A community torn apart, precious lives lost... Such sadness

[BeadinMom]

... How many people need to be slaughtered before America gets their head out of their ass

Wow. I find this HIGHLY offensive. If you don't live in this country, you have no idea what goes on here, how or why.
I live in a city that has had more than its share of home invasions lately. I don't own a gun because I have small children and I don't feel comfortable doing so. Having said that, when my boys are grown and out of my home, I will consider getting one for my own protection.
You can take the guns away from law abiding citizens who chose to purchase them legally and follow the laws, but that will NOT take them out of the hands of the criminals who have obtained them illegally.
It is a bell that can no longer be unrung.

[Shellbelle]

My husband carries, legally. He works near the border, where it is more common than you would like to believe for people to be harmed by drug traffickers for their vehicles.

I grew up with guns in our home. We never looked for them or cared. It was just a part of life, with a father who was a police officer.

We need to remember that there is rarely a "never" or "always." There is often a good answer to "what rational person needs a gun?" Be thankful that you do not. It is very easy to say "we need more gun control" instead of worrying that perhaps there is a deeper problem.

I have enjoyed this forum because of the lack of offensive and judgmental posts. But this thread has angered, disappointed and saddened me with the tone of many of the posts.

[Wanting-a-girl]

O I'm just giving my opinion.... I don't need to live in america to see all the blood shed

[BeadinMom]

And in my opinion, you are ignorant

[Rosie85]

I live in America and my opinion is that I do not feel safe and I am scared to have my kids go anywhere. Can I please come live with somebody In the uk or Canada? I don't want to live somewhere that is full of mass murders. I don't mind if people have guns as long as they are a certain kind. They shouldn't be assault weapons and certainly not any kind that you just press the trigger and a hundred bullets can come out. I prefer zero guns but obviously that's not an option. I agree with the statement that America has its head up it's ass though, only here is money and the right to own a gun more important than our children's well being. Many countries have their own problems but when we statistically worse off in soo many ways you have to wonder why we never change since we are doing so many things wrong.

[Wanting-a-girl]

I'm not trying to offend but and I don think I'm ignorant at all the statistics don't lie! And obviously the deaths of these innocent people don't lie if there was proper gun control it wouldn't have happend like I said there has not been a mass shooting in canada since 1975 how many have been in the states! Proofs in the pudding right there....and as said in Australia the number of deaths by shooting is dramatically lower then the states and really dramatically isn't even the word lol 50 compared to thousands! But no I am not ignorant lol I'm quite level headed.... I am so thankful for where I live and that I can send my kids to the movies to school with a peace of mind

[My Three Sons]

I don't think we should take away all guns. I do however, feel that these assault rifles have no place in the home for citizens. I hate that everyday when we send our children to school, you have that nagging fear that some idiot could go and kill the children. I hate that some raging lunatic could shoot up a movie theatre or the mall. I don't think the answer is arming our teachers, nor would I feel safer for my child to be in a classroom where there was an armed teacher. I am sick of this. I am sick of the lobbyist pushing more and more dollars in the pockets of the politicians to keep the gun restrictions at bay claiming their rights should not be violated, while our children's lives, our lives, are put at risk.

These guns were obtained legally. Obviously, the mother either didn't have them locked up or allowed her son access. Just because someone obtains a weapon legally doesn't mean that they have common sense to keep them in a safe location. Handguns and hunting rifles are the only guns that should be allowed. Period. Sure, if someone wants one bad enough, they can find other ways to hurt people, but a handgun would not have killed nearly as many children as this assault weapon.

The amendment and people's rights do not specify what degree weapons should be allowed. Where does it stop? Is it OK for people to collect grenades, missile launchers, etc? Where does it stop? It is a sad, sad thing that happened and I hate that everytime I see my child's face, I see the faces of those innocent children. I hate this.

Are there other issues that need to be addressed to stop this madness? Of course. No one is saying that guns are the only issue. We do need to enhance the security at schools. We do need to improve mental health in our society and have resources for people to be identified and helped prior to them going off the deep end and killing people. But guns are part of the issue too.

[Rosie85]

I agree 100% three sons. Assault weapons have to go. Zero need for them to be in civilian hands and you are right...where does the amendment stop?

[HopefulMonster]

I think that it is such an unimaginably hideous thing to happen to such little innocent children, it breaks my heart to think about it.

However I believe we shouldn't grab it as an excuse to argue amongst ourselves about gun laws, who is to blame, or whatever. There are sick fucking people in this world and sad fact is that if they want to do something like this badly enough they WILL find a way, whether guns are readily available or not.

I live in the UK and over here, proportionately we have a much much lower rate of gun crime than the US does, it is rare to meet someone who has seen a gun let alone held one or much less own one. However we also don't have wildlife that is dangerous like bears or cougars or wild animals with rabies, or massive stretches of land etc etc - so I can't fairly compare the two, if that mkes sense.

[Rosie85]

Hopeful...wildlife is a silly silly point to try and make it seem it's okay for the US to carry guns. I have never needed a gun to protect myself from the wild...I don't live outside ya know!! Maybe .1% of the population would fit with what you are saying. Therefore it is comparable. I am sick of hearing people saying oh they will find a way with or without guns...except clearly they are NOT finding ways in countries with gun control. Explain that.