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What I have taught my daughter is the difference between what you see in those video games and on movies versus real life. I don't personally own a 30 round clip or gun capable of that capacity; we mainly own rifles for pig hunting, birding shotguns, and a few handguns. However, I have seen some people on here advocating everything from outright banning of all guns to banning all semi-automatics. That is indeed a knee jerk reaction to this tragedy.
I was simply addressing the culture issue you brought up and the way that I have personally dealt with that in my own family. I mean, I'll admit it, Hollywood has made guns 'sexy' and my husband and I have done the exact opposite in our home. Perhaps if we had more parents talking about how guns really work vice letting their kids only get their information from those movies and video games, the culture in general would be one of greater respect for guns as weapons.
I can only draw a parallel with abstinence sex ed versus 'normal' sex education. If we only teach abstinence to our children, that makes them ill prepared to handle sex. Same with guns. If you only teach children that guns are 'scary' but don't make them understand how guns work, you are doing those children a disservice. I know, not the best parallel, but it's always how I think of it.
I wish more people dealt with the issue as do you. I have had a gun, I gave it to my daughter who does use it, properly, for hunting. I don't hunt any more and certainly do not think guns should be banned.
Is there a 3 day waiting period to get a car? Does the dealership have liability if they sell you one? Are you held responsible if someone steals your car and crashes it? Is transport of your car in certain states regulated such that if you're not taking it from residence to another then you are in violation of a law? Are you required to park outside of school "safe" zones? Your example is full of holes and gun control advocates are trying to micromanage guns and ideally would love for no one to own them so they make them rediculously restricted. We have enough "reasonable" restructions on guns already so I don't know what "logical" steps need to be taken further and how it would have prevented this tragedy.
Does a person have to prove that they are mentally capable of using a gun responsibly to get a "gun permit"?
Can a person's "gun permit" be taken away if they break a law with it?
Talk about your blood money, the TV media is raking it in thru higher ratings as they take their macabre
coverage of this tragedy to new highs and at the same time very possibly generate another such incident.
No amount of gun control would have prevented this.
The boys mother failed to responsibly secure guns in the home. It makes it obviously worse that her son was emotionally damaged, but any parent is held to the same standard. If you could magically make all consumer owned guns in this country evaporate, these rare tragedies would be minimized, but other deaths would certainly occur from people not being able to protect themselves from criminals.
IOW, whatever restrictions pushed through as a emotional reaction to a disgusting tragedy will be political crap. Do you have any idea how many "evil black rifles" have entered the consumer market in the past ten years? No one, not even Dianne Feinstein thinks there is a chance to round up guns, just stop making them for awhile. What difference could that possibly make?
Even starting to discuss how mental health professionals could have authority in gun purchases should send this country into a heated debate sure to last a very long time, but that is the only place I see change coming that could help. But thats a slippery slope that will be fought all the way.
Cool so we can ban this gun too thanks for sharing.
And while we ban those let's ban these as well,
400 FPS AGM M14 SOCOM RIS High-Powered Sniper Rifle w/ Tactical Rail System Flashlight and Red Dot Scope - OD GREEN
2013 CUSTOM PATRIOT JG M4 S-System AEG Rifle "PUNISHER" w/ Full Metal RAS + Zoom Scope + M203 Grenade Launcher
340 FPS DE AK47 Krinkov CQB Fully Automatic Electric AEG Rifle - NEWEST ENHANCED MODEL or my favorite AMS Urban Sniper Package: 470 FPS WellFire APS SR-2 Sniper Rifle w/ Scope & M58 Shotgun w/ M1911 Pistol
All of these can be purchased online, fairly inexpensive and are definitely weapons of war. No background check required or age restriction enforced.
Thing is, they're Airsoft guns. Google 'em and you'll see what I mean.
As an example, Airsoft is pretty common in our neighborhood so the other day we're driving through the subdivision and out pops this short person wearing all black "swat" type clothing including the head balaclava carrying an M16.
First thing that popped into our minds, is this a nut with a gun running loose? He pulled up his face covering and we realized it was a kid about 12 years old who'd taken off or painted the orange tip of his airsoft gun (hopefully it was airsoft) and we kept going on our way thinking "that kid is could very easily get himself shot by a cop or resident running around like that".
I also remember when we first moved in a few years ago seeing the 16-17 year old across the street come out one day dressed in full cammo looking just like the AF personnel that live all around us (we live by an AF base) carrying what looked like a 50 Cal machine gun and a M16 on his back. Definitely caused some "pause" as we were not yet aware of all the people playing with airsoft around here.
