“We’re going to…

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1 min read

“We’re going to have to come together to meaningful action on this, regardless of the politics.” Barack Obama regarding the Connecticut shootings.

It hurts my heart to read/watch the news and find something like what happened today. I kept thinking about the innocent lives that were lost because of a crazy act. I chose this sentence because I frequently think about how “easy” is to have a gun in USA. I’m not criticizing it; I’m just wondering: Would this happen if there was a more restrictive law on weapons?

89 responses to ““We’re going to…”

  1. Janelle Avatar

    I read somewhere today amongst a flood of articles & information that states with stricter laws do have fewer instances of violence, and that for some reason, the US leads all other countries in gun violence. We should at least stop and say, “What’s going on here? How do we fix it?”

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      Yes, definitely. The number of shootings seems to be increasing, so, the sooner the better.

  2. ujhelps Avatar

    I’m British but this story is all over our news. It just shows the relationship between America and Great Britain.

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      I think it’s all over the world news. Here in Portugal, it opened several news programs.

      1. ujhelps Avatar

        You live in Portugal, that just shows how far spread big news goes.

        Sent from my iPod

      2. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

        Yes, indeed. Especially because it was so shocking…

      3. ujhelps Avatar

        I’m giving you a shout out on my next post.

        Sent from my iPod

      4. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

        Thank you! 🙂

      5. ujhelps Avatar

        It doesn’t cost me anything, and you were being nice so what was stopping me.

      6. ujhelps Avatar

        Also, how many people follow you? Just curious.

        Sent from my iPod

      7. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

        21 🙂
        I’ll do the same… Your blog is definitely worth reading!

      8. ujhelps Avatar

        My turn to say it now, Thank You!

        Sent from my iPod

  3. spudderstein Avatar

    Although I’m a card carrying member of the NRA, we don’t need stricter gun enforcement, for there are already enough safe guards in place. What we really need to do is, enforce the laws that are already on the books. Guns don’t kill people, stupid people kill people. Always remember that!
    That said, I do agree with you – it’s maddening to look at the news these days.

    1. ujhelps Avatar

      What does the NRA stand for?

      1. spudderstein Avatar

        National Rifle Association

      2. ujhelps Avatar

        I noticed that you followed my parenting blog, do you have children?

      3. spudderstein Avatar

        No, I’m a teacher tho – more mentoring orientated, which is similar in nature.

      4. ujhelps Avatar

        I started a forum on child discipline, even though you don’t have kids, you can discus the methods you use at school. If you want I’ll start a new board called school.

        Sent from my iPod

    2. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      Yes, I agree with you. But something has to change… These things can’t keep happening.

      1. spudderstein Avatar

        Something, yes, but what other avenues are there though? I mean, short of gutting the system and starting from scratch, there isn’t much that can be done. Otherwise it’d be like putting a bandage on a hemorrhaging wound.

      2. ujhelps Avatar

        They can still ban guns in public.

      3. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

        Indeed. I guess we have to wait to see what actions will come regarding gun control. I think Obama wants to do something about it…

      4. pjmac57 Avatar

        all great points … thanks for posting.

      5. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

        Thank you, come by anytime.

  4. spudderstein Avatar

    He’s already raised prices for ammunition. That said, there will be some sort of backlash because of this, no doubt.

    1. ujhelps Avatar

      I don’t know if there is already but Americans should have to pay $1000 a year for a gun licence. This licence should allow you to have a gun in your home.

      1. spudderstein Avatar

        although it is always rude to answer a question with a question…quis custodiet ipsos custodes? that’s all i have to say in response to that thou.

      2. ujhelps Avatar

        I’m going to use google translate on that last message.

        Sent from my iPod

      1. spudderstein Avatar

        cheers, like i tried replying earlier, but couldn’t. something could be possible, but got a lot on my plate these days, so in the future, yes. now, no.

