'27 dead' in Connecticut primary school shooting

[Violet]

^But media isn't the only thing that's different from other countries (and media in several countries are actually more and more like this, even in France for instance). The other main element that's different is gun control. It can't not be related at all.

 

I didn't say that was the only thing that's different. I realize we have different gun laws than most other countries. I'm just saying that's a huge part of it. I just don't think it's right to, for lack of a better way to put it, punish the majority for things the minority are doing, if that makes any sense. I mean, I'm all for putting more restrictions on how to acquire guns and ammo, but banning them completely? I'm sorry, but I can't agree with that.

[para-para-parrotdies]

We need an assault weapon ban, at the very least. I still don't understand our nation's obsession with guns.

 

What would you categorize as an assault weapon? There are fully automatic weapons, which fire continuously when the trigger is held down. Those have been strictly regulated since 1934. Then there are semiautomatic weapons that reload automatically but fire only once each time the trigger is depressed. Semiautomatic pistols and rifles come in all shapes and sizes and are extremely common in the United States (i.e. guns policemen have).

 

You should be aware of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban in 1994, which we know didn't stop shootings like the one at Columbine. Most of the people screaming for gun control legislation cannot point to a single identifiable point on which gun laws should be strengthened. Do you not realize that Connecticut and New jersey (where the shootings happened) already have some of the strictest gun laws in the US? Do you seriously not realize that the mentally ill are already prohibited to owning firearms and have been prohibited since 1968? Do you not realize that there is already legislation that dictates the type of background checks before the purchasing of a gun (no, you cannot buy a gun like you would toothpaste... have absolutely no idea where that ridiculous claim originated).

 

Someone mentioned limiting the number of rounds people can buy before being flagged. If you know anything about gun control legislation, then you would be aware that NJ already doesn't allow its citizens to own 30 round magazines. How well did that work here?

 

It's convenient to point to gun control as the answer to these situations: it's easy, doesn't require much thought, and provides a nice target to rally against. But a deeper look at previous gun control laws shows that it's a complicated issue - hence all the previous loopholes and why we don't have a comprehensive solution yet. Switzerland, one of the most heavily armed countries in the world, has less than a third of the gun crime that the United States does. Furthermore, Chicago, the city with the most restrictive gun posession laws in the US, also suffers from some of the worst gun crime in the world.

 

What we have failed to address - and continue to fail to address - is mental health legislation. I'm concerned by the number of people who think the lack of gun control is the problem, and that a law is the solution. We've got a crisis that runs deeper than paper laws. People don't shoot each other because of laws; they snap because their family and neighbors have failed them. We need stronger families, better schools, and better care. There's absolutely no reason why in 2012 there is still stigma attached to mental illnesses. This is a national problem bigger than one law that we've procrastinated far too long.

[NumbersGirl]

^ Excellent post.

 

Someone mentioned limiting the number of rounds people can buy before being flagged. If you know anything about gun control legislation, then you would be aware that NJ already doesn't allow its citizens to own 30 round magazines. How well did that work here?

Admittedly I'm not familiar with all the laws/regulations associated with guns and ammo. The fact that there are so many different laws from State to State (and even within) is a bit problematic. If we as a nation have "the right to bear arms", I think the associated laws/regulations should be consistent across the board.

 

But, as you mention... this still wouldn't address the root of the issue.

[getithom]

Internet hoax according to Morgan himself:

 

 

 

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Actor Morgan Freeman said on Sunday that he did not issue a statement blaming the media for sensationalizing the Newtown School shootings that left 20 children and several adults dead.

 

The award-winning actor added that he never made or posted the statement that became a Facebook and Internet sensation, saying it was a hoax.

 

His publicist Stan Rosenfield told TheWrap that the actor's camp was trying to determine the origin of the hoax statement.

 

"It's because of the way the media reports it," the phony statement read in part. "Turn on the news and see how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single 'victim' of Columbine?

 

"Disturbed people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basement see the news and want to top it by doing something worse and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster instead of a sad nobody."

