Those Kids Are Waiting For Us Adults to Respond
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Tragedy has visited Newtown, Conn. - a town not far from where we lived for 20 years, a town that helped raise two boys to whom I am "Auntie Joyce," a town that houses families I know and love.
A flood of bullets brought the needless slaughter of 20 children. Teachers and administrators perished by being blown to bits by bullets that tear a person apart as they tried to stop the gunman, as they lied about where the children were.
Teachers huddled with children and read to them. Or told them, "Wait for the good guys. They're coming."
Well, that would be us.
Let me say that I grew up in a family with guns. My father took us out shooting, so we knew how to handle them, knew to fear their power and respect them. I have good friends and family members who own guns for sport, hunting and protection. I am not anti-gun.
I am also the victim of crime. I know how it changes your life forever, and it lives like Peter Pan's shadow around you, only without whimsy or charm.
And when we, as a society, cannot see our way clear out of the fog of gunsmoke to rethink our responsibilities in the ownership of such power and fear, something has gone terribly awry.
Compromise, the four-letter word of the decade, needs to come into play. Somewhere between the "keep your hands off my guns" approach and the confiscation of all firearms is the middle and livable way.
We train to drive a car, must pass a test and be retested from time to time. We register and take responsibility for any ownership of a car, any damage we cause with it. How many of us are enraged when a driver has no insurance or drives without a license and hits our car? Should we not at least do the same for deadly force so easily obtained in gun shops?
With the use of force on animals or humans should come the proof of training, some record of guns, and proof of their storage. I do not think that is unreasonable. Nor is it a threat to the right to bear arms.
Our view of mental health and its treatment comes into play as well. Insurance companies must help those with severe mental issues. Communities need to help schools nurture those children who show signs of mental disability. It is the "pay me now or pay me later" plan. We can help people or bury them along with their victims. That seems to be where we are headed.
As more states allow more "concealed carry" laws, should we not be sure those doing the carrying are trained and mentally stable? That the guns are stored safely?
The idea that everyone carrying can or should "take someone down" in a situation like Newtown amazes me. Ask a policeman or a soldier how well-trained you have to be to make the right decision and fire the shot in the right manner to accomplish that goal. Friendly-fire killings are not my idea of a step-up in all of this.
I don't have all the answers. But coming to the table, in the name of these children, might be a good start. The fiscal cliff is nothing compared with the moral imperative to answer these and other deaths with rational, fair action.
Bring the parties together, and let's find the middle way. Let's do it now, when there is no election in the air. Can we really let either side pay money to politicians over the coffins of these children to win their side's point of view? Can we?
Many ideas can be put on the table to arrive at a reasonable and doable solution. I don't think we can put this rational discussion off any longer. Those 20 children, ages 6 and 7, are waiting for us to respond.
"Wait for the good guys. They're coming." But when? When?
Joyce Reehling lives in Pinehurst. She recently retired here from New York after a 33-year career in theater, TV and commercials.
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Comments
Middleman522 5 months ago
I do wish those brave teachers in CT had been armed and trained. That is a horrible way to die, knowing those children were in their care. They tried so hard to save them. They had No reason to think that anything like this would happen. Just like 9/11 changed the way we live and think about airplanes, this will change things as well. God bless that community and all of our children! May Christmas bring those people some healing.
mcg2010 5 months ago
Armed with what!? In the face of a crazed gun man with a semi automatic weapon loaded and ready to use, what kind of weapon could any teacher have possibly had to stop him?
Say she was. Let's say for the sake of your illogical argument, let's just say the school system provided Victoria Soto with the training of a firearm that was to be kept in a locked drawer, unless a gun man was bearing down on her class room. How long would it take for her to get to that drawer, unlock it, load it and some how have the clarity among her panicked students to take out the shooter. Or let's take is a step further and say it was strapped to her hip for quick access, still in the midst of the chaos they are supposed to be come soldiers in battle and take a fatal shot to the gunman? Should we have our teachers strap on an AK around them like a back-pack like we live in a war-zone?
