rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Mental Illness causes idiots to kill people.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

And people with little regard for others or life.

Glenn Harve

Same thing, one could argue. For how could any mental state allow such with true morality?

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

The problem is not guns. The problem is people, and there seems to be a big problem addressing that. I own several guns, four of which are sporting arms, three are handguns, and two of the rifles are semi-automatic. One is a black powder muzzle loader. Both the semi-auto rifles have sporting style stocks, one is wood, the other is a black composite stock. It was designed to be carried in a rifle scabbard on a horse. If I put either of those rifles on a tactical-styled stock, it would be instantly deemed an “assault rifle,” and in certain locations, I’d be in danger of having it taken away or deemed an illegal weapon to own. Yet the only difference is the STOCK!!!

As a suporter of the 2nd Amendment, and a retired State Trooper and sheriff’s deputy, of course I support gun ownership, however I also support the screening of people who want to buy and own firearms. Definitely there are some who have no business owning any firearm, but for some reason we, as a nation, have difficulty addressing the “people problem” when it comes to whether or not someone should have a gun. I don’t believe in new legislation, as we already have very good, strict gun laws in effect. The problem is that the “system” seems reluctant to fully enforce those laws. People get arrested for illegal possession of a firearm, for instance, a felon in possession of a firearm, yet the courts consistently issue the perverbial “tap on the back of the hand.” Then they gnash their teeth and wring their hands when that person commits another offense. We don’t need new laws, we need to vigorously enforce the ones we already have and update the screening methods.

If one examines these mass shooting, the immediate response is folks wondering “Why didn’t we see the signs?” Yet there’s been an increased awareness of certain signs that someone may about to do something tragic, yet people seem to turn the other way for some reason.

As for what types of guns are good/bad, neither is either. It depends on the nut behind the trigger. None of my guns has ever left their storage and gone out looking for someone to shoot, and none has ever decided to discharge itself. I believe that no one ought to fear guns, but should educate themselves about firearms. They are a tool, like any other tool, and those who own them need to be adequately trained in how to use them. So, does anyone NEED to own a gun? I suppose that depends on what that need is. In the end, the key is responsible gun ownership and proper firearms training.

So where does that leave the criminal element? The gun laws don’t apply to them, as they will always be able to obtain a gun somewhere, so they simply ignore gun laws. They are criminals, after all. Not that they aren’t subject to those laws, they simply choose to ignore them. But no one needs to fear firearms, and not everyone should own a firearm. A bit of education can allay all fears.

I’ve gone on probably too long here, but my point is, anti-gun hysteria is needless. There just needs to be a positive awareness about firearms, and the knowledge that the type of stock doesn’t determine the status of a gun, and the type of action (semi-automatic) bolt action, pump action, single shot, etc.) doesn’t determine whether a rifle is a hunting rifle or not. All those have been around for decades before all this became an issue. And yes, fully automatic weapons do belong in the hands of the military and law enforcement, as they have need of tactical weapons. The average citizen does not.

Elaine2025 Loc: Seattle, Wa

I agree, however the bottom line is dems love to promote hysteria over any topic they can.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Seems to be that way.

duckfan48

”
When Seconds Count? Depending on where you live “minutes away” is not the option. In the hands of a trained owner a legal ‘carry weapon’ can be your first self defense.
As far as the Automatic Rifles (AR) that is a separate topic that needs addressed.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

That is true. It would be much easier to disarm the citizens if enough people are worked up to want to have all privately owned firearms confiscated. Just remember, when citizens are disarmed, they become subjects.

Elaine2025 Loc: Seattle, Wa

I agree, but the dems have their own brand of hysteria that they love to shout. Try taking the guns away from Alaskans. That will never come to pass.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

EDITED POST:

Just a point of clarification, the AR-15, is merely a semi-automatic version of the military M-16 which is selectable between semi auto and fully auto. The “AR” stands for the initials of the manufacturer, Armalite Rifle.”

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

So what would one do for the minutes??? Pray?

Umm... "AR" stands for Armalite Rifle, a manufacturer, not automatic rifle. The number, -xx is the model.
"AK" is also the manufacturer & type (automatic, NOT assault), Avtomát Kaláshnikova

But look how everything gets skewed.
Enough people call something the wrong name, it will become "normal", in error, but normal!
(Thanks again to the people in the media that do NOT do sufficient research!)

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

I stand corrected about “AR.” I misstated, and you are correct. AR neither stands for Automatic Rifle or Assault Rifle. I will change that in my post.

duckfan48

Yes that is true. Thank you for clarifying.

TylerDurdensReel Loc: Fresno Ca.

Are you saying the o.p. is a "dem"?

duane klipping Loc: Bristow iowa