Comments on: The unanswerable questions wrought by gun violence
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- PLEASE post the video version of this story. It's some much more effective. Martha Teichner crafted a beautiful story. While the words she wrote are indeed a masterful use of our language, the spoken word is even more powerful and the pictures deliver even greater impact. Thanks & pece.
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- I posted this on another site yesterday, but much of this applies. Before all the anti-gun zealots start screaming for the removal of the "INSTRUMENTS" of many of these tragedies. Let's all take a good honest look at the true 'CAUSES" of these horrible tragedies; very deeply, troubled, non-moralistic, evil youth!!!
A lot of this starts with this country's decades long move towards removing accountability from people for their actions. It's a lot easier to blame a gun, a car, a bomb,..because we can understand those inanimate objects and their "innate" capacity for evil, death & destruction (sarcasms here folks). Instead of trying to understand the harder question, why does/did someone do what they did, it a lot easier to blame the implement & try to ban or get rid of it. We need to quit falling for this bait & switch or red herring philosophy.
I'm not advocating for either side of the "guns are good" or "guns are evil" question. Too me, that isn't the true issue; that is not us as a society addressing the true, tougher problem that we face. Instead of us & politicians, etc., studying types of guns, shooting rates, clip capacities, ammo type and pointing the finger at an inanimate object. We need to be studying these kids/people. Who are they, why do they do these things, what similarities do they have, what triggers them, what warning signs,... More importantly, what are we doing wrong as a society that is fostering a generation where people think that it is OK to just kill (by what ever means) numerous, relatively anonymous, innocent people, for seemingly no good reason/cause (of the victims).
I mean these shootings are not instant, knee jerk reaction, actions to something. People (usually youth) have pre-meditated, pre-thought out, pre-planned, these horrible atrocities. Where have we gone wrong where these kids think about this and go "yes, this is what I want to do, this will be great, this is justified". "I can't wait to go kill everyone in my sight, this will solve my problems, bring me some measure of satisfaction or justice". The answer to that question is really where we need to start focusing our resources,.. not the endless, non-productive, debates on gun control. Let's spend our time & resources on understanding & dealing w/ the real problem;..the person or type of person that does this.
And before the anti-gun zealots start ripping this and saying it's just a gun problem, not true. China is having an issue with this too, though it is usually by men wielding knives & machetes in school age classrooms. And yes, conceded, knives-machetes, kill less each incident,.. Is there really much difference between 10 kids killed & 20?!?!?! It is still 10 or 20 too many. We need to first address & stop the "madness"(method) before we tackle the method. Just my two cents - Reply to this comment
- Every year in the United States thousands of children under the age of eighteen die due to gun violence not mention the thousands left wounded by gun violence.
(source http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/gunviolence/factsyouth#National )
In 2007 more preschoolers died from gun violence then law enforcement officers serving in the line of duty.
The fact remains that guns in our society are to easily accessible and that gun education, proper registration, appropriate storage, as well as criminal background checks need to be enforced. Semiautomatic weapons should only be accessible to military and law enforcement.
I am not asking for striking down the second amendment rather a reasonable solution to decreasing gun violence.
Gun violence in the United States is an epidemic that needs to be debated by the congress. - Reply to this comment
- This is one of the more pathetic news articles I have ever read. CBS thinks we should outlaw forks so people will not become obese...oh, I mean guns so people won't get shot. I personally don't have a problem with control of assault rifles, but why not look at the causes and realize that first of all, we have made a terrible mistake by taking God out of schools. Putting God back in schools would instill a sense of unconditional love at a very early age for someone like Adam Lanza. The second real problem we have in our society is our broken mental health system. Expert after mental health expert says these events are preventable if our laws could be changed and mental health is properly funded. Why isn't CBS discussing these issues? Instead they ran a "Decline of American Religion" story right after this one. It is appalling that CBS would use this opportunity to politicize your news broadcast. But then again, it fits their model. Excellent reporting has been truly lost at CBS.
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- I agree with Obama, we have seen this atrocity too many times in our life times. Every single time it happens immediately people start screaming gun control. That does not work, never worked and will never work here.
I suggest it is time to take a different approach to the problem and start thinking out side the box. We have a "sin tax" on cigarettes and booze. Why not have a sin tax on the sale of fire arms and have those funds used to install "metal detectors" in Every single "learning institution in America.
"Let them have their guns, But keep them away from our Children" - Reply to this comment
- Now listen to this FBI statistic: On this past "Black Friday" shopping day after Thanksgiving, Miller said, "we hit the all-time record in history for gun sales. Over that three-day period, they sold 283,423 guns in the United States."
Since November 6, gun sales have been up under the fear that Obama will push for more restrictive gun laws. Actually, Obama's re-election has done more for gun sales than any Black Friday sale.
Millions of legal, law abiding and sane gun owners fear thier constitutional rights will be infringed upon. - Reply to this comment
- What prompted the Doctor with the IQ study? He sounds as if school shootings are the only trauma a child might face. Kids face trauma from a variety of sources, and school shoorings are very probably the least likely one they are apt to encounter. Falling from a treehouse can also cause trauma as can watching Mom and Dad argue about unpaid bills, I experienced both of those, and it did have an effect. To put that subject in an atricle like this one is mere sensationalism nothing more.
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- I have a mental illness. I was told by 2 community mental health clinics that I was "not sick enough" to continue receiving care. When I was "expelled" from these clinics (with no notice at one of them) I was left to fend for myself when it came to meds (no psychiatrist access because I am "too well")and therapy. I am high-functioning but this threw me into a tail-spin. My expulsion from services was done because of budget cuts - they could only care for the sickest of the sick. Without meds and mental health services I fear being one of those that are sick to the point of no return. During a particularly rough patch, I contacted a suicide hotline and found that it was no longer staffed because of budget cuts. I self advocate and eventually found a psychiatrist and a psychologist that could help me. I spend 1/2 of my income on dr.'s and meds - no more sliding scale for services or assistance from the drug companies. I may have to discontinue services again because I simply cannot afford it. I know what happens without these things & it scares me to death. I don't want to be that person. Some people are not able to self advocate and simply fall through the cracks. I've always felt that a physical illness affects the individual (and their family, etc.) but a mental illness affects the individual and society. This is simply unacceptable and I urge others to contact their elected officials and tell them how essential community mental health systems are. The individuals who commit atrocities like the connecticut shootings are merely a symptom of a larger problem.
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- What happened to the two other men caught by the police? Not news worthy? Where they two other shooters? where they government agents released? Any light will be made on this?
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