Connecticut Elementary School Shooting

[Aaron MkII]

I like how the bill addresses none of the causes of all this shit and just bans a bunch of cosmetic crap.

HDS, I've often got the impression from hardcore anti gun types that they think my firearms whisper to me in the night, urging me to go on a rampage.

The bill probably won't pass anyways, it's only effect will be to drive up costs. Which its already done. Thanks Feinstein!

[Nephtys]

HDS, I've often got the impression from hardcore anti gun types that they think my firearms whisper to me in the night, urging me to go on a rampage.

I can only presume your giant pile of vile firearms crafted by Remington and Sauron beckoned for you to strawman really hard as well at night.

[Aaron MkII]

Obviously.

[Aaron MkII]

That was intended as a joke, by the way.

[Lonestar]

Sauron makes firearms?


Bet it's a Black rifle. Probably a XCR.

[Aaron MkII]

Sauron makes firearms?


Bet it's a Black rifle. Probably a XCR.

Makes sense, next one I see I'll check for his trademark.

[Simon_Jester]

Look for inscriptions in the Black Speech.

I'll say that of all the things the Republicans in the Senate will predictably 'filibuster' to death by asserting that they're willing to do so, this is among the ones I will miss the least. And, in fact, not miss at all.

What a stupid waste of political time and opportunity to do anything about the causes of this.

[Knife]

There was some rumblings about filibuster reform, wonder if this will light a fire under the Dems to do it before some legislation hits.

Edit: Dur dur moment, the only way they could do it is first thing on a new congress, so if they did, it would be first.

[Simon_Jester]

I don't think the Democrats will be motivated enough to pass the Feinstein version of the AWB, especially since it won't pass a Republican House no matter what they do.

[His Divine Shadow]

Seems to me that the NRA can do something, They said they would and since I don't think that means they are going pro gun control I would like to think they'd start promoting things like gun safes and maybe hand out discounts from safe manufacturers and stuff like that.

[Aaron MkII]

They should be all over that, discounted safes and training for members that are poor, classes on safety and responsible ownership. They don't even need to use actual guns, Remington IIRC has a set of non functional orange training guns specifically for instructors.

[Aaron MkII]

National Post

Vice-President Joe Biden will quarterback the administration’s intended crackdown on guns. Formerly pro-gun members of Congress are admitting it’s time for action. Canadian politicians are also talking about potential changes to our laws. And even the NRA — the NRA! — says it has some meaningful suggestions to make on gun control.

If you’re a firearms owner on either side of the border, you’ve seen it all before. But this time, there should be a recognition that there is something that responsible firearms owners can do. There are lessons here for us.

Gun owners are understandably frustrated with the calls for more laws. “Crack down on guns!” is always the reaction to the kind of tragedy we saw in Newtown last week. Oftentimes, the urgency fizzles and nothing is done. Sometimes, though, laws — usually bad laws — do indeed get passed. And millions of gun owners, who’ve never hurt anyone and never will hurt anyone, quite logically conclude that they are getting scapegoated in the rush to a do-nothing “solution.”

The futility of every measure under discussion, as well as the ignorance of media commentators and so-called experts who clearly know little about firearms and existing gun-control laws, is deeply frustrating for responsible gun owners. It’s doubly galling coming from people who don’t know the difference between a semi-auto, a machine gun and an assault rifle — and when called out on that, breezily claim the distinction doesn’t matter. As if a sound grasp of details is an irrelevant triviality when discussing matters of law and public policy.

But it’s not good enough for the gun-owning community to poke holes in the (usually weak) arguments of gun-control fanatics. Gun owners on both sides of the border must honestly ask themselves if they can learn anything from this, and every other, shooting tragedy. This time, there absolutely is. Nancy Lanza, mother of the alleged shooter and first victim of his rampage, should not have had guns in her house.

This isn’t something responsible firearms owners and their supporters will want to admit. There is an extreme reluctance among those who suspect their guns will be banned to say that any person who is not a criminal or deranged should lose their guns. And they will be quick to point out that Ms. Lanza owned her guns legally under Connecticut law, and was by all accounts a responsible, law-abiding recreational shooter who posed no threat to anyone.

That’s all true. But that isn’t the whole story here — Ms. Lanza wasn’t the only person with access to those firearms. Her son, Adam, had access, too. And the more we learn about him, the more we realize that Adam was a disturbed individual, and had been for years. He shouldn’t have had guns in his house. Who owned them is immaterial.

