In this New York Times article A Tragedy of Silence published Saturday after the Newton, Connecticut shooting. Americans remain equally divided.
The author Blow asks When, and how, will this end? In fact, will it ever end?
I don’t think it will ever end. Gun control and fiscal cliff seem like unrelated problems but they are actually similar. It all is part of American mentality. And every time I recite the last line of US Army Soldier’s Creed “I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.” I am reminded of this. One of the fundamental problems with the American way of life is the sense of entitlement. Everyone believes they are owed something but are unwilling to give up anything they are receiving or have. They know spending cuts and more taxes are imminent however the only right solution are the programs that affect them are not cut and their taxes are not raised.
I agree that there should be a ban on assault weapons with the exception of police and military but half of America does not agree with me. A Gallup poll conducted showed Americans are either totally satisfied (50%) or dissatisfied (42%) with gun control.
Likewise with gun control, gun lobbyists pour millions into the hands of politicians because they believe so strongly in their right to bear arms they are unwilling to give him any rights they have. Larry Pratt, the executive director of Gun Owners of America, blamed the shooting on laws that don’t allow school personnel to be armed. “Gun control supporters have the blood of little children on their hands. Federal and state laws combined to ensure that no teacher, no administrator, no adult had a gun at the Newtown school where the children were murdered. This tragedy underscores the urgency of getting rid of gun bans in school zones.”
dickwatch2 
Mr. Pratt’s statement is the most outrageous “gun rights” bullshit I have ever heard. Arming teachers? Really?!? I can hear it now:
Scene: UCONN Commencment 2014
Speaker: “Congratulations to all students completing their Connecticut teaching certificate requirements and pledging to educate our next generation of students. Your certification allows you to work at any K-12 public school in the state, in addition to some private schools.
Also, the NRA will be calling you next week to schedule your gun licensing, education, and target practice classes. All teachers must be able to hit a target from 30 feet away with a sidearm. 9mm Berettas will be made available to all newly certified teachers after this ceremony.”
I guarantee you the vast majority of Americans do NOT want their teachers carrying a gun:
1. It’s dangerous. Unless teachers are required to be expert marksmen and given gun safes, there’s a good chance accidental school shootings will occur. The Newtown shooter’s mother was supposedly one of the NRA’s so-called “law abiding” citizens who purchased her guns legally. Maybe she bought them legally, but she showed a high degree of irresponsibility making them available to her troubled child. There’s a reason why people aren’t supposed to chuck their dying cigarettes next to the Kerosene pump at the gas station. This kind of stupidity is ASKING for trouble.
2. It wastes time. I’d rather my child’s teacher spend their time correcting papers, making dynamic lesson plans, or learning new ways to instruct students effectively. This won’t happen if they have to spend their Saturdays shooting at the gun range.
3. It’s not likely to make a difference with an active shooter. Except for the most highly trained sharp shooters or combat veterans, most people will NOT react in a cool, calm, collected manner and hit the shooter with a lethal first shot. In fact, all the cases the gun lobby trots out as “successful instances where guns saved lives” involved ricochet bullets and the high probability of wounding bystanders.
Further, I don’t think any responsible, highly knowledgeable gun safety instructor would ever advise shooting into a crowd of kids at close range. That’s asinine.
All these NRA folks think they’re Johnny-on-the-Spot heroes ready to save the day with their small arsenal of weapons.
Unfortunately, gun violence statistics paint a gloomy picture of just how “safe” we are with nearly 300 million guns in circulation. Last year, over 30,000 gun related homicides occurred in the USA. In Great Britain, where gun laws are extremely strict, there were 33. Even if you adjust those numbers to per capita figures (to account for different population sizes) the USA’s body count grossly outnumbers that of the UK.
300 million guns aren’t going away. No ban – even if it was absolute – would stop ALL gun related violence. Instead, we must meet in the middle with a two pronged approach:
1. Enhance mental health systems, fund community support groups, and lower the legal threshold required to legally commit someone to a hospital for observation. Compel health insurance companies to pay for any and all mental related therapy and medication. The best medicine is preventative medicine.
2. Immediately ban all assault rifles, including high capacity, high powered semi-automatic long guns and high capacity magazines. I’ve listened to nothing but lies, excuses, and obfuscation from the gun crowd all week seeking to justify their right to own a weapon of mass destruction.
In the wake of the shooting, not a single “gun rights” person has made a convincing argument in support of owning these deadly weapons other than “I like them” or “I like to shoot targets with them”.
Bullshit. No one except law enforcement or the military needs these weapons.
I’d like to own napalm, mustard gas, and agent orange, but I can’t because they’re considered highly dangerous lethal chemicals. Why are we turning a blind eye to extremely efficient high powered weapons?
Larry Pratt and others of his ilk are NRA hacks and clowns. Their agenda to further arm America makes this country LESS safe, not more.
I have a right to safety. Why has this point been lost on those who think that owning lethal weapons somehow trumps the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness that this country was founded on?