 

The hoax statement also takes CNN to task over its use of the phrase "body count" in relation to the Newtown shootings and said the news coverage would incite more killings.

 

How did anyone believe this, anyways? It was very obviously fake.

[The Final Track]

Haha, I was just waiting for that to happen

[Coldplay]

On the news, after they do 5 1-hour features for some random family that lives in Newtown and their personal life (which I'm sorry, but irritates me greatly), they're having like 5 small shootings or death threats in the news from people who the news claim to be 'inspired' by Sandy Hook. Was gun violence always this bad, and they're just reporting every single thing to scare people, or has it increased dramatically in the past few days of the shooting?

[Violet]

Interesting side note... gun sales skyrocketed this weekend. A local news story noted that in particular, the assault rifle (AR) style is selling out, because people currently with licenses are afraid that AR style will soon be banned (so people are snatching them up while they have the chance).

 

Interestingly enough, on the news this morning, I saw that gun stocks have gone down 4-5%.

[Prospector]

What would you categorize as an assault weapon? There are fully automatic weapons, which fire continuously when the trigger is held down. Those have been strictly regulated since 1934. Then there are semiautomatic weapons that reload automatically but fire only once each time the trigger is depressed. Semiautomatic pistols and rifles come in all shapes and sizes and are extremely common in the United States (i.e. guns policemen have).

 

You should be aware of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban in 1994, which we know didn't stop shootings like the one at Columbine. Most of the people screaming for gun control legislation cannot point to a single identifiable point on which gun laws should be strengthened. Do you not realize that Connecticut and New jersey (where the shootings happened) already have some of the strictest gun laws in the US? Do you seriously not realize that the mentally ill are already prohibited to owning firearms and have been prohibited since 1968? Do you not realize that there is already legislation that dictates the type of background checks before the purchasing of a gun (no, you cannot buy a gun like you would toothpaste... have absolutely no idea where that ridiculous claim originated).

 

Someone mentioned limiting the number of rounds people can buy before being flagged. If you know anything about gun control legislation, then you would be aware that NJ already doesn't allow its citizens to own 30 round magazines. How well did that work here?

 

It's convenient to point to gun control as the answer to these situations: it's easy, doesn't require much thought, and provides a nice target to rally against. But a deeper look at previous gun control laws shows that it's a complicated issue - hence all the previous loopholes and why we don't have a comprehensive solution yet. Switzerland, one of the most heavily armed countries in the world, has less than a third of the gun crime that the United States does. Furthermore, Chicago, the city with the most restrictive gun posession laws in the US, also suffers from some of the worst gun crime in the world.

 

What we have failed to address - and continue to fail to address - is mental health legislation. I'm concerned by the number of people who think the lack of gun control is the problem, and that a law is the solution. We've got a crisis that runs deeper than paper laws. People don't shoot each other because of laws; they snap because their family and neighbors have failed them. We need stronger families, better schools, and better care. There's absolutely no reason why in 2012 there is still stigma attached to mental illnesses. This is a national problem bigger than one law that we've procrastinated far too long.

 

Awesome post. But about the gun crimes numbers, do you really think "normal" criminals buy guns on the store? No! Brazil has a really restrictive gun law and we have really high violence numbers, criminals steal those things, allowing only "good people" to buy guns won't stop crimes, criminals will steal the guns from the good ones. As you said, there's a lot behind it, but I do think the USA is failing on the control of it's weapons, those kind of shooters usually get guns by legal ways and that shouldn't happen.

[Nikola]

'I Am Adam Lanza's Mother': A Mom's Perspective On The Mental Illness Conversation In America

[NumbersGirl]

oh boy...

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/national/6th-grader-brings-gun-to-school-says-he-brought-it-to-defend-himself-from-newtown-type-attack

 

 

 

 

 

6th grader brings gun to school, says he brought it to defend himself from Newtown-type attack

 

(AP) - Authorities say a Utah sixth-grader caught with a gun at school told administrators he brought the weapon to defend himself in case of an attack similar to the mass shooting last week in Newtown, Conn.