Where does it stop? At what point does the gun stop being the solution?
JD 5 months ago
Another discussion pointed out what happens if the armed teacher is killed? Now the gunman has another weapon fully loaded and ready to go.
fugitiveguy 5 months ago
"Say she was. Let's say for the sake of your illogical argument"
When this is your opening salvo what hope is there to have a discussion, let alone find a solution. I remember when my oldest son was at West Pine Middle years ago. The first time I saw a resource officer packing I thought what is the world coming to when we need an armed cop at a middle school. I do see some merit in studying the idea of training of teachers on a completely voluntary basis to respond in force to an event such as the one in CT.
teufelhunden 5 months ago
I think it's a reasonable letter. We all need to put aside politics and take a deep breath and find common ground.
fugitiveguy 5 months ago
A teacher wouldn't have to kill the gunman, wouldn't neccesarily have to hit the gunman, it is quite possible the instant he became aware that he too was a target he might just go ahead and kill himself. Not very far fetched when you consider they almost always kill themselves at the end. Arming teachers is just 1 idea to consider.
mcg2010 5 months ago
I don't have a problem with RSOs. I think it's something that could be utilized in more schools. The argument to train our teachers, as if they are soldiers is illogical, in my opinion. To the original point of this column, the answer is not more guns, nor is it take all the guns in the way. Like all good truths, the solution is found in the middle.
My issue with the first commenter's commentary is that it assumes that somehow the sole solution is more guns.
RmeMP 5 months ago
We have armed guards at prisons, banks, stadiums, etc... Why can't we have them protecting our children at school? Many LEOs and military are retiring in their early 40s, why not offer them jobs protecting our most valuable assets - children?
skylinefirepest 5 months ago
Mcg...are you thinking sanely? You send your kids to school and trust the teachers to prepare them for life...the most important function of any American. Then you don't think these same teachers are stable enough to carry firearms?? Are you serious?? My wife taught for thirty some odd years and she had a firearm close by quite frequently. So you and Joyce are quite comfortable with obumma making instant criminals ( I'm basing this on what I have heard the Feinstein bill will include. It may not be totally accurate. ) out of MILLIONS of Americans because of the actions of ONE NUTCASE??? Is this the American way?? Do you know that there are some ninety to a hundred million guns owned by over eighty million law abiding Americans in forty five percent of all American homes and you think outlawing a very popular class of firearms owned by MILLIONS of Americans makes sense?? Are you aware that some liberals have made statements wanting the murder of NRA members? Do you think the NRA is somehow responsible for the actions of one mentally ill person? Are you proud of the statements your liberal lawmakers are making right now, vilifying millions of gun owners? Don't you think it was totally disgusting for Feinstein and Bloomberg to practically orgasm over the killing of these kids because now they can put their name on a bill making criminals out of law abiding Americans?? Think about what you are saying.
fugitiveguy 5 months ago
I have no confidence that this will be solved by those clowns in DC. Leave it to the states or maybe even better individual school districts.
dudleybuck5 5 months ago
It is too easy to get guns in this country but if we don't do something NOW about the mental health system in this country there will be more Newtown, Connecticuts, Virginia Tech and Columbines.
Thatcher 5 months ago
Rational discussion of this horrific event is made even more difficult by at least three things: (1) innocent children were murdered here; (2) guns were used to commit these murders; and (3) we don't know all the facts yet about the killer, his mother, and the nature of the killer's mental illness. All reports from family members and friends describe the killer (Adam Lanza) as suffering from severe mental issues (autism, burning himself in an attempt to feel pain, etc.). Some here have suggested that we need to find ways to keep mentally ill persons from having access to guns. I'm not sure anyone would disagree with that proposal. However, we do know that the killer did attempt to purchase a rifle a few days before the murders, but was unable to do so because of existing state law (presumably the 3-day waiting requirement): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2249781/Connecticut-store-Sandy-Hook-gunman-Adam-Lanza-tried-buy-rifle-huge-sale-ammunition.html?ito=feeds-newsxml. We also know that the guns used by this murderer belonged to his mother, whom he murdered by shooting her four times in the face. The killer then took the guns to the school, where police say he shot his way in to gain access. As we all know, what happened next was beyond horror. So here is my point: cries to "ban assault rifles" or cliches like "time to end America's love affair with guns" accomplish nothing. To me, the issue is mental illness, how best to diagnose it, how best to treat it, and how best to educate affected family members of the perils of allowing the mentally ill family member to gain access to any firearms stored within the home, or outside the home (legally or illegally). When all the facts are in, then maybe we can have a serious discussion of what needs to be done.
