Gun Control?

[Wickabee]

I feel the biggest problem with "gun control" discussion is that it seems the sides speaking about it assume that gun control means that the government takes ALL guns away. I assume there are a lot of people that want to do that, but I also assume that most speak of gun control in a much less black and white type of tone. I don't own a gun and never really given owning one much thought, but I think I should have the right to buy one if I felt the need or just had the desire to do so. I don't mind more restriction being placed on gun ownership and nor do I really see a need for people to have assault type weapons. However I also know that just because I don't see a need for one doesn't mean the right should be taken away from me. I think there is a medium that exists that can help limit guns but yet allow people to own them freely. Gun control isn't about taking all guns and the right to own away nor is it about allowing anyone to own any sort of weapon that want simply because they can.

I also feel that gun control reforms isn't really a major thing that can be done to reduce the types of shooting that happened in connecticut. It's really quite a few things that would help prevent these types of massacres. If a person is going to do something like this they will find a way. I'd say there is more value in looking at what causes people to do thing like this rather than look at the tools that they use to do it.

I want to add that while it seems like there have been lots of school shooting or shooting in general as of late, they are still very rare when you look at the odds of something like this happening. That's not to say they shouldn't be looked at and discussed and learned from, but they simply are rare.

I think the biggest problem, in addition to many people thinking "gun control" = gun ban, is the fact that the whole discussion has been reduced to politics. Want gun control? You're a liberal. Don't want , you're a conservative. If I'm a liberal and you're a conservative, we have to sit at the extreme opposites of each other. It shouldn't be, but it's the way it is.
The (fairly) recent phenomenon of constant over statement might have something to do both with these incidents and this era of complete partisanship we live in.

[drtom2005]

The vast majority of the cases you are talking about are probably misdiagnosed people. People need to see psychiatrists to get the right diagnosis. I bet many of the above people had bipolar and schizophrenia. Just antidepressant do not help these people. They need different medicine.

[greg271126817]

I feel the biggest problem with "gun control" discussion is that it seems the sides speaking about it assume that gun control means that the government takes ALL guns away. I assume there are a lot of people that want to do that, but I also assume that most speak of gun control in a much less black and white type of tone. I don't own a gun and never really given owning one much thought, but I think I should have the right to buy one if I felt the need or just had the desire to do so. I don't mind more restriction being placed on gun ownership and nor do I really see a need for people to have assault type weapons. However I also know that just because I don't see a need for one doesn't mean the right should be taken away from me. I think there is a medium that exists that can help limit guns but yet allow people to own them freely. Gun control isn't about taking all guns and the right to own away nor is it about allowing anyone to own any sort of weapon that want simply because they can.

I also feel that gun control reforms isn't really a major thing that can be done to reduce the types of shooting that happened in connecticut. It's really quite a few things that would help prevent these types of massacres. If a person is going to do something like this they will find a way. I'd say there is more value in looking at what causes people to do thing like this rather than look at the tools that they use to do it.

I want to add that while it seems like there have been lots of school shooting or shooting in general as of late, they are still very rare when you look at the odds of something like this happening. That's not to say they shouldn't be looked at and discussed and learned from, but they simply are rare.

Yes thats true. The time and money should be spent on figuring out why these people are doing this stuff. Not how to limit the way they obtain weapons because there are plenty of them out there being sold ilegally. You can not stop someone from doing this stuff, and it ont do any good to put limitations on certain people for anything about guns. Felons are already not supposed to have guns, but i assure you there are plenty that still have them or have easy access to them. Weather you have guns or not for collection, show, or protection should be your choice until you prove that you are not responsible to own them, by having certain criminal records, or mental disorders. But this should be proven by the people who want to limit guns, not be proven by the people who are trying to get them. Its been the right of americans for many years to own firearms, and for a long time there have been limitations to who can have them and who cant. The bottom like is even if you tried to take away all guns and get rid of them, there will still be guns available to people somehow. SO what everyone should be discussing is like you said, ways to figure out why people are doing these things and take the proper action to prevent it in the future. If it means add more security to different places then that should be done, if it means when someone has a mental disorder they should be put on a No Buy List, then they should do that. whatever they can do should be done, but dont make it harder for the normal person to obtain a gun. What happens if someone is threatened for whatever reason by someone and they go to the police and make a report, and then try to get a gun for protection and is told they have to wait for 1 month or a certain period of time before they can get one. Then the person who threatened comes to your home, or finds you out somewhere and kills you while you wait to legally purchase a gun for protection. You cant tell me this is the right thing to have happen, and also can not tell me the police will do something as soon as that person tells them about the threat. There really is no reason for there to be any limitations to buying guns if there is no guaranteed protection from random people who want to hurt you. This world is a lot bigger than a lot of people see in their everyday lives. When people talk about gun restrictions or limitations they only see the bad things about guns and don't see any of the good.

