Connecticut school shooting

[Tootsie]

But in this situation I am willing to bet that there were warning signs that were ignored. The older son was questioned by police and reportedly told them that his brother had mental problems. That right there is a red flag. If the brother knew it, so did the mother. She had the legally registered weapons in the house with a son that she had to have known had severe mental disturbances. Not all mental disorders are extreme enough for hospitalization or even treatment. But I believe we are going to find out that this kid had some very severe issues that should have been addressed some time ago.

What that he had a mental illness? Hindsight is always 20/20. Theres are millions of people with mental illness. How do you determine who needs to be hospitalized?

[dsummoner]

Government is made up of every day people. They are not smarter then average person. Why the American people give them so much trust is beyond me.

It is generally some combination of avarice, fear, laziness and ignorance.

[ivanbalt]

I'm sure you are quite capable of defining it for yourself, but don't worry if you can't I am fairly confident that somebody in the not too distant future will be defining it for you and they will be banned.

I believe the classical definition of assault rifle is a select fire type of weapon. They are extremely difficult/expensive to obtain as far as I know.

[BlandFood]

I don't know any law-abiding citizen that needs an assault weapon, do you?

Actually many hunt with the lookalikes and do well with them. Not my style, I like American walnut over synthetic but their actions to what you presume to be an assault weapon is identical to my BAR and others.

[Byng]

Yes, many.

You might need one in Tennessee!

[dsummoner]

You might need one in Tennessee!

Indeed. I have no illusions about some of the 'folk' there and the fact that they might not take too kindly to one of 'my kind' driving the V12 Benz, having an estate, wearing clothing worth more than their entire mobile estate (and made by some 'fureigner' designer whose name they can't even pronounce)... and being married to smoking hot lite-eyed, blonde-haired vixen.

[Byng]

I believe the classical definition of assault rifle is a select fire type of weapon. They are extremely difficult/expensive to obtain as far as I know.

I miss-spoke earlier when I said I never owned a gun outside of the military. I just remembered I did own a gun when I purchased 23 acres in Casey County, Kentucky to build a home, thinking I would be happy with not another home in sight as far as the eye could see. I lived in a travel-trailer while I built an insulated garage, then moved into the garage while framing the house and I did have a gun for protection then. Because apart from the local Amish who were more curious than friendly there were some pretty strange characters that came visiting.

But I didn't even get the house completely framed before deciding that I had made a big mistake and that this was not the life for me.

[cprenegade]

What that he had a mental illness? Hindsight is always 20/20. Theres are millions of people with mental illness. How do you determine who needs to be hospitalized?

I didn't say hospitalized. There are many forms of treatment. Hospitalization is only one of them. There are warning signs that can tell you when something is not right. You say hindsight is 20/20. That is true. So if you simply wait and do nothing, then you have something like what happened today happen. Then you can say that in hindsight he should have been treated for a mental disorder. I would think it is better to educate people on what the warning signs are, and be proactive rather than wait and say what should have been done.

[Byng]

Indeed. I have no illusions about some of the 'folk' there and the fact that they might not take too kindly to one of 'my kind' driving the V12 Benz, having an estate, wearing clothing worth more than their entire mobile estate (and made by some 'fureigner' designer whose name they can't even pronounce)... and being married to smoking hot lite-eyed, blonde-haired vixen.

Check out my Kentucky post before making the move!

[dsummoner]

Check out my Kentucky post before making the move!

I saw it.

I have no problems with people thinking differently than me (you have to remember where I spent most of my life and where I am living now). It is when they start turning that 'thinking' into doing that I start having a wee bit more than an issue. I certainly would not be moving there to 'fit in' with the social scene and 'get down' with the spirit of the beastie or any other similar rot... I would be moving there to be as left alone as can reasonably be, given my extant commitments, inclusive of state government and locals that feel empowered to try to put their hands in my pockets or engage in direct redistribution. I have as little tolerance for those that feel the 'need' to save my Dr. Scholl's as I do for the religious Warmer nutters... and none at all for 'race purists' that decide to put their ideology into action.

[Byng]

I saw it.

I have no problems with people thinking differently than me (you have to remember where I spent most of my life and where I am living now). It is when they start turning that 'thinking' into doing that I start having a wee bit more than an issue. I certainly would not be moving there to 'fit in' with the social scene and 'get down' with the spirit of the beastie or any other similar rot... I would be moving there to be as left alone as can reasonably be, given my extant commitments, inclusive of state government and locals that feel empowered to try to put their hands in my pockets or engage in direct redistribution. I have as little tolerance for those that feel the 'need' to save my Dr. Scholl's as I do for the religious Warmer nutters... and none at all for 'race purists' that decide to put their ideology into action.

Actually, apart from driving through Eastern Tennessee, probably 25 years ago I know nothing about Tennessee. I remember the natural beauty of the Smokey Mountains and the Appalachian Trail and driving through some desperately poor towns that looked like they could have been the setting for the "Deliverance" movie!

But I have a friend who's daughter is a song-writer in Nashville and he goes out to visit frequently and loves the area.

