle Association called for putting more armed security officers in the nation's schools and expressed concerns about violence portrayed in video games, movies and music. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre blamed Hollywood, video games music, the courts and more on Friday for creating a culture of violence in the United States.
“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” he said at a Washington press event, adding, “With all the money in the federal budget can’t we afford to put a police officer in every single school?”
LaPierre made his lengthy statement to the press one week after the shooting that killed 20 children and six adults at a school in Newtown, Conn.
Protesters twice interrupted LaPierre, who will appear this Sunday exclusively on NBC's "Meet the Press," holding signs reading "NRA KILLING OUR KIDS," and screaming that the gun rights group has "blood on its hands."
He said that elected officials had no authority to deny Americans the right and the ability to protect themselves and their families from harm.
And he noted that there are millions of active and retired police officers, military veterans, and private security guards – “an extraordinary corps of patriotic, trained, qualified citizens” – who should devise a protection plan for every school.
“I call on Congress today to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation,” he said.
Disbelief in some quarters after NRA urges armed guards in schools
He said that laws that established gun-free school zones have had the effect of telling “every insane killer in America that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk.”
LaPierre said America has left its schoolchildren “utterly defenseless -- and the monsters and the predators of the world know it and exploit it.”
He criticized Congress for not creating a national database of the mentally ill and called for increased federal prosecution of those who illegally possess guns.
LaPierre did not indicate that the NRA would support any additional restrictions on the sale or possession of guns. He ridiculed the idea that “one more gun ban or one more law imposed on peaceful, lawful people will protect us where 20,000 other laws have failed.”
Meet the Press moderator David Gregory says he will ask the NRA's Wayne LaPierre whether or not he's open to having a broader discussion about gun violence with President Obama.
He assailed the news media which he said had “demonized gun owners.”
And he said “the next Adam Lanza” is “waiting in the wings” and argued that copycat killers are encouraged by “a national media machine that rewards them with wall-to-wall attention and a sense of identity that they crave.”
He also criticized the video game industry and Hollywood movie studios for films such as “American Psycho” and “Natural Born Killers.”
Do you agree with the NRA's Wayne LaPierre? Sound off on the MTP Facebook page.
On Wednesday President Barack Obama asked Vice President Joe Biden to lead an effort that includes members of the Cabinet and outside organizations to devise concrete legislative gun restriction proposals by next month, “proposals that I then intend to push without delay,” Obama said.
He said he would “use all the powers of this office to help advance efforts aimed at preventing more tragedies” such as the shootings in Connecticut.
House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday said, “When the vice president's recommendations come forward, we'll certainly take them into consideration.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the author of the 1994 ban on certain types of semiautomatic firearms which expired in 2004, announced this week that she will introduce new legislation early next year.
Semiautomatic firearms, including semiautomatic weapons sometimes called “assault weapons,” fire one round per pull of the trigger.
Her bill would outlaw the sale, transfer, importation and manufacture of more than 100 specifically-named firearms as well as certain semiautomatic rifles, handguns and shotguns that can accept a detachable magazine and semiautomatic rifles and handguns with a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds.
Feinstein would also outlaw large-capacity ammunition magazines capable of accepting more than 10 rounds.
Her measure would also “grandfather” weapons legally possessed on the date of enactment and exempt more than 900 specifically-named weapons used for hunting and sporting purposes, according to a statement from her office on Monday.
The number of murders committed with guns has declined sharply in the past 20 years.
The rate of firearms-related murders in 2011 was 3.2 per 100,000 people. In 1993 the rate of firearms-related murders was 6.6 per 100,000 people. The number of firearms-related murder victims dropped from more than 17,000 in 1993 to 9,903 in 2011.
Yet the shootings in Connecticut have raised the possibility that Congress might enact restrictive legislation that would incorporate the 1994 ban as well as measures to increase funding for treatment of mentally ill people.
It is not yet clear what specific legislation, in addition to Feinstein’s bill, will be proposed in Congress and which measures Obama would throw his weight behind.
He did say during the second debate with his Republican opponent Mitt Romney that he wanted to see “if we can get an assault weapons ban reintroduced. But part of it is also looking at other sources of the violence. Because frankly, in my home town of Chicago, there's an awful lot of violence and they're not using AK-47s. They're using cheap hand guns.”
He added, “What I want is a comprehensive strategy. Part of it is seeing if we can get automatic weapons that kill folks in amazing numbers out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. But part of it is also going deeper and seeing if we can get into these communities and making sure we catch violent impulses before they occur.”
