Shooting in Newton, Conneticut

What do you think about this cruel nonsense?

When you have a society that glorifies violence in TV shows, movies, and video games and that also glorifies gun ownership it's not surprising that "this cruel nonsense"  is becoming the norm in the USA.

This is a very sensitive subject in the USA as we have people who believe it is their right to own guns and want little or no restrictions on gun ownership and so we see this lady who loved guns and had a mentally ill child but did not lock up her guns as she should and then this happened...

An evil act perpetrated by a disturbed individual. A travesty almost incomprehensible. Sad. Very sad.

There are many questions to ask. One is did this individual have control over his actions?

This whole thing should be investigated completely from all angles. 

It is not at all surprising in the United States that gun sales surged after this happened.

why should people love kill weapons, i wonder?

The right to own guns with little or no restriction is almost like a religion in the United States. Often you could not get elected if you were one of two things.

1. an atheist

2. a supporter of sensible gun control

One of our so-called Religious Leaders said he was not surprised at what happened in that school since in the United States we have taken God out of our schools....!  This is the type of thinking a large part of our population has...

religion and politics mix badly in the forums.

as in

and this can lead to a shootout.

"There are many questions to ask. One is did this individual have control over his actions?"

......................................................................................................

I really feel that "mentally insane" is overused, and an excuse for these criminals...regardless of their age. Do we really feel that he was not in control of his actions? For someone "not in control", I would say he was really accurate in accomplishing his task. The info so far suggests that this was planned- ie. thought about before any actions were taken.

On the subject of gun control. I am at wits end to understand why it is even possible to legally obtain assault weapons in the US? That being said, IMHO guns don't kill people, people do. The problem of controlling/getting rid of guns will not solve the issue of "why would one want to commit such a terrible act"?, if he could not obtain guns he may have still killed with a different weapon- Grenade? Bomb? My nephew was in New York for 6 months working on one of the contruction projects we have there. When he came back, he revealed to me that one of the plumbers was selling grenades, assault riffles, and hand guns from the trunk of his car- the source? Army surplus weapons which dissapear off the books, and are sold by gangs on the street.

The problem of controlling/getting rid of guns will not solve the issue of "why would one want to commit such a terrible act"?

True, but it would make it more difficult for people to kill each other, which is a step in the right direction.

...he revealed to me that one of the plumbers was selling grenades, assault riffles, and hand guns from the trunk of his car...

How much prison time did the arms dealer get once your nephew informed the police?

The more telling issue here is the idea that buying more guns to protect yourself can solve the problem of these sudden and (without any changes) unpredictable actions of mass gun-violence. Let us remember that Adam Lanza's mother was a gun enthusiast. This is a very sad incident that should never have happened, but this goes to show that having guns does not protect you from this at all. In fact, it might just make you more prone to being a victim. 

As the playwrite saying goes: "The gun in act one goes off in act three"

Hi "kudurru",

While I understand your point, I'm not convinced that getting rid of guns will "make it more difficult for people to kill each other" (and BTW I am all for gun control/elimination), and the reason I suspect this is because I feel that something else will take it's place. If someone wants to kill someone else, he will find a way to do it....and then we will be talking about hammer control or baseball bat control. For me the weapon is not as important as the intent.

but we can minimise the impact.

"willysweetkane", I actually understand why one would go out and buy a gun for protecting...hell, when the bad guy bursts through my door, I would rather have one than not. The issue with guns, is that because there are so many of them out there, it increases the chance of them getting into the wrong hands...and the rules of possesion/law is only in writing...you could get a gun from many "legit shops" without any checks at all...money does really talk.

The guns are the problem. No doubt at all. A teenager has the right to be confused or even a bit sick. Without the guns, this would not have happened.

It is pretty well known in the United States that if you have a gun in your home for "protection" you are far more likely to kill a friend or close relative than you are to use the gun on someone breaking into your home.

I think by a factor of 12 to 1.

start by by shuting down gun shops, AR-15 ? what do you need those for ? that belong to the army.