Gun Control III

This thread is a continuation of our ongoing discussions regarding gun violence, gun control pro and con, and gun use and abuse incidents that seem all too common in our society today.The prior two threads were:
Gun ControlGun Control AgainPlease start fresh and do not carry any old feuds or arguments over from prior gun control topics. ~Admin Phat
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Speaking personally, I observe that we live in a violent society, one that is often on edge. Witness road rage incidents, mentally disturbed mass shooters, and the growing number of victims. Although a global problem, the NRA and the gun lobby make the United States a unique case. Were I a hunter, perhaps I would feel differently about owning guns. I am not a pacifist, but I DO think that gun violence is getting out of hand in America. Edited by Phat, : No reason given.Edited by Phat, : added

This in todays news from NPR: Senators Introduce Bipartisan Deal To Tighten Reporting For Gun PurchasesThe bill is supported by a total of four Democrats and four Republicans.

quote:

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The bill is meant to "ensure federal and state authorities comply with existing law and accurately report relevant criminal history records" to databases used in gun-purchase background checks. It "penalizes federal agencies who fail to properly report relevant records and incentivizes states to improve their overall reporting" while providing more funding to track domestic violence.

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I'm all for common sense gun control legislation. Our longtime and now inactive member Crashfrog once commented: I'm wondering what would happen with these existing guns....would the law of supply and demand make them more expensive?

Yes, it would. In fact, we have examples of that now. The banning of sales of assault rifles has made the ones currently in circulation very expensive.Banning guns, if that were even possible, would over time reduce the number of guns around. Arguments that we cannot get rid of all of them are not really reasons to get rid of none of them.

You can't have common sense gun control legislation in a nation that has no common sense about guns.

As an example, a murder in Chicago may never get reported by the news media. A similar murder in Lawrence, Kansas likely would make the main pages and local TV.My question is whether shootings become so common that the media largely ignores them. It already happens on a global basis. a hundred people can die in another country and most of us won't hear about it.

I think they should be ignored more than they are. As I've said before, "dog bites man" isn't news. You might as well report, "Sun rises in east," every day. If people die in an earthquake, I'm not sure that's newsworthy either. What makes earthquakes, etc. worth reporting is that we may be able to do something to help the survivors.

'There are really no words': 17 dead in Florida high school shooting; former student in custodyThere really are no words.Weapon was an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. We have to make guns like this and the Bushmaster and so forth unavailable to the public.--Percy

How long before we hear that the only way to stop a bad student with a gun is for the good students to start carrying.

Well its only logical, the only way to solve the US gun problem is for everyone to have guns and lots of them, that way everyone is perfectly safe.

Thats just because the liberals named it assault rifle-15, while in truth it should b e called DR-15 or defensive rifle 15.Americans should all get these magic guns

In a way, it is all a form of domestic terrorism---perpetrated by mental illness---and made tragically worse through the availability of guns and automatic weapons.Tangle has brought up the case before that foreign ideological terrorism is caused largely by religion, but if one compares the numbers of these foreign terror attacks with the numbers(of casualties) of our US domestic school shootings, we have more of a problem right here at home. We have met the enemy and it is us.These incidents are motivated by a mental aberration. Time will tell the dark psychology behind the shooter in Florida, but this one was captured alive to study.The students even predicted that *if* a shooting happened at their school, Mr. Cruz(the suspect) would be the one to do it.
Likely in the Islamic cultures, the ones crazy enough to unleash terror attacks have a level of mental instability and are known within the communities as well. The culture of Islam does not talk about such people because the authorities vilify all of Islam rather than the few individuals crazy enough to actually carry out a terror attack.As further proof of my theory linking domestic terror with foreign terror, many of the US suspects aspire to join the military, as this one did. Ideology is not limited to religion, and religion is not the villain. Mental illness and an inability to fit into society are the common denominators, and the availability of guns provides the means and the opportunity.Edited by Phat, : sub title

At least a couple of administrators or a security guard perhaps.

What if the administrator does not want to have "ability to engage in shootout to protect lives" in their job description? Seems well above my pay grade, anyway.

Untill the kids bring the administrator, or the guard to tears with their antics and he/she snaps and unloads on the little blighters. And if something does happen do you really think minimum wage buys a hero guard or someone who will run and take cover. Make schools gun free zones its the better option.