The outcome of legislative efforts in the Senate may well be determined by Democratic senators from states where there’s strong support for the rights of gun owners.
Following the school shooting tragedy in Newtown, Conn., Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, says "vicious, violent video games" like "Mortal Combat" and "GTA," along with "blood-soaked films" like "Natural Born Killers," "bring criminal cruelty into our homes each and every day."
Sen. Joe Manchin, D- W.W., who was just re-elected in November, has given mixed signals on his readiness to support restrictions on semiautomatic weapons.
Manchin said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Monday that, “I’m a proud NRA member and always have been. But we need to sit down and move this dialogue to a sensible, reasonable approach…. I don`t know anyone in the sporting or hunting arena that goes out with an assault rifle. I don`t know anybody that needs 30 rounds in a clip to go hunting.”
But two days later in an interview with West Virginia talk radio host Hoppy Kercheval, Manchin seemed to edge away from his statement on Monday. Manchin said he was “not supporting a ban on anything. I'm supporting a conversation on everything."
When Kercheval asked Manchin if he regretted what he’d said on Morning Joe. "I'm saying it more articulate today," Manchin replied.
In addition to Manchin and another centrist Democrat, senator-elect Joe Donnelly of Indiana who has received NRA backing in past elections, there are half dozen Democratic senators up for re-election in 2014 who represent states that are more protective of gun owners’ rights, for example, Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, and Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska.
A long-dormant national conversation about guns has reignited: some are calling for an assault weapons ban while other feel guns themselves aren't the root of the problem. So far the shootings have sparked several gun buy-back programs and even an anti-gun video organized by big-city mayors – but the NRA says it's the entertainment industry that is partly to blame. NBC's John Yang reports.
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All deaths are regrettable...
We always look for quick answers and fixes...
Deaths of children especially break our hearts...
Numbers represent facts vs.emotions...
Leading causes of children deaths...
Natural causes - 23,094
Motor vehicle - 6,466
Child abuse/neglect - 2,000 reported up to 4,000 suspected
Fires - 1,946
Suicide (15~19 year-olds only) - 1,621
Suffocation - 1,580
Homicide firearm - 1,242
Drowning - 1,236
Other accidents - 238
Accidental firearm - 174
All children need our support, help and protection...let's not get distracted by what gets the reporters attention there are many areas we need to focus on.
I like to take the middle ground on contentious issues. Do everything the NRA proposes, AND ban assault rifles and hi capacity clips. Nothing will be more effective.
When someone kills a person with a knife, do we call it knife violence? When someone gets murdered by a baseball bat do we call it bat violence? When someone gets the strangled to death by a piece of rope, it is still violence. Violence is violence no matter what instrument is used to commit it. The claim that the media, movies and video games have something to do with the epidemic of violence may have some basis in fact. Why do we rate movies and say some of them are unfit for children to watch? Children can be affected negatively by such movies. I think some adults can also be adversely affected by the violence they see in the movies, news or in video games. Unfortunately this kind of stuff sells. Violence sells the news and many other things. If people keep buying it and watching it, they will keep selling it. For me this nothing to do with politics. I cannot vote yet. If I could I would have voted for Obama. I still would even if he passes more regulation controlling gun ownership. I do not see that as the solution to this problem. We need to take a long hard look at ourselves as a society and ask the hard questions. Where is all this violence coming from?
What is now called the United States was land taken from the Native Americans. The slaves brought here from Africa were taken by force. The second Iraq conflict was undertaken on the flimsy pretense of them having WMDs. Violence is and has been part of the American way of life. The violence is the symptom not the disease. If we want to fix this we need to have national dialogue on how to become more peace loving as a nation.
I don't think putting guards in the schools is the answer either. Schools are targets because they are vulnerable. If we put guards at schools, anyone planning a deadly attack like the one in Newtown will just pick an easier target. Many may think that banning "assault weapons" and high capacity magazines will stop massacres like this from ever happening again. I think not. Anyone planning something evil is not going to be concerned about what the law says. That person will still be able to acquire such a weapon because there are already so many of them around. If we would really want to have an impact on availabilty then we should outlaw ALL guns even the ones already out there. If that ever happened then we would have to stop calling America the land of the FREE.
So what I'm really saying is stop the knee jerk reaction.Stop looking for a scapegoat and start searching for a rational solution rather than one based on emotion.
Tax the NRA and tax them big.
Everyone in America is being taxed big in case you haven't noticed
Tax them for the armed guards they want in schools and public places.
