10 More Die

[Dave Roberts]

Yesterday, at least 10 young people lost their lives in another mass shooting. This morning, as I read through my FB timeline feeds, I see people still wrapped in discussing Hillary's emails, Benghazi, Ben Carson's desire to lift tax exemption of a Muslim group, another round of Obamacare posts, and a few more right and left-wing screeds. Are we now immune to feeling these tragedies? Does nothing touch our hearts? Isn't it time to start addressing our violence sated culture? Must we just continue to watch young people die?

[KeithE]

Well said Dave. I’ll go further.

What is desperately needed are (1) expanded background checks for guns bought especially at trade shows (which of Americans want), (2) ban of assault weapons (which of Americans want), (3) censorship of violent, shoot-em-up movies/video games, and (4) better mental health identification of possible criminals.

What ever happened to Biden Study on Gun Violence? I’ll tell you what - Congress has failed to act. Does the NRA have that much power with Congress? Most of Congress are not Tea Party pro-gun advocates, but they do take money from the NRA.

[Dave Roberts]

It's time to have a national commission on violence in society. Something with the gravity of the Warren Commission or the Kerner Commission might help. Give all those who have a stake in this a seat at the table and charge them with seeking solutions, not talking points. Give them a year to hammer out proposals, not just about guns but about violent entertainment, video gaming, domestic and family violence. We need a serious dialogue, not just partisan pronouncements that will amount to nothing.

[KeithE]

[Dave Roberts]

As a country, we are good at ignoring or dismissing the obvious.

[John Sneed]

Another mad man has shot up another school. The loss of life at such young ages and the loss of such older folks working to make their lives better is a great tragedy. It always is.

It proves an old martial arts truism, you can't protect yourself from crazies. If a person is intent on killing people, there is little to nothing a person can do to stop them.

Politicians know this. They are impotent when these types of tragedies occur. They know they are impotent. Yet, inside all of us is a deep seated desire to do [i]something[/i], do take some kind of action. But there is nothing that can be done to stop the crazies, so in an effort to be seen doing something, politicians attack the only people they can, the law abiding citizens. Crazies don't care about guns laws, or judicial penalties, or the value of life or anything else. Only law abiding citizens will obey laws. So, politicians try to pass laws to make gun ownership harder for the only people they can threaten with their laws.

So, as families are planning the funerals of their loved ones the cable news networks are doing everything they can to turn the minds of people towards gun registration, gun confiscation, banning ammunition, and other schemes that will only hurt law abiding citizens and that will do nothing, not one thing, to stop another school shooting.

Ultimately, everyone will feel like they did something, and they will feel like they gave justice to the shooters victims. Our freedoms are eroding away more and more every day. When we are faced with a growing number of bad guys and no way left to defend ourselves, we will remember, we honored the victims by turning us all into victims.

[William Thornton]

Keith favors some degree of confiscation plus a limit on free speech. I have no objection to the gun show restriction or increased mental health services.

I Haven't seen any workable solutions.

[KeithE]

[William Thornton]

No argument about the football game...glad I didn't try to go.

Police would have to confiscate legal guns bought legally, not illegal. Imagine that knock on the door by the gun confiscators.

There's a world of difference in limiting porn (not that there are any limits at all now save for parental control of online activity) and rating movies or movie rentals. To limit violence on the screen would involve Road Runner and Wiley Coyote. Good luck with all that.

You follow this latest mass killing and let us know if illegal guns purchased illegally were used.

[Ed Pettibone]

[Dave Roberts]

[Tim Bonney]

[William Thornton]

Exactly what would have fixed this most recent one?

[Sandy]

Perhaps this could be something that Americans can learn from that part of the world's population that seems to be successfully dealing with this problem.

[Tim Bonney]

[KeithE]

[William Thornton]

[KeithE]

[William Thornton]

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...you let some data determine your opinions some of the time....but never mind. You implied that I "wanted to believe" something but you didn't say what it was nor how you arrived at your assessment of my state-of-mind.

More will come out on the latest mass murderer. The dad, divorced from the mom and living in another state, says if his son were prevented from buying a dozen or so guns legally the shooting would not have happened. The parent who lost a son gets plenty of leeway from me on stating his opinions. A note in a previous report on the shooting said the mom went with her son to the shooting range.

Better go for the mental health angle on this one.

[Ed Pettibone]

[Stephen Fox]

on www.drshow.org

Meanshile here in Bama the "Christain Ministry" of Crawford Broadcasting hardired to the Brook Hills Baptst Church that sent Platt o SBC IMB continues their propaganda on talk radio demagogging the issue of gun control.

Chief culprit is Baptist preacher's son Cliff Simms, 31 of Yellowhammer news. See my blog on the matter. And do listen online NPR Diane Rehm show this morn and See the PBS Frontline doc on politics of the NRA

[Stephen Fox]

Hope some of you do background reading

http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-com ... st-popular

[Sandy]

A couple of good references, there, Stephen. Diane Rehm has an excellent program, I usually have WAMU playing in the background in my office, sometimes I can listen, sometimes I'm too busy. And the article from the New Yorker is spot on. Of course, there aren't many people in the justice system, or the legislature, who would allow for that narrow of an interpretation of the right to bear arms.

I figure that there will be some significant events which will occur amid the violence and shootings that are pretty commonplace now which will jar legislators into limiting gun ownership. One will be the tide of violence turning in the direction of law enforcement. That will make some legislators serious about restrictions on gun ownership. And let a group of radical islamics get hold of a small arsenal, and terrorize a city or two for a while. Then there will be some changes made.

[Tim Bonney]

We have gun deaths a hugely higher rate than most other first world nation. Whatever your politics, I think we have a problem we need to deal with.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... death_rate

USA - 3.55 murders per 100,000.
Israel .94 per 100,000
Canada - .51 per 100,000
Italy - .36 per 100,000
UK - .05 per 100,000

I could list quite a few more. But the gun murder rate in the US is many times higher than most of the rest of the civilized world. Why?

I believe it is our very lax gun laws. Can you show me that it isn't? All the stats seem to point that way.

So how many college students and children are you comfortable dying so that you or your friends can own an assault weapon? Or multiple handguns?

I've heard all the arguments. Frankly I'm sick of our culture appearing to care more about guns than the safety of all our children.

[KeithE]