OldPilot 5 months ago
What we see is the classic reaction: NRA/GOP snout down in the NRA trough, bought and paid for by the NRA at the congressional, state and local level, highly researched and developed circle the wagons reaction every time a bunch of people get blown away. "It's too soon, we need to look to mental health, we need to keep "guns" out of the hands of people with mental issues", drag things out, because they know things will quiet down and everything will go back to "normal".....until the next time. 10,000 firearm deaths a year on the average, roughly one third homicides and two thirds suicides. "Guns don't kill people"? Americans with firearms kill their fellow Americans, 12,632 in 2007 and that doesn't include the suicides. 80 % of gun deaths in the 25 most developed countries are right here in the good old USA. We're number one! Whopee! Real Americans are tired of feeling like fugitives from the law of averages. 2nd Amendment? Great. Let's go back to what the Founding Fathers had in mind. Own all the black powder muzzle loading muskets and flintlock pistols you want. For the sake of the hunters bolt action rifles and shotguns with three round magazines. There is no rational reason anyone needs AR-15 clones, AK-47s or high capacity big bore pistols...other than compensating for some serious other problem, and sorry folks, you're problem is not a reason or excuse to blow away a bunch of kids..
Thatcher 5 months ago
So I take it you do not want to wait until the facts are in? And none of us have blown away a bunch of kids. A mentally ill boy did, who first stole his mother's guns, shot her four times while she slept, then stole her car and took the guns to the school. And you mockingly say "It's too soon, we need to look into mental health...." The only thing too soon was your ill-informed and hostile post.
Thatcher 5 months ago
And Oldpilot, I don't blame you one bit for your emotion. As I said in a previous post, that innocent children were murdered is one of several things that makes a rational discussion difficult at this time. I don't blame you for lashing out, I just think you are lashing out at the wrong people, and lashing out before we know the facts. I am confident that mental illness should be the focal point. We shall see.
packwilleat 5 months ago
But being mentally ill today means you do not support Obama with the utmost devotion. Mentally ill is now defined as: republican, conservative, GOP, NRA member, prepper, gold lover, saver, white, religious, wealthy, capitalist, statesman, individualistic, gun lover, constitutionalist, libertarian, and last but not least...... an American. I really think it's time to start calling Liberals "Loyalist". Far better suited to their mentality.
dustyrhoades 5 months ago
by dustyrhoades
njc17 5 months ago
This question goes round and round on one forum after another, one thread after another. A gun is a tool, nothing more. If it lies on the table, it is useless.The hands of the user determine what the gun will do. 'I was the recipient of a home invasion years ago, 1 am, and the perp is coming up the stairs into our room. Now I did not have a gun. [ and trust me I do know how to use one just never had the need] I get into an altercation with this individual, I WILL PROTECT my wife at any cost. The perp got away, police never found him, I was injured during the altercation. If I did have a gun The bad guy would have never gotton out and there would have been one less home break in. You can take guns out of the hands of law biding folks, but the outlaw can ALWAYS get them. Actually illicit weaponry is quite easy to get. Just look at the ATF and brother Holder and that fiasco. You might be surprised the possibility of guns in West Southern Pines.
nothingspecial 5 months ago
Teuf is right as usual, that Joyce attempts an objective argument about what is causing all the craziness (which however is obviously not just limited to crazy shooters). We need to look strategically at what is causing our society to implode and work to fix it from there - not just keep throwing money in an endless battle to put the fire out.