Last year Japan, a country of 127 million, had 8 gun related deaths. Eight. We had more than 10000. Their kids are watching the same movies and playing the same video games our kids do. The difference is gun control. We can ignore the facts but numbers don't lie.
We also had a larger percentage of our children die from all causes...
In the U.S., the death rate for children younger than 5 is 7 per 1,000 births, on a par with Bosnia and Herzegovina. A child in the U.S. is 3 times as likely as a child in Iceland, Japan, Sweden or Norway to die before the age of 5. Forty countries perform better than the U.S.
Far more than from firearms...where is the uproar that in the US we are behind 40 other countries in our under 5 year olds deaths...lets give equal attention to these preventable, inexcusable deaths of our children.
sartre - The culture of Japan is quite different than that of America, for one. But even in the case of cultural differences, violence does have an impact over time. There has been an increase in crime over the last decade in Japan which include gang growth and activity, sex crimes that they attribute to an influx of pornography, etc. Japan also has the death penalty and applies it with little delay after persons are found guilty for crimes to which the death penalty applies.
No, the difference is culture, punishment and accountability for ones own actions. There is a HUGE cultural difference in Japan. They do utilize the death penalty. A murderer in Japan is looked at as a disgrace to the family and is often disowned by their family.
You should research the cultural side of Japan before you judge numbers out of context and remove the relevant factors that contribute to the numbers.
The problem with the US is culture and accountability. No one has to be responsible for their actions. We have some acronym for a disorder you can effectively blame for anything you do. As long as we keep allowing that and not hold people accountable for themselves, this is what will continue to happen.
Left, you wanted paddling out of school, you got it.
Left, you wanted God out of school, you got it.
Left, you wanted Prayer out of school, you got it.
Left, you wanted the death penalty gone, you got it. (most states)
Left, you wanted it and you got it. This is the bed you made. Sleep tight.
Maybe you should look to the RIGHT a little. Your methods are not working. Look at crime statistics since the mid-80's when paddling was removed from schools. Look at kids (and their parents) today and how they blame everything but their own actions on their failures. Look at the disrepect in our modern culture. Everyone has SOMETHING to blame.
To get the crime rates down, we must insist on a culture of excellence. We must punish (even death penalty) those who commit crimes. Sure, we may get one or two innocent people along the way and that is terrible and tragic. But once society sees we are not going to tolerate this type of thing, less and less issues like this will occur.
It's time we actually give teeth to the words "tough on crime."
Also there are practically no blacks in the countries you mentioned. Politically incorrect to say that but true...where you have alot of blacks, you have alot of crime.
OMG this would be funny if it weren't so tragic: Wayne says the answer to too many guns out there is....surprise!....more guns out there. Kicking myself for thinking the NRA might have had something realistic, something worthwhile to contribute to this conversation, even as more victims are buried today in Newtown.
John S - Much like saying the answer to debt is more debt?
alim-2810059,
No one said the only answer is more debt-where'd you get that?
Also, seems you aren't concerned that we have killed and nearly killed innocent people in this country with the dealth penalty-that is why we have appeals to try to guard against that! Lastly, funny how an organization and it's supporters are now throwing the 1st Amendment under the bus and want censorship in favor of guns! Tons of people watch violence and never act violently (sounds like the same argument gun owners are making, doesn't it?)
OBOGOTTAGO, GOOD FOR YOU But, the fact is we do not need 30 shot clips or 14 shot magazines, we do not need AR 15's availble to the public. Maybe you like shooting it but what is wrong with a henry rifle for target practice, Takes more skill. Yes we need better monitoring of mentally ill types but that is so much harder than just getting rid of the worst of the weapons. It has to be a multi-pronged approach but one part of that is to get rid of these weapons.
Henry rifle. Funny, the shooter left that at home. Along with the Marlin 22 he shot his mother in the head and killed her with.
I have a question, what's wrong with HOLDING PEOPLE RESONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS, rather than punishing law abiding, voting, tax paying, working Americans because we have a few whackos out there and half the population that won't accept FULL responsibility for themselves?
Semi-automatic firearms have been around for over 115 years, and high capacity magazines have been around for over half that time. What is different now? It's not the firearms, but the culture. Change the culture by not infringing upon the Constitution.
Guns have been able to shoot 50 rounds in 50 seconds for 50 years? Seriously?
How come these last four attackers have used these same types of weapons and not a handgun? Because they know they can get off a lot of rounds quickly.
