Several People Shot at Gun Appreciation Day Events

[lierre 224]

Not the stupid "let's ban cars" argument again! Yawn.

Cigarettes are self inflicted death and it's really hard to go on a killing spree with a carton of cigarettes. Great comparison!

Cigarettes... It causes preventable death and disease.

Yet, no one can even ban cigarettes forever. Just because everyone who dies of tobacco-related diseases are considered at fault for their own death... That doesn't mean it isn't an alarming statistic. I HATE hearing people underestimate the damage cigarettes do to the humans and to the world. If you do not think that is an important issue, then you are becoming part of that segment of the population who cause death upon others. Yes, cigarettes KILL. However, this isn't a thread about cigarettes... I just needed to get that out there because it is incredibly frustrating to hear and read talk about people not believing it's actually an important issue.

Pretty much how MENTAL HEALTH SHOULD BE A TOPIC, too.

The United States has all these kinds of restrictions and laws on gun ownership and use. Yet, doesn't it bother and perplex you that every year, there are about three to four high-profile crimes caused by guns in the United States still?

Most of the people that kill with a firearm are not even capable of killing with their bare hands. For lack of a better description, they're not man enough to do that. It's not easy to pull the trigger but it's a lot harder - a lot harder - to kill someone up close with a knife, let alone with bare hands. Very few can pull that off. But thousands manage to squeeze the trigger. There was a story just the other day where a guy killed I think it was three people - after he went to buy a gun. He could have just killed them with his bare hands but no, he went down to the local gun store, bought a piece and then went back and snuffed them out. Doesn't look like he could have done it any other way. And that right there is why the easy and ready access to firearms for every bozo in this country IS in fact responsible for the insane amount of gun deaths we have here.

Blaming that on the availability of guns is not recognizing the root cause of the problem.

Why are these people killing? Why did that teenager with mental impairment shoot those other kids? Why did a student shoot his fellow students in Colorado? Do you think those crimes would have never happened if they didn't have access to guns? Do you think they would have thought... "Oh, i don't have a gun yet I wanna kill... I guess I should just put this off"?

It is naivete to believe that they would have been stopped.

I am all for the screening of those who can own guns. The US already has laws in place... Then, why aren't they working?

Because simply banning or restricting the instrument used for such violence is not the answer.

Edited January 22, 2013 by ivyanddan

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Blaming that on the availability of guns is not recognizing the root cause of the problem.

No, it's not. It's simply recognizing that given the root problems that we have, it's irresponsible, reckless, deadly and I would say bordering on criminal to NOT institute tight controls around gun acquisition and ownership.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I am all for the screening of those who can own guns. The US already has laws in place... Then, why aren't they working?

If you have to ask why these laws ain't working, then you haven't paid attention. Private transactions are NOT subject to background checks. That is almost half of all firearm sales. That's why they ain't working. We put a guard on the front door but left the back door wide open and unguarded. Do you lock the front door of your house and leave the back door open? Would any sane person do that?

[lierre 224]

Focusing on gun registration has to happen. No question.

Action on the weapon type and magazine size will make barely a dent in the firearm fatality rate for years, maybe even decades.

Working on the people end of the equation is the only way to move the issue forward.

Yes, exactly.