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Connecticut School Shooting

I know at this point it's probably impossible that you've not heard of this tragedy, likely reeling from it as I am.

I wanted to wait for today to see if more solid concrete information comes to surface. Yesterday, in the aftermath, much was misunderstood and unknown, but how can we ever really know how something such as this could happen?

When I first heard "School Shooting" I figured what has become all too typical of a child feeling slighted and unaccepted by fellow students and exacted revenge violently. Not that that scenario is understandable in the slightest, but this story is even further far fetched. This is a very young adult killing, what is likely unknown to the suspect, very young children and faculty of a school that it seems he doesn't have current ties to.

My heart is SICK from this story. My blessing and condolences to these families and community.

Police Finding 'Good Evidence' on Connecticut Shooter

Tags: Adam, Connecticut, Lanza, children, classrooms, concern, deaths, killed, mother, safety, More…

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Permalink Reply by 18watt_fan on December 16, 2012 at 3:14pm

Tabby - I hear ya on most of that - no doubt..........and this isn't directed at you....this is a question for ALL of us:

If guns are the problem, why weren't there rampages like this back in 1952?

The reason is kids were taught the 10 Commandments (especially in public school), didn't take "LEGAL" medications, and weren't playing "Grand Theft Auto" 18 hours a day.

This tragedy hits home as to why parents need to DEMAND that our kids quit being victimized by the pharmaceutical companies and entertainment industry AND put PROPER morals back in public school instead of the religion-of-evolution..........oh, but I dream. It's never going to happen.

And oh yes, look what the schools are feeding the kids.

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Permalink Reply by Tabby on December 16, 2012 at 3:50pm

I know. I think they should do a nationwide background check on anyone that buys guns just not a state wide check. I'm not sure if the news had it right since they did report things wrong at first about the CT shooting, but they did say the guns were his mom's and not his.

Back in the earlier days guns were more for hunting and kids were taught to respect the guns. Plus the gun companies had to compete so bigger and better guns were made. It's caught a lot of attention with the way they "bling" them out. We took Jesse with us once to the gun range so he can learn to respect the guns and be safe. He shot the gun once and will never do it again. He did not like that it hurt his arm and the noise is to much. I was glad in a way. I don't like guns, but that was because of stuff that happened when I was growing up. I do go to the range and shoot when hubby does sometimes.

I'll admit we do let Jesse play the Gears of War, Call of Duty, GTA, and other games that really are not rated for him, but that is our decision. I know what he plays, he does not go online to play by himself in the room, one of us is always with him and he doesn't wear a headset unless it's one of his friend's or family member. He knows it's not real and what would happen if it was in the real world. We also limit his play time with lots of breaks as well. We will not allow him to sit hours upon hours playing.

My aunt's daughter is home schooling her daughter next year rather than letting her go to kindergarten. I told her at home or in school, no where is safe. Look at that shooting in the theater. Innocent people about there day. Just after I moved here I was at Home Depot shopping when a lady a few stalls down was robbed at gun point. At the gas station I used to work at, it was my day off, I went for gas and just after I left a lady at the far pump was robbed at gun point. You could simply walk out the house and get shot.

Read yesterday about the idiot on South Florida Ave honking and waving a gun out the window at a lady driver. Little did he know there was an off duty officer that was right there with his family. Simple drive to the store could get you shot and killed. I figure when it's your time, it's your time so make the best of it each day. Give that little extra hug or kiss to the special loved one cause you never know if you'll see them again. It may not be a crazy person with a gun that kills you, it could be a health issue that you never knew about.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Freeman on December 16, 2012 at 7:04pm

It wasn't an assault rifle. The weapon of rapid was a pistol. The blame as you have stated was with the gun owner. My guns are locked up like Ft Knox. I and my wife know how to get to them should be needed but to leave them accessible to anyone is just plain stupid. Anyone who owns a gun should respect the responsibility. No one has been killed by a gun because they don't have a mind of their own. Someone has to pull their trigger.

Fallsmama said:

Like I said - sickos will get guns. Or use other means - I am not denying that. Nor did I say strip people of their right to bear arms - albeit that I personally think that someone who seeks and derives pleasure from using such an instrument of violence as a leisure pursuit leaves a LOT to be desired, I said that it should not be so easy for people to access semi automatic assault weapons. There is a difference.

Shawn - as the mother of a Kindergartener, those are the same questions and emotions I've had myself.