Interesting angle by the gun rights expert in this interview. And an example by Piers Morgan of the useless argument of simply being an ass with no retorts:
fugitiveguy 5 months ago
I've never watched Morgan's show, I had no idea he was such an ass.
Yukonjohn 5 months ago
I have watched him in the past, and liked him OK, and l knew he was against guns, but l did not realize how clueless he was.
skylinefirepest 5 months ago
OP, do you know how many lives were saved, women not raped, cars not carjacked, stores not robbed, homes not invaded in 2007 due to the presence of firearms?? You don't? Then why don't you stop with the foolish comments. Our forefathers knew, as you apparently do not, that all things progress. If you wish to give up your electricity, cellphone, internet, car, truck, bike, heat and air, etc. then you might ( not me obviously ) convince someone to give up a modern firearm. I doubt it but you could try. Since your guns qualify as semi-modern arms why don't you just give them to me or someone else who might need them to defend their homes or families?? Violent crime continues to go down in states with concealed carry. Why don't you spend some quality time researching just who is part of that ten thousand you holler about? Why don't you come back and tell us how many are accidents, how many are gang bangers, how many are innocents killed by hoodlums, etc.?? Now let's presume that tonight a hoodlum breaks into your home intent on robbing or hurting you or your family...how many rounds do you want to have available to you? One, three, or thirty some odd??? Let me guess, you'll say that you're better than Roy Rogers and can shoot the gun out of his hand with one shot, from the hip, and you won't even break a bone in his hand? Sound reasonable? Or will you do like some of the sheeple and simply try to call 911 and hope that the law is not tied up ten miles away from your home?
Yukonjohn 5 months ago
And Skylinefirepest, I did not want to go into the history of the country as it was when the 2nd Amendment was penned. They felt that the citzenry should be as armed as the "military". The civillians WERE the military!! If the same logic held true today, many of us would have rocket launchers and tanks, aircraft carriers, and fighter jets. While this is never possible, l firmly believe that the founders wanted us to be armed to repel a tyranical govt. Tom Jefferson said that we should have a revolution every 20 yrs, whether we needed it or not. This is why the 2nd Amendment has not been significantly changed over the years. If most of the country thinks it is time for a Constitutional Convention, or an Amendment to change the 2nd, then the process is there for such change. Personally, l do not believe that guns are the problem, people are the problem.
debsalomon 5 months ago
This whole "people are the problem" versus "guns are the problem" dialog is beginning to sound like he chicken-egg conundrum. Couldn't we agree to work on both, simultaneously, with superhuman effort? I just heard on TV that since guns were controlled (banned?) in Japan, gun killings have fallen to near zero. How's that compared to 12,000 in the US? Another issue: Cost, in medical dollars, for treating victims of gun brawls, shoot-outs, grudge attacks by non-insured perps who often land in the emergency rooms for free care subsidized by taxpayers. Sure, some are knife wounds. But knives aren't nearly as deadly as bullets. In some instances, we are dealing with the drive-by shootings considered a rite of passage in urban gang culture. Where do those guns come from? I like the idea of putting an armed guard...a retired police officer or military personnel... at school entrances. Also, every first-floor classroom should have a windowless fire door exit that cannot be opened from the outside. That way, kids could escape a gunman roaming the halls. These methods are relatively inexpensive, considering the protection afforded. Nothing will stop all attacks, but common sense may help prevent so many.
nothingspecial 5 months ago
So well said, Deb.
coffecreme 5 months ago
Very well said Deb. I agree!
skylinefirepest 5 months ago
Some good ideas Deb, but bear in mind that you are not comparing like cultures. What do you want to bet that the Japanese don't have our lack of family, our lack of jobs, our gangs, our drug problems, and there are some eighty to ninety million guns in America. Could they all be collected by the killer government? ( Because a portion of law abiding people would be killed in the process, just as a portion of people would be killed if the government decided to do away with the first amendment. ) Is that cost in law abiding lives acceptable to the gun haters?? We are now talking about "assault rifles" but the general public has no such thing. We talk about the "need" to have firearms but I don't hear ANY discussion about whether the people "NEED" cars that will exceed thirty, or whether we need alcohol, etc. Remember, we're talking about people who are just as passionate about their firearms as most old farts are about their golf. There are some eighty million people that own firearms...that's not just a small percentage of the country. You're not just talking about "gun control" as if it would only affect a few gang members or crooks here!!
