Linda, the tragedy is a reminder of how much firepower a lot of people have in so many communities around the country. We had an instance last year in our area where a local cop threatened his wife and then the house was surrounded by other cops after someone called 911. The firepower and ammunition he was found to have on hand in the house was staggering to behold! In his case, no one was shot and he's now behind bars, but just thinking about the others in the country that are loaded up with firepower is scary.

Gun control? Bullet control?

Hell -- how about a little SELF-control....

Oooohhhhhh we are kindred spirits! Outstanding and 100%, thank you! I disagree with naysayers who respond that self control is needed. A beserker is incapable of self control and as I mentioned in a small piece I posted here yesterday about the Newtown incident, if adults at that school were armed, the shootout would have been possibly even more horrendous because typically, shooters who are wounded (this one wore a bullet proof vest) become even more rageful. We cannot control lunacy, delusion, delirium, insanity or madness. We CAN control bullets and guns. If the gun lovers argue removing their weapons - only ONE conclusion can be reached, and that is, this and every other tragedy just doesn't mean a darn thing to them.

I'm not a naysayer. I believe in gun control (never mind bullet control). I grew up around the damned things, qualified as a marksman in the reserves and yadda yadda yadda. Suffice to say, I know about weapons and what they can do, and have twice faced loaded ones.

And haven't touched one since I was 20. Why? Because when it comes to handguns and semi-auto/auto rifles, they're only meant to do one thing: Kill people.

I have no truck with the "one lone nut" or "berserker" excuses/theories. These people knew what they were about. They did it because they have zero impulse control; they're sociopaths. They get an idee fixe, plan it and then act it out.

Imagine if the only way you could get bullets and shotgun shells was to have them imprinted with your name, Social Security number, and Zip Code. You can't give them away or leave them in your drawer because if somebody else uses them, you goin' down!

Charging $5,000 per cartridge is a great idea if you want to create the most profitable black market in the world. Millions of rounds would be smuggled in from Mexico, and the smugglers could charge a lot for a cartridge that costs 50 cents. Of course that would be in addition to the hundreds of millions of rounds that are already in the United States, the value of which would increase from 50 cents each to whatever the market was willing to pay.

"Is it not time to change gun laws? If not now, when?"

Norway has very strict gun laws. Concealed carry is not legal, and their gun laws cover all firearms and all aspects of gun ownership. As far as the number of guns, Norway has around 1.3 million firearms compared to around 270 million in the U.S. In other words Norway has less than one-half of one percent of the guns that are in the U.S.

Unfortunately, that did not stop the Norwegian Anders Breivik from murdering 77 people in a single day. Sixty-nine of them were killed with guns. Another 8 were killed with a homemade bomb constructed from fertilizer and fuel oil. The bomb also injured another 200 people, 12 of them seriously.

If someone wants to commit mass murder no law can prevent that. If guns aren't available the perpetrator will find something else. Japan has extremely strict gun laws, but that did not stop the members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult from doing a multi-point, coordinated chemical weapon attack using homemade liquid sarin.

Even the Columbine attack, typically thought to be a shooting, was intended to be a bombing. Harris and Klebold had prepared two twenty-pound propane bombs, complete with BBs and nails for shrapnel. As Dave Cullen's book notes, had the bombs worked as designed, "[t]he fireball would wipe out most of the lunch crowd and set the school ablaze. Eric drew detailed diagrams. He spaced the bombs out but located them centrally, for maximum killing radius. They would sit beside two thick columns supporting the second floor. Computer modeling and field tests would later demonstrate a high probability that the bombs would have collapsed some of the second floor. Eric apparently hoped to watch the library and its inhabitants crash down upon the flaming lunchers."
[Cullen, Dave (2009-04-03). Columbine (pp. 33-34). Hachette Book Group. Kindle Edition.]

I have no problem with reasonable gun laws, and certainly there are parts of the law that need to be improved. But more gun laws is not the cure-all that some people would hope it to be, and with around 45 percent of households in the U.S. having guns, there's not enough public support for extremely strict gun laws.

I agree with Jim. We need a fair society.

I agree with Jim. We need a fair society.

They just arrested someone that made another threat to a school and he owned 47 guns. They said he was not serious but holy cow John it is scary. Like you said the firepower is scary.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/16/ind-man-with-47-guns-arrested-after-school-threat/1772941/



Boanerges- I agree and they had better do something.. This is out of hand.

IceRune_ 6 and 7 years olds died here. have they no compassion?


Boanerges- I grew up with them too- but it doesn't mean I want to shoot any.


Nileslite- smartest idea I have heard

Mishima- I had no idea abut the Columbine bombs and I am going to read up on it now.
45 percent of households in the U.S. having guns... why???

Stacey- Canadians and Americans have such different views on guns. Where did the guns come from that they used in the Eaton Centre shooting this centre? Buffalo right across the border.

We should, at the least, have the same registration requirements for guns as we do cars - every year. We also need to address how people with histories of mental illness get guns. Yes, I realize that wouldn't have stopped this case, but it might stop others. Mental health services have just gotten worse over the years, and that is something else that must change.

I totally agree that something must be done. Here in Canada we had licencing requirement for handgun and rifles for a few years. That legislation has now been abolished. Stupid bastards. Political pandering.

I wrote an article this July on the Colorado movie theatre murders. You can see it if you google Murder at the Movie - Lyle Elmgren - Open Salon

Let hope common sense will led to some form of sanity regarding gun control.

Just always keep in mind that there is no safe place anymore. Take care everyone.

Thanks guys for commenting. It is so hard to get on here but thank you!!