Definitely it was a terrible tragedy. There is something that I am having a hard time grasping though. From what I have read and heard about the Parkland shooting there was prior knowledge of this shooters problems, even from some of these students who are now blaming the NRA, the Government, and anyone who supports gun ownership. Since there was prior knowledge of this shooters problems, and no one did anything about it, why did these kids who were around Him all the time sit on Their butts and not continue to address this to the proper authorities again and again, or walk out of school as a group before this mentally deranged idiot did His shooting?

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 kill 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 killed 1 (not 17) and wounded 1 (not 15) before he was killed. 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.

Are you blaming the victims for getting killed?

The kids are not asking for revocation of the Second Amendment! They want consistent, national background checks, limits on magazine capacity, ban on semi-automatic weapons, increase age required for purchase (similar to the laws regulating the purchase of beer and tobacco), better rules for gun show and internet sales. Are they being unreasonable - No. Is opposition to these requests unreasonable - Yes!

These steps won’t solve the problem but they are steps in the right direction. Status quo is no longer acceptable and these kids will make the changes even if some of society tries to thwart them.

Think of it as a sea change. The tidal island will be submerged and the flows will be changed...