[Star_Cards]

I think the biggest problem, in addition to many people thinking "gun control" = gun ban, is the fact that the whole discussion has been reduced to politics. Want gun control? You're a liberal. Don't want , you're a conservative. If I'm a liberal and you're a conservative, we have to sit at the extreme opposites of each other. It shouldn't be, but it's the way it is.
The (fairly) recent phenomenon of constant over statement might have something to do both with these incidents and this era of complete partisanship we live in.

definitely great points. Sadly that is the climate of every debate these days. More people sit in the gray areas that exist on every topic. The great thing about that fact is that usually means they are ok with compromise. The bad part is it's all portrayed as compromise means you aren't getting exactly what you want and therefore your rights are being infringed. As long as that thought process is out there we will be divided so much.

[Star_Cards]

Yes thats true. The time and money should be spent on figuring out why these people are doing this stuff. Not how to limit the way they obtain weapons because there are plenty of them out there being sold ilegally. You can not stop someone from doing this stuff, and it ont do any good to put limitations on certain people for anything about guns. Felons are already not supposed to have guns, but i assure you there are plenty that still have them or have easy access to them. Weather you have guns or not for collection, show, or protection should be your choice until you prove that you are not responsible to own them, by having certain criminal records, or mental disorders. But this should be proven by the people who want to limit guns, not be proven by the people who are trying to get them. Its been the right of americans for many years to own firearms, and for a long time there have been limitations to who can have them and who cant. The bottom like is even if you tried to take away all guns and get rid of them, there will still be guns available to people somehow. SO what everyone should be discussing is like you said, ways to figure out why people are doing these things and take the proper action to prevent it in the future. If it means add more security to different places then that should be done, if it means when someone has a mental disorder they should be put on a No Buy List, then they should do that. whatever they can do should be done, but dont make it harder for the normal person to obtain a gun. What happens if someone is threatened for whatever reason by someone and they go to the police and make a report, and then try to get a gun for protection and is told they have to wait for 1 month or a certain period of time before they can get one. Then the person who threatened comes to your home, or finds you out somewhere and kills you while you wait to legally purchase a gun for protection. You cant tell me this is the right thing to have happen, and also can not tell me the police will do something as soon as that person tells them about the threat. There really is no reason for there to be any limitations to buying guns if there is no guaranteed protection from random people who want to hurt you. This world is a lot bigger than a lot of people see in their everyday lives. When people talk about gun restrictions or limitations they only see the bad things about guns and don't see any of the good.

agreed. which is better... forcing someone who wants to massacre people to kill less with slower weapons or think of different ways to kill people so they can easily get the tools they need to do so? or trying to figure why a person would want to do this and try to identify those flags before hand and help keep them from wanting to do this. I don't have the answers as I'm not that experienced with mental health issues and there are certainly issues in that realm as far as stigmas and over medication, but to me getting to the roots of a problem is more valuable. A person who wants to kill without guns is still a person who wants to kill.

Although I still have no problem is certain types of guns were outlawed for personal use.

[TheNati97]

The vast majority of the cases you are talking about are probably misdiagnosed people. People need to see psychiatrists to get the right diagnosis. I bet many of the above people had bipolar and schizophrenia. Just antidepressant do help these people. They need different medicine.

what? you know theres no test or clear diagnosis for schizophrenia or for most mental illness's its mostly all guess work based on what the patient says and does during interviews. believe me i know and have been diagnosed and misdiagnosed countless times.

as for the gun control topic does anyone think an assault weapons ban would help this problem? many thousands of people already have assault rifles which wont be taken away they would just be pre-ban weapons just like the last time this was attempted and ultimately failed and do you really think a criminal would have to buy a rifle legally in order to get one? LOL.. to anyone who wants to ban weapons please inform me of the last time prohibition or banning something worked for the government.

[Zimbow]

Really?

You think hand guns would've killed the same amount in the same time frame....really?

My apologies. I posted a response without reading the entire thread. :)

[Zimbow]

you can't buy a semi automatic weapon at walmart, also they have banned several types of ammo.

as someone else stated, all you have to do to drive is,

steal purse
use car keys
have car to drive

pretty easy

I don't know what your Walmart sells, but ours is stocked with firearms;

http://www.walmart.com/search/search...int=4125&&_mm=

[shrewsbury]

clicked on the link and it lead to their website, went to my local store(on website) and no guns were listed.are you looking at their website or the store? there is a big difference

[angel0430]

I beleive they can limit the weapons that you can use. There is no need for a person to have a military style weapon to protect yourself. Alos, there are a lot of veterans that are unemployed that can easily be hired to guard school premises.