      2. ujhelps Avatar

        Okay

        Sent from my iPod

  5. johngalt Avatar

    The problem is not the availability of guns . When I was a child anyone could order a gun from Sears Roebuck and get it in the mail and we didn’t experience this type of horror . Throughout the better part of our 300+ years of existence guns have been a fixture in most households and we didn’t experience this kind of violence .
    There are however , other cultural markers that have changed significantly over the past half-century . Think about what is different .
    50 years ago there was no 24/7 endless news stream .
    50 years ago a majority of the nation were people of faith
    50 years ago the typical child you ran into on the street was most likely to hold the door for you or even carry your bags
    50 years ago that same child would have addressed you as Sir or Ma’am
    50 years ago the insane/mentally ill were either institutionalized or , at least for the most part , being closely supervised
    50 years ago we played cops and robbers , cowboys and indians and were taught how to handle and shoot real guns responsibly by our parents and never gave a thought to shooting up the neighborhood
    50 years ago children didn’t get exposed to an endless stream of violent movies , TV shows , Music , Video games and phone apps

    These are just a few of the things that have changed about society while the percentage of guns to population has remain a relative constant . The fact is that , without going into an even longer winded post as to the WHY of it , there is a ROT in society . Plain and simple . People no longer have any respect for one another , the law , institutions or society in general . We are reaping the crops sown with the plow of ” liberation ” , the final results of society adopting an attitude of “me , me , me” and “If it feels good do it”

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      Yes. Society has changed in some ways and this changing has a major influence in this sort of happenings, unfortunately.

      1. johngalt Avatar

        I U you seem to have selected the follow button for a sub-page of youviewed . if you want to stay most up to date view us at YouViewed/Editorial instead of youviewedblog . Thanks for reading .

      2. johngalt Avatar

        My pleasure .

    2. shutupnsing Avatar

      Well said Mr. Galt! I wondered where you’d run off to…

      1. johngalt Avatar

        Welcome to my home . I hope to see you around often . Thank you for the compliment . I very much like your Gandhi quote at the end of those comments

  6. Mrs. Webmaster Avatar

    I agree completely with John Galt. I am a teacher, working in a public school in the US, and my husband owns several guns, which he uses for hunting ducks.

    I noted that John’s image shows one of the US founding fathers, who believed wholehearedly, in the rights of individual citizens to own guns.

    So what caused this terrible tragedy in Connecticut? I believe it is a combination of these two things that John mentioned:

    1. years ago, the insane/mentally ill were either institutionalized or… being closely supervised
    2. children are exposed to violence through TV and video games

    A mentally ill person is incapable of filtering violent entertainment. I know, because I’m required to teach mentally ill children–some of whom are dangerous mentally ill children–in public school. There are not “special schools” for these kids. They’re in the classroom with all of the other kids, and it doesn’t matter how often we try to expel them from school.

    They vandalize, they swear, they threaten teachers, but schools are required to teach them anyway.

    When people say to me, “You’re so lucky! You get your summers off!” I reply with “Yes, and I teach the future Jeffrey Dahmers, Charles Mansons, and Ted Bundies. Every. Single. Day. So I NEED a summer vacation.”

    We teach children who grow up to be in prison. Is it safe to have these kids in with everyone else? Nope. Ask the kid who got bullied last week. Not safe.

    But we aren’t allowed to kick them out of our school system until they do something truly heinous–like bringing a gun to school. This has happened more than once while I’ve been teaching. Yes, I have thwarted a school shooting. I have. Countless teachers have.

    If you take the guns away from the common people, then the ONLY people left with guns will be the ones who obtained them illegally. Like…

    Jeffrey Dahmer
    Charles Manson
    Ted Bundy

    Do you really want those people to have all the guns? I think not.

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      Thank you very much for sharing your opinion and experience 🙂

      1. Mike Avatar

        I have to agree with Mrs Webmaster. We abandoned our State mental hospital system decades ago but didn’t replace it with anything. Plus, we’ve made it more difficult to commit mentally ill people who are a danger to themselves and others. People who are severly mentally ill often can’t be committed once they’re adults.

      2. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

        Thank you for your opinion!

