WE: After school shooting in Connecticut, Piers Morgan blasts America’s ‘gun madness’

[dragon_mikal]

I agree that this country needs to take a step back and closely examine its love of guns. Being from Texas I grew up around them and pretty much everyone I know owns one or two or ten...and to be honest I never really considered gun laws at all. Until yesterday...

As a young father of two with a baby girl in preschool this tragedy really shook me. A total ban will never happen in this country so those advocating for it are wasting their breath, but making it harder to buy one should be a top priority. There a a multitude of different ideas I'm sure, but getting the government to act on said ideas is easier said than done.

Prayers to those families who lost loved ones yesterday and for those innocent souls who's lives were ended much too soon.

[DieselPwr44]

Again, we see the same logic on both sides

"I am responsible with my guns. Don't persecute me"

"I play video games and I'm fine. Therefore you are wrong"

Nope. You're missing the point.

Over the years.. society has put less and less emphasis on personal responsibility.

If my kids have a problem, I deal with it. Not a teacher or daycare worker. That's all on me and my wife.

Kids out of control? That's on you to either : sack up and deal with it or go seek professional help for your kids and their condition.

Alot of people these days say "the hell with it, they're gonna do what they want to do anyway" and buy them the console and COD or whatever gets the kids out of their hair for the next 4-8 hrs.

The whole notion of "It takes a Village" is some of the most irresponsible bull **** to ever come down the pipe to be swallowed by the majority of the populace.

[visionary]

Nope. You're missing the point.

Over the years.. society has put less and less emphasis on personal responsibility.

If my kids have a problem, I deal with it. Not a teacher or daycare worker. That's all on me and my wife.

Kids out of control? That's on you to either : sack up and deal with it or go seek professional help for your kids and their condition.

What should be done if they don't?

[AsburySkinsFan]

The whole notion of "It takes a Village" is some of the most irresponsible bull **** to ever come down the pipe to be swallowed by the majority of the populace.

Well that's just silly because you are part of the community you live in, you read it as if it allows the parent to excuse themselves from raising their children, but that isn't what it means at all. It is instead about community looking after one another.

[zoony]

And here we go.

"The solution here is for everyone to start taking responsibility for their actions and start acting responsibly! Nevermind that I am ignoring hundreds of thousands of years of human history, living in an alternate reality, and waxing poetic about good ole days that never actually existed... My solution is simple. Hey everyone, stop being dumb! Listen to me!"

/more of the same.

[Bang]

Oh, give it a rest Zoony.
everyone knows if we close our eyes real tight and wish real hard, human beings will stop being the most violent animal on the planet, and will also stop having sex when a teenager.

Allowing them practically unfettered access to guns has nothing to do with why so many peole are dying in mass shootings.
None whatsoever.
as you well know, if he didn't have a gun, he could have just as easily run in there with a pillow and smothered everyone.
So I guess we should ban bedding too?

~BangBang.. 20 more dead.

[Koolblue13]

I agree that this country needs to take a step back and closely examine its love of violence .

Americans love violence. We understand it and find it comfortable.

[KAOSkins]

What should be done if they don't?

That's really the key because it's painfully apparent that a large percentage of people don't and won't. I don't have an answer but it bothers the hell out of me.

[DieselPwr44]

And here we go.

"The solution here is for everyone to start taking responsibility for their actions and start acting responsibly! Nevermind that I am ignoring hundreds of thousands of years of human history, living in an alternate reality, and waxing poetic about good ole days that never actually existed... My solution is simple. Hey everyone, stop being dumb! Listen to me!"

/more of the same.

Here's the number one prime example^^^^.

Ridicule the actual concept of personal responsibility.

Responsibility? You can't expect me to take that seriously!

The National Motto nowadays is : **** it! Let somebody else do it.

How does that go on Monday morning when(I assume) you go to work?

[Spaceman Spiff]

"people like you" - people who disagree with your point of view? You asked what kind of gun situations I have been in that would necessitate owning a gun.. In my part of the country hunting actually exists and yet we manage to not head down to the local university and kill each other. Go figure. How many gun situations have you been in? Do you own a gun? Have you ever fired a gun?

My point - there is no way to disarm everyone. Thus the best that can be done is to further educate... make obtaining a gun a lot more regulated than it currently is.

Grew up watching Yosemite Sam,Elmer Fudd etc., blow up and shoot each other in what seemed like every other scene.

John Wayne, Clint Eastwood etc shot the bad guy, took bullets themselves and rarely died.

But you know what? I never grew up to believe I could put my fingers in the barrels of a shotgun and stop bullets or hit live ammo with a hammer to test it. Nor did I grow up believeing I could strap on a six gun or take a Winchester .30-.30 with me downtown to do what the law couldn't.

Why is that? Because I had parents that taught me right from wrong and cared enough about me not to sit me in front of a tv or game console for hours on end because they didn't want to be bothered with me.

IMO, this basic breakdown is the root cause of all of this.

Again, we see the same logic on both sides

"I am responsible with my guns. Don't persecute me"

"I play video games and I'm fine. Therefore you are wrong"

Which is where I fall. Sorry, zoony.

