Broken

[Hatchie Dawg]

I was at work today when I got the news of the school shooting in CT. I am starting to think this is the straw that breaks the camels back for me. I am a white Anglo Saxon Protestant male from the South. I own upwards of 30 firearms of one sort of another, have been a member of the NRA, generally vote republican and I have taught both my daughters how to hunt and shoot. Venison is my family's primary red meat. I got a concealed carry permit in the first 6 months it was legal in TN, and the second amendment is precious to me. I think its the one amendment in the Bill of Rights that gives us the best chance of keeping the other nine. But today rattled me.

Whatever the glue was that created and and bound together responsible, productive citizens is dissolving before our eyes. The empty churches, dependence on government, loss of work ethic, loss of traditional family, attraction to base and violent entertainment all seem to tear at what we use to be. As we lose ourselves and are reduced to the lowest common denominator I am not sure we are up to the largely unrestricted access to firearms that we have enjoyed thus far. For the first time in my life I am open to the discussion of significant gun control measures.

I know it won't fix everything but as a society we are breaking if not broken already. As a people I am not sure we are responsible enough to live with the rights our forefathers and mothers fought, bled and died for. It's a damn sad day all the way around here in what's left of the Good Ole USA.

HD

 

[huntme]

my only arument would be,once you go down that road,you cant go back most of the time.
but it is a sad day in all our lives.

 

[schmalts]

Here is my fear. We have MILLIONS of hand guns out in private hands. Many are in the hands of thugs and criminals. If the government tried to take them away from us, the law abiding citizens will end up being sheep in a wolf pack because only the law abiding will turn them in. Go to Juarez Mexico and test that theory.
Statistics show that carry conceal lowers violent crime over and over. Sorry, i don't feel comfortable not being able to have the same level of firepower as a thug who will never turn in one of the millions of guns out there. Chances are I will never need to use that fire power but I also feel the chances go up if they try to ban guns.
Common sense should prevail, like the reason that pilots are now allowed to carry guns rather than make more laws that keep guns off planes.
It is the mind of those who do this stuff that needs to be looked at and we need to turn around the world many kids are raised. We need to keep that as the focal point. These are not 50 year old guys doing these school shootings, they are our messed up new generation.
Another thing, if your open to taking away more rights, don't start with the right to protect yourself. Maybe start with taking the rights away from those who feel offended or discriminated against when someone calls authorities and say they have legitimate reasons that someone they know is unstable and may do something horrific.
It is all a big mess, but in the end it is just a bad things that happen when there is lack of respect for others.

 

[Summitthunting]

I feel the same way Hatchie Dawg. I don't think legislation will solve any of this but damn something's got to change.

 

[pa mt man]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324296604578179812277699592.htmlMr.

"Winkler, who wrote the 2011 book "Gunfight" and is seen by observers as a centrist voice on gun control, agrees there are limits to what even the most restrictive gun-control regimes can prevent, citing the 2011 shootings at a Norwegian summer camp that killed dozens of people. "Norway has some of the toughest gun laws in the world."

I don't know what the answer is.No matter what we do it's going to happen.
Armed and trained guards,better mental health care and a more moral values taught in school,yes God-Talk,will help. My opinion.

 

[elkantlers]

Gun control only works on law abiding citizens. Criminals will still get guns and use them for evil.

 

[TheJason]

Murder is illegal, yet it happens every day. How will another layer of laws change anything?

 

[pointingdogsrule]

I'm not sure it's the answer, New York City has the toughest gun laws. Just try to get a permit in that city. Last year there were 209 killings. I wish it was that easy to solve.

good luck to all
the dog

 

[sbhooper]

The problem is that with the left-wing ideals that have been preached in this country for the last 50 years, our moral fiber has rotted away. No amount of laws can change evil. Laws only hurt the law-abiding. Evil is as evil does and the perpetrators that are not decent enough to kill themselves, should be killed in the same manner as they killed others.

People want to put a bandaid on the problem by controlling guns, but that won't stop anything. Look at all the countries that have virtually no gun rights and still have massacres occasionally.

 

[ecb]

This person, the guy in Colorado, the guy at Virginia Tech, were mentally ill. It is already against the law for someone with a diagnosis of mental illness to own a gun.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

The guy stole legally purchased handguns that his Mom bought and registered. He had a bunch of extra regular clips like everyone uses for those two guns to do all that shooting, so how is banning large capacity clips or any other new law going to stop something like this? Simple answer is that it won't. Even if no more guns and ammo was manufactured and sold in this country there are enough of both to last a long time and get into the wrong hands. IMHO our society has changed drastically in a negative way in my six decades of life. The kids have access to all these video games and other garbage that they are into so much that they may not even think that when you kill a person that person doesn't pop back up like when they turn a video game on the next time. Add to that how many are on medication of some sort to take care of problems that wouldn't be there in the first place if they had a good home life with two stable parents. Start addressing all of that instead of calling for more gun control!

 

[JoseCuervo]

occasionally[/B].

Is "occasionally" better than "all too frequently"?

 

[A-con]

I read this on another forum;

"Anyone who enters into a debate about gun control over the bodies of children has lost my respect".

 

[schmalts]

I read this on another forum;

"Anyone who enters into a debate about gun control over the bodies of children has lost my respect".

Isnt that ignoring the problem again? IMO trying to push more gun control is also ignoring the problem, the real problem that caused dead bodies.

 

[sbhooper]

This person, the guy in Colorado, the guy at Virginia Tech, were mentally ill. It is already against the law for someone with a diagnosis of mental illness to own a gun.

Exactly! I suppose it would have made things a whole lot better if he had hijacked a bus load of kids and driven it over a cliff-NOT! Firearms always seem to be the root of all evil for some reason.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Exactly! I suppose it would have made things a whole lot better if he had hijacked a bus load of kids and driven it over a cliff-NOT! Firearms always seem to be the root of all evil for some reason.

They may not be the root, but do you think they seem to be a preferred tool of those who do those type of acts?

 

[huntme]

there is no easy answer,society today is plaiged by people who were not raised by principles,or morrals,and the parents of these young adults are part of the blaim,i grew up around firearms,my father had loaded guns around our house,he taught me and my brothers at an early age,that guns are not toys,we were not allowed to have toy guns,squirt guns,but real guns we had access to,all of our lives.
we got spanked if we were bad,we got punished for things we did wrong,we would of neaver told my father,if you punish us we will call the police,because i know for a fact he would of given them a reason to arrest him,i would of gotten my butt spanked.
so in my oppinion all of we the people should start there.:MAD

 

[Oak]

The problem is that with the left-wing ideals that have been preached in this country for the last 50 years, our moral fiber has rotted away.

Give me a freakin' break. This is not a political issue. Would be just as easy to say it is the right wing nuts holding onto their guns and religion and not allowing "sensible" gun control to happen. Do you believe that? Me neither.

 

[schmalts]

They may not be the root, but do you think they seem to be a preferred tool of those who do those type of acts?

So yes or no, do YOU support more gun control laws and think it will keep murder rate down at all levels?

 

[JoseCuervo]

So yes or no, do YOU support more gun control laws and think it will keep murder rate down at all levels?

Does the solution have to keep the rate down at all levels (whatever that means) or is some level improvement acceptable and worthwhile ?