  7. johncoyote Avatar

    I have five guns in my house. They are secure except for one. Me and wife know where is. Bullets are separate from the small hand gun. I was a Soldier for 15 years. Guns don’t kill. Need a person to pull the trigger. Here in the USA. Gun control had not worked in many big cities. Bad people can get guns. I hope I never need to use a gun in my home. I live where half the people are unemployed. It is desperate times here in the USA for many. The incident with the children is sad. I have four kids and two grand-boys. The poor parent of the teachers and students will know pain forever. I believe easy fix to the problems in the USA. Free or cheaper higher education. Better paying jobs and opportunity. Parent staying together and trying to assist their kids. I know of three eleven grade boys. See no future in the job field. Had joined the Army during war time. War is better then being jobless and no hope. A thousand reasons for children who are lost and confused. Maybe a social worker in the school system could have saw the problem of the shooter? Cutbacks on school in the USA. Bigger classrooms. less one on one time with teachers. One children lost in our world is a sin. Our children are the gold in a good person life.

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      It surely raises a lot of questions. I can’t imagine the pain of the parents and friends… Thank you for your comment!

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      Thanks and come by anytime!

  8. ewgreenlee Avatar

    There is never anything wrong with debating societal issues. The 2nd amendment is always up for debate. It was written a very long time ago. I tried for my own education locating narrative of the intent of our founding fathers. I found in the Federalist No. 29 the intent as Alexander Hamilton saw it. He indeed wanted a well regulated militia, yet with a well trained public at large to protect their own rights and the rights of their neighbors.

    I still believe there are things that can be done to protect the 2nd amendment and protect people at the same time. People should still be trained. Technology exists to check the fingerprint of the person on the trigger and lock it if it not the one registered. If we are to have safe gun free zones, develop microchips in the guns that lock them from firing in those zones. A peaceful and civil discussion is needed and then compromise must take place.

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      Thank you for your thoughts!

  9. utubemalaysia Avatar

    I just could not depart your web site before suggesting that I really enjoyed the standard information an individual supply for your visitors? Is going to be again steadily to investigate cross-check new posts

  10. shutupnsing Avatar

    More restrictive gun laws would simply mean that more “good guys” would not have them…which would be GREAT news for the bad guys who will ALWAYS have them!

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      Thanks for your thoughts!

  11. Sarah Moy Avatar

    Interesting read. I find the gun culture in America fascinating. Living in Australia your average Joe doesn’t have a gun. If you need a gun (farmers controlling pests, army, police etc) you can have a gun, but you have to go through a fair bit to get one first. After port Arthur where 37 people were gunned down our prime minister changed our gun laws and did a buy back on guns. Over 700,000 guns were bought by the government and destroyed. Since then we have not had one single mass shooting. I hear “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” all the time. But the reality is that people with guns kill people. Maybe if the guns part was taken from the equation it might not be so easy. It’s hard to change a culture where something is so imbedded like guns are in America, but I hope that they can find a way to unite over this tragedy and work towards change.

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      I agree. Here in Portugal we have very restrictive laws on guns (even police). I think it depends on the country… I hope that they can cope with this tragedy and I hope that whatever changes they’ll go through will help them to feel safer.

  12. shutupnsing Avatar

    You guys (Sarah & Host) have to check out the 5 minute Youtube at the end of this blog http://shutupnsing.wordpress.com/2012/12/19/how-do-you-prevent-the-killing-of-56-million-people/

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      Thank you for your comments 🙂 come by anytime.

  13. shutupnsing Avatar

    PS ~
    “Among the many misdeeds of British rule of India, history will look upon the Acts of depriving a whole nation of arms as the BLACKEST.” ~ Mohandas Gandhi/ An Autobiography, Pg 446

  14. 1reddiva83 Avatar

    I do not belive that is the guns that is the problem.its our mental health system that is crumbling.the parents who give their children so much privacy ( columbine). They were allowed to legally obtain guns without parental knowledge.Or the parents of adam lanza who didn’t use the money they have to get adam help.everyone wants to control guns but I never heard of a gun loading itself,driving into a crowd of people and going off by itself.

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      You’re welcome 🙂

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  17. photog Avatar

    The bottom line is that it is far easier to acquire weapons than to access mental health care. Where are our priorities?

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      Indeed…Something has to change.