mcg2010 5 months ago
Skyline, your lines are tired. I don't hate guns. I don't care if you have guns. I come from a family of hunters and respect their right to have guns. I've been raised to respect and handle guns properly. What I care about is protecting the lives of the innocent. What I care about is not turning educators in to soldiers.
But your argument that the "law abiding citizens" will have their guns "collected" is a ridiculous one. Following the Supreme Court's ruling and interpretation of the 2nd amendment in 2010, the goverment cannot realistically sweep the nation and collect everyone's guns. Fienstiens' legislation doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of passing. And I would say fortunately so. The answer isn't getting rid of all of the guns, but we have to make it harder for people (especially those who are mentally unstable) to get high powered, semi-assault weapons (and yes, I'm familiar with the difference between automatic and semi automatic). I don't know of any situation where a civilian would need to get off 30 rounds in 15 seconds. I just don't, but if you think you need it, then you better prove damn well that you need it, have been thoroughly trained with it and it better be recorded that you own it.
We need to protect our schools, with trained RSOs. We need to make sure that these high powered weapons are harder to get a hold of. We need to make sure that those weapons don't get in the hands of the mentally unstable. We need to make sure that we provide those mentally unstable the proper help that they and their families need.
There isn't a one answer, but please stop justifying your resistance to alternative gun legislation as THEY'RE GONNA TAKE ALL OUR GUNS. Because that is just not the case.
justpassingby2 5 months ago
If any of them were serious about gun control, they would have ran with it when Fast and Furious was exposed. It was fully automatic assault rifles given to people who they knew were going to kill with them and did! The republicans would have been between a rock and a hard place and you can be pretty sure they would have been more eager to compromise then not knowing then that obama already had all the sheep under his rule. But who knew how stupid the obama backers are back then! Boy do the madcows and matthews look really stupid now!
Yukonjohn 5 months ago
I see the arguements that make sense on some level. That said, when the 2nd Amendment was written, it was for people to be armed to overthrow a tyranical govt. I am not advocating that overthrow currently, but what if down the road, we DO need to overthrow a government that is oppressing? What if we have given up our guns? What would we do then. We would be just like we would be the second we give up our guns....we would be subjects.
skylinefirepest 5 months ago
Mcg...I was giving an example to Deb...not saying that the government would actually have the gall to do such a thing. Read her comment and then mine again to understand what I was saying to her. But we keep talking this absolute crap about needs and wants and how many rounds and high powered such and such and it's all just for show. We may need to strengthen our looks at prospective buyers, maybe require some id other than "mexican driver's license", maybe a more thorough background check. But when you start talking about banning an entire line of firearms, guns owned by MILLIONS of people, then you get the gunowners' attention. Do you know how many rounds are fired in the average POLICE SHOOTING?? How 'bout checking it out and then still tell me that a citizen might not need a thirty or twenty round mag to protect his family!! Remember, we've already tried the banning bit, what a spectacular failure, and now they want to try it again. It's feel good legislation and it affects millions of law abiding Americans. We don't need or want feelgood legislation...we have too much of that crap already!!
