Nearly twenty dead at school shooting

[mikekerrIII]

Well then, our gun laws are pretty darn lax considering I could go buy a MAC 10 at the corner store out here in California (if I wasn't a felon of course) but not a set of 'chucks. What are the gun nuts complaining about again?

Iditoic laws like that that make no sense to anyone that was not trying to score political points

[mikekerrIII]

Turning schools into prisons isn't the answer.

GET. RID. OF. THE. GUNS.

It would be easier to change human nature, the US is a democracy and that won't fly here

[dupont2005]

The M-1a andMini-15 which were completely legal under the "assault weapons" banns are both easily converted to full automatic.

Sounds like the ban should have been a little further reaching then. I know, it's terribly uncommon for someone to actually convert a rifle to full auto and go shooting shit up with it, but exactly that happened in Hollywood in 1997.

[LoneNecromancer]

Turning schools into prisons isn't the answer.

GET. RID. OF. THE. GUNS.

Some of these suggestions (giving teachers guns, putting metal detectors and armed security in schools) are starting to stray remarkable close to a spoof article by Newsthump which talked about the NRA insisting that schools, not guns, are clearly the problem here and should all be banned.

[Vibranium]

Sounds like the ban should have been a little further reaching then. I know, it's terribly uncommon for someone to actually convert a rifle to full auto and go shooting shit up with it, but exactly that happened in Hollywood in 1997.

it was allowed to expire because getting it in the first place was a political move during the Clinton Administration to get some other things passed

I was watching Melissa Harris-Perry this morning and she had on one of the survivors of the VT shooting and he was talking about the group he's a part of tries to talk to politicians to address gun control and gun violence and the common answer is "I support you, but I can't do so publicly"

[Spike-X]

Charlotte Bacon, age 6.
Daniel Barden, Age 7.
Rachel Davino, Age 29.
Olivia Engel, Age 6.
Josephine Gay, Age 7.
Ana Marquez-Greene, Age 6.
Dylan Hockley, Age 6.
Dawn Hockstrung, Age 47.
Madeleine F. Hsu, Age 6.
Catherine V. Hubbard, Age 6.
Chase Kowalski, Age 7.
Jesse Lewis, Age 6.
James Mattioli, Age 6.
Grace McDonnell, Age 7.
Anne Marie Murphy, Age 52.
Emilie Parker, Age 6.
Jack Pinto, Age 6.
Noah Pozner, Age 6.
Caroline Previdi, Age 6.
Jessica Rekos, Age 6.
Avielle Richman, Age 6.
Lauren Russeau, Age 30.
Mary Sherlach, Age 56.
Victoria Soto, Age 27.
Benjamin Wheeler, Age 6.
Allison N. Wyatt, Age 6.

[Vibranium]

Victoria Soto hid her kids in the closet and the bathroom, when the murderer came in, she said they were in the gym and none of the kids were harmed

[Spike-X]

Victoria Soto hid her kids in the closet and the bathroom, when the murderer came in, she said they were in the gym and none of the kids were harmed

Wow. Now there's a true hero.

[Kees_L]

I refuse to believe 'gun control' or better put: 'guns out of control' would merely be a matter of democracy or constitution.

Since the 'gun lobby' or 'the American steel lobby' wishes to be about selling guns. Selling guns to the military or anyone anywhere. All over the globe regardless. For better or for worse, be it enemy or 'ally'. Guns plus bullets plus even matching vests. In order to create an ever ongoing demand as long as guns would retalliate other guns. With bullets and matching vests.

To me any such would seem a problem, continuously until restrictions would come to be made. Restrictions would seem the only answer really. I'd think.

[Gryphon]

I was shaken up by this yesterday and asked the security at my school what they would do in this situation. They told me they have guns they use only in that situation. They are fully trained in how to use them and many are gun owners in their personal lives and know vast details about guns. Many have come up with scenarios on their own about how to deal with this should it happen and after discussing it with others some of them were put in place. They made me feel a lot safer knowing they were there.

[Loren]

My suggestion was simple.

1.) Set up metal detectors by the doors of the school.

2.) Have an armed guard (cop basically) sit by the detector and keep watch on who goes in and out.

Here's a thought experiment along those lines:

Imagine that you ran a school district, and some rich foundation, worried about school shootings, gave you the following offer: We’ll hire armed security guards for you, who could try to do something about the school shooter. These aren’t going to be highly trained police officers, just typical security guards, given some modest training and subjected to basic background checks. It’s not like they’re highly skilled; security guards rarely are. But they have a basic understanding of how to shoot, and when to shoot.

They wouldn’t deal with ordinary trespassing, vandalism, and the like, nor would they be at all guaranteed to be effective in the event of a school shooting (who can offer such a guarantee?). But they’d provide someone on the ground who could try to interrupt a killing spree. And the foundation is paying, so it’s virtually no cost to the district. Would you say yes?

...

But wait! The foundation has just learned that its investment portfolio has done very badly, and the grant doesn’t go through. But someone else suggests: Instead of hiring special-purpose security guards, why not take some of your existing employees — teachers, administrators, and the like — and offer them a deal: They’d go through some modest training and subjected to basic background checks, and in exchange they’d be given the right to carry the same guns that the security guards would have had.

Indeed, this way you could have not just one security guard but several (if several staff members sign up). And you might get people to do this even without paying them, since they might value the ability to defend themselves and to not be sitting ducks should the worst happen...

What’s your answer to that? Is there some reason why the armed security guard is safe and helpful, but the armed teacher, administrator, or staffer — er, the teacher with a volunteer security guard license — would be useless and a menace?

[dupont2005]

it was allowed to expire because getting it in the first place was a political move during the Clinton Administration to get some other things passed

I was watching Melissa Harris-Perry this morning and she had on one of the survivors of the VT shooting and he was talking about the group he's a part of tries to talk to politicians to address gun control and gun violence and the common answer is "I support you, but I can't do so publicly"

Plenty of politicians publicly support gun control legislature.

[Vibranium]

Plenty of politicians publicly support gun control legislature.

not enough to make a difference, both within the House and the Senate

Id gather the bigger influence of the gun lobby is in the House, but I may be incorrect

[Guapo Méndez]

if people want guns, they will get them, especially in areas like Texas and New Mexico, because you have Mexico right next door and its the wild f'ng west down there with the cartels

The fuck you think we get them? Fast And Furious ring a bell? Hint: it's not a movie.

[dupont2005]

not enough to make a difference, both within the House and the Senate

Id gather the bigger influence of the gun lobby is in the House, but I may be incorrect

They do have a serious lobby, but I think they are losing ground. Much like the evangelical lobby, I don't think the gun nuts and manufacturers combined efforts will be a serious powerhouse in DC for much longer. I'd imagine the ranks of Moveon and Occupy type groups are expanding at a greater rate than dues paying NRA. And of course new gun legislation wouldn't mean the end of gun ownership. There will be no compromise with the GOP, but among regular folks, moderate voters? Requiring gun registration nationwide doesn't seem out of reach, for starters.