  18. Chip Avatar
    Chip

    I would much prefer ALL my neighbors to have guns than only the government. I saw a movie once where only the government & police had guns…it was called Schindler’s List! We do have a very clear priority Photog, its called “Freedom”…and good people with guns not only do not threaten it…they PROTECT it!

    1. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

  19. lista de emails Avatar

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  20. Taswegian1957T Avatar

    I read through most of the comments after your piece and although many good points were made about how society has changed in the last 50 years I have to agree with my fellow Australian’s reply. Most Australians were horrified by the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania and the government moved quickly to change the gun laws and start the buy back process.While we’re not crime free by any means, there are still armed robberies, so far we’ve been fortunate not to have another dreadful day like that one.Even people who were against changing the law came to see it as the best solution to the problem of gun crime.
    One thing that I haven’t seen mentioned amongst the posts is that the problem is not only with the ease of getting guns in the USA but the type of guns people are permitted to own. I understand farmers and hunters having rifles, I understand sports people having pistols for recreational shooting. I strongly disagree with homeowners having guns to defend themselves but even if they must do they really have to have semi automatic weapons? Citizens should not be allowed to buy military style guns at all. That’s the part of the American gun culture I have the biggest problem with. “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” is a popular arguement of gun owners. It may be true but the guns make it a damn site easier.

    1. Janelle Avatar

      Believe me, plenty of us Americans have a problem with that aspect of our gun culture, too–the problem is we get shouted down and more or less told that to take away such guns is infringing on their freedoms. I heard this put very well in a round-table discussion–this is all out of a fear that their culture is going to be destroyed, but it isn’t.

    2. shutupnsing Avatar

      Taswegian…I have a point and then a question. My point is that the “intent” of the 2nd amendment was to give “We the People” the means to defend ourselves from the exact threat of tyranny that grows in Washington today…not a menacing deer population! Hence the value to the American citizen of assault weapons over 22’s and BB guns! My question is this: On what planet does it make sense to surrender these rights to a regime who has lied about the deaths of American heroes, armed the Muslim Brotherhood and Mexican drug cartels on top of using the IRS to target their political opposition?

      1. Janelle Avatar

        Because the rights aren’t actually being surrendered. Limiting access, be it though restricting certain types of guns or making it harder for people to get them but still keeping them accessible, is vastly different from banning and removing them outright.

        Plenty of our amendments have some sort of restrictions on them, so why should this be different? We have freedom of speech, but we can’t run around saying violent, threatening things to people. We have freedom of the press, but we can’t print things that are untrue. We can drink, but only after a certain age. Where’s the harm in saying you can have a gun, but not one that will kill a bunch of people really fast? Look at it as a case of one person (or a bunch of mass murderers) ruining it for everyone else.

        Your paranoia about the government is a whole other issue, though.

      2. shutupnsing Avatar

        I think the Founders were a little more concerned with our gun rights than our booze rights Janelle. I think you may wish to do a little more research into areas where you’ve clearly done none…and if you think my take on this government is paranoia after NDAA, Fast & Furious, Benghazi, AP Spying & IRS targeting, then I suggest you take a double dose of Folgers in your cup dear!

      3. Janelle Avatar

        I’m not saying they were concerned about what we’re drinking, or that it’s been high-priority. How is it clear that I’ve done no research? I’m merely making the point that the liberties we have don’t equate to a free-for-all where we can just do whatever we want, and guns need to be treated the same way. How can you put your desire for a gun over human life? If the government wanted to kill you, that gun wouldn’t protect you.

        I’m not saying the government is all puppy dogs and roses, either–I’m just pointing out that your concerns seem a little extreme and rooted in misinformation, which you’re ironically accusing me of. And which is common of gun-rights activism.

      4. shutupnsing Avatar

        I’m sorry for coming down hard on you Janelle. Are my concerns more extreme than a government $17 Trillion in debt spending $1 Trillion more than it takes in for the past 5 consecutive years? Please tell me why communities that have more law abiding gun owners with conceal carry permits suffer less crime than communities with the strictest gun control laws that have become killing fields….like Detroit and Chicago.