MonsterMom said:

The issue was an irresponsible mother who knew her son was mentally ill but did not take precautions to properly secure her weapons. The real question should be what to do with those that are mentally ill? Lock them up? Demand that they take meds? The shooter's parents were extremely well off (I read that the mother got 250,000 per year in alimony and Dad was a highly paid employee of GE) so they had access to healthcare including mental health care. Why did she (and the father) not seek help for him? Stripping a responsible gun owner of his rights to a weapon of his choice would not prevent these tragedies. How many llives were taken by Timothy McVeigh who never fired a single shot?

Fallsmama said:

Kids in schools do need to be prepared for emergencies like this and I support all and any efforts my kids' school makes to tighten security. Yes these things are rare - but who knows when/where it will next happen. I would also like someone to explain logically (that is rationally without simply shouting about the 2nd amendment) why this country allows people to aquire automatic assault weapons such as was used in this latest event. In my mind, there is NO justifiable reason for the average person to desire, need or acquire assault weapons. Morgan Freeman may well say this is not about guns - but it most definitely is. Sure, sickos will get weapons but really, do we have to make it so damn easy to access them?! Why does some gun freak's second amendment rights trump the right to life of 20 innocent children and six of their adult caretakers?

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Permalink Reply by Alicia (Alsan) on December 16, 2012 at 8:39pm

There's a difference between an automatic weapon and a semi automatic, although the media tends to use the phrases interchangably. I carry a semi automatic handgun, i don't like shooting revolvers, just personal preference. Banning magazine capacities won't make a difference, if you can only have a 10 round instead of a 13, 16 or 30, all that means is you carry more loaded 10 round mags. You can change a mag in seconds, dop the old, pop in the new - if you do it with one in the chamber you don't even need to stop to rack the slide. Laws and bans don't stop the bad guys, they're just there to punish them after the fact. Good guys, even the gun toting ones, follow what's right and adhere to the laws already in place.

I hate to speak ill of the dead but the shooter's mother has been on my mind. I can understand her wanting the ability to protect herself if someone broke in...but ESPECIALLY if you have a child - grown or not, showing signs of mental illness at the very minimum your weapons need to be secured, at all times. I'm curious as to how the son got ahold of them. We're they in a safe? If so did he know the combo? Did he put a gun to her head for her to open it before he killed her? Or we're they in her nightstand?

When I was teaching we did lockdown drills. A code word came over the PA system and we got all our kids into a closet while locking the door to the classroom. I don't know if lockdowns are the right answer - with glass panels in the door a locked door gave me no sense of security. Even as a drill, it tied my stomach in knots to huddle in the closet like sitting ducks. I don't know what the right answer is. But windows in doors is a security breech.

Most mass shootings are in gun free zones - from the old "going postal" days to the more recent events involving schools (both post offices and schools are I believe federal no gun places). (In many states or by company policies, movie theatres and malls are "gun free" zones as well). Bad guys with guns tend to target gun free zones for the shock value and the potentially higher body count.

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Permalink Reply by Tabby on December 16, 2012 at 10:42pm

Very well put Alicia.

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Permalink Reply by 18watt_fan on December 16, 2012 at 11:16pm

Alicia.

I agree with everything you said 100% - not that what I think really matters - but just sayin'.

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Permalink Reply by 18watt_fan on December 17, 2012 at 7:56am

Here's some commentary on this topic that some of you may be interested in:

Astonishing Hunger Games ‘coincidence,’ and killer’s mother now a D...

Jon Rappoport | And there we are. The circle is complete.

4 Comments

Society Is Crumbling Right In Front Of Our Eyes And Banning Guns Wo...

Economic Collapse | What in the world is happening to America?

3 Comments

How to Spot a Hypocrite in the Gun Debate and Other Reflections on ...

A Lightning War for Liberty | Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher.

1 Comment

Repealing The 2nd Amendment Would Start Another Civil War

Infowars.com | Alex Jones focuses on the coordinated moves from the gun control lobby to seize upon the tragic shooting in Connecticut in order to restrict the 2nd Amendment.

2 Comments

Gandhi advocated the right to bear arms; use of ‘violence’ to defen...

Mike Adams | Gandhi advocated “training in arms” to defend liberty.

1 Comment

Lanza, Bloomberg, Obama, guns, psychiatric meds, and mass hypnosis:...

Jon Rappoport | Mayor Bloomberg is leading the charge to take away guns in the wake of the Newtown child murders. The pressure is on.

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Permalink Reply by Alicia (Alsan) on December 17, 2012 at 8:35am

18watt_fan said:

.

Alicia.

I agree with everything you said 100% - not that what I think really matters - but just sayin'.

Not to make light of anything or get off track....but WOW! I don't think we've ever agreed 100% on anything! Lol

.

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Permalink Reply by Jmarr on December 20, 2012 at 8:46am

Here are my thoughts. As far as the "guns don't kill people" cliche I always here after one of these tragedies....true. I get it, but you can't deny that a high powered weapon makes it a lot easier for someone who wants to kill a room full of babies at once to prove a point.