Jed7
Yes. Longer, in fact. Durring the roaring 20's, a favorite weapon of the gangster was the "Chicago Typewriter". Early models, like the ones gangsters used, and the ones anyone could buy from a magazine ad through the mail, had a rate of fire of 1,000 rounds per minute. They were eventually toned down, so by WWII, they only fired 680 rounds per minute. These were .45 APC rounds. Twice as big as ones the AR15 fires, but less powerful.
Clyde Barrow, (Bonnie and Clyde), preferred to use a BAR. (Browning Automatic Rifle). Again, these were available to anyone who could afford it, and sold out of a magazine ad. The rate of fire was between 500-650 rounds per minute, depending on the model you chose. It fired a 30-06 rifle cartridge. Larger and more powerful than the AR15.
Guns in the past were able to fire at incredibly fast speeds. After WWI, the Geneva Convention limited the number of rounds they were able to fire per minute.
Both the guns listed were fully automatic, and available to civilians, by mail, from magazine ads.
So yes, guns have been able to shoot 50 rounds in 50 seconds for 50 years.
The NRA and gun huggers are full of bull @!$%#ing @!$%#. Ban assult rifles NOW!
Better yet, let's make a law against stealing guns and having massacres!
Big trouble I second that!
You know one country that loves violent video games far more than the U.S.? Japan and look at the huge amount of gun deaths they have... alright, almost none.
Also every other wealthy industrialized country consumes American music, TV, movies and video games and do they have the same rate of shooting deaths at the U.S.? No, its not even close. The one thing these countries do have in common is tougher and much more restrictive gun laws.
Face it, do you want little to no regulation of fire arms? If so a higher rate of gun deaths (like the recent Sandy Hook tragedy) is the price you'll have to pay. Is it worth it?
So they find other means...look at their child suicide rates...
The number of elementary school students who killed themselves doubled from seven to 14. The respective figures for middle and senior high school students increased by 15 (22.7 percent) to 81 and by five (2.3 percent) to 220.
In their suicide notes, 91 mentioned problems at school, an increase of 28.2 percent from 2005 — the largest number since 1998 when the survey of this category began. With or without suicide notes, police attributed school-related problems to 242 suicides, nine more than in 2005. For many children, school has become a hard place in which to survive.
Guns are a symptom...we need to look at the underlying causes.
Everyone should be armed. It is your right, your duty as a patriot!
Yup, give every newborn at the hospital a gun. Start them young. No one ever has road rage. No one ever thinks for a split second to shoot the idiot next to them. Then calms down a second later. But it only takes a second when the gun is next to your hand.
The MEDIA is the # 1 enemy of USA Society. We have a RIGHT under the CONSTITUTION!
So the NRA wants armed guards at schools. Yeah, that may help the crazy kid or parent with a hand gun. But with his own little handgun, he would have been the first victim of Lanza and his assault rifle.
The Danger of Liberal Democrats and gun-free zones
".....Principal Dawn Hochsprung, 47, was shot when she lunged at gunman Adam Lanza in a bid to disarm the killer with her body....."
The Common Sense application of the 2nd Amendment
".....Principle Dawn Hochsprung, 47, conceal carry permit holder, shot armed invader, Adam Lanza 20, twice as he gained entry into the school, luckily only the gunman was killed...."
Get smart. We proved assault weapon bans failed for 10 years in a row from 1994-2004 and in typical fashion that piece of paper failed to stop Columbine. 1 million Floridians have armed themselves and shoot the criminals time and again but the media will not inform the public of the truth.
Are you a denier of Hollywood violence's affects on the public?
Connecticut, Adam was obsessed with violent shooter games
Colorado, Holmes was obsessed with anarchy in Darknight
Arizona, Loughner was obsessed with conspiracies in Zeitgeist
Wash.DC, Hinckley was obsessed with psychopathy in Taxi Driver
Don't let the FACTS stop you from exploiting tragedy low information obama voters
I agree that violent movies and especially video games promote violence. However, these maniacs can easily obtain high capacity rapid fire weapons. It is not just people killing people, it is people with semiautomatic weapons and high capacity magazines that kill people. As someone who has been a shooter since age 5 and owned numerous rifles and hanguns, I see no purpose whatsoever in assault weapons and high capacity magazines other then pure ego. I know of no legitimate sportsman who cannot successfully hunt, target shoot or protect themselves needing more then 10 rounds in a weapon (and probably less).
Taking the attitude that there are to many weapons out there to take the practical approach that not only these weapons should be banned but made illegal is like saying we should not continue to fight drug, should not have freed the slaves, fought the use of tobacco etc.