[dsummoner]

Actually, apart from driving through Eastern Tennessee, probably 25 years ago I know nothing about Tennessee. I remember the natural beauty of the Smokey Mountains and the Appalachian Trail and driving through some desperately poor towns that looked like they could have been the setting for the "Deliverance" movie!

But I have a friend who's daughter is a song-writer in Nashville and he goes out to visit frequently and loves the area.

As you know, the Missus and I have family out there. Some of the things that we hear lead to the response of 'W T F" (i.e. people still think that way; not that it is any of our business but it certainly is different) on our part.

One can drive through parts of Oxnard or the world famous tourist destination known as Los Angeles' Skid Row and see all forms of destitution (coupled with the belligerence of the threat of direct redistribution) without any compensative natural beauty.

Ol' DSummoner just wants the solitude of his Ivory Tower in order to do 'that which must be done (e.g. that which was just submitted within the last few minutes)' with minimal excursions into the broader realms... although an airport, a fast internet connection and a MBZ dealer based repair shop limit the distance from the perils and ills of 'civilization' that such a DSummoner can go.

[Jeebus]

And Obama has what to do with this?

176 school-age children in Pakistan have been killed with drone bombs. No outrage. Just sayin...

Several of the theater massacre attendees in Colorado were armed, and it did them no good. It happened too quick and in almost total darkness.

Link?

You're gonna have to document that "statement" with some reliable verifiable sources, as no one else has ever reported that "fact."

I have no idea, you can probably put my knowledge of guns, on a pinhead. But I do pride myself with having common sense and my common sense tells me that from a gun-control viewpoint automatic weapons are best out of the hands of civilians and locked up in an armory/gun-club.

Correct, you have no idea.

Automatic weapons are already heavily regulated (2 passport photos, fingerprints, LE signatures, FBI background check, $200 transfer tax, restricting on moving them, etc) by the National Firearms Act of 1934. And even further by the Protection Act of 1986, which banned the sale (transfer) of all automatic firearms manufactured after 1986. Thus the supply of legally owned automatic weapons is fixed, hence their rising values -- most sell for $15,000-$20,000.

There are over 250,000 legally owned automatic weapons (machine guns) in the US.

How many have ever been used to commit a crime?

(Answer - 1, a murder committed by a police officer, with his leally registered MAC-11, in Dayton OH).

Unless you are calling for a "turn them in-take them all-ban them in the future-no guns allowed period" type of action, any calls for more gun control laws are just "feel good" actions that accomplish nothing.

Criminals will continue to ignore laws, that's what makes them criminals.

[Spot72]

Every time one of these heinous acts occur, the excuse is always "mental illness". This was a act of terrorism.

[Baltimatt]

More on the shooter.

In his brief adulthood, Mr. Lanza had left few footprints, electronic or otherwise. He apparently had no Facebook page, unlike his older brother, Ryan, a Hoboken, N.J., resident who for several hours on Friday was misidentified in news reports as the perpetrator of the massacre. Adam Lanza did not even appear in his high school yearbook, that of the class of 2010. His spot on the page said, “Camera shy.” Others who graduated that year said they did not believe he had finished school.

Matt Baier, now a junior at the University of Connecticut, and other high school classmates recalled how deeply uncomfortable Mr. Lanza was in social situations. Several said in separate interviews that it was their understanding that he had a developmental disorder. They said they had been told that the disorder was Asperger’s syndrome, which is considered a high functioning form of autism.

[Smokey 1]

Unless you are calling for a "turn them in-take them all-ban them in the future-no guns allowed period" type of action, any calls for more gun control laws are just "feel good" actions that accomplish nothing.

.

And if they tried to do that then it would be time to resist by any means necessary while we still had the chance.

[Amacada]

Four people die in Benghazi and people are outraged at a system that allows it to happen:
How could it happen? Why wasn't more done? How do we stop in happening again?

Twenty Children are gunned down in the latest massacre in the USA and a lot of the same people are all for maintaining the status quo.
"Guns don't kill people".
"There will always be criminals".
"If someone wants to do this, they'll find a way".

Incredible.

[ms maggie]

They don't institutionalize mentally disturbed people any more. That is at least part of the problem. We used to have state hospitals where these people were kept away from people they could potentially hurt. Look at all of the old state hospitals in MD that are now ghost towns or barely used facilities falling into ruin. These places should be full of people who are potentially a danger to the general public.

Funding for these types of facilities was cut by Reagan and never restored. Led to the epidemic of homeless people.

The majority of people w mental illness are not a threat, sadly there is still a stigma associated with it and people are loathe to direct someone in the direction of treatment. Also think too often doctors simply medicate with no real therapy.

Whole thing is horrible, those families, cannot imagine.

[demopublican]

Every time one of these heinous acts occur, the excuse is always "mental illness". This was a act of terrorism.

Do you think there was a political objective?

[Spot72]

Do you think there was a political objective?

Not sure how you pulled politics out of this but every nutcase if alive will use this excuse. This was mass murder. Terrorism to say the least. If this was Mullah Akbar El', the media would never say "well Mullah had a mental illness". This case is so tremendously disheartening beyond belief.