Here's my point, it isn't about banning guns, they are tools and always have been, that won't stop anything.
It's about not glorifying or teaching that killing is a game. Not only do you have all the realistic video games but this stuff puts realistic looking/feeling weapons in the hands of little kids without any supervision or conversation about the nasty business of killing people.
Does a person have to prove that they are mentally capable of using a gun responsibly to get a "gun permit"?
Can a person's "gun permit" be taken away if they break a law with it?
As was pointed out, the guns were his mothers, not his and how does taking away guns from criminals (which is obvious and already on the books) have anything to do with this tragedy?
What is upsetting to you?
The guns?
The violent society?
The death of innocent children?
The fact that this could happen to anybody?
There are already enough guns in the USA for every man, woman and child to have one. The government can already monitor every move a person makes.
We kill innocent children every day without blinking an eye. Drunks, drones, family violence, drive by shootings.
IMO, many Americans have become so void of compassion we are like zombies. Go to the Politics section of this site and read the awful things people say to each other. Hell, just say something rotten about Houston right here and watch what happens.
We need to look in the mirror, start finding common ground, try to end the mass competitive nature of our society and learn a few things from the Quakers among us.
II will be the first one to give up my guns, my control, or submit to whatever is best to stop this kind of gun madness.
That is, quite possibly, the scariest and most un-American thing I have read on the internet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dopo
I'll never understand why people think that "their freedoms are taken away" by passing laws to make it harder for crazy people to get guns.
I don't think reasonable people have a problem with not selling guns to criminals and the mentally ill. My main problem with gun legislation is that the idiots who propose it don't have a fundamental understanding of guns and how they work.
For instance, there are almost no civilian-owned assault weapons in this country. To buy a full-auto firearm, a person needs to jump through a huge number of hoops and pay permit fees in the tens of thousands of dollars. What the "ban the assault weapons" crowd doesn't understand is that what they think of as assault rifles are just regular old semi-auto hunting rifles that are housed in a frame that LOOKS like a military weapon. But then again, gun legislation is mostly about looks and feelings, so I guess this is understandable.
I have also read some commenters say semi-auto weapons should be banned, which leads me to believe they don't understand what semi-auto means. Semi-auto doesn't mean a gun fires in bursts - it means a round is fired each time the trigger is pulled. Almost all modern fireamss are semi-auto, with the main exceptions of single action revolvers, bolt-action rifles and some shotguns. I guess we should go back to muzzle loaded muskets.
I am the first one to say, I have two little kids and this is absolutely tragic. I am having very hard time dealing with it. I will be the first one to give up my guns, my control, or submit to whatever is best to stop this kind of gun madness. I do love my guns, I collect them, and safety is the highest priority but it looks like is not enough. Yes there are many unfortunate ingredients to this violence madness, parents, kids, mental issues, but the easy access to guns and ammo actually tops it all.
How is everyone in Houston dealing with this? And in memory of those innocent kids please keep it constructive.
Yes, this is very tragic, I also have little ones, and one in the same grade as the victims. There will always be access to guns, legal, or illegal. There will always be people with mental disorders and they can attack with whatever is close by. Knowing that, why give up another piece freedom, and a means of protecting yourself and loved ones from those who would commit such an act against you with the same weapon?
Unfortunately, in cases like this, many disconnect the cause from the symptom and place it on the effect instead. In other words, I think the cause was the boys mental problem, not guns, which his mother owned legally. Whether she kept them locked up properly is another story.
I recently had to go to a police station to give a statement about a robbery. The door was locked and you had to buzz an intercom and have somebody open the door for you. I thought that was a pretty good security measure and if the police take those kinds of precautions for their safety, then certainly schools should as well. It even had a sign saying that if nobody answered to call 911.
This is truly horrific. I watched the talking heads trying to understand it and their guest psychologists trying to profile the man. I'm struck by the fact that these shooters are getting younger. It used to be some angry older person, now they're barely of legal age. We are raising a generation( actually two probably) of un socialized uncaring angry toddlers in adult bodies. We're paying a terrible price for failing families the foundation of society.
I think your last 2 sentences sums things up perfectly. The failing of the family unit is a huge reason as to why society is failing, and why we see more violent acts from young people. People will blame external factors, such as rap music, violent video games, guns...ect..ect, and sure those things can influence young minds. Nevertheless, a lot of this has to do with upbringing, and teaching your kid to differentiate from what is reality and what is not. I always tell my kid not to believe everything he sees on tv, and yes even the news, due to the way the media sensationalizes everything.
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Indeed tragic...
