I couldn't agree more with Thom's editorial on guns. I am a gun owner, and would gladly give up my old shotgun (which I never use anyway but grew up with) with gun control laws. Gladly. While the conversation about this tradgedy is thankfully morphing into more thoughtful conversations, I note that there is an elephant in the room no one is talking about in the media, and its name is the pharmaceutical/medical industry and the enormous addiction to SSRI's in this country. Every drug in this class (Paxil, etc. ---there are tons of them now) has the potential (and proven track record) to occasionally induce psychotic and self destructive behavior, and statistically moreso in those who are very unstable. The control the pharmaceutical/medical industry has even over the media is phenomenal; you will never hear someone on regular TV discuss this in detail or have guests on who know this field intimately. Never. Gun violence kills a few thousand people a year, a good percentage of it happens with people who are on SSRI's and other meds. You will never see a published tox screen readout on the perpetrators. My God! what would become of the huge profits and game of lies this industry is based on if the evening news published the names of the drugs these people are found to be on. Probably the same thing that should happen to the gun industry. Both are parasites, surviving on deception and redirection, like any good parasite that tries to keep your immune system from noticing there's something living off you that does not belong there.

Everyone is finally looking around at the multiple causational factors and starting to wonder how to approach this. This is good. All the big issues in Mental Health, Public Safety, Gun Control, and DRUG USE, SPECIFICLLY SSRI's have to get a good public airing. We can't turn the ship of opinion on a dime, and this recent tragedy will hardly be the end of things like this for years to come, but we do have to look at ALL factors.

Quote hartmann:"We know how to respond to danger here in America. One shoe bomber, and we all take off our shoes at the airport. One threat of binary liquids and we can't carry liquids on airplanes. One underwear bomber, and we put in billions of dollars in porno x-ray scanners and grope granny."

Yes, those are pretty ridiculous over reactions, aren't they, and so is the current propaganda that is done in order to disarm Americans from the criminals...not just the street criminals but, more important, against those that have stolen our Democratic process....one of the very reasons we have an Amendment to the Constitution encouraging everyone to have their own weapons. If you listen to those people who pretend to be liberal Democrats who are wailing about more gun controls, the criminals in Washington would have nothing to fear and everything to gain as we all have everything to lose.

The overreactions that were taken in the name of protecting us against the terrorists have taken away our liberties and freedoms...subjecting us all to totalitarian-like rule that is not finished with us in that regard quite yet. One more step for them is to take away any possibility of retaliation by a well armed citizenry.

I know that there are those who believe that there just wouldn't be any contest in any kind of battle against the entrenched powers and that may very well be true....or not. But even under such a possibility of a rebellion happening would not be a very welcome thing in Washington. And then you have to wonder if our military would even follow orders to fire on potentially their own fathers, brothers, or sisters. But I'd bet such a possibility would be even more influential in how Washington governs than if they didn't have to worry about such things. After all...look how gutless the Democrats are (the Republicans have most of the guns...don't they? If more Democrats stopped shirking their responsibility and quit being such pusillanimous cowards and armed themselves...we'd have more bite behind our bark...to keep the greedy hounds at bay). If you let your only means of protection reside in organizations that are easily, and most likely, corrupt then you have no protection at all.

We already know that our votes don't really count for anything...both parties represent the wealthy in this country not the majority. Take away all the guns and they don't have to worry about it at all. They would continue along their merry corrupt ways and continue to pretend there is a democracy and continue to screw the majority.

You said that there were over 20 mass shootings every year...without, of course, a caveat that none of them were even close to the last one in that school in Connecticut. Are you really interested in portraying the truth or are you really trying to use propagandist scare tactics on behalf of those in power who would rather see us all without guns?

Have you even mentioned the similar attacks on children in schools in China where they ban guns and where the killer used knives and clubs? And then, what about Rwanda? Egads...if those 800,000 victims had guns they could have protected themselves...don't let that happen here in America!!!

Are you even concerned about the root causes..ie: why these people did what they did? Are we even willing to modify our behavior, as parents, as educators, as administrators, as politicians? Will wealthy parents teach their children not to be such snotty rich kid brats who make fun of others? Or not so rich parents teach their children not to make fun of others for any reason? Will the U.S. stop murdering hundreds of thousands of innocent children in other countries? Will they just stop all that killing, bullying, stealing from other countries?

No one wants to look at the root causes or deal with them. Instead of modifying THEIR attitudes and actions they'd rather make the majority of people, who had nothing to do with the killings, suffer. Take away all the guns... and people will just find other ways of killing masses of people. This has been proven in China and other countries already. Knives, clubs, gas, explosions, biological agents. Deal with the root causes...our whole attitude system...change it from a greed, class, hate and "I'm better than you" system to one where everyone respects everyone else...and propagate that down to the children as well.

