Despite the propaganda, no one is suggesting that guns be banned or that Americans be disarmed. The proposition is that there should be limits to the type of weapons that are available to the average citizen for non military uses, and that reasonable checks be in place for the purchase of guns. We (I hope) all agree that howitzers, grenades, RPGs and fully automatic weapons are inappropriate for civilian use - those laws have been in place since prohibition with little or no protest, even from the NRA. (and yes, I’m aware that there are permits available to purchase automatic weapons under certain circumstances). The proposition (supported by a majority of Americans) is that large capacity magazines and assault type weapons be subjected to the same laws as fully automatic weapons. Will it stop mass shootings? certainly not, but it would limit the damage.

I have yet to hear a cogent explanation of the civilian need for an AR-15 with a 30 shot magazine. It’s a lousy hunting rifle, a lousy target rifle, and a shotgun is a better home defense weapon. I grew up with guns and hunting, hand-loaded my own ammo, was an NRA member, shot on my college rifle team and shot on the pistol team at my Army base. I carried both fully automatic M-14s and M-16s in combat in Vietnam. I have a concealed carry permit, so I am hardly anti-gun. And we found that a 12 Ga pump was a very useful weapon in an ambush in VietNam - it’s my choice for a home defense weapon now. I can see no reason to own an assault weapon with a 30 shot magazine unless you want to k**l lots of people in a hurry, which is exactly what’s happening in these shootings. If the shooter had a pistol, a shotgun or a 6 shot hunting rifle, there would have certainly been fatalities, but likely fewer. Take note of the recent school shooting in Maryland. The shooter had a pistol, not an assault weapon, and the courageous deputy was on equal footing with the shooter, not under-armed. The shooter k**led 1 (not 17) and wounded 1 (not 15) before he was k**led. Were the circumstances and the reaction of the officer different from Parkland? You bet, but you can’t ignore the contrast.

Today, our children asserted THEIR constitutional right to free speech and THEIR right to petition the government for redress of grievances, and I, for one, am proud of them. They were mature, non-violent, focused and well behaved. Our children have clearly told us what needs to be done, and now it’s up to the adults to do the right thing. Feel free to disagree, it’s your constitutional right.

Thank you, TriX, for so powerfully stating exactly how I feel. I know many disagree, but the points to remember is that NO ONE is out to take your guns. And, like you, I see no justification for an assault style rife or any weapon with a high capacity magazine.

Despite the propaganda, no one is suggesting that guns be banned or that Americans be disarmed. The proposition is that there should be limits to the type of weapons that are available to the average citizen for non military uses, and that reasonable checks be in place for the purchase of guns. We (I hope) all agree that howitzers, grenades, RPGs and fully automatic weapons are inappropriate for civilian use - those laws have been in place since prohibition with little or no protest, even from the NRA. (and yes, I’m aware that there are permits available to purchase automatic weapons under certain circumstances). The proposition (supported by a majority of Americans) is that large capacity magazines and assault type weapons be subjected to the same laws as fully automatic weapons. Will it stop mass shootings? certainly not, but it would limit the damage.

I have yet to hear a cogent explanation of the civilian need for an AR-15 with a 30 shot magazine. It’s a lousy hunting rifle, a lousy target rifle, and a shotgun is a better home defense weapon. I grew up with guns and hunting, hand-loaded my own ammo, was an NRA member, shot on my college rifle team and shot on the pistol team at my Army base. I carried both fully automatic M-14s and M-16s in combat in Vietnam. I have a concealed carry permit, so I am hardly anti-gun. And we found that a 12 Ga pump was a very useful weapon in an ambush in VietNam - it’s my choice for a home defense weapon now. I can see no reason to own an assault weapon with a 30 shot magazine unless you want to k**l lots of people in a hurry, which is exactly what’s happening in these shootings. If the shooter had a pistol, a shotgun or a 6 shot hunting rifle, there would have certainly been fatalities, but likely fewer. Take note of the recent school shooting in Maryland. The shooter had a pistol, not an assault weapon, and the courageous deputy was on equal footing with the shooter, not under-armed. The shooter k**led 1 (not 17) and wounded 1 (not 15) before he was k**led. Were the circumstances and the reaction of the officer different from Parkland? You bet, but you can’t ignore the contrast.