Middleman522 5 months ago
MGC your knee jerk reaction to"I wish those teachers had been armed and trained" is typical of the left. Did that in any way suggest that this is the only solution?? When that jacka.. came into her door after she had hidden those kids, and she had a weapon trained on the door, he would have died! What is your idea, take every American's guns away and hope that bad guys hand theirs in too. At least someone at the school should be able to protect kids from wackjobs. The pride of the liberals, ACLU beat down a better mental illness law in that state just a month or so ago. Mcg, your heart has replaced your brain, and your idealogy has replaced your common sense. We have too many unemployed people in this country for our children to go unprotected. Anyone getting extended unemployment funds that is trained with guns and a clean background, should be earning their keep at a school!
wrich49 5 months ago
Moore County Schools policy is that every classroom door is to be locked when students are in the room. I know that the gunman shot his way into the school, but some children's lives would have been saved if classrooms had also been locked. Studies have shown that a locked classroom door is the best barrier to surprise entry by someone intending harm. The will usually go on to a door that is unlocked to do what they are intent upon doing. Also, a locked door gives teachers and students time to turn out the lights and hide out of view...something we practiced regularly when I worked for MCS.
GJohn 5 months ago
So, the best-trained officers in America often miss their target when doing their duty...and our teachers are supposed to be better than that??? No, arming teachers is not the answer. Deb's suggestions of providing armed resource officers on all school campuses is spot-on. But, heck, too many in the general public as well as our legislators think we have too much in the schools anyway - you know, supplies, materials, and teachers - so, it's not likely they're going to provide adequate safety. Heck, we can't even get a nurse in every school. It just shows how little children and teachers matter in our society. Yes, that sounds negative, but the weight of 20 precious little lives and 6 precious adults is still weighing on my soul.
NCKen 5 months ago
GJohn: The police are trained, organized and equipped to arrive just in time to count bodies and put up yellow tape, so that clinical technicians can apply their arcane skills, and so the quiche luncheon lawyers and sub-species politicians can stick their beaks into what remains. At ten feet or less, my great-grandmother with a gun is more effective than the police who are minutes away from discovering the carnage. I'd rather arm my lawful American educator neighbor with a concealed weapon than turn every school into a grotesque TSA-like environment, better suited to a high security prison.
debsalomon 5 months ago
All very interesting but I'm struck with one thunderbolt. Everybody's going global which brings out old grievances. Why don't we (meaning government and gun associations) start with the school safety problem and let the rest percolate. Make schools Job 1 while emotions run high. I propose the armed guards and bulletproof fire doors, perhaps with optional electronically controlled locks so if a threat is perceived, one button in the office or elsewhere could secure those locks. If hotels, shopping centers and casinos have elaborate video monitoring, why not schools, with cameras at every entrance, in every classroom and hall. Also, it is just inconceivable to me , given previous massacres, that a neighbor or relative did not question a young man with obvious psychological issues living in proximity to his mother's gun collection. Perhaps she could have been counseled to remove guns from her son's reach; he had not broken a law, yet, but two and two sometimes equal four. This time the sum was 26, including his own mother. Engineering school safety and getting rid of assault weapons, fast, would be a huge step in the right direction.
justpassingby2 5 months ago
Lock down the schools and the next incident is at a youth soccer game or Chuck E Cheese or the like.
justpassingby2 5 months ago
Only the Village Idiot would post a cartoon such as dusty's. I can only wonder who he was hugging when he insisted it wasn't important and nobody cared that his government supplied assault weapons to gangs that killed hundreds including a father who was an American border agent.
Middleman522 5 months ago
China, Al Qaeda, Russia, Islamic Radicals, Palosi, Oblaima, and BAD GUYS want us disarmed!!! Does anyone find this a bit concerning? Village Idiot is priceless! Good one justpassingby! The mentally ill are not our only enemy. Wait til you pay your taxes in 2012 and beyond!!
skylinefirepest 5 months ago
Deb, you still haven't listened. What is the difference between your "so called semi-auto assault rifle" and my little Ruger .22?? Please check with Ed's or call me and I'll tell you. And please check and find out how many "semi-auto sporting rifles" are owned by law abiding Americans. We're talking about MILLIONS of Americans being affected by such a ban and it will do no good. It was tried for ten years and made NO DIFFERENCE to crime!!! And I still say that if a drunk had run into a school bus and killed those twenty kids the liberals would still be trying to get the drunk some help for his condition!!! Ultimately this is just a political song and dance and falls right into the liberal wish list. Bloomberg and Feinstein were delighted by the killing of our children! Armed RO's might help but I still say that armed teachers ( you might be surprised at how many schoolteachers are ccp holders ) is a better answer. Your armed RO might be in the john when trouble strikes or in a different part of a large school.
geoffcutler 5 months ago
"What is the difference between your "so called semi-auto assault rifle" and my little Ruger .22??" Skyline
More people are shot and killed with .22s than with any other weapon. Wait...doesn't that make them assault weapons too?
