Pro-Gun Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin Suggests New Gun Laws

Yes, that’s exactly what we need – more laws that do nothing but punish law-abiding citizens. More laws that criminals will disregard. Typical Washington posturing…wave your arms around and shout loud enough so it appears you’re doing something when in fact you’re doing nothing.

I HOPE THIS WILL GET THE USA THE TYPE OF GUN CONTROL THAT IS IN EFFECT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM!CLOSE DOWN THE GUNSHOPS ON THE USA.

Why don’t you address the censorship that abc employs against those that don’t agree with them. I haven’t posted since last Friday but got a message this morning that I need to ‘slow down’ my messages. Pure hypocrisy!!!

When a tragedy happens, like what happened in Newtown Conn., words like horror, unspeakable, tragedy, and evil are used to describe it. All are appropriate but none are adequate to describe the murder of babies. We react with horror and surprise. Well I can understand the “horror” but not the “surprise”. We ask ourselves why. How could someone do such a thing?
It must be the guns, “Bad Guns”. It has to be the guns, what else could it be? The news media tells us this is so, so therefore it must be the truth. For the “anti gunners” that are reading this don’t stop reading just yet. I will try to explain my personal theory as to the “WHY”.
Never having children of my own I lost touch with what was happening with the younger generation. A few years ago I was visiting a friend of a friend who had 5 children. Their ages ranged from infant to 17.
As I was sitting in the living room I heard strange noises and turned to see where the heck they were coming from. Her 10 year old was playing a game on his lap top so I walked over to see what he was playing. I did not know the name of the game at the time but there was a guy running around on the screen. He would get in a car drive it away, and crash it. He would then get into another car and crash that one, get into another one and crash that one and so on and so on.
I noticed that this upstanding citizen in the game was carrying an axe in his hand. He wasn’t using the axe to break into the cars, and I could see no reason why he was carrying it, so I asked the kid why this guy had an axe in his hand. He avoided my question like the plague. This 10 year olds explanation was, “He just does”. Then I said, “There must be a reason”, his response was to shrug his shoulders. It was as if he knew telling me would reveal something bad.
Yesterday I relayed this story to a friend of mine who has children. He said, “Yea, that sounds like “Grand Theft Auto”. Turns out the axe is used to chop up anyone who gets in this guys way. Not only is there an axe but the child could arm this guy with a gun or a knife. Not only does this game have these wonderful things but it also has hookers so the guy can, well nuff said on that.
Never having played the game, (my video game experience ended with “Asteroids”), I can only relay what I briefly saw and what was told to me.
On another occasion I was working in a woman’s basement that had a 23 year old son who was living with her. He had a big screen TV set up on a table hooked to a computer. As I was going about my business I again heard these strange noises this time coupled with gunshots. So I turned to see him playing a game that involved shooting zombies.
All I heard was bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, as he was shooting at this thing. The graphics on this game were unbelievable. Blood and body pieces flying everywhere. On the screen was a gun, crosshairs used to aim the gun, and several clips with ammunition. I asked him what the object of the game was and he said “to kill the zombie before he kills you”. Sounds simple to me. Then I asked how you kill the zombie because you just shot him twenty times and he’s still alive. He responded, “you have to shoot him in the head”. Then I asked, “what happens when you run out of bullets”. “Then he kills you”. So my next question was why don’t you put the cross hairs on his head and shoot him. His response was a blank stare. My point being “spray and pray”, (shooting as many bullets in the direction of your target as you can and hope you hit something, a method seen in many gang shootings), seems to be the reasoning for this gentleman. After all these bullets aren’t real and you aren’t really dead if the zombie kills you. Now I know why so many innocent bystanders get shot at these gang related shootings, I thought to myself, if this is what our kids are being exposed to and how they think. To them life is just a big video game.
A few years back there was a movement to take Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Yosemite Sam off the air because they were too violent for children to view. I guess it was successful because I no longer see them, yet these games seem to be perfectly acceptable.
I seem to remember an organization trying to have these games banned because of the messages of violence they were sending to children. “You cannot do this”, was the outcry from many. It’s their constitutional right under the first amendment to produce this garbage. You can trample the 2nd and 4th amendments all you want, but don’t you dare touch the 1st. Too much money to be made I guess. So a rating system was the solution. Yea, that will keep these games out the hands of young children.
I was brought up with guns. My father taught me to shoot at age 7 or 8, I can’t remember. What I do remember is the training. Most of my friends lived in households that had guns in them, in fact I can’t remember a household in my immediate circle of friends that didn’t have firearms in the house. In those days guns were no big deal.
All of us were taught basically the same way. The first thing we were taught was safety and a respect for guns. About 10 percent of my training was the mechanics of the gun and how to aim and shoot, 90 percent was gun safety and respect for the gun. The first and foremost was to treat every firearm as if it were loaded, never point a gun at anyone ever, and guns were not toys. These and other safety procedures are taught over and over and over again till they become second nature. Never once did I entertain the thought of bringing a gun to school no less shooting anyone.
And thus it was for the rest of my life, to date. I just assumed that this train of thought was the status quo. Not having any children myself I lost touch with the “way of the world” so to speak. I couldn’t believe parents would buy these games for their children to play with for hours on end. Some would say they are just games. No they are not “just games”.
To the parents who have bought these games for their children I ask, did you ever sit down with your child and play these games with them to see what they were really about? If not you should. If you have and you approve you should have your head examined!
On another occasion a few months ago I was attending a political function at a local park in my neighborhood. There were local politicians and high city officials in attendance as well as business men and women. It was a festive occasion announcing some kind of donation to beautify the parks or some such thing. There were balloons and free food and lots of young children running around. There was also music.
There was a DJ set up to entertain the crowd. As I was walking around a song he was playing caught my attention. I’m not familiar with the song or group performing it but the lyrics, oh the lyrics. It talked of a guy laying up with his b**ch and of being so wasted the night before. Now I’m no saint but it shocked me that he would play this crap with these young children present. As I looked around at the dignitaries standing around they all seem oblivious to this. No one, (including myself, I’m sorry to say), approached him to tell him not to play this crap in front of the children.
Now I’m sure some that were there will say, “I didn’t hear it”, to them I say, “Yes you did”, because this guy was playing his music loud enough to wake the dead. It’s more like you didn’t pay attention because this garbage has become the norm.
Again I seem to remember a movement to ban songs that glorified the degradation of women and the killing of police officers. Yet again came the outcry, “You can’t do that, they are protected under the first amendment”. Guess another rating system is in order.
Now I come to the final point. As I stated before I’m no saint and definitely not a religious person. When I was in school I remember beginning the day with 2 things, the “Lords Prayer” and “The Pledge of Allegiance”. Then the Lords Prayer went away. I guess I was in the third grade. What did I know? We just didn’t say it anymore and that was that.
Now religion and the talk of religion are banned in our schools. To say Merry Christmas is no longer politically correct. To put up Christmas decorations in public places is illegal in many places. Religion, the thing that teaches right from wrong and to do good by your fellow man, “BAD”. Birth control given to school children, family planning in schools, video games that depict graphic violence and music that promotes degenerate behavior, “GOOD”. What’s wrong with this picture?
So the next time a tragedy like this happens, and it will happen again just assuredly as Carter has pills, please do not be surprised or ask yourself why.

