O/T feel sick inside - CT Elementary shooting

[oldjudge]

Times are different than when the Bill of Rights was written. Maybe it needs to be updated. There is no reason for private citizens to own assault rifles or semi-automatic weapons (which by the way didn't exist when the Bill of Rights was written).

[yanks12025]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Times are different than when the Bill of Rights was written. Maybe it needs to be updated. There is no reason for private citizens to own assault rifles or semi-automatic weapons (which by the way didn't exist when the Bill of Rights was written).

Why shouldn't a private citizen be able to own a assault rifle. I would like to own one and someday I will buy one. But it doesn't mean I plan on killing others with it.

[wazoo]

Allowing minors, to be exposed to gruesome games like Call of Duty does not help either.

[yanks12025]

Originally Posted by wazoo

Allowing minors, to be exposed to gruesome games like Call of Duty does not help either.

Again video games are not the problem, it's crazy people.

Also if i did buy a assault rifle, it would be when im back in the country and could shot in my back yard and not in a urban area.

[wazoo]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

Again video games are not the problem, it's crazy people.

Also if i did buy a assault rifle, it would be when im back in the country and could shot in my back yard and not in a urban area.

As a teenager, I know for a fact video games are a problem. My goodness, kids are up day and night, blowing off heads, stabbing, etc. I'm not saying video games are bad, but there are people who don't understand the term moderation. This addiction, and seeing blood and gore over and over is starting to make these kids immune to feeling remorse. Again, I am not saying all of kids, but honestly there are adolescents that people should be worried about.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by wazoo

As a teenager, I know for a fact video games are a problem. My goodness, kids are up day and night, blowing off heads, stabbing, etc. I'm not saying video games are bad, but there are people who don't understand the term moderation. This addiction, and seeing blood and gore over and over is starting to make these kids immune to feeling remorse. Again, I am not saying all of kids, but honestly there are adolescents that people should be worried about.

Most, if not all, of the people who commit these mass-killings, are not rational mean people, or people trying to replicate what they saw in a video game. They are mid-20's men having a psychotic break, which almost always manifests itself in extreme anger. Perhaps they picked up some techniques in the video games, but they were going to do something extreme, regardless. I'm in agreement with others that the media exposure and gun availability make the event much more serious than it might be otherwise, but it's happening regardless.

I think you are probably right that the video games affect the thinking and behavior of otherwise normal kids, and that it probably has some bad consequences, but we're not talking events like in Aurora, Arizona, Portland or Connecticut.

[oldjudge]

Brock-why do you want to own an assault rifle? What would you do with it?

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Brock-why do you want to own an assault rifle? What would you do with it?

This is the best post I've seen today. True, I'm on my second pint at the local pub, but this is still hilarious.

I'm visualizing Brock using his assault rifle and the Red Sox are involved.

[yanks12025]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Brock-why do you want to own an assault rifle? What would you do with it?

I enjoy guns and think they're fun to shoot. I just think it would be cool to own a AK-47 or a M-16, but my real joy would be a Tommy gun(only single burst not fully).

[kmac32]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

I enjoy guns and think they're fun to shoot.

Still doesn't justify assault guns. If you want to see how good of a shot someone really is, try a muzzleloader.

[yanks12025]

Originally Posted by kmac32

Still doesn't justify assault guns. If you want to see how good of a shot someone really is, try a muzzleloader.

Ok so lets say someone goes and shoots up a school with a muzzleloader or a .22, should we then ban them??? Or like I mentioned already, say the guy drove his car through a group of kids and killed 15. Should cars be banned to a limit then? I'm sure more people are killed by stupid people driving a year then stupid people with guns.

[oldjudge]

Brock--you are raising an argument that has nothing to do with this. The question is if banning assault weapons would save lives and, to that question, I think the answer is yes.

[oldjudge]

"It is a pretty simple reasoning."

Actually, it's simple minded reasoning. What would the killer have done today? Run over his mother with a car. Then go to the school, wait for the kids to get out, and then try to run them over? My sense is that a lot of lives could have been saved if his weapon was a car instead of several guns.

[Kenny Cole]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

Ok so lets say someone goes and shoots up a school with a muzzleloader or a .22, should we then ban them??? Or like I mentioned already, say the guy drove his car through a group of kids and killed 15. Should cars be banned to a limit then? I'm sure more people are killed by stupid people driving a year then stupid people with guns.

That may be the single stupidest post of the day, if not the year. Do you serioiusly think the shooter is going to kill 27 people with a muzzleloader? If so, you are an idiot. If not, your post is disingenious at best. If you are going to argue the merits of owning assault rifles, at least come up with an argument that isn't completely ridiculous.

[kmac32]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

Ok so lets say someone goes and shoots up a school with a muzzleloader or a .22, should we then ban them??? Or like I mentioned already, say the guy drove his car through a group of kids and killed 15. Should cars be banned to a limit then? I'm sure more people are killed by stupid people driving a year then stupid people with guns.

Cars serve a purpose in general. A single shot 22 or muzzleloader have limited firepower so you wouldn't have mass murder. As I said before I do not propose a ban on guns in general. I advocate a ban on assault weapons. They really serve no purpose in any society unless you are in a battle or a war. Don't think that senario exists in a school or movie theater where people have been killed by idiots using these weapons. Unless you are a soldier somewhere in the world, what's the purpose?

