Shooting at Northern Illinois University. (Chicago: professionals, law, office)

[jeepejeep]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

Abby, I woke up today and watched the news again about NIU. The gun control thing just hit me.

Why do any of us need guns?

If fearful of home invasion, get an alarm system to keep them out. Why set up a confrontation, with guns?

If it's a hobby, could you find another hobby if it meant something like NIU were far less likely to happen again?

If it's about the right to bear arms, what about the rights of those who died?

What am I missing here? Please someone educate me.

1) There are approximately 2 milloin cases per year where a citizen uses a gun to defent themselves or their families.
2) Not all crime is commited in the home. Most is outside the home and that's why people have concealed carry licenses. Every state that has inacted shall issue carry laws has seen a sharp decline in violent crime.
3) Gun control has never worked to reduce violent crime and never will, period. It only makes victims all the more vulnerable. These shootings did not occur until schools were declared "Gun Free Zones". When I was a kid, I could have gotten a rifle from an ad in the back of a magazine and many people did. There were no school shootings or mall shootings. These killers know just where to go to find unarmed victims. The Second Amendment is not about hobbies or hunting.
4) The Right To Keep And Bear Arms is the thing that these people had taken away from them, even the possibility of it because of the gun free zone laws.

Hope this helps a little.

[jeepejeep]

I just read aragx6's post. You're right, this is a thread to show out heartfelt hurt over this horrible thing and to offer our condolences to all involved.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

This thread should not be used for airing political and personal views on gun control or anything else.
Make another thread about discussing those things if you want.

If the purpose of this thread is not to share our personal views on this tragedy, than what is it?

There have been about 25 posts on this thread, blaming parents, video games, inadequate security, mental illness, TV, rap music, social issues and gun control.

This is the 5th school shooting in the U.S., in the past week. I think it about #10, in the past year. And no doubt, someone, somewhere in the USA is thinking about the next one.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

If the purpose of this thread is not to share our personal views on this tragedy, than what is it?

There have been about 25 posts on this thread, blaming parents, video games, inadequate security, mental illness, TV, rap music, social issues and gun control.

This is the 5th school shooting in the U.S., in the past week. I think it about #10, in the past year. And no doubt, someone, somewhere in the USA is thinking about the next one.

Make a separate thread for discussing school violence.I did not single out you btw, so why are you reacting so quickly? Jeez let the people get buried at least before turning this into a big gun debate.And when you do, make a seperate thread called Gun Control or something...

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

gunman killed 32 people and himself.

What????????

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

What????????

Yikes......slop editing on my part as it related to the rest of the article. Good catch.


Virginia Tech, a university in Blacksburg, Virginia, became the site of the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history in April 2007 when a gunman killed 32 people and himself.

[Radek]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

Yikes......slop editing on my part as it related to the rest of the article. Good catch.


Virginia Tech, a university in Blacksburg, Virginia, became the site of the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history in April 2007 when a gunman killed 32 people and himself.

I created a thread (before I saw this one) in the Education forum about the political topics, etc associated. I recommend the political discussion continues there.

And yeah, VT got to me pretty hard. Something about gearing up for finals week, and hearing some guy locked the doors to a building and went room to room...

kinda freaks me out.

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

If fearful of home invasion, get an alarm system to keep them out. Why set up a confrontation, with guns?

I have never seen an alarm with a "keep them out of my home" feature? Where can I get one of those?

[middle-aged mom]

I am deeply saddened to wake up to another day and learn that more families have lost loved ones due to campus shootings. Expressing saddness is what we do to make ourselves feel better when things, beyond our control, happen to other people.

Like a lot of people, I have not put a lot of thought into potential controls that might reduce the likelihood of this kind of thing occuring on yet another campus. It never hit home before, because it happened somewhere else.

This is not the time or place for it. And for some, it's just too late.

[sgresident]

a lot of times parents know their own child may have a problem and they don't speak up. sometimes friends know about a friend with a serious mental health issue. maybe it is even noticing a friend acting different and just asking them to sit and talk. who knows what sends people over the edge, but i would like to think if it is someone you know, that there are some kind of signs/symptoms/clues, something. I would hate to think that it is that you are fine one minute and a killer the next. I just think that more and more these days, people don't get involved, they don't speak up when they know something is wrong. that's all.