 

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that two classmates at West Kearns Elementary School reported the gun to a teacher toward the end of the school day Monday.

 

Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley says the teacher "immediately apprehended the student," and police responded shortly after.

 

Horsley tells KSL-TV that an unloaded gun and ammunition were found in the 11-year-old's backpack. Authorities have not released the child's name.

 

Horsley says school police are investigating reports that the boy pointed the gun at another child's head. He says such accounts haven't been confirmed.

 

Authorities say no one was injured.

[Tash]

That kid has awesome parents.

[nvdmm]

lol people buying more guns!! i have to say this is greatly amusing from the outside. shame they aren't buying RPGs and tanks. I'd pay to watch that! and theres also these insane nut-jobs who genuinely think the world is about to end so they're stacking up on food and more guns. honestly what world do they live in?!!!!

[Tash]

NRA: "Only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"

 

:|

[The Final Track]

NRA wants an armed policeman at every school :sick:

[Coeurli]

NRA: "Only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"

 

:|

Wow, so the Far West times really aren't over in the US apparently. :|

 

I don't understand that kind of view. There aren't just "bad" people and "good" people, that's such a caricature of society. A lot of factors such as personal drama, economic crisis/unemployment and all its financial consequences, poverty, a culture of violence (and gun violence, with its easy access to guns) or even media may contribute to make good people doing some pretty bad stuff. But I guess I'm wrong because that sort of story obviously never happens in America, right ?

NRA wants an armed policeman at every school :sick:

ohgod :sick:

[wabbit]

[NumbersGirl]

Full story re: bad guy vs. good guy with gun comment, and NRA wanting armed policemen in every school comment....

 

 

 

 

NRA leaders say armed police officers should be in all schools after Newtown, CT school shootings

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's largest gun-rights lobby called Friday for armed police officers to be posted in every American school to stop the next killer "waiting in the wings."

 

The National Rifle Association broke its silence Friday on last week's shooting rampage at a Connecticut elementary school that left 26 children and staff dead.

 

The group's top lobbyist, Wayne LaPierre, said at a Washington news conference that "the next Adam Lanza," the man responsible for last week's mayhem, is planning an attack on another school.

 

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," LaPierre said.

 

He blamed video games, movies and music videos for exposing children to a violent culture day in and day out.

 

"In a race to the bottom, many conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate, and offend every standard of civilized society, by bringing an even more toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty right into our homes," LaPierre said.

 

He refused to take any questions after speaking. Still, though security was tight, two protesters were able to interrupt LaPierre's speech, holding up signs that blamed the NRA for killing children. Both were escorted out, shouting that guns in schools are not the answer.

 

More than a dozen security officers checked media credentials at various checkpoints and patrolled the hotel ballroom.

 

LaPierre announced that former Rep. Asa Hutchison, R-Ark., will lead an NRA program that will develop a model security plan for schools that relies on armed volunteers.

 

The 4.3 million-member NRA largely disappeared from public debate after the shootings in Newtown, Conn., choosing atypical silence as a strategy as the nation sought answers after the rampage. The NRA temporarily took down its Facebook page and kept quiet on Twitter.

 

Since the slayings, President Barack Obama has demanded "real action, right now" against U.S. gun violence and called on the NRA to join the effort. Moving quickly after several congressional gun-rights supporters said they would consider new legislation to control firearms, the president said this week he wants proposals to reduce gun violence that he can take to Congress by January.

 

Obama has already asked Congress to reinstate an assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 and pass legislation that would stop people from purchasing firearms from private sellers without a background check. Obama also has indicated he wants Congress to pursue the possibility of limiting high-capacity magazines.

 

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/national/WATCH-LIVE-NRA-officials-make-statements-on-gun-control-in-wake-of-Newtown-CT-school-shootings

[The Final Track]

So many ironies.

[The Final Track]

While the NRA was holding their press conference, there was another shooting, in Altoona, PA.

