Another school shooting

[Emo EMAW]

Are the victims of terrorism any less dead?  I mean WTF?!

[Rage Against the McKee]

Are the victims of terrorism any less dead?  I mean WTF?!

No, but I don't see your point. You would have a point if terrorists were committing mass shootings in the US, but there is no political motivation behind these shootings.

[HeinBallz]

Two things: 1.  We don't know the motivation behind aurora or Sandy hook, so it's too early say what their motives were.  These situations may turn out that they were willing to do what it takes to commit mass homicide.  Holmes certainly wasn't out to commit suicide.

2. If your making the point that we shouldn't acknowledge the RIRA and other terrorist organizations, then really, you're missing the point entirely.  You're essentially saying no one in the US would find any political motivation to commit terrorism after harsh gun laws on its citizens were to be forcefully imposed.

Lets not create a whole new sub-class of criminals by redrawing the line in the sand.

[Emo EMAW]

Are the victims of terrorism any less dead?  I mean WTF?!

No, but I don't see your point. You would have a point if terrorists were committing mass shootings in the US, but there is no political motivation behind these shootings.

My point being:  we (our govt) should spend their time/money/political capital on those things that:

1.  Would have the largest impact, and
2.  Are easy to implement

This isn't exactly a new idea.  Corporations the world over operate like that.

That being said, gun violence is small potatoes compared to things like texting while driving, drunk driving, suicide, and a few others.

[HeinBallz]

I don't think it's fair to liken kids being murdered in school to "small potatoes".  But I think it would be wise to look at this problem in a way that isn't exclusive to the other tremendously huge problems you mentioned.

[Stevesie60]

FIREARMS FOR EVERYONE!!!

http://gawker.com/5977112/security-officer-hired-by-school-in-response-to-sandy-hook-shooting-forgets-to-take-handgun-with-him-when-exiting-student-restroom?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_twitter&utm_source=gawker_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

[HeinBallz]

[Emo EMAW]

I don't think it's fair to liken kids being murdered in school to "small potatoes".  But I think it would be wise to look at this problem in a way that isn't exclusive to the other tremendously huge problems you mentioned.

Just the facts HeinBallz.  Way more people killed by other means than by nutjob shooters looking to make a headline.

[HeinBallz]

I don't disagree,  but being insensitive is one of the major causes of polarizing this debate.  There should be a way to address this issue, including all of those other issues at the same time.

[michigancat]

sys is still the only poster that presented a compelling argument in favor of not increasing gun control (and he definitely influenced my opinion a bit). It's weird no one else tried his strategy.

[Emo EMAW]

sys is still the only poster that presented a compelling argument in favor of not increasing gun control (and he definitely influenced my opinion a bit). It's weird no one else tried his strategy.

I don't care about your opinion.

[Emo EMAW]

I don't disagree,  but being insensitive is one of the major causes of polarizing this debate.  There should be a way to address this issue, including all of those other issues at the same time.

Isn't it pretty insensitive to put such disproportionate attention to this issue when other larger issues warrant more attention?

[HeinBallz]

Calling out hypocrisy, even when it's justified, just pushes people away from the table.

[jmlynch1]

FIREARMS FOR EVERYONE!!!

http://gawker.com/5977112/security-officer-hired-by-school-in-response-to-sandy-hook-shooting-forgets-to-take-handgun-with-him-when-exiting-student-restroom?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_twitter&utm_source=gawker_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

I mean, that has to be made up, right?

[ChiComCat]

bombers and shooters are absolutely not the same.

please nobody on this planet attempt to use that comparison again so we can have some more meaningful hopeless discussions.

Do they have different motivations?

There is a different level of ease to which they can accomplish their task.

One thing all psychopaths have in common is unlimited focus on their primary goal, lack of procrastination, emotional detachment from anything in the way of achieving their goal, and great resourcefulness. A person does not commit mass homicide on a whim.  These are not crimes of passion.  People are underestimating what motivated individuals are capable of.

Assuming psychopaths are the only group with mental illness that commit mass murders is an over simplification.  Assuming that all the people who commit mass homicide are capable of buying the materials and making a bomb, while not blowing themselves up or getting caught is a stretch for me.  I think if we make the task more difficult, it will allow more to be caught.  Though that is not me saying that it will completely solve any problem

[HeinBallz]

Because people make their own coke/meth/heroin and kidnap their own child prostitutes.  That argument may have flown 20 years ago - but this is the Internet age.

None of this stuff is difficult any longer.

[michigancat]

Because people make their own coke/meth/heroin and kidnap their own child prostitutes.  That argument may have flown 20 years ago - but this is the Internet age.

None of this stuff is difficult any longer.

what??? crackheads make their own crack?

[HeinBallz]

Read it again in context.

[ChiComCat]

Because people make their own coke/meth/heroin and kidnap their own child prostitutes.  That argument may have flown 20 years ago - but this is the Internet age.

