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So true! Votes are the only way to change things. High schools students will be voting very shortly. It will make an impact.

We do need some gun control, but criminals don't obey any laws, so it will make little difference. Criminals will get guns on the street with no regard to any laws. We need more awareness of mental health issues. Also more awareness of people and neighbors who might be acting strangely, with the possibility they might have the mind set to make bombs. Do not be afraid of contacting the right people to check out strange behavior or suicidal behavior.
All the killings done today, aren't always done with guns. All this is vetting is needed for school children and adults. Just as many killings are done with vehicles and bombs. As an added thought schools need more security.

Very well said Anne Marie!!!

There are many things that need to be done, but reducing the number of guns on the street, making guns of mass destruction, those designed purely to kill people quickly i.e. assault rifles etc. ONLY AVAILABLE TO MILITARY & LAW ENFORCEMENT, tightening up of background checks, making gun sales and gun ownership illegal for those documented to have significant mental illness, will hopefully help to reduce gun violence in this country. We are certainly worried about the school killings but it extends to everyone, everywhere.

Criminals sometimes obtain guns illegally, but there are many LEGAL ways to buy guns without much trouble at all (see the quotes below that describe how this can happen).

Sure, there are bombs out there (I was at the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 so yeah..), there are vehicles with drivers that purposely kill people on the street, etc.., there are other ways of killing people, (sadly), but working together as a country (US) instead of working against each other by party affiliation (Republican versus Democrat, etc.) would be a huge help in at least reducing gun violence.

As one of those Democrats who is so often dismissed by the NRA, etc., as wanting to "take away everyone's guns", "take away 2nd Amendment rights", I say baloney. Not true. Having a gun for personal protection may be an unfortunate necessity for some, guns for hunting, is okay if you do that sort of thing, fine. BUT Assault rifles are too easily obtained by the general public.

And yes, as @Anne Marie said, we need to pay attention to the behavior of people around us: students, family, loved ones, strangers, be aware.

Hoping like hell that we don't have to turn our schools into armed camps.

Just remember, the young man who killed the 17 students in Florida bought his assault rifle through legal means. Not from a criminal on the street. The man who massacred the 58 concert goers in Las Vegas had collected vast amounts of guns, legally over time, but most in the year leading up to the shootings. The shooter in the Pulse Orlando massacre obtained his guns legally.

This info re the Las Vegas shooter and how he obtained so many guns and why no one paid attention: They were bought legally and under the existing laws regarding gun purchases. It points out the clear need to tighten up gun purchase laws. Too many loopholes at the present time.

Excerpts from this article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/10/04/las-vegas-shooter-bought-33-guns-last-12-months/730634001/

"Some of Paddock’s gun purchases date back more than 20 years, but authorities have determined that more than 30 of the firearms were acquired in the past 12 months, the official said.
The official who is not authorized to comment publicly said that most of the recent purchases were rifles. Authorities have been closely examining the buying spree in an effort to determine what drove the 64-year-old man to launch the deadliest shooting in modern American history.
Under federal law, gun stores are required to report multiple handgun purchases to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives but not multiple rifle purchases.
The lack of notification for multiple rifle purchases creates a loophole where people can stockpile assault weapons, similar in design to those used by the military and police SWAT teams, with little federal detection, said David Chipman, a former ATF special agent and senior policy adviser at Americans for Responsible Solutions, which advocates for stricter gun rules."

Peace

Anne Marie....Interestingly enough, most "mass shootings" are not done by criminals....but by "loners" with their own agenda....usually young white males, often with mental problems.

Their goal is to kill as many people as possible within the time period that they will have free rein...and the perfect weapon is the AR-15, a weapon of war designed specifically for that purpose. Their next best weapon is a repeating rifle with a modifying "bump stock"....also noted for its ability to shoot dozens of rounds within minutes.

There is NO excuse for weapons of war to be available to ANYONE.... except soldiers in the line of duty. It seems only commonsense to forbid their sale to the public. The fact that the Parkland shooting was committed by a 19 year old man who purchased an AR-15 and a copius supply of ammunition....even though it still wasn't legal for him to purchase a handgun until he was 21 years old!...has to show the idiocy of some of the gun laws in this country....expecially regarding assault weapons.

The "excuse" that criminals will get guns anyway, so it's a "waste of time" to make any restrictions on their sale is an old favorite theme of the NRA...among many. That's equivalent to saying that criminals will bring in drugs anyway, so it's a waste of time to
make them illegal!

Look!...people even have to take a test to get a license to drive a car. Why shouldn't gun purchasers be required to demonstrate proficiency and knowledge of a gun, along with a standard background check before he/she can purchase it.

And then, anyone can walk into a gun show, purchase any gun they wish, and walk out with it without any background checks, license, or anything......really stupid not to stop such nonchalant gun buying and selling!

Most of the men in my family have been hunters, who all agree that automatic weapons are not useful for anything except killing people.....certainly not for hunting or sport shooting.