Personally, I do not want to see a movie called "GUNFIGHT AT THE OK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL"
Patrick in Chadds Ford-
Concerning your #41, your misappropriation of both the name and heroism of Dawn Hochsprung is not surprising. It is merely opportunistic. As I keyboard this, only two have granted you an "up" arrow, so there must be at least some of your point of view who still have a sense of shame.
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"GUNS" have nothing to do with mentally ill people who are compelled to do harm.....
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I don't for two seconds believe a word you said! Firearms have nothing to do with sport!
ANY mature rational adult would instantly know that reality with just a cursory review of our founding documents and their authors.
Patrick in Chadds Ford
Actually, there are guns designed and built specifically for sport. Trap shooting, Skeet shooting and Sporting Clays are just three of them. I own 2 shotguns. One for trap shooting and one for Skeet. Both designed to be good at those sports, and not much else.
Sure, I could shoot someone with my skeet gun, but if they were more than 25-30 feet away, I wouldn't kill them. They would be injured, certainly, but not dead. Extend that range to 40-50 feet for my trap gun. Also, my trap gun holds 1 round. My skeet gun, 2.
No one planing a massacre would use either gun. Neither would a hunter. They were designed and built for a special purpose, and that is for target sports.
Also, our founding fathers didn't expect paparazzi to harass Hollywood stars for their pictures, but they are granted the right of "freedom of the Press". Even though that was intended to stop the government from telling newspapers what they could and couldn't publish.
The constitution is not a modern document. It is ultimately up to the supreme court to apply it to our modern society. And, I want you to think about this:
If we change the constitution to ban guns, what will be banned next? Your right to assemble? Protection from illegal search and seizure. The free press? The right to practice your preferred religion? Because believe me, if you change the constitution to ban guns, you will open a can of worms you will regret. I'd be willing to bet that, 10 years after, you'd be wishing for a gun.
You know to be objective he has a point and I agree that it is part of the problem. I think he was exactly right that the media gets a free pass to some of these other influences. Tell you what I like PC games. I played Call of Duty. In the end I stopped because it really felt creepy. If you never played then you might not know what I am talking about. But for a lot of kids now shooting a guy i the head with a high power rifle is fun. Granted assault weapons and larger clips are also part of the problem but you can't just ignore the points he makes. If you do you are part of the problem.
Independent,
I have a problem with the hypocracy of defending the 2nd Amendment to the extent of not accepting regulations but throwing the 1st Amendment under the bus by wanting to say people can only make and watch certain video games. What about the argument that the vast majority of those that play them never have problems like this, so why take away their rights? They know it's a fantasy and would never act like that, etc. That's the argument I've heard from gun proponents this week: the vast majority are law abiding and would never use guns illegally.
The problem is what they are suggesting"assault weapons ban", is not sensible. We tried it in 1994 and it did absolutely nothing. So, now we are going to do it again already knowing the outcome? Is that not the very definition of insanity? Why do we have fire alarms and sprinkler systems to protect our kids against fire and no cops in schools to protect against criminals. That seems sensible too me.
Great idea put armed guards in the schools. Who will pay? Maybe you and the rest of taxpayers.
JSF80,
Many schools already have armed guards-Colubine did-didn't stop the shooting did it? And Columbine was the only mass shooting we had during the assualt weapons ban. We've had four in the last six months. How do you know it didn't help anything?
What a LOAD OF CRAP. I own a BUNCH of horror films. I listen to metal, and all kinds of music that others would see as "depressing" or "evil".....that is, if you're an insane religious right winger. I used to play so called "violent" video games. They never influenced me. My music never influences me, nor do my movies.
But I don't go around shooting people. I don't even own a gun. Put the blame where it lies, ON THE SHOOTER, and leave our music ALONE! You're just smearing the sane people out there, and you're going to ruin the reputations of GOOD artists.
so what you are saying then everyone that owns an assault rifle does do that. You can not reduce the argument down to the black and white issue. I did those thinks and I don't kill people so that means that anyone that engages in that activity also does not kill people. Don't work that way
Independent,
What they're saying is the same argument gun owners are making: "the vast majority are law abiding and would never use guns illegally, so you shouldn't regulate all of us for a few." How's that different from the video game argument?
Independent, I NEVER said that. Not my fault you misconstrued my meaning. Even if I owned a gun, I wouldn't go on a killing spree.