None of this stuff is difficult any longer.

Its a lot more difficult than buying a gun.

[HeinBallz]

Because people make their own coke/meth/heroin and kidnap their own child prostitutes.  That argument may have flown 20 years ago - but this is the Internet age.

None of this stuff is difficult any longer.

Its a lot more difficult than buying a gun.

I disagree; and I'm not sure you're aware of just how common psychopathic tendencies are.  Most professional athletes & successful business owners would qualify as a psychopath based off of their behavior towards achieving whatever goal they've focused their minds on.  Not all psychopaths have criminal intent. 

[ChiComCat]

Because people make their own coke/meth/heroin and kidnap their own child prostitutes.  That argument may have flown 20 years ago - but this is the Internet age.

None of this stuff is difficult any longer.

Its a lot more difficult than buying a gun.

I disagree; and I'm not sure you're aware of just how common psychopathic tendencies are.  Most professional athletes & successful business owners would qualify as a psychopath based off of their behavior towards achieving whatever goal they've focused their minds on.  Not all psychopaths have criminal intent. 

I'm completely aware of that psychopaths are some of the most successful people in our society, listened to a number of stories on it when that one dude wrote his book on it.  I just don't think that all of the mass murderers are psychopaths.  I think there are a number of potential disorders that could be a cause.  I think if you make it harder to commit mass homicide, it will happen less.  I also find it hard to believe that you think it is easier to build a bomb capable of blowing up 26 people than killing 26 people with a gun.

[HeinBallz]

Because people make their own coke/meth/heroin and kidnap their own child prostitutes.  That argument may have flown 20 years ago - but this is the Internet age.

None of this stuff is difficult any longer.

Its a lot more difficult than buying a gun.

I disagree; and I'm not sure you're aware of just how common psychopathic tendencies are.  Most professional athletes & successful business owners would qualify as a psychopath based off of their behavior towards achieving whatever goal they've focused their minds on.  Not all psychopaths have criminal intent. 

I'm completely aware of that psychopaths are some of the most successful people in our society, listened to a number of stories on it when that one dude wrote his book on it.  I just don't think that all of the mass murderers are psychopaths.  I think there are a number of potential disorders that could be a cause.  I think if you make it harder to commit mass homicide, it will happen less.  I also find it hard to believe that you think it is easier to build a bomb capable of blowing up 26 people than killing 26 people with a gun.

Who said anything about building a bomb?  I said you can get anything you want anymore - meaning you can buy a ready to blow bomb. 

Also, ftr, anything more than 4 people killed qualifies as "mass homicide"

Someone above tried to make the statement that Europe doesn't have a bomb problem - when in fact they do.  Maybe if guns weren't illegal there, they wouldn't have a bombing problem, but a mass shooting problem.  They clearly think bombs are easier to get than guns.   Hasn't slowed their overall violence down from the levels they've always been at.

 I'd like to bring this up again without anyone ignoring it,  but legislating strict gun control will create more criminals.  Not just by redrawing the line so that some people are already across it, but by providing the proper motivation for becoming criminals. 

This is a violence issue.  Gun restrictions are violence.  More violence does not solve violence.

[michigancat]

Someone above tried to make the statement that Europe doesn't have a bomb problem - when in fact they do.  Maybe if guns weren't illegal there, they wouldn't have a bombing problem, but a mass shooting problem.

How does the bomb death rate in Europe compare to the gun death rate in the US? (using statistics)

This is a violence issue.  Gun restrictions are violence.  More violence does not solve violence.

OK, now I'm convinced you've just been trolling. Well done.

[HeinBallz]

How does the bomb death rate in Europe compare to the gun death rate in the US? (using statistics)

If you really care, I'll look it up after I put my kids to bed, but honestly - it's an apples to oranges comparison.  Europe has always had lower murder rates than us, even when we had identical gun legislature so i can tell you without even looking it will be lower.  Something about violence being social and or cultural.  Not to mention, there's really no reason to compare just bombs to gun violence, because there are a ton of different ways to kill people.  But I'm happy that you're finally starting to care about people killed by other methods.  So here's another thing I'll look into - overall murder minus murder via gun violence.  Lets say we some how magically removed all gun violence so that no other person was never killed by guns again - where would the homicide rate be.  Considering limiting guns won't have any effect on people being stabbed/punched/exploded to death.  I'll predict we'll still be one of the higher countries, which could only mean we have a violence problem,  not a gun problem.

OK, now I'm convinced you've just been trolling. Well done.

Yeah, I am trolling you a little but.  And you've been biting pretty hard.  It's only made my argument stronger while simultaneously weakening yours though, so it's been fun

Gotta go, kids getting out of the tub and I'm on duty!

[sys]

Europe has always had lower murder rates than us.

hitler, stalin, yugoslavia.