Yes, maybe we should make crack. meth and heroin illegel as well. We see how much good that does

The 2nd. Amendment has nothing to do with guns for hunting. When will our highly educated elected officials absorb that simple truth? Americans have that right to be armed to defend from all enemies forign or domestic meaning the arms we need as citizens should be especially designed to kill people. Not even the NRA wants to belly-up to that truth. MANY SAY 30 ROUND MAGAZINES ARE NOT NEEDED FOR HUNTING ….. INDEED ! I’m not hunting however, i’m defending. Drunk drivers kill tens of thousands of people in America each year. When do we start banning alcoholic drinks? So some mental cases abuse a firearm, ………lets not panic, gut the Constitution and live like they do in England with a government boot on the necks of every Royal subject !

As he said today on Morning Joe, “I don’t know anyone that needs 30 rounds in a clip to go hunting …”
This has long been and excuse of the anti-gun crowd. I’ll buy that argument as soon as one of them tells me where the word “hunt” appears in the Constitution.
It’s about the same as the person on this forum who claimed that a gun capable of 1600 rounds per minute is readily available to civilians or the guy who said a cop should shoot a running man in the foot or shoot the gun out of someone’s hand. Those statements are usually followed by calling someone an idiot or something similar. I don’t pay much attention to what they say after that.