Today, our children asserted THEIR constitutional right to free speech and THEIR right to petition the government for redress of grievances, and I, for one, am proud of them. They were mature, non-violent, focused and well behaved. Our children have clearly told us what needs to be done, and now it’s up to the adults to do the right thing. Feel free to disagree, it’s your constitutional right.

They are simply pawns being used to disarm law abiding Americans. When I was in high school (the '60's) kids would have rifles h*****g on the back windows of their pickup trucks which were sitting in the school parking lot. There were no school shootings. Today, youths are coming from broken families, are addicted to violent computer games and movies, have no respect for anything or anyone, and many of them are on mind altering psychotrophic drugs which are intended to "normalize" their behavior. It is not the gun, it is society that is at fault! Until these problems and others are properly addressed we will continue to see violence in our schools and in other venues. Like a camera, a gun is simply a TOOL which will only do what its user dictates. If guns are outlawed, then maybe cars, and vans, and pressure cookers, and knives, and explosives should be banned as well since all these other things have been used with great effect to k**l people. It's time to look past the obvious and find the real cause of all this violence.

True, as far as it goes, but that's no excuse for inexcusable behavior. Many, no, MOST people throughout history have grown up under much less than ideal circumstances but they didn't turn out to be mass k**lers. People were homeless and hungry and out of work during the Great Depression but the young people coming out of it have become known as the Greatest Generation - those men and women who defended this country against N**i and Japanese aggression. George Washington Carver was a child of s***ery and poverty but strove for an education and became one of the great scientists of his generation. It is built into the human spirit to overcome adversity and it is nothing but a cop-out to believe that today's youth cannot aspire to a good life. Way too many of them have been coddled and presented with "participation" trophies to the point that they believe that the world owes them a living without working for it - just observe the juvenile pan-handlers standing in front of Walmart every summer asking total strangers to finance their activities. Again, guns are not the problem - warped, sinful people are and no law banning guns will ever solve it.

They are simply pawns being used to disarm law abiding Americans. When I was in high school (the '60's) kids would have rifles h*****g on the back windows of their pickup trucks which were sitting in the school parking lot. There were no school shootings. Today, youths are coming from broken families, are addicted to violent computer games and movies, have no respect for anything or anyone, and many of them are on mind altering psychotrophic drugs which are intended to "normalize" their behavior. It is not the gun, it is society that is at fault! Until these problems and others are properly addressed we will continue to see violence in our schools and in other venues. Like a camera, a gun is simply a TOOL which will only do what its user dictates. If guns are outlawed, then maybe cars, and vans, and pressure cookers, and knives, and explosives should be banned as well since all these other things have been used with great effect to k**l people. It's time to look past the obvious and find the real cause of all this violence.

When we were growing up, we had the expectation of more opportunity, more jobs, and a better life than our parents. Kids today do not, in many if not most cases, have that expectation. Only a bleak set of prospects in an overcrowded world of shrinking chances and declining standards.

I am glad I do not face their future. I would h**e to be a child of the 21st Century. I am glad to see them standing up for something. Even if I don't agree with all of them and all of their points, at least they are STANDING UP.

True, as far as it goes, but that's no excuse for inexcusable behavior. Many, no, MOST people throughout history have grown up under much less than ideal circumstances but they didn't turn out to be mass k**lers. People were homeless and hungry and out of work during the Great Depression but the young people coming out of it have become known as the Greatest Generation - those men and women who defended this country against N**i and Japanese aggression. George Washington Carver was a child of s***ery and poverty but strove for an education and became one of the great scientists of his generation. It is built into the human spirit to overcome adversity and it is nothing but a cop-out to believe that today's youth cannot aspire to a good life. Way too many of them have been coddled and presented with "participation" trophies to the point that they believe that the world owes them a living without working for it - just observe the juvenile pan-handlers standing in front of Walmart every summer asking total strangers to finance their activities. Again, guns are not the problem - warped, sinful people are and no law banning guns will ever solve it.