As far as protecting the 2nd amendment, lets remember what that amendment was about. The guns of that day took forever to load and fired off one shot at a time. They weren't talking about guns that can rip through armor and be used against the police who are here to protect us.

I think England had gun deaths in the single digits last year. They also have mentally ill people there, but those people don't have as much access to these types of weapons due to stricter gun control laws. Perhaps we need to look to other countries for ideas.

I think the media fuels the fire by feeding our fears. They have become like Hollywood and it annoys me. Always saying "the worst school shooting at an elementary school....the second worst school shooting.....one of the worst mass shootings in US history..." If you were a mentally ill person looking to plan an attack and make a statement, you would want to try to top one of those and arm yourself even more so you could be known for "the worst".

As far as being a responsible gun owner and locking up the guns...this mother was a responsible gun owner as far as we know.

Because of privacy laws, we may never know for sure how much she knew about his mental state. Maybe she knew, maybe she didn't, maybe she was in denial. I hear she was about to have him committed. Might be a good time to find a new hiding place for the guns or remove all ammunition, weapons and sharp objects from your home.

He may have held his mom hostage for the key...perhaps with a knife or gun of his own...we don't know all the details yet, but a mentally ill 20 year old in a fit of rage can overpower an unsuspecting woman. Responsible gun owners can snap, and they have relatives who snap, as in this case, and they do get robbed of their guns by criminals.

I don't think we need a massive ban on all guns....just some more control on certain ones...some closing of loopholes, etc. I think a massive ban is unrealistic. Criminals would always have access. I would rather see the police have the ability to kill so many at once, and not civilians. I know the risk of those guns getting into the wrong hands or someone snapping is higher than the risk of a homeowner needing to protect himself from a large group of people at once.

I think there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed here (mental illness, violence in entertainment and parents lack of guidance, easy access to military style weapons, technology and easy access to info through social media and media frenzy) but the one that seems to be the main focus right now is gun control.

I heard comments from Senator Manchin, a long time NRA member with a high rating from them. Here is my response to his comments:

Hello Senator,

I heard your comments in the news. You stated that you "never thought you would live to see the day"... when referencing the shooting in CT, due to the age of the victims. To me, that disregards the lives of the other victims of mass shootings....and do you not watch the news? What about the Amish school shooting a few years back? Very young children were killed. Columbine? Those were children. The Aurora theater...kids were killed. All the children living in high crime areas...so many children have been killed by guns...by mass shootings, non-mass shootings, high-powered assault rifles, hand-guns, etc. So I am curious, why are you suddenly moved to speak about it? Because they were "Amish" kids, they didn't feel like one of yours? Because they were teenagers, they weren't young enough to upset you? Because the majority of people killed in Aurora were over 18? The children at the camp in Norway...not American? Wasn't a child killed at the Gabrielle Gifford shooting?

Never in your lifetime? I don't know how many years you have been alive, but I would say tens of thousands of children have been killed by people with guns in your lifetime on our planet. You just chose to look the other way until now and I'd like to know why.

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Permalink Reply by Fallsmama on December 20, 2012 at 8:53am

Wish I could type a round of applause for this!! I agree 100%

Jmarr said:

Here are my thoughts. As far as the "guns don't kill people" cliche I always here after one of these tragedies....true. I get it, but you can't deny that a high powered weapon makes it a lot easier for someone who wants to kill a room full of babies at once to prove a point.

As far as protecting the 2nd amendment, lets remember what that amendment was about. The guns of that day took forever to load and fired off one shot at a time. They weren't talking about guns that can rip through armor and be used against the police who are here to protect us.

I think England had gun deaths in the single digits last year. They also have mentally ill people there, but those people don't have as much access to these types of weapons due to stricter gun control laws. Perhaps we need to look to other countries for ideas.

I think the media fuels the fire by feeding our fears. They have become like Hollywood and it annoys me. Always saying "the worst school shooting at an elementary school....the second worst school shooting.....one of the worst mass shootings in US history..." If you were a mentally ill person looking to plan an attack and make a statement, you would want to try to top one of those and arm yourself even more so you could be known for "the worst".

As far as being a responsible gun owner and locking up the guns...this mother was a responsible gun owner as far as we know.

Because of privacy laws, we may never know for sure how much she knew about his mental state. Maybe she knew, maybe she didn't, maybe she was in denial. I hear she was about to have him committed. Might be a good time to find a new hiding place for the guns or remove all ammunition, weapons and sharp objects from your home.