No more assault rifles. No more magazines. No more Glocks in the hangs of citizens. No guns in homes with mentally challenged. You can have your Right to Bear arms …. Muskets only, like when this was passed in the first place! If you can’t hit your deer in two shots with a 2 shot rifle, you’ve missed it! Your right to a gun was NEVER intended to trump the rest of the Nation’s right to LIFE, LIBERTY, and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS! Muskets Only from here on out! (Having 6 guns in the house obvioulsy didn’t protect this gun lover … too many mentally challenged, depressed, disturbed people living in houses with guns!) HIPA should have an exemption for mental instability and mental diagnosis should be linked to Gun registry..If Mom and Dad have guns and kids are sick, Mom and Dad LOSE GUN RIGHT! Seize them now!

MDBBALL02: You attempt at mockery is not appreciated. This is a tragedy that distrubs all of us especially with children. Knee-jerk solutions won’t solve this problem. More people and children will be murdered because people took advantage of this to push their political agendas. You would think that you folks would have at least waited some time before your attempts at manipulation.

Reasonable Americans will accept reasonable laws but they don’t not want to be abused by such laws or used as a scapegoat for deeper problems. Tactical type rifles are a problem when they find a way into the hands of mentally disturbed or evil people. Obama needs to have the guts to stand up and admit that we have a major societal breakdown. Mental illness is not properly addressed and the continued deterioration of the family structure helps to create a generation of desensitized kids who can commit these beyond heinous acts. The Prez should also look at the implications of the materials that are produced by the TV, movie and video game industries. But since those people are more often supporters of his party he will probably stay silent on the subject. Naturally, those who produce that stuff will argue they have the freedoms of speech and expression and they are not a part of the problem. I like the idea that gun owners, even if they are not huners, can have the ability to protect themselves and family. But, they have to keep these weapons out of the wrong hands. A combination high quality gun safe can help avoid these kinds of heart wrenching events. And, this government needs to address the illegal arms smuggling issue that heavily arms the countless inner city gangs because any laws against the ownership of tactical rifles by the general population isn’t going to impact them. Just like drugs and other illegal products they will also have these rifles and will continue to carry out the drive-by shootings in which innocent kids (and others) are caught up in the cross fire.

It’s time to stop blaming inanimate objects and honest, law-abiding firearm owners. We need to enact uniform legal methods for reporting and intervening when persons display potentially dangerous behavior. We have laws in place the require teachers, nurses, doctors, and social workers to report suspected abuse with children. We need the same kind of laws for suspected cases of mental instability where there is potential for aggressive behavior. Intervene early in a child’s life or an adult’s life when they show signs of aggression.

where are the BILLIONS needed for mental health counseling and treatment??? BILLIONS for WARS without end, illegal mass murdering wars where the United States slaughters millions of innocent men, women, AND children, but NO money for mental health!!!! NO WAY to access FREE resources. ONLY money for bombs and murder! Millions in money for violent movies, tv programs, video games, endlessly everywhere violence, graphic violence for all youth to see…Thousands of images by the time they get to 18 years old. WHEN will this country wake up and stop the slaughter? Take responsibility for what their children watch day after day? Taking away our guns is NOT the answer. This culture’s incredible lack of caring for the VIOLENT images in every venue is the problem!

Posted by: MrCrabs | December 17——-Because everyone needs to be spying on their neighbors. We are not our brothers keeper, we are each our own keeper, Until anyone has broken the law they have not broken the law.

Take away guns from law abiding citizens only ensures the bad guys have the upper hand. Bad guys get guns, it’s what they do. If he had run over those kids with a Chevy Truck, would you ban them?

There will be no new gun legislation as long as the GOP is in bed with the NRA!!!!

New gun laws will never happen. Too many bible thumping, backwater, hilljacks living the US.

GUN CONTROL

There is no meaningful way to control guns;

The Evil and lawless abide by no laws

Everyone should be mandated to carry a firearm; then if the evil and lawless decide to kill or maim, we all shall have the ability to strike in number and remove them.

Every one whom commits any such crimes shall be mandated to death and their names shall be removed from all records as if they never existed. Anything they owned shall go to the victims or families of same.

One armed guard at the school may have taken out the evil doer before so many fell as victims.

TAXES

There is no reason to raise taxes; each and every year more people are paying taxes, as the population grows taxes should be lowered. Wake Up America!

The government takes almost half you pay already!

1 – I’d suggest the President take up this Motto

3 – Let’s arm the very first responders, the school administrators.