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

I enjoy guns and think they're fun to shoot. I just think it would be cool to own a AK-47 or a M-16, but my real joy would be a Tommy gun(only single burst not fully).

A Texas Tommy would be more enjoyable.

[Vintageismygame]

No one is going to change my views or feelings towards my guns and I will probably not change yours so I will continue to conceal carry daily and purchase as many guns as I can. Why? Because that's what I enjoy.

[Vintageismygame]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Brock-why do you want to own an assault rifle? What would you do with it?

They are great deer, bear, elk, boar hunting guns.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Vintageismygame

They are great deer, bear, elk, boar hunting guns.

Isn't it more challenging to hunt with a less lethal weapon? I mean haven't people been hunting since time immemorial without assault rifles?

[yanks12025]

But do you guys realize most of these "Assault Rifles" are just rifles. You need a special license for fully auto and stuff. So it's not like these guys are shooting up the schools with machine guns. I'm not a expert in guns, but I'm sure there are hunting rifles that either have the same or higher caliber round then most assault rifles. Like the rifles I looked at buying(AK, M16,etc) are only single shot. So why so much hate against assault rifles.

[oldjudge]

An assault rifle is a rapid-fire, magazine-fed automatic rifle designed for infantry use. Sounds like there are more appropriate ways to deer hunt.

[kmac32]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

An assault rifle is a rapid-fire, magazine-fed automatic rifle designed for infantry use. Sounds like there are more appropriate ways to deer hunt.

Bow hunting is definitely more challenging.

[yanks12025]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

An assault rifle is a rapid-fire, magazine-fed automatic rifle designed for infantry use. Sounds like there are more appropriate ways to deer hunt.

You need a special license for a fully automatic rifle. These people are using those type of guns, they are using single shot guns and maybe three-round burst but im not sure if you need a license for three-round burst.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

You need a special license for a fully automatic rifle. These people are using those type of guns, they are using single shot guns and maybe three-round burst but im not sure if you need a license for three-round burst.

Yes, you do need the special license for anything beyond semi automatic (More than 1 shot for each trigger pull)
The background check to get that license is very detailed. I've heard it's equivalent to the background check done for FBI applicants.
The permit is also expensive, and the transfer tax at purchase is $200 on top of all other fees and taxes.
It's been that way since 1934.
And since then precisely 0 crimes have been comitted with legally owned machine guns.

"Assault weapons" are simply a class of semi automatic firearms defined by the government when they were banned between 1994 and 2004.
Most of the things that defined a weapon as an assault weapon were cosmetic.
Semi-automatic rifles able to accept detachable magazines and two or more of the following:
Folding or telescoping stock
Pistol grip
Bayonet mount
Flash suppressor, or threaded barrel designed to accommodate one
Grenade launcher (more precisely, a muzzle device that enables launching or firing rifle grenades, though this applies only to muzzle mounted grenade launchers and not those mounted externally).

Semi-automatic pistols with detachable magazines and two or more of the following:
Magazine that attaches outside the pistol grip
Threaded barrel to attach barrel extender, flash suppressor, handgrip, or suppressor
Barrel shroud that can be used as a hand-hold
Unloaded weight of 50 oz (1.4 kg) or more
A semi-automatic version of a fully automatic firearm.

Semi-automatic shotguns with two or more of the following: Folding or telescoping stock
Pistol grip
Fixed capacity of more than 5 rounds
Detachable magazine.

Many guns used for legitimate purposes would also qualify.
I'm pretty sure the old shotgun my friend let me use to try trap shooting has more than a 5 round magazine. I'm not sure because the rules of the sport require loading only one at a time so I've never used it any other way.

As far as being designed for military use goes, the M1 a rifle designed for the military in the 30's and used extensively into the 50's and even 60's by the US and still in service elsewhere is one of the most popular for marksmanship. They can be made very accurate.
They're also popular for hunting and look like any other rifle.

I don't own any guns, and likely never will. ADD and guns are not a great combination and I refuse to become the guy who forgets the gun in the couch and shoots himself in the backside(or worse)

But the good ones are impressive bits of mechanical design and machining. I wouldn't mind having one based on that alone even if I never used it.

Steve B

[tiger8mush]

My heart goes out to the families of loved ones lost in Connecticut today. Poor kindergarteners My oldest is in kindergarten.

guns - i don't own one but don't believe they should be banned. How many people did Ted Bundy kill? How many did he kill with a gun?

I agree with Scott and others - lets try to understand WHY those who want to kill think that way, and start there. Taking away peoples freedoms isn't the answer. Fix the problem, not the symptom.

god - I don't buy the argument that taking god out of school has anything to do with an increase in violence. How many wars were started because of "religion"? Probably a good portion.

violent video games - not the problem

baseball cards - not the problem

I do believe loving family helps. But even then there are cases of people's heads just not ticking right. Need to better understand WHY and see if there is a way to help them before something like this happens. Very tragic, I feel for the surviving parents and siblings who will be looking for answers. WHY? I'd give my life to bring back those kids, thats for sure.

edited to add: p.s. can we drop the assault weapon discussion? it has NOTHING to do with what happened today. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Today would've happened with or without a ban on assault weapons