Thank you Jed7, that was my point. You cannot go blaming music and video games, that's just crazy...it wouldn't surprise me if conservative extremists were behind that part.
Interesting, the NRA calls for more big government and spending as a solution.
Tea Party(Neocons) + NRA = rule of the world by old mean greedy white guys (and a few like Allen West for "right wing integration")
As expected. The NRA could not suck more if it tried.
The kids are killing the NRA! Ban kids before its too late!
Yes, the culture is a problem, however, a high capacity clip in a military grade automatic weapon has the sole purpose of fast and efficient people killing. A shotgun is sufficient for home defense. A revolver is effective for personal defense. An AR-15 is best for mass killing.
I would say a bible, but that's just me.
. . . or the communist (or capitalist) manifesto, or Koran, or Mein Kampf, or the Little Red Book, or the U.S. Constitution, and so on . . . we are killers independent of doctrine. The best we can do is manage the slaughter an individual can do, and maybe hinder the powers that be a little.
This story right now on NBC.
4 people, sounds like the Mayans guessed high
Only when everybody carries a gun and we are all capable of killing each other at a moments notice will we finally be safe!! (NRA Logic extended to the ridiculous)
Anybody remember the movie "Little Murders"?
I agree, plus there are to many ridiculous types of guns out there for people to have.
Ban Crack Cocaine to fix our inner cities....... Ask yourself that same thing when you think banning guns will work in place of arming guards to protect our schools.....
You will never ban a gun or prevent it from coming into the US. You cant prevent a 6 foot tall man from crossing our border, how do you expect to prevent a gun from showing up on our streets?
I would bet that most guns in the hands of any bad guy can be traced back to a law abiding citizen. There is no profit in smuggling guns in from Mexico, we got it covered. We, with the help of the NRA, have successfully flooded this country with weapons that people shouldn't be allowed to own. We can agree that a fully auto is off limits, I say that all semi-autos are off limits.
What angers me more than anything is when people (NRA enabled) are the ones responsible for the flood, now say that they need more weapons to protect themselves from the bad guys they themselves inadvertently armed.
I would be happy to give every gun owner 1 week to hand in their semi-autos, no grandfathering in anyone, and possession thereafter aligns with possession of a machine gun.
James, you and I did this, and it is time to man up about it.
James B Norman,
A lot of schools already have armed guards-Coumbine did-did help there, did it? Someone comes in with a rifle and starts unloading 50 rounds in a minute-the guard at the other end of the building isnt going to be able to stop it.
Video games don't kill people, People do! Movies Don't kill people, people do! If you take away movies, people will just make their own! If you take away video games people will just make their own.
With these people,guns always have a good reason and everyone else is to blame. Yep, everyone else is to blame for the gun culture. The NRA had nothing to do with it. OFC they had something to do with it, right along side culture problems and all that they listed.
Problem is, they would not mind if video games and TV where banned, but don't BAN GUNS! nooooo..
Agreed, people kill people. But the NRA needs to agree that guns make it easier. We Americans are the most violent nation on the planet. Canada has more guns per capita and very very few homicides by comparison.
It is our gun culture that needs to be addressed and that includes the types of guns and clips and ammo we allow ourselves to have. As for the mentally ill, Regan turned them out into the streets by the millions, thank him.
minmn - Our gun culture or our social dysfunction that is the problem here? Hunters and people who own guns for protection aren't the problem. Law abiding people aren't the problem. Whose the problem then? Who are the criminals? Where and how did they learn violence?
'Gun culture' or social ills? Other countries have more guns but less crime?Treat the dis-ease, not the symptoms. I certainly don't have a problem with bans on assault rifles. I do have a problem with misdiognosing the problem to be an inanimate object instead of very animate, violent perpetrators of crime.
alim-2810059
minmn - Our gun culture or our social dysfunction that is the problem here? Hunters and people who own guns for protection aren't the problem. Law abiding people aren't the problem. Whose the problem then? Who are the criminals? Where and how did they learn violence?
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I beg to differ. It was a law abiding citizen's guns that where taken and used to kill 20 children. You might say that she was not responsible, but I am sure that before this she was considered a responsible gun owner. How can any of us be sure that anyone calling themselves a responsable gun owner will not not, yet again, be the source of guns to kill children?
That question is good enough to control guns. No one is suggesting taking all guns away, but we are suggesting control. That is something the 2end amendment dose in fact give the government the right to do. That is why the well REGULATED militia wording was introduced by the founding fathers.
No place in the constitution are any of our rights not limited in some way or not subject to the rights of others.