1b – take up this Motto

The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed is ‘infringed’ if you limit clip size. That limits what arms I as a law abiding citizen can own. How do you reconcile that with the Bill of Rights?

Is there ANY data to suggest that “gun control laws” would change anything… other than give the criminal an advantage???

The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed is ‘infringed’ if you limit clip size. That limits what arms I as a law abiding citizen can own. How do you reconcile that with the Bill of Rights? Posted by: Perlexed | December 17, 2012, 1:19 pm 1:19 pm ____Are you seriously making this argument…really? How does limiting what you can buy preventing you from owning and bearing arms? No one is telling you you do not have the right to bear arms…who is saying this? Are you saying that you have the right to bear a rocket launcher as your “arms” or an AK50? WE THE PEOPLE have the right to restrict what we want for our society just like we decided that although you have the right to free speech you do not have the right to yell out fire in a crowed movie theater…what is your problem with limits on the kind of weapons a citizen can own?

The government takes God out of schools, they take away parents rights to discipline their children, (when I was a child I got ass whippings, not someone saying, “it will be ok”). Now when the products of their ways are growing up without respect or morals, and are becoming monsters in society, they want to blame guns. They need to take a long look at their ideas of raising a child and leave our constitutional rights alone.

“Tax ammo and put a armed ex soldier in every school give them a job” – James Shauger

That would cost us about 6 Billion every year.
What if the ex soldier calls in sick?
How do you keep them from dying of boredom?

If you want to do this then Hire a couple of ex solders as Teachers per school and let them conceal carry. It won’t cost us extra money and we’ll get more conservatives in to balance out the Liberals that teach our kids now.

It would be a win win win!
Don’t you think Prezzie O would go for that?

Drugs are illegal… need I say more?

This discussion is Great! We are solving the problem right here at ABC News!

Gun advocates posting obnoxious and condescending statements in the wake of this tragedy have successfully removed themselves from the national debate we are about to have on gun control. We’re no longer interested in your opinions. We don’t care what the NRA thinks about anything anymore. From now on senators and congressmen will be voted out of office if they have a high NRA rating. We’re done, we are going to protect our children.

“The 2nd Amendment is not about protecting our right to go hunting, it protects our right to keep and bare arms.”

Exactly.

I think we need school marshels just like we have in the planes because if our planes are worth protecting so are our kids!!! Dont think it is a gun control problem its a social problem.

I’ve got an idea…. let’s make it illegal to bring a gun into a school…. oh wait…
I’ve got an idea…. let’s make it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to posses a handgun… oh wait…
I’ve got an idea…. let’s make it illegal to murder other people… oh wait…

More laws are not the answer. More laws only affect law abiding citizens.

Anyone who calls a “magazine” a “clip” shouldn’t have an A rating from the NRA, or any validity when speaking about gun control.

Sure you dont need a 30 round mag for hunting. But you do need them in case we are invaded by lets say, the rooskies or even our own government. Have you all forgot WHY the 2nd exists?

Ok, I understand the difference between a clip (M1 Garand) and a Magazine (M16). I was not being precise. My fault.

So they admit mental illness is the issue yet somehow restricting guns will fix it? I’m confused. We don’t need more laws that punish only law abiding citizens.

Oh yeah and the 2nd Amendment was never installed to ensure people can go hunting. It was to make sure people could defend themselves from a tyrannical government. It drives me up the wall when people say “You don’t need a 30 rd magazine to go hunting”. No I don’t, but I want one and should be able to have it because I am a free, law abiding individual. Do some research into what the 2nd Amendment really protects.

Timothy Mcveigh did not use a gun.
He killed 168 innocent people including 19 children.
He injured over 680.
A person can still buy fertilizer, racing fuel and rent a box truck.
I do not think gun control is the issue here. I think these people are sick (evil).
I wish there was a way to prevent this, but I do not know how.
Our prayers go out to the families.

Who ever the person was claiming that we have the right to bear arms to “protect our selves from all enemies foreign and domestic.” Please do not use the oath that young men and women use when they enlist in the military as your citing for your right to have an assault weapon. An assault weapon that should only be in the hands of those taking the oath.