Lots of people suffer from some degree of mental illness or developmental delays. That shouldn’t be enough to automatically exclude one from possessing a firearm in their vicinity. But a gun owner must accept reasonable responsibility for what their firearms can do in the wrong hands. If, as reports suggest, Adam Lanza’s psychological state had recently worsened, there comes a time when Ms. Lanza should have accepted the fact that while she had a right to own guns, she also had a responsibility to store them elsewhere, away from her son.

That’s not to blame the victim. She died, too. And as I’ve written here previously, those closest to the mentally unbalanced are often the least able to accept that their loved one might be dangerous. But firearms owners owe it to the public to be as responsible as possible. That may sometimes mean giving up their guns if someone they live with could plausibly use them to commit a crime. At the very least, it will always mean storing firearms in such a way that only a very determined thief, with plenty of time and effort, can get them.

Such steps will not only hopefully save lives. It will also help maintain the rights of the majority of gun owners across North America.

National Post
mgurney@nationalpost.com

Interesting...opinion piece? And I agree with him, she should have found somewhere else to store them, and payed the ultimate price for it. Perhaps the NRA can help out by working towards creating an atmosphere of social responsibility for American firearms owners.

[Lord Falcon]

This shooting is terrible... but it doesn't surprise me. It's just something I've been forced to get used to. And there's gonna be another mass shooting in the next few months, you wait.

[Flagg]

Interesting...opinion piece? And I agree with him, she should have found somewhere else to store them, and payed the ultimate price for it. Perhaps the NRA can help out by working towards creating an atmosphere of social responsibility for American firearms owners.

After seeing that abortion of a "press conference" where the head of the NRA all but took a shit on the faces of those dead children and teachers, yeah...

[Aaron MkII]

It's pretty terrible, I agree.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

It's pretty terrible, I agree.

What are you supposed to do against Feinstein, et. al.? Start negotiating with yourself like Obama is doing again on the "fiscal cliff"? Whatever else you say or think about him, LaPierre isn't dumb enough to do that--unlike Obama.

[Lord Falcon]

This won't be the last time. Trust me. I'm betting in the next three, no, TWO months, there will be another mass slaughter.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

This won't be the last time. Trust me. I'm betting in the next three, no, TWO months, there will be another mass slaughter.

Arm the teachers.

[Formless]

Double post-- oh, wait.

Lord Falcon, do you realize that just because no one responded to you the first time doesn't make re-posting it less annoying, right? I mean, have some patience.





Edit: ah, yes, that feeling of having preformed ninjitsu. How interesting.

[Lord Falcon]

Oh my God, seriously. Arm the teachers? People don't sign up to become teachers to carry around guns! And it might as well not be a school either. It could be another movie theater.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Double post-- oh, wait.

As long as LF is spamming up these threads with endless completely braindead pronouncements and demands, what the hell else is there to do? Perhaps I'll scare him away eventually so the actual discussion can continue.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Oh my God, seriously. Arm the teachers? People don't sign up to become teachers to carry around guns! And it might as well not be a school either. It could be another movie theater.

Arm movie theatres.

P.S. you may be the funniest poster this board has ever had.

[Aaron MkII]

It's pretty terrible, I agree.

What are you supposed to do against Feinstein, et. al.? Start negotiating with yourself like Obama is doing again on the "fiscal cliff"? Whatever else you say or think about him, LaPierre isn't dumb enough to do that--unlike Obama.

You know quite well that I'm against even negotiation with types like her. As i said earlier, extremists should not be allowed to participate. They have enough say already.

[Mr Flibble]

What are you supposed to do against Feinstein, et. al.? Start negotiating with yourself like Obama is doing again on the "fiscal cliff"? Whatever else you say or think about him, LaPierre isn't dumb enough to do that--unlike Obama.

Well if I were them instead of the shotgun/splatter attempt to re-frame the discussion to anything but guns (media, video games, mental health etc) like they did, they could have focused on the healthcare side. Imagine if they came out and said "you know what, what we need is universal healthcare, that way people can get the help they need before they go over the edge" and started actually lobbying for it.

That would immediately change the discussion from 'rarrr guns are evil vs rare arm everyone' into 'let's do something about healthcare' and the best bit is they would be co-opting their opponents, as Democrats are not going to be fighting against better healthcare.

[SirNitram]

The NRA press conference once again illustrates the lunacy. Mortal Kombat, Natural Born Killers? This isn't trying to stick to your guns, this is getting a national audience and then lighting yourself on fire repeatedly.