      5. Janelle Avatar

        Government spending is irrelevant to this discussion, for starters.

        The key here is law-abiding gun owners. Not every gun owner is law-abiding. But more to relevance, the argument here isn’t that those law-abiding gun owners shouldn’t have those guns or that owning guns for self-defense is problematic. The problem here is how much is available and how easily, and the reality is a majority of Americans support stricter laws. Very few people support a gun ban. I certainly don’t, which I’ve made clear but you’ve chosen to ignore.

        Statistics also show that there are correlations between high numbers of guns and high numbers of homicides. We’re never going to be able to outright prevent all gun homicides unless Minority Report becomes a real thing, and that was a cautionary tale anyway, but we can probably prevent a lot of mass murders, given the fact that statistics also show those are often carried out with legal, high-capacity weapons. I hear they’re fun to shoot recreationally and I’m sure they are, but when they’re used to shoot a bunch of little kids, we need to start rethinking our laws. Going back to Australian friend up there, Australia’s gun ban resulted in a 59% decrease in gun homicides in the first year, while the percentage of other homicides stayed the same. They also haven’t had a mass murder since. Speaking of mass murders, only a tiny percentage of them have been stopped by another civilian shooter.

        And then there’s the fact that the second amendment accounts for “a well-regulated militia,” and a bunch of homicidal maniacs with machine guns isn’t exactly a well-regulated militia. Beyond that, it has been decided that people do have the right to have guns to defend themselves, which I am again totally fine with, but you don’t need high-capacity weapons to do that.

      6. shutupnsing Avatar

        Once you’ve completed the research I’ve recommended you’ll find that every society in history that has disarmed it’s citizens did so incrementally. National registration is a prerequisite to confiscation. Why do you place your trust in government before law abiding citizens? You haven’t taken in a single point I’ve made. You are tyranny’s dream!

      7. Janelle Avatar

        Stop relating intelligence and knowledge to this issue. It’s insulting and incorrect, especially since you’re basing this off of assumptions and what you think you know because I decided not to recap hundreds of years of world and American history. In fact, the real problem here is the fact that despite saying numerous times that the issue is neither banning guns nor disarming law-abiding citizens, you fail to comprehend that and insist on continuing to bring them up. I’m not the one unable to take in points here. I’ve presented you with counterpoints, statistics, and research; you keep repeating yourself.

        You’ve proven a previous point, though–the pro-gun arguments are largely being made out of fear.

        I’m aware of how and why people have been disarmed throughout history, though I never once said I wanted a national registry, for one thing, plus countries that have cracked down on guns in recent years seem to actually be doing pretty well. In fact, one of the most common sentiments from people in such countries is that we Americans are nuts, and they don’t understand why this is such a problem and why it’s so hard for us to say that maybe letting just anyone have just about any type of gun they want isn’t such a great idea.

        This also isn’t about blindly trusting government, either, which is another point I’ve addressed that you’ve failed to take in. That said, gun violence is obviously a serious problem in this country, and normally when a problem presents itself, it gets addressed. If my options are limit what guns can be bought and who can buy them or ignore the problem and live in a country where six-year-olds get shot, I’d rather aim for the former. If that’s a matter of deciding to trust a lesser of two evils, fine, but to refuse to do anything altogether is reckless and heartless.

    3. Internationally Unrelated Avatar

      Thanks a lot for your insight Taswegian1957T, Janelle and shutupnsing! 🙂 it is good to see people debating about today’s problems, but, most of all, we should try to find a solution for it.

      1. shutupnsing Avatar

        I agree with you IU…Here’s the solution:
        1) World History & US Constitution 101 for Taswegian & Janelle.
        2) Term limits to end PROGRESSIVE career politicians.
        3) Seal our borders & deport illegals who’ve committed violent crimes.
        4) Stop releasing repeat offenders back onto our streets (#2 will help)
        5) ADDRESS mental health issues!
        6) Heal our narcissistic culture & bring God back into our lives!
        I guarantee positive results! 🙂

  21. Elinor Avatar

    Howdy! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay.
    I’m definitely enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.

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