Is it time to talk about any change in gun laws?

[AFTERMATH]

I don't negotiate with terrorists.

[Heffay]

I don't negotiate with terrorists.

Operate on, operator!

[sgruenhagen44]

This is exactly why I don't understand why you always pull the personal attack card on this forum heff. Everyone knows by now that the post above is your little catch phrase insult.

[Heffay]

This is exactly why I don't understand why you always pull the personal attack card on this forum heff. Everyone knows by now that the post above is your little catch phrase insult.

Being an operator isn't an insult. It's an acknowledgement of the person's superior tactical abilities and recognition of their expertise in all firearm related activities.

[AFTERMATH]

I don't negotiate with terrorists.

Operate on, operator!

Plannin' on it!

[yuppiejr]

I don't understand how a change in gun laws would have led to a different outcome in this case... the person in question was not eligible to own a gun, he effectively stole them and used them to commit a crime.

I agree that the mechanisms for treating people with serious mental or emotional problems should be addressed... perhaps we should be re-opening the discussion of the sweeping healthcare changes in progress and include an open discussion about how the system may have failed in this case? I don't see people suggesting we create more stringent car buying requirements when someone gets drunk and plows into a school teacher on his bike, for example...

[ferric021]

Maybe it's time America had a conversation about eliminating the most prolific source of violence in our lives: the worship of football?

As is probably already very evident, I'm actually not at opposed as most people here are to certain restrictions. I'm mostly just worried about acting too quickly with a knee-jerk reaction, and setting bad precedents which can be used to justify further restrictions that aren't as reasonable.

[grousemaster]

I don't understand how a change in gun laws would have led to a different outcome in this case... the person in question was not eligible to own a gun, he effectively stole them and used them to commit a crime.

I agree that the mechanisms for treating people with serious mental or emotional problems should be addressed... perhaps we should be re-opening the discussion of the sweeping healthcare changes in progress and include an open discussion about how the system may have failed in this case? I don't see people suggesting we create more stringent car buying requirements when someone gets drunk and plows into a school teacher on his bike, for example...

exactly.

[sigsauersauce]

What makes all of these discussions so difficult is that nobody on either side can agree about what the root problem is. Is it mental health or high cap mags? Is it ready access to firearms or a culture of violence? Is it eating hot dogs for lunch or hamburgers? Personally, I think that there are lessons to be learned from this tragedy, as there are in every instance where an individual perpetrates violence on the community at large. What exactly those lessons are though I think are better learned when time and distance have given us greater clarity on the situation as a whole, which is why I would not support any legislation at this point, but would be willing to consider examining proposals at a later date. As I see it, the biggest issue in this whole debate is whether we view mass shootings such as this as primarily the work of individuals acting out of their own evil/malice/insanity that needs to be addressed on a case by case basis or whether this is a problem of society that needs to be addressed cooperatively by society. I am not suggesting that I have the definitive answer to those questions, but I think we need to think about these questions as we debate this kind of issue.

[grousemaster]

Maybe we should focus on the real cause of the shooting: birth control and gay marriage.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/12 ... ?mobile=nc



Nice work, Huckabee. And here we were thinking the 2012 elections got all you nutjobs to keep your pie-holes shut.

You regularly surf this propaganda website?

[Heffay]

You regularly surf this propaganda website?

No. Found the link on a video game website. I tried to find a more neutral source, but lack of interest sabotaged my search.

[bstrawse]

the only gun law that needs to change in minnesota is that we should be able to own silencers.

In this political climate, we won't see this pass. And even if it was a better political climate right now, there are bigger fish to fry...

[Fearless Leader]

Where is our NRA?

[Heffay]

Where is our NRA?

They are laying low. It's the right decision. This is NOT the time to be discussing protecting our rights. Need to have some time to mourn the dead.

[yuppiejr]

I agree with Heffay on this... people need time to process and deal with this right now... I've waded into the waters twice in the past few days with folks who I normally enjoy rational, thought provoking discussion and in both cases they ended the conversation with 'something has to be done' <about guns...>... there's WAY too much emotion involved in this topic right now, people are freaked the f- out and when you have parents who's illusion of security around their 5-6 year old babies who skipped off to the safety of school has been shattered, there is no reasoning regardless of logic/facts right now.

This may well have been one of the most horribly succesful acts of terrorism in the history of the country. Consider what an angry, unhinged/mentally unstable but brilliant kid might do to get back at his mother over some perceived neglect, committing an unthinkable act that not only hurts her but the community/activities she loved could certainly fit the bill.