. How long will Americans tolerate the carnage and devastation left in the wake of mass shootings? Kudos to President Obama for making an appeal-- once again -- for commonsense gun control.
Having seen first hand the horrific aftermath of the Newtown shootings, it's abundantly clear a different approach is needed to prevent the next senseless loss of life. And the answer is not "more guns."
Somewhere in an Oregon hospital, daughters and sons are struggling to survive. Are your 2nd amendment rights more important than their lives?
How long?
October 1st, 2015 at 11:41 pm
October 1st, 2015 at 11:55 pm 1443743709
October 1st, 2015 at 11:58 pm 1443743924
October 2nd, 2015 at 02:17 am 1443752226
Hard work and perseverance, I must respectfully disagree. To me, this will be another example of the failure of our mental health system. It's the guns in the hand of the mentally ill (already illegal) that is the problem. But yet nothing has been done to help families get care for adults with mental illness who reject help. I work for a community college in ohio and it's not the legal gun owners who have passed concealed carry classes (they don't carry them at school, because they are law abiding) it's the mentally Ill we deal with daily. But we all agree this is a tragedy. I pray it never happens again and pray for the students and families at umqua.
October 2nd, 2015 at 02:33 am 1443753192
Parents like Adam Lanza's mother were not forced to go it alone. These violently insane people became wards of the state, even those that were teenagers. As unpleasant as some of those institutions could be, they were necessary to protect society. The safety of the many was considered more important than the rights of a few individuals that were likely to harm people.
If you want to stop lunatic gunmen that want to go out in a hail of bullets as well as the Ted Bundys and Jeffrey Dahmers, you have to decide to remove them from society before the murders happen. All the strict gun control you can legislate won't stop them. Look at China, with all the schoolroom stabbings. The shootings are more dramatic, but the problem is not the weapons, it's the decision to let these people loose to victimize the rest of us.
October 2nd, 2015 at 03:50 am 1443757845
October 2nd, 2015 at 03:51 am 1443757882
October 2nd, 2015 at 04:46 am 1443761204
Pretty much says it all.
October 2nd, 2015 at 07:14 am 1443770089
And while stabbings in China are not a pleasant thought either, someone with knives can do far less damage than anyone with a semi-automatic, military style weapon. There's really no legitimate reason why such lethal weapons need to be so available in America today.
October 2nd, 2015 at 03:00 pm 1443798002
October 2nd, 2015 at 03:05 pm 1443798345
October 2nd, 2015 at 10:50 pm 1443826205
We need comprehensive reform of both gun control and health care.
October 3rd, 2015 at 12:11 am 1443831083
From the reports I've read, it does sound like the gunman did have mental health issues. I think anyone who does something like this probably has mental health issues.
Is the answer putting away everyone who has mental health issues? If so, where do we draw the line? How would we determine those whose illness is possibly harmful to others in the future?
Is the answer stricter gun control laws? I personally HATE guns. My SO has one and he knows how much I don't like that. He feels he needs it for his safety as a delivery driver. He also knows I won't touch it.
If we restrict guns, who are the people who will follow the letter of the law? People who already follow the law - most likely not the people we need to worry about the most. The guns are already out there - those who want it, will find a way to get it.
So, what is the answer? I wish I knew.
One thing I do want to say is that I was very impressed with what the head investigator/sheriff? did - refusing to name the gunman. Refusing to give him that spotlight. Maybe that approach is part of the answer. Putting 100% of our focus and media attention on the victims, and ignoring the offender. Not giving others ideas of becoming infamous.
October 3rd, 2015 at 02:07 am 1443838079
Why can't the US have stricter gun laws if every other country does and has lower gun violence?