GJohn 5 months ago
I can understand that gun enthusiasts enjoy their right to own guns for hunting and sport. But, anyone who wants a sub-machine gun is a murderer, pure and simple. That's the only reason these guns are created, to murder humans - and lots of them. No American has the "right" to murder. Therefore, these murder weapons should be banned from sales and taken out of the hands of citizens.
I can hear the howling now, "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns!" I'm talking about military-style weapons. If whats-his-name hadn't had his murder weapons at Sandy Hook, we might not be burying 26 people.
fugitiveguy 5 months ago
"But, anyone who wants a sub-machine gun is a murderer, pure and simple."
Don't have a submachine gun, don't want one but the above is one of the more ridiculous things I have read on here. When I see crap like this I seldom can bring myself to read any further.
geoffcutler 5 months ago
"But, anyone who wants a sub-machine gun is a murderer, pure and simple."
Not the best use of logic I've ever seen, that's for sure!
Yukonjohn 5 months ago
Yeah fugitiveguy, this is an ignorant comment. I have a friend that has a half-dozen assualt rifles, amongst his 100+ guns and as far as I know, he has never murdered anyone!! And yes, if we ban any guns, only the criminals will have them.
fugitiveguy 5 months ago
I was reading the paper this morning. I can't remember the writer but the headline was something like "time to get control of guns". Within it I read a line "many would like to turn our teachers into John Wayne" and I thought how typical of the anti gun crowd (and many leftists) when their argument is weak they take great liberties in superimposing a false premise to base their arguments on. Seriously, who among us is happy about even having to consider arming teachers, but I find it hardly a crazy notion esp when you see the result of one insane man with weapons unleashed in a "gun free" zone. What I do find crazy is the notion that passing a few more laws will somehow make schoolkids safer.
skylinefirepest 5 months ago
Gjohn...where in the world did that come from? There are a few sub-machine guns in civilian Class 3 permit holders hands but absolutely not in the general public. They are highly collectible and quite expensive. Now if you are meaning full assault weapons then go no further than your local police station. If they are only for murderers then why does almost every police station in the country have them?? Now if like most of the firearms illiterate that have posted since last Friday you are talking about semi-auto sporting rifles then you are as wrong as the rest are...somebody commented to me that I was crazy for defending them...but sporting rifles are used for hunting, target shooting, self defense, etc. So your comment came out of left field and doesn't make any sense. Are you aware that "military style" covers many, many different firearms that are different from your grand-dad's hunting rifle mostly in looks? And one last statement...if you want this government to collect our sporting rifles then at the very least we should be paid market value for them....try that for millions upon millions of sporting rifles in this stinking economy!
njc17 5 months ago
You all keep beating up each other and not get the point. I have said this before and I'll say it again, PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Guns are tools as are knives, as are power hammers as are shovels, as are pick axes, as are saws, and each of these tools at one times or another has been used to kill someone. Do you want to outlaw or license each of those? There are gun laws all over the books which , it seems, some do not follow up on, but licensing is quite stringent . Conn had a very strong gun licensing law. It is in the responsibility of each individual as to the use of the tool involved. Now as to armed guards at schools. As I recall Pinecrest had a chainlink fence with a barbed wire cap all around the campus at one time. Do we develop the onset of an armed camp, a prison camp so to speak? Is this what civilization comes down to? the land of Snake Plifkin?where we imprison the good guys and let the bad guys roam free? The responsibility thing comes down to, where do the moral values fit into civilization's plan? when the law takes out God from the courtroom, the school, the town square, when the gamer violence is accepted as the youth norm, when the shopkeeper is no longer allowed to wish others a Merry Christmas, for fear of litigation,what is it the children are allowed to absorb?