You only have access to those assault weapons is because no one has the courage to stand up and say that a weapon designed for the military should stay in military hands. Please tell me why a weapon with a 30 round magazine (which any yokel can buy a 250 drum mag for) has any place in the home. A weapon designed to put as much lead as accurately as possible down range. Something that can easily be sighted in to take out point targets at 500 meters (standard part of the rifle training int he Marines) with no optical assistance.

Where the hell does that idea of self importance come from? Oh i forgot the only reason you have access to it is due to the expiration of a ban in which no one in the political climate wanted to talk about because of the war on terror. I have an idea, leave these weapons where they belong on the battlefield and in our trusted and capable men and women of the military.

It’s a social problem and a gun control problem. I have worked in mental health and the juvenile justice system as well as live in an area of the country that no matter who you are you know many avid hunters. It’s not about taking away the right to own or to bear arms, its about putting those guns in to the hands of responsible people who have the ability to sort through their thoughts in a logical rational way. All guns can kill, but why does anyone need an assault rifle? In addition to mental health assesments prior to purchase, let us also discuss the need to lock up guns and not leave them unsecured in vehicles etc. where they are stolen at a high rate. I understand that most guns that are involved in crimes are stolen and are not committed by those who have bought them legally, so those that own them need to take some responsibility and help keep them out of the hands of the ones who want them for evil purposes. More than even stricter gun laws this country needs to stop ignoring the mentally ill. We have a nasty dirty history of how we have treated those with mental disabilities. And althoug we may not be locking them up in institutions, saying that someone has mental illness is still looked down upon rather than looked at as something that can be treated. Our prison system shouldn’t be our largest mental health institution. Continuous cuts in funding and low pay for those willing to work in the field are just the tip of the problem. Isolating and segregation of those who display abnormal behavior is not the answer, it simply feeds the feelings of paranoia, depression, and abandonment.

The most basic response should be punish the mother of the shooter who did not secure her legal weapons.
A message needs to be sent. “Your gun is used in a crime, Your responsible for the crime”.

Posted by: Ryan | December 17, 2012—–. The right to bear arms existed before the oath, maybe we should require an oath to vote, or choose a religion. The militia is the people, not the army, not the police, and not the National Guard.

Even the abc drop down box shows a majority that do not favor more gun laws. These politicans stick their finger in the wind to make decisions. It depends on the direction of the wind at that moment. If it changes, they change.

To the misguided , I have lived in Connecticut my whole life not far from this tragedy. I would like to say this ban would have done nothing to prevent this from happening. He the mentally ill shooter did not have high capacity magazines. I am a gun owner and enthusiast those were not high capacity in his weapons ,they were not extended magazines. The glock that he was carrying could hold 23 rounds with a HIGH CAPACITY magazine. If you ban them, anyone could do what this kid did carry MORE lower capacity magazines

The Second Amendment in part secures our right to the First Amendment freedoms and to protect the citizenry against tyranny in general. It’s no coincidence that the Amendment that provides the citizenry with the right to bear arms follows the First Amendment.

Hypothetically, let’s pretend that a law is passed nullifying the Second Amendment and ALL guns are collected from the law abiding citizenry.

In this newly created utopia, now that ALL guns have been outlawed, the Police no longer carry ANY guns as well since the law abiding citizenry have been disarmed and we are all now safe.
Of course, this would never work because the danger does not come from the law abiding citizenry but for those who have NO REGARD for the law or anything!

There are those who seek to capitalize on this and any tragedy to forward an anti-gun agenda. The law abiding citizenry was not responsible for this tragedy but they seek to opportunistically advance their cause on the ruse that it would have made a difference.

Those seeking to disarm Americans know that it’s a needed precursor to tyranny. The day America is disarmed is they day they can fear the 450 million rounds of hollow-point ammo that has been recently stockpiled.

Technology has changed since our founding fathers. You want to protect yourself then gather 40 of your fellow sane citizens armed with conventional weapons and protect. Other than a substitute for Viagra, no one really needs to feel the power of 30 rounds in one magazine. Guns don’t kill people —- but it sure makes it easier when some physically frail psychopath wants to take a life. Many, incapable of dealing with complex issues, argue that illegal guns are easy to obtain so legislation is useless. That’s because the legislation has been intentionally made useless with lobbied loopholes. Don’t argue that Connecticut had strict laws if this assault type weapon was legal or if legal in another state.——————————————–But even more relevant to ending this American penchant for gun violence is legislation that outlaws video games that allow the mentally imbalanced, especially raging in some during adolescence, to act out mass murder. As technology, computer graphics, surround sound and large screen displays create near realism it’s only a small step away from carrying out that horrific fantasy. It should be treated with the same unyielding legislation as child pornography. Arguably its effect is maybe even more destructive to society. I believe we have a right to own guns. But I also believe we have a duty to control the needless destruction possible by a single shooter. It may inconvenience the few, but we owe that to our children.