Every American should hang their head in shame! What kind of a nation have we become? On almost a daily basis some nut case goes on a mass shooting spree wrecking havoc and leaving a bloody trail. In Connecticut, 26 lives are snuffed out including 20 young kindergarten and first grade school kids. An additional 6 adults perished in this mindless carnage as well. Just a few days before, innocent shoppers doing Christmas shopping in a Mall are slaughtered. Gun violence is a blight on this nation. It is the product of weak, spineless politicians who are too cowardly to stand up to the National Rifle Association and others in the gun lobby. The NRA has dictated gun policy in the United States since it created the Institute for Legislative Action in 1968 when Harlan Carter, the NRA’s radical President at the time proclaimed there would never be a new gun law in his lifetime. The NRA"s current head, Wayne LaPierre is one of the most powerful figures in this country because he can bring politicians of all persuasions to their knees. He is nothing more than a terrorist with the blood of thousands on his hands in my opinion and the National Rifle Association is one of the most dangerous organizations in our country today. They have been for the past 40 years as they have aggressively fought any reasonable measures to deal with firearms. I am tired of the gun zealots who immediately claim it's not the guns that are the problem. Guns are a big part of the problem because too many idiots who shouldn't have them do! The gun lobby’s answer is to arm everyone so we can have shootouts in public places to stop the crazies. Our founding fathers would be aghast at the mayhem done in the name of the Second Amendment.

I know my rant is going to anger a lot of people but I don’t care! The bloody massacres are insane beyond description. The sad part is that we are probably past the point of no return. There are so many guns out there now that nothing we could do short of draconian measures would have an effect. Politicians have cowered from this issue for so long they are incapable and completely unwilling to do anything that might upset the gun lobby. Reality is we better accept the fact that on a regular basis we have to witness the slaughter of innocents because of our lack of collective will to do anything about it. No state or local law will have any impact because people just go where it's easier to get guns. Thieves will have an endless supply for as long as we can see because of the staggering number of guns out there.

Until there is one uniform, comprehensive national firearms law that provides consistency throughout the land we will never see an end or meaningful reduction to this madness. The piecemeal approach of the past has been completely ineffective and more laws at the state and local level aren’t the answer. Putting more band aids on with an assault weapon ban, or plastic handgun bans or bullet restrictions won't work either. I believe the following would serve as a foundation to start bringing the national gun violence plague under control.

1. Purchase of any firearm, whether from a licensed gun dealer or private party at any gun show, requires a standardized national written application with positive proof of identification and structured to identify criminal or mental histories. Exchange of firearms between other private parties should require filing a standardized notice with local law enforcement providing the identity of both the buyer and seller and complete description of the weapon. There should be meaningful penalties for non compliance
2. Mandatory seven day waiting period between date of application and date of delivery of the firearm while a thorough background investigation is conducted.
3. Mandatory classroom training in the safe use, storage and maintenance of firearms before a sale can be consummated and followed by demonstration of basic proficiency as a condition of obtaining the permit or license.
4. Required licensing of firearms owners and registration of all firearms in a national firearms data base.
5. Support of this system should come through establishment of user fees sufficient to cover the costs.
6. Mandatory confiscation and destruction of any unlicensed or unregistered firearm along with stiff penalties for failure to have a license or register a firearm.
7. Strictly enforce existing laws involving commission of crimes with a firearm.
8. Classification of Firearms into the following with increased fees for the type of weapon.
1. Handguns – recreational
2. Handguns – modified
3. Long guns defined for legitimate hunting purposes
4. Weapons of war which is any weapon designed and intended for use by the military and has no legitimate value as a hunting weapon.
5. Collectors weapons

While these measures will be fought to the death by the gun lobby and they aren’t the panacea for all violence, they are a first step in trying to solve what has become a national disgrace. If we aren’t willing to do this much in the name of 5 and 6 year old kids who are senselessly slaughtered at Christmastime by someone who possessed handguns legally purchased by his mother who herself became a victim, then we truly do not deserve to call ourselves the greatest nation on earth.

I agree totally, here we are going after a symptom, not the cause.

I own shot guns and a rifle I hunt, I have no automatic weapons I have no pistols,I don't Have a need for them. Here I see us totally over reacting to a tradegy that is playing out over and over, the real cause of many of these mass shootings and for a large percentage of youth and adult suicides is the use of a class of drugs called SSRIs which are a supressent to a much needed brain chemical called Seratonin, one simply has to Google SSRIs and shootings to find many stories and links to research connecting these drugs to the deaths. Yet big Pharma corps control the media,and thus the information released to the public.

