Sandy Hook Tragedy

Alternatively, we could put all Americans in glass boxes & put them round the world. Just to observe them on our way to work etc.

Richy59 wrote:Even with firearms not readily available it happens over her as well. I live not far from Dunblane, and the ids were only 5-6 years old.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_school_massacre

I guess these idiots will always find a way to cause chaos no matter what precautions are in place.

Laws here are much stricter now though, back then the laws were different.

Kilroy8 wrote:Alternatively, we could put all Americans in glass boxes & put them round the world. Just to observe them on our way to work etc.

guns can shoot through glass so that's not gonna work

Defconluke wrote:With such a large number of firearms there has to be something in place to prevent incidents like this.

However, if the likelihood of this happening is so low in the first place, and (America being as big as it is) almost impossible to predict the location of, then trying to have everywhere prepared for every possible scenario and risk is unfeasible.

It is all well and good to suggest changes such as the tightening of gun laws but the difference between saying and doing is monumental. While the idea of it is something people can easily get behind, actually putting something in place is going to be impossibly hard.

each individual state regulates their gun laws.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_the_United_States_%28by_state%29

and as you've mentioned, people cry out for changes to be made and laws to be stricter...

but there are things like gun lobbyists and gun ownership is big business here in america...they have a lot of sway too and can make it hard for changes to happen. These sort of people cringe when something like this happens, because they know it is only going to sway the court of public opinion.

it is an incredibly complex situation and the opinions of people vary widly from region to region across the USA...there's a reason why everyone got all in a hissy when obama said that "rural america clings to religion and guns"

For me I believe its the culture with a mixture of the laws. In Canada, you have to have one of 3 types of licences to be able to have gun, and the list of guns that are prohibited is insane and goes into categories as well.

They've even limited the amount of rounds per mag here as well.

Of course as well as programs and blah blah blah. min 28 day waiting period blah blah blah etc etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Canada

everything is controlled by the National Police (RCMP), you get background checked and interviewed for everything.

Basically guns are limited to hunting and thats it. period.

If we want to shoot people, we go paintballing.

Serpent Racing's tribute to the fallen:

http://tinyurl.com/cwuzcm5

I suppose I will weigh in on the issue and the tragedy.

The tragedy first:
When all the news corps were reporting the story (like they actually cared about the town, when they really wanted ratings), I though to myself with the information I got. My father came to a black and white conclusion "Obviously, he was jealous of his mother's students." My brother proposed that it was a pure crime of anger. My mother was naïve and asked why the school didn't know anything before hand. I proposed that the kid and the mother had gotten into a confrontation, the result being that he killed her. I also said he was probably pushed into doing better in school by his mother, perpetually disappointed in him.

I was particularly angered at the CBS Evening News referring to a SiG Sauer pistol as a "Lethal Pistol", which is a silly thing to say because most firearms are designed to be lethal. A paintball gun can be lethal, beanbag shells are lethal, rubber baton 40mm shells are lethal. There was the obvious "Assault Rifle" comment they made. I was issued an assault rifle when I served in the Army. It was called the M-16 and M-4, they were select fire weapons which I qualified as an expert marksman. The rifle the kid had was semiautomatic, and totally incapable of being select fire or being easily converted to fully automatic fire.

Then the reporter talked about the pistols accepting 'high capacity clips'. The Mauser C.96 accepts clips through the top to "top off" the magazine. And most clips are 10 rounds or 5 rounds, and are not considered 'high capacity' under any states laws. Magazines however can be from 2 rounds to 200 rounds and sometimes more than that, they are regulated in many states and capacities over 5-10 are banned in others.

To the issue:
Most legislators will look at this tragedy and immediately pounce on the gun control band wagon, I urge caution on that. Knee jerk reactions to shootings only equates to the suppression of rights for citizens and the opening of avenues of attack for the less honorable of the citizenry. Investigation to how the firearms were stored, if there was a safe. And if there was a safe, did the perp know how to get into the safe? Why didn't he buy himself any firearms and use those? What was his mental health?

These questions, especially about the health of the shooter are often tossed to the way side in favor of restriction of magazines, features on firearms, outright bans on firearm designs, minimum barrel lengths and overall lengths. So the issue isn't only about guns, but about the health of people that use them in these acts. I have been through the process to obtain firearms. There is one or two questions that can be lied about on the form that ask about mental health, the NICS check will do a background on you, but mental health is not a high priority.

In short. Is it a gun control issue? No, not totally. Is it a issue with the tumor of a healthcare system that the US has, and thus needs heavy debate and study for reform? Most certainly yes.

Just leaving this here. @ 9:30am EST (2:30pm GMT) today, there will be a moment of silence in memory of what transpired last week, and churches in the Newtown area will ring their bells 26 times to mark each individual who had lost their life.

#MomentForNewtown