Grew up with what would be considered an arsenal for some small pan-Pacific country in my house. Dad is a VA state skeet champion. Avid hunter...grew up on a farm, went hunting every day after school. All his buddies shoot.

Was taught from a very early age that guns aren't toys. Treat every gun as a loaded gun. "Barrel in the blue." First went hunting when I was probably 10,11. Set up a target for air rifles in the basement of our old house in Vienna. Currently don't get to go hunting as much as I'd like but I probably go 3-4 times a year and then shoot skeet/sporting clays probably about 8 times a year. Been to South Dakota, Canada and South Africa for hunting trips. I've gone to a gun range and *gasp* shot at targets with a mean looking assault rifle THAT SHOULD NEVER BE LEGAL FOR A CITIZEN TO OWN!! Why would anyone need THAT?!?!?...and you know what? It was a blast. I'm aware that my experience with guns isn't like most people in this thread...which is why I made the comment earlier that people who have no exposure to guns are the ones who don't understand them or want to call for extreme bans. That British guy got all uppity because he never has held one, had a use for one or has spent time with anyone who does, for example. I remember being on a message board, discussing a baseball player (Luke Scott) who liked to carry a firearm with him on a daily basis...this girl there thought it was the most dangerous thing in the world. "What if he's riding around and his gun goes off and he accidentally shoots someone?!?!?" Not a shocker, she wanted to ban all guns. She had no idea what a "safety" is.

All my life I've been around responsible people who have a healthy respect for firearms and who practice gun safety responsibly. I'm sorry, but because some wacko with Aspergers and who has played too much Call of Duty goes ape**** and commits a horrible act doesn't mean anyone I know should have to pay a stiff tax or should have their guns revoked. The people I know and have grown up with aren't the problem. And yet the uppity British guy with the holier than thou attitude doesn't see it that way. Which is fine, I don't expect him to, seeing as our life experiences are vastly different.

I agree that some changes need to be made. There needs to be better background checks. People with mental issues shouldn't be allowed to have a firearm, at all.

But the biggest changes that are needed are the ones that are needed to be made at home, and those are the hardest ones to make. Everyone who has a gun in the house and has kids should take the time and effort to take that kid to a range and explain gun safety. And not just once, but over and over again. It shouldn't be just be put away on a high shelf in a closet and kept a secret, because thats how accidents happen when a kid decides to go rummaging around looking for a hidden Christmas present. That's how things like this happen when some freak wants to go on a rampage and decides to shoot up a school. Responsibility matters, which is why my dad kept his guns in a large safe in the garage with a combination that I still don't know. You can bet that when I inherit all those guns, I'll do the same thing.

But responsibility such as that can take a whopping amount of effort, effort that our lazy society doesn't want to make time for. Lazy parents don't want to take the time to take their kid to the range or explain gun safety...or take a minute to explain to their kid that Call of Duty isn't an accurate portrayal of real life and that firearms should be respected, even if there isn't one in the house. Our lazy society would rather just get mad for a few days after a horrible event like this and talk about how guns need to be banned or highly regulated or have GPS tracking devices in them or have bans on high capacity clips or whatever quick, lazy fix a government can pass in order to deter someone from doing something like this.

Round and round we go, indeed.

[DieselPwr44]

Oh, give it a rest Zoony.
everyone knows if we close our eyes real tight and wish real hard, human beings will stop being the most violent animal on the planet, and will also stop having sex when a teenager.

Allowing them practically unfettered access to guns has nothing to do with why so many peole are dying in mass shootings.
None whatsoever.
as you well know, if he didn't have a gun, he could have just as easily run in there with a pillow and smothered everyone.
So I guess we should ban bedding too?

~BangBang.. 20 more dead.

So Bang..what age do you expect to go downtown and shoot 40 or 50 people?

Or have you put steps in place to have yourself straight jacketed and muzzled when the time comes, for the good of the people?

I mean we're humans, so it's just a matter of time, right?

[zoony]

So Bang..what age do you expect to go downtown and shoot 40 or 50 people?

Or have you put steps in place to have yourself straight jacketed and muzzled when the time comes, for the good of the people?

I mean we're humans, so it's just a matter of time, right?

You've made your point. You are better than everyone else. We get it, clearly.

Now go play and let the grown ups work on a solution

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

Again, we see the same logic on both sides

"I am responsible with my guns. Don't persecute me"

"I play video games and I'm fine. Therefore you are wrong"

its more of people saying there are greater issues than just media. In the post you quoted earlier, I didnt suggest video games werent a problem, just that they are not THE main problem like you suggested.

Violent video games is apart of the violent culture in America. Just like watching a violent movies and TV shows, which not a single person has suggested be barred or critically discussed in this thread.

[DieselPwr44]

You've made your point. You are better than everyone else. We get it, clearly.

Now go play and let the grown ups work on a solution

Says the guy who regularly posts threads about why you should avoid this store and this restaurant and if you don't, you're an idiot.

If anybody is trying to show off..it's you oldfan..I mean zoony.

[Koolblue13]

I love guns, but I don't own one because I drink too much and am a very emotional person. I have owned one and got rid of it.