I am so frustrated with our corporate controlled media,why isn't this story being told, more people die each year due to msuse and abuse of these drugs than have died in all the plane crashes and wars weve been in, yet there is no action?

Im a liberal, but I agree with the gun owners in this one instance (separation of powers; overthrow an oppressive govt.. the GOP mainly today are fascists).. People wantine to kill will simply pick up a rock, a baseball bat, a knife, use an illegal gun, or hire someone.. So I doubt restricting guns would make much difference.. Granted it would cut down on a particular type of killing.. And it seems timely real world proof that about the same time as we had this school shooting in america, some nutjob with a knife killed 20 children in China..

Corporate money has turned amrica fascist (10 years of war, the govt moving sharply to the right of the people, controlling the major media, controlling poilticians like puppets.. Corporate money has almost defeated the separation of powers, by controling bioth the legislative branch and the judicial branch of govt.. Another constitutional solution to an oppressive govt was the right to peacrfilly assemple, but we had the cops cracking heads of peaceful protesters.. Can anyone tell me america of not fascist.. Mayve violent revolution is the next only possible solution..

How inportant is the constututional reason for arms? If
"fascist" Nazi germany did not outlaw guns, might the resistance had more success before 6-million jews were murdered?

Instead of focusing on restricting guns, I would like to see mandatory waiting periods, background checks, and mandatory training and licensing..

I probably will not see replies (I cant figure out how to know when there is activity on these message boards)..

As if! As if the govt. (county, city, state, federal) cannot out gun any of us any time it wants - with armored vehicles, large-calibre automatic weapons, gas, armor, etc., etc. Has anyone ever heard of a police standoff where the shooter won? He might kill people in the process but the result is usually (almost always) deadly for the 'gun owner'!

See what happens when you key the phrase, "antidepressants shootings" into Google. Then reflect on all of the antidepressant commercials you see on TV and the extreme lack of discussion that includes this side of the issue. Like NOBODY is talking about what these under-regulated drugs are doing to us.

http://www.prescribableapps.com/antidepressants-are-everywhere-these-days/

Are we not attacking a symptom of a greater problem by instituting more gun control laws? Isn’t the real underlying problem income and wealth inequality and shouldn’t we put all our energy into solving that problem rather and chasing the issue du jour?

According to the Mayan calendar, Friday is only the end of the Mayan calendar. It's according to some dishonest profiteers that the world will end on December 21st.

WHOOPS... sorry about the damn typos!

Technology must be able to make guns that can ONLY be made to operate by the registered gun owner. They can do it for my iPad. They can do it for firearms.

In Florida, a bartender and the employing establishment can be held responsible for DUI consequences of patrons. A business could lose its liquor license if it sends someone into the streets who has an accident and is over the intoxication limit.

When I was a juror in a case where North Miami police shot a 20 year old 22 times in the back while running, because they saw "a gun in his waist," I could not decide who disgusted me more- the police or the pawnshop owner who sold the kid the gun.

He was a greasy, silver- haired, overweight slicker in a shiny silver suit, who took the stand with pride. "The Gun" was put on display, which made all the ladies uneasy, and the pawn broker was questioned intensely about whether he was the one who sold this gun to the 20 year old. He was so proud of his merchandise.

"Yep, that's the one," recalling the year-old sale with crystal clarity.

For a moment I thought, oh boy, he has to take some responsibility. But he left the witness stand a hero, having successfully identified the un-fired gun he sold to a 20 year old dead Haitian boy, only in this country a few months.

Eventhough the boy never fired the gun, and was running from the police because of a drug deal, because the police killed him it was a homicide occurring in the course of a drug felony, and the Prosecutor was charging the boy's brother with the murder because he was part of the drug deal.

If bartenders can be held responsible for a death-related DUI, why shouldn't pawnshop owners assume some responsibility for guns they sell which result in armed robberies, violent shootings and murders? This was an obvious case of a gun sale headed for trouble- a kid who barely speaks English, who is poor, who doesn't have a job-

What did that slimeball think was going to happen with that gun? Yet, he left the courtroom smug as a bug, like, "I'm not the one in trouble. Hoo-ha."

The jury was disgusted with the whole prosecution. The brother, in the end was acquitted of the homicide, fortunately because the prosecutor wanted the Death Penalty. He was sentenced for drugs. The next day a a story broke on police corruption and the lead police investigator of the case. It had been withheld from the news until the case was over.