All automatic and weapons of war, like the AR-15, should be BANNED to the public! All "bump stocks" should be illegal. All other guns should require lessons/testing before licensing ...and that AFTER a comprehensive background test.

Finally, probably the quickest and simplest way to get logical gun laws in our country is to MAKE IT ILLEGAL FOR THE NRA TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CAMPAIGNS OF POLITICIANS!!!!!! That will free our politicians to vote their consciences rather than their pocketbooks! Sad, but true!

Nanbert, totally agree, assault weapons can kill many people very quickly.....it should be banned.

Nanbert, I think my first sentence said we do need gun control, which you elaborately spelled out. I totally agree with you. But my other points need consideration too.

Since this topic has been opened up, here I go:

glitzy and Nanbert, I agree with both of you. And here are some more thoughts.

Laws have lots of purposes. They regulate behavior to a degree. They are not ALWAYS enforced to the fullest or even at all, depending on the circumstances. But at least the existence of a law allows the legal system to enforce it when it is necessary to do so. It is ridiculous to say that we shouldn't have certain laws because people will break them anyway. Using that logic, we shouldn't have laws at all, because people will just break them. Laws give us the power to press charges and take action.

"PERFECTION IS THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD" I love this old saying because it makes perfect sense. If we don't take action until every aspect and detail is perfect, we will never take action at all. If we only take action if the desired outcome is guaranteed, then we'll rarely ever take action. We must take action even when things are messy and unresolved. Some people will always break laws. That doesn't mean we don't try to enact and enforce good ones anyway. They are for the greater good.

Change comes in baby steps. It's always imperfect. It's always hard. Important things usually are.

We need an accurate, up-to-date national database on gun sales and gun-owner history. So many of these shooters should have been detected much more quickly if this was in place

No civilian legitimately needs a military assault weapon. Sure, many people who have them are law-abiding. They enjoy target shooting or something. I don't know. But these types of guns are weapons of war, plain and simple. Sometimes we have to sacrifice for the greater good.

The Second Amendment was written in the days of smooth bore muzzle-loaders. These can't kill twenty people in a matter seconds.

We'll never stop every crazy person with a gun. Just like we'll never stop every speeder in a car or every burglar or every embezzler. But we will always need common-sense laws in order to do our best to stop them.

I hope these protesters will continue their fight and use their soon-to-come right to vote as a way to convince some of our legislators to act in the best interest of most people, not just a particular segment. BTW, I have relatives who hunt. They live in areas where hunting is common. They are law-abiding.

Mental health funding is essential. Our president just cut mental health funding, didn't he?
And last, people need to SPEAK UP hen they see someone behaving strangely. Or if they know that a person has a history of violence. Those schoolkids knew this shooter for years. There were many warning signs. And yet he still fell through the cracks. We all have a responsibility in this.

Anne Marie... so sorry if I appeared to dismiss your well-taken points on mental health and public vigilance/reporting....both extremely important factors in getting this mass-murderer problem under control.

It's a shame that, as Dee R Gee remarked, Trump just cut mental health funding. It's even more of a shame that the law banning sale to people with mental problems has recently been removed...thanks to pressure from the NRA! Unbelieveable! Now people with known mental problems CAN legally purchase firearms again.

One of the biggest problems with getting decent, logical gun laws is that the NRA keeps constant pressure on our politicians, not permitting ANY restrictions to the sale of guns. and constantly chipping away at any existing restrictions. The truth is, they've gained ground over the years. How they can wield such power in our democracy is shameful!

Believe it or not, Assault weapons were banned at one time. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban enacted in 1994 expired in 2004....and all attempts to renew it have failed to this day!

Hopefully, all those young dedicated people marching through the streets of many major cities today will not lose their momentum and dedication, and will become a huge "soon-to-be-voters" movement that will finally be a force for good and thoughtful government!

Nanbert, thanks for more of your good comments. Totally agree!

really good comments from everybody, there has got to be restrictions on these gun laws and changes as soon as possible, as someone said earlier these kids are the next voters so they must be listened too.

The big problem IMO is there are too many politicians & not enough leaders in DC!! They run for office & hang in for the allowed term without doing a freakin' thing .. a cushy job where they can sit on their fat asses until it's time to retire & THEN they are awarded a pension befitting a KING!! Their constituents are left to fend for themselves under the new guy who can only bitch about the previous goldbricker or his party ... just like the man in the oval office ... bitch .. bitch .. bitch ... tweet .. tweet ... but Lord help you if you try to reason with him ... YOU'RE FIRED!! Pardon my slang but I've had it!! I'm 81 y.o. & I've voted for a lot of presidents but I can honestly say that even Richard Nixon .. for whom I had no real respect ... even he was a better president than Mr. Twitter!! He talks a lot but nothing ever comes from what he says except more chaos & confusion!! I HOPE & PRAY that these kids are gonna make a difference but ... I'm not holding my breath ... they're not getting enough support in DC!! Those "adults" are never gonna say that the kids are RIGHT .. never!! They are going to need Divine Intervention & I Pray that it comes SOON!!

tess4ADAM(LAMBERT Outlaw)