He may have held his mom hostage for the key...perhaps with a knife or gun of his own...we don't know all the details yet, but a mentally ill 20 year old in a fit of rage can overpower an unsuspecting woman. Responsible gun owners can snap, and they have relatives who snap, as in this case, and they do get robbed of their guns by criminals.

I don't think we need a massive ban on all guns....just some more control on certain ones...some closing of loopholes, etc. I think a massive ban is unrealistic. Criminals would always have access. I would rather see the police have the ability to kill so many at once, and not civilians. I know the risk of those guns getting into the wrong hands or someone snapping is higher than the risk of a homeowner needing to protect himself from a large group of people at once.

I think there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed here (mental illness, violence in entertainment and parents lack of guidance, easy access to military style weapons, technology and easy access to info through social media and media frenzy) but the one that seems to be the main focus right now is gun control.

I heard comments from Senator Manchin, a long time NRA member with a high rating from them. Here is my response to his comments:

Hello Senator,

I heard your comments in the news. You stated that you "never thought you would live to see the day"... when referencing the shooting in CT, due to the age of the victims. To me, that disregards the lives of the other victims of mass shootings....and do you not watch the news? What about the Amish school shooting a few years back? Very young children were killed. Columbine? Those were children. The Aurora theater...kids were killed. All the children living in high crime areas...so many children have been killed by guns...by mass shootings, non-mass shootings, high-powered assault rifles, hand-guns, etc. So I am curious, why are you suddenly moved to speak about it? Because they were "Amish" kids, they didn't feel like one of yours? Because they were teenagers, they weren't young enough to upset you? Because the majority of people killed in Aurora were over 18? The children at the camp in Norway...not American? Wasn't a child killed at the Gabrielle Gifford shooting?

Never in your lifetime? I don't know how many years you have been alive, but I would say tens of thousands of children have been killed by people with guns in your lifetime on our planet. You just chose to look the other way until now and I'd like to know why.

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Permalink Reply by 18watt_fan on December 22, 2012 at 6:46pm

Here's a very interesting and educational article which should go a long way to dispelling certain myths about so-called "assault" rifles.

Regarding Gun Control: What is an “Assault Rifle?”

Earl Griffin
Infowars.com
December 22, 2012

I am more familiar with firearms than the average person. I sold them for a living for several years. I worked as a Peace Officer. I have trained on many firing ranges under the tutelage of men and woman whose instruction was of great value. I grew up hunting and shooting relationally with my late father and with my granddad. I have had an opportunity to become intimately familiar with the function and workings of a wide variety of firearms.

The AR15 is made of modern materials and because of that its detractors like to say it is something that it is not.

There is a falsehood being perpetrated upon the public. You see an “Assault Rifle,” has what is known as a selector switch. This switch allows the shooter to change the weapons function from semi automatic (like a hunting gun) to rapid fire or in some cases auto fire. Rapid fire allows the weapon to fire a burst of three rounds. Auto fire allows it to continue to fire so long as the trigger is depressed.

This is important: An AR15 is NOT an “Assault Rifle.”

It’s Military counterpart, the M16 IS an “Assault Rifle.”

The AR15 is made of modern materials and because of that its detractors like to say it is something that it is not. The AR15 is NOT an “Assault Rifle.”

The term “Assault Rifle,” is a value loaded term much like “Terrorism,” Those who wish to manipulate public sentiment like to use these kinds of terms to sway the opinions of those who don’t really know much about the topic but who love their families and want things to get “better.”

Better often means a further roll back of our Constitutional freedoms. Rolling back freedom is never better.

Here is something to think about: The AR15 is just another semi automatic firearm, much like a 12 gauge shotgun used for bird hunting or a semi automatic hunting rifle used for deer. It is not at all unlike a boy’s .22 caliber rifle used for squirrel or rabbit hunting.

The big difference is that it is made of modern materials instead of wood. If you allow the proponents of gun control to describe every semi automatic rifle (and shotguns – it is the same action) then the next step in this nefarious exercise will be to ban ALL semi automatic rifles and shotguns – that means your hunting weapons. It also means your family heirlooms passed down from granddad or dad.

In conclusion let me repeat: The AR15 is just another semi automatic rifle with a fancy stock made of modern materials. It is not a “Machine Gun,” or an “Assault Rifle.” No amount of describing it this way will change this.

People who use those terms either don’t know what an “Assault Rifle” really is or they are perpetrating a mean spirited falsehood designed ultimately to rob you of your 2nd Amendment rights.

Do your own homework. Do your own thinking. Don’t get carried away by emotion as doing so makes it easier for others to exert control over you.

Protect every word of the Constitution. Stand firm against those who would see your rights curtailed. They will not be satisfied until there is no Second Amendment.