 

http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/567048/4-dead--3-troopers-hurt-in-shootings.html?nav=742

[Coeurli]

"In a race to the bottom, many conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate, and offend every standard of civilized society, by bringing an even more toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty right into our homes," LaPierre said.

Yeah uuh...guns do that too, actually :uhoh:

[busybeeburns]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaHWBlVzNoc]Pratt: "The 2nd Amendment means what it says" - YouTube[/ame]

The petition followed a bad-tempered exchange between Piers Morgan and gun advocate Larry Pratt

 

Piers Morgan: Thousands petition for deportation

 

More than 31,000 Americans have signed a petition calling for British TV host Piers Morgan to be deported.

 

They are angry about his advocacy of gun control, in the wake of the 14 December shootings in Connecticut.

 

The petition followed an interview with Larry Pratt, director of Gun Owners of America, on CNN - in which Mr Morgan called his guest "a dangerous man".

 

Petitions posted on the White House website only require 25,000 signatures to get a response from the government.

 

The campaign was started by a journalist in Texas following Mr Morgan's CNN programme of 19 December.

 

The petition says the presenter "is engaged in a hostile attack against the US Constitution by targeting the Second Amendment", which protects an individual's right to own guns for the purposes of self-defence.

 

"We demand that Mr Morgan be deported immediately for his effort to undermine the Bill of Rights and for exploiting his position as a national network television host to stage attacks against the rights of American citizens."

 

Mr Morgan has responded, repeatedly, on his Twitter account.

 

"If I do get deported from America for wanting fewer gun murders, are there any other countries that will have me?" the 47-year-old joked after the 25,000-signature threshold was past.

 

Later, he added: "Wanting America to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines isn't anti-constitutional - it's called 'common sense.'"

 

In the wake of the shooting in Newton, Connecticut, President Obama has vowed to push for immediate and concrete gun safety proposals. Mr Morgan's interview, on his nightly chat show, came five days after gunman Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school.

 

Mr Pratt said tighter controls on gun sales would not put an end to similar tragedies.

 

"The problem occurs in those areas precisely where we have said 'no guns'," he said.

 

"Where the guns are allowed freely to be carried... we have very low murder rates.

 

"We only have problems in our cities and, unhappily, in our schools, where people like you have been able to get laws put on the books that keep people from being able to defend themselves."

 

Mr Morgan responded: "You're a very stupid man, aren't you?

 

"You have absolutely no coherent argument. You don't actually give a damn about the gun murder rate in America."

 

He ended the interview by calling Mr Pratt "a dangerous man espousing dangerous nonsense" and declared, "you shame your country".

 

The combative interview was bound to infuriate America's pro-gun lobby.

 

The pro-gun National Rifle Association (NRA) has more than four million members. According to the Small Arms Survey, there were 88.8 firearms for every 100 Americans in 2007.

 

However, Mr Morgan has remained defiant.

 

"Ironic US gun rights campaign to deport me for 'attacking Second Amendment rights' - is my opinion not protected under 1st Amendment rights?" he said on Twitter, making reference to the Constitution's guarantee of freedom of speech.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20838729

[Violet]

"Ironic US gun rights campaign to deport me for 'attacking Second Amendment rights' - is my opinion not protected under 1st Amendment rights?" he said on Twitter, making reference to the Constitution's guarantee of freedom of speech.

 

Most valid argument of that whole post.

[DBMC]

Sandy Hook Elementary Tribute (Coldplay - Fix You)

 

This is a video tribute I made for the families and victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. I put all my heart, soul, and endless hours of tears into making it. Feel free to rate and leave a supportive comment for them on youtube if you have an account. Thanks and God Bless.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHTP1xuDaGk]Sandy Hook Elementary Tribute Video[/ame]

[MartinFan]

This is a video tribute I made for the families and victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. Feel free to rate and leave a supportive comment for them on youtube if you have an account. Thanks and God Bless.

 

 

 

Beautiful!! The captions for the Teachers, especially the Last Lady, were truely moving.... Thank-You for sharing!!

[coldplaymom]

Beautiful, yet heartbreaking! Thank you for sharing the video.