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Sounds like Adam Lanza comes from a long line of gun nuts in the Lanza family. His mother was taught to be a gun nut in Wisconsin on the farm she grew up on. Too bad a cow didn't kick her in the uterus before she moved to CT.
Then it gets back to something liberals never want to admit exists -- and that is evil. I'm inclined to agree with you --- the killer wasn't mentally ill at all, just very very evil.
Karl Rove is evil. Sure there's evil. Just never who the Right Wing says it is.
But at what point would a parent insist that their own kid be armed? At the age of 16? 12? 10?
It is, I believe, a federal law that persons under the age of 21 cannot own handguns. Since I'm talking about concealed weapons, that means long guns are out, which means 21. With training and a CCW. Which means college seniors.
Look, I don't want to minimize this horrific act. It was brutal, it was awful, it was sick, and it was twisted.
But, at the same time, we have to keep some perspective. While it may not seem that way, the simple fact of the matter is that our society is in better shape than it's been since well before my birth. Any metric you look at, be it murder rates, other violent crime, non-violent crime, STD infections, teenage pregnancy, you name it... Virtually all of them are at, or near, all time lows. You were more likely to be murdered in 1960 than in 2010.
Assault weapons are used in <2% of all gun crimes and <1% of all murders.
There simply is not a widespread problem due to the existence of these weapons in society. They were banned before, and the reason the ban was lifted was that it was found that banning them MADE NO DIFFERENCE.
You're absolutely correct, yet instances of mass violence are more common. Don't mistake me: I was raised with hunters and learned when I was 12 how to handle and care for weapons. Collect them, shoot competitively, hunt, protect yourself...these are American rights and traditions. Unfortunately, at this point it appears that Lanza's mother had some paranoia herself; it's one thing to ponder and possibly prepare, but another to nurture delusions and baseless fears. Gun sales have soared with both elections of President Obama, but he's yet to propose a law that would disarm citizens...no sane person would. However, weapons that give someone the ability to kill almost 30 people, moving targets, within a few minutes are unquestionably something that should be difficult to obtain. As a society, I'm not sure that people will not be asking for protection by their government, not against it.
Most kids are taught at an early age how to respect, handle and control guns. These kids grow up hunting, fishing and these are never the ones that have the problems. They even have family days at gun ranges which are very popular.
A kid who grows up and is trained in firearms is not the problem. Most of these kids have raised on computers in their parents basement and Death to them is a fantasy. If they were raised to hunt and handle weapons they would understand the power of that firearm.
You can't blame a man for not knowing how to use a hammer unless he's shown properly in his youth.
These kids are out of touch with reality.
The shooter grew up with and was trained in firearms.
However, weapons that give someone the ability to kill almost 30 people, moving targets, within a few minutes are unquestionably something that should be difficult to obtain.
First, that describes every semi-automatic weapon ever made, and, with a sufficiently skilled shooter, revolvers, too. Second "difficult to obtain" is different from "illegal". Feinstein has already gone on the record that she's going to introduce a new AWB, though she hasn't, to my knowledge, defined what she means.
Why would elementary school kids or the staff be armed in the first place?
Because we no longer have the right to go to the store, to work, to school, to church, to the movies...anywhere...without fear that someone will kill us. Welcome to the new America.
And was mentally ill. This is a very rare occurrence.
Not recently, it's not.
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