Wow… you mean a politician is a two-faced, hypocritical liar? Say it ain’t so.

Trying to confiscate 100 million firearms may not go like they intend, especially if those victims of the government can organize and fight like the founding fathers intended.

Posted by: CND FOX | December 17, 2012—They will follow the laws, and do. Good luck pushing legislation through congress without the house. My statement to you would be take them, Oh wait you won’t be able to without guns. You will not be risking your life trying to deny people their constitutional rights, you will send other in your stead, how long will that last?

“Confiscate 100 million firearms’….you are nothing more than an inflammatory idiot. You ARE the problem with that type of mentality.

People are just too afraid of the monsters out there to disarm or be disarmed. They know that the cops can’t protect us. Most of us have the common sense to know that the only thing between us and the monsters is our Smith&Wesson.

Posted by: Perplexed | December 17, 2012—Here here.

Many of these problems started when the ACLU made it almost impossible to have a person declared insane! In addition there was a move to “mainstream” rather than institutionalize people into society! The effort to protect people from wrongfully having their freedoms taken away must be investigated as much as the right to deprive law-abiding people the constitutional right to possess arms in self-defence!

Posted by: Librarian53 | December 17, 2012—Yes there are monsters out there and they don’t care whether guns are illegal or not, and they will kill you for your pocket change. In order to ban semi automatic weapons, legislation would have to pass congress, it won’t pass the house. The SCOTUS and the president can do nothing on their own, and you will still have to seize the 300 million guns in this country most of which are semi automatic, and a $50 gift card to wal mart ain’t going to do it. The Magazines are another issue, multiply the number of guns by 6 or 10 that is the number of High Cap Mag out there, short of going door to door you are not going to get those either, the market has spoken, and people have voted with their pocketbook, these are the types of weapons they want, so much so they are willing to spend their hard earned money buying them, which has a bit more teeth than a free vote.

Politicians are as useless as nipples on a bull. It is udder nonsense.

Just a bunch of overpaid narcissists that never seem to get anything done for the people

newsflash: the mentally ill and felons are already banned from gun ownership

Where does it stop. There have been killings since the beginning of time. There are no bad guns, just bad people with guns. If you regulate and ban guns all you are doing is taking guns from honest citizens. We need to address the real problem and hold people accountable for the crimes they commit. I have been a gun owner my entire life and have raised my children with a respect for guns. The problem in todays society is there is no value for life and children are lacking the respect that past generations have had. God bless the victims of this tragedy and I sincerely hope this doesn’t happen again but to be honest there is probably someone out there right now planning something more horrific than this tragedy. I only hope and pray they get caught before they can carry out another shooting or bombing. God bless everyone and God bless those who protect and care for us.

I’ll give up my pistol, when someone can assure me no one will kick in my door in the middle of the night, when someone can assure me that I won’t be robbed, car jacked, or threatened by some thug educated myself and work hard Well, I’ll wait for an answer ! Until then, Hell will freeze over before you anti-gun nuts take mine !!!!

The mass killing of these children is a terrible tragedy – so hard to comprehend how any human being could be so violent to these innocents. I am also reminded of the hundreds of thousands of young men who have lost their lives defending our freedoms. If our rights were abolished, it would not put an end to mass murders. We should not do a knee jerk reaction that takes away more of our constitutional rights and does not solve the problem.

Violence along with gun violence is pervasive and accepted in our culture. Preschool children are already versed in gun violence from their cartoons, movies and video games. Our culture needs to change and laws cannot do that.

Sen. Manchin could start by preventing the Obama justice department from handing our more assault weapons to Mexican drug lords.

I’d like to give a great example of why a 30 round magazine is required for SOME hunters. Those of us that, in my opinion is a awesome job, hunt all year round to clear out prairie dogs and other varmints from farmers lands. These pests are the direct cost to the loss of billions in produce a year.