GJohn 5 months ago
OK, yeah, I re-read my post and see how I didn't make myself clear. Sorry! I intended to convey that people who want sub-machine guns (and all the other types of weaponry beyond a basic hunting weapon) can only want them in order to murder lots of people. Do the military and police, etc. need them? Of course - unfortunately, in the defense of the public and our country, they're necessary. But the average citizen does not need a machine that will kill dozens, if not hundreds of people in a few seconds. If Voldemort hadn't had access to the weapon he possessed, 26 beautiful souls might still be with us.
geoffcutler 5 months ago
"If Voldemort hadn't had access to the weapon he possessed, 26 beautiful souls might still be with us."
As long as no-one is present to defend the children, Voldemort could have done the same damage with a .22. The type of gun doesn't matter. Voldemort, as you call him, had free rein. And Voldemort killed the children. The guns just sat there...until he picked them up.
fugitiveguy 5 months ago
"I intended to convey that people who want sub-machine guns (and all the other types of weaponry beyond a basic hunting weapon) can only want them in order to murder lots of people."
Equally as asinine as the previous version.
fugitiveguy 5 months ago
Voldemort?
DannySteen 5 months ago
Why do the police need sub-machine guns. They generally do not show until the lowlife thug piece of garbage is gone or dead.
skylinefirepest 5 months ago
Gjohn, I have to agree with FG on the second version...there are millions of sporting rifles in civilian hands and only about one tenth of one percent are ever used in any crime, much less murder. This magical weapon that can kill dozens if not hundreds of people in seconds only exists in the minds of the firearms illiterate. Once again, most "military style" weapons are different from your grand-dad's old hunting rifle in looks only. But what nobody wants to discuss is that this killer had a gun free zone that aided and abetted him. He probably couldn't have done his deed in public, not because there's a cop on every corner, ( which the last time I looked, there was not ) but because there are many many citizens with concealed carry permits and the bad guys don't know who they are. There are millons of ccp carriers in the U.S. If only one or two teachers or the principal had access!!! We live in a drug filled society today and these people have taken the interest and the time and the training to become responsible for their own safety. The rest of the sheeple have decided that banning a weapon will keep them safe or maybe calling 911 and waiting for a cop to show up from across town or the county. We firemen will stage somewhere and only put in an appearance to help you once the bad guy has left! You are aware, of course, that several years ago the Supremes decided that even the police have no obligation to protect you??
skylinefirepest 5 months ago
Gjohn, I'm not picking on you by saying you're firearms illiterate...there are many people who have no interest in firearms or don't like them for some reason or other. But to say that there are weapons out there that can kill hundreds in seconds are not referring to firearms...it takes explosives to do that and there are many of us that can help you on that one if you'll get the necessary permits and show a need.
GJohn 5 months ago
Skyline - No, you're right, I am firearms illiterate. I know very little about weapons. We do have one or two firearms in our home - workable family pieces - and our children were taught to use and respect guns at an early age (not by me, of course!). I'm actually a fairly decent shot, the few times I've tried. My issue is that, other than the police and the military, no citizen needs the heavy-duty weaponry that kills so many in so short a time. If there is another use for those guns, I'd like to know what it is. I mean, do the math, if there were no cars on the roads, we'd have no auto accidents. If there were no AK-47s (or whatever), there would be no deaths from AK-47s. I believe that our national gun control dialogue needs to pursue solutions like armed guards at schools - but not arming teachers, for sure.
And to FugitiveGuy - Yes, Voldemort - He Who Must Not Be Named. I agree with Anderson Cooper and others who refuse to honor this mass murderer with the attention he craved. Let him fade into oblivion while we honor the 26 beautiful lives he stole.
GJohn 5 months ago
Again, Joyce's original letter is so true - these children and adults are waiting for us to respond. Don't let them wait in vain. Please show up so we can keep this from happening again.