Every day on the job, I shoot 200-300 of these little things. Bushmaster makes rifles very similar to the one used on Friday specifically for hunting these speedy little things that you have to hit from a few hundred yards away. When you have to bag an average of 220 varmints a day, you will shoot about 300 rounds (or more on variable wind days in the plains). To make the farmers happy, and get the counts they need to reclaim land….a bolt action rifle will not work. Neither do 10 round magazines.

The AR style weapon is also great for hunting all the wild boar in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and other states. The wild animals have litters four times a year and are destroying tens of billions in crops every year. Again, a 30 round magazine is needed when coming across a group of these animals. After a certain age, their natural body armor will negate the .223 and have to switch to a AR that is chambers for the .308. Just to get even pop growth on boars, in just small area’s (say, 100-200 acres), you have to kill 400-500 of them.

It’s obvious that we have major problems in our society. Not just this insane policy about assault weapons. Mental health, drugs, alcohol, etc all contribute to the violence in America. The number of people killed by assault weapons in this country this year was approximately 4 times the number killed din the World Trade Center.

Hell, the smart terrorists are probably saying, “we don’t have to kill Americans, they are killing themselves”

I doubt anything will be done. It’s all about money.

The gun manufacturers could put a stop to this insanity today by doing the right thing and stop selling assault weapons to anyone except the military. They won’t because there are billions of dollars involved. They could care less as long as their bottom line looks good. They have the money to buy enough politicians to support them.

This is just another example of how the American people are being sold out by their supposed representatives.

The investigation of the shooting in Connecticut has only just begun. There are many questions and not many answers. How can you come to a conclusion that any law is needed now when we have not concluded the investigation? How can any solution be fashioned that deals with the cause when you don’t even know what it is? This is not logical. It is emotional. Can we really protect our children following this type of logic?

Whoever is ‘moderating this site’…you should be fired.

OK….jusrt proves I was right. I am going to say this again. Gun sales and ammunation sales are ‘skyrocketing’ for one and only one reason. Because of the the way ‘gun lobbies have spread their lies and fear mongered’ the very small minds that fall for it. People who do not even take the time to think about the number of Americans killed in the last 50 years by random gun violence. One and a quarter MILLION. And yet these same people wanted to say in the past campaign that our nation is ‘exceptional’. I don’t think so. We need to ‘re-examine our core ‘beliefs’…before we can get to that ‘status’.

I guess there’s a case to be made that if we really wanted to stay safe that we should allow people to landmine their front yards. This make about as much sense as allowing people to possess assault weapons.

Posted by: CND FOX | December 18, 2012, —They don’t care because they are not doing the killing, someone with 0 respect or life is doing the killing. Americans are not their brother’s and sister’s keeper, adults are free and responsible for their own actions, except when criminally insane, and you have to do something criminal to get that definition, and once applied you cannot legally buy guns.

Posted by: Ryan | December 18, 2012—The second amendment is to fight the military and any other government para military’s. Not to hunt, not to defend against Indians, British, French Spanish, but because government has been the greatest murderer in the history of mankind. Even the US has killed far more innocent civilians, than all of the gun murders made by civilians. The government is the monster the 2nd amendment exists to protect us against.

As kid, my family lived in military family housing and guns were likely prohibited. As an adult, I had guns in the house for hunting, collecting and critter killing (snakes, racoons, skunks). They were locked up and my kids were taught gun safety. Of course, military folks train on M-16s. I see no point in having something akin to those privately owned. One facet of educating youngsters about guns is the seriousness of their use, complete respect for their force, respect and deep appreciation for human life, and truthful understanding of what the 2nd Amendment conveys to each citizen. For certain, non-believers can teach right and wrong, good and bad to their kids. Religion isn’t a guarantee force field against evil. But, a belief system in positive values and preservation of life are a critical foundation in raising a kid. Some folks don’t have those basic tenants, and that is one element of the problem.

Crickey, I put a lot of thought and effort into that post. It wasn’t pro-gun either. No reason to sensor it.

Posted by: Ryan | December 18, 2012—The second amendment is to fight the military and any other government para military’s. Not to hunt, not to defend against Indians, British, French Spanish, but because government has been the greatest murderer in the history of mankind. Even the US has killed far more innocent civilians, than all of the gun murders made by civilians. The government is the monster the 2nd amendment exists to protect us against. Posted by: snewsom | December 18, 2012, 10:46 am 10:46 am ____ Are you sure? What about religion? How many people have been killed in the name of God? You may be right but it is close and religion may have the edge in this sad statistic.