Gun control and racism

[flyboy56]

In my son's high school they have a police station. I agree with you about the mental health issue.

The main focus continues to stay on guns, but mental health issues effect everyone in far more ways than just shootings. To solve any problem the root cause must be addressed. People are popping pills believing it will solve their mental health problems which results in many suicides. We have to ask ourselves what is causing our mental health epidemic?

[Mom49of4]

I agree with you that the real issue is not guns. That becomes an easy target in my opinion.

[songfourone]

Gun access is the problem, and as far as the mental health issue, there is no absolute litmus test that tells us who is dangerous and who isn't.

[octoburn]

Okay so if we are to look at it that way, we are taking an extreme case and making it out to be the norm, and now it comes to arming teachers and guards in schools?

Can't have it both ways.

Sure we can. One way has a much better chance of actually making a difference.

They can pass all of the anti~gun measures they want, but criminals tend to not obey laws in the first place. Putting more guns in the hands of trained personnel as a preventative or responsive measure has a much more realistic chance of mitigating a deadly situation than one where only the shooter or shooters is armed.

Why do places hire armed guards in the first place?

[songfourone]

Sure we can. One way has a much better chance of actually making a difference.

They can pass all of the anti~gun measures they want, but criminals tend to not obey laws in the first place. Putting more guns in the hands of trained personnel as a preventative or responsive measure has a much more realistic chance of mitigating a deadly situation than one where only the shooter or shooters is armed.

Why do places hire armed guards in the first place?

Sorry I do not share your view on this, more guns in more hands is not the answer, and it might make a bad situation worse.

[slapshot]

The main focus continues to stay on guns, but mental health issues effect everyone in far more ways than just shootings. To solve any problem the root cause must be addressed. People are popping pills believing it will solve their mental health problems which results in many suicides. We have to ask ourselves what is causing our mental health epidemic?

The first question I would ask is - What does the data show? Per capita, are there more mental health issues today, than there was 50 years ago? If so, is that simply because they are better reported today, than they were 50 years ago? I don't know?

Do the video games, violent TV shows, and excessive hype by the media of violence, contribute to mental health issues? I suspect it does, but have no evidence.

What is the answer? If one tries to change they way we report the news, or curtail the distribution of violent video games, TV shows or movies....then we run up against those who say that's their right. It becomes a 1st Amendment issue.

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. There are no quick fixes. And what the Founding Father's envisioned, when they crafted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights....does not always fit well into today's society, and trying to deal with all the 21st Century problems we face. There was simply no way that the Founding Fathers could have foreseen all the different scenarios and ramificatiosn of their words, some 225+ years later.

[soulflower]

Gun access is the problem, and as far as the mental health issue, there is no absolute litmus test that tells us who is dangerous and who isn't.

Not to mention that not every mentally unstable person can or should be committed...

[soulflower]

The first question I would ask is - What does the data show? Per capita, are there more mental health issues today, than there was 50 years ago? If so, is that simply because they are better reported today, than they were 50 years ago? I don't know?

Do the video games, violent TV shows, and excessive hype by the media of violence, contribute to mental health issues? I suspect it does, but have no evidence.

What is the answer? If one tries to change they way we report the news, or curtail the distribution of violent video games, TV shows or movies....then we run up against those who say that's their right. It becomes a 1st Amendment issue.

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. There are no quick fixes. And what the Founding Father's envisioned, when they crafted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights....does not always fit well into today's society, and trying to deal with all the 21st Century problems we face. There was simply no way that the Founding Fathers could have foreseen all the different scenarios and ramificatiosn of their words, some 225+ years later.

Parents should be responsible for what their kids watch or the videogames they play.

Its absurd to argue that violent entertainment is to blame for gun violence...

[octoburn]

Sorry I do not share your view on this, more guns in more hands is not the answer, and it might make a bad situation worse.

If having a group of armed security guards is good enough for a Quaker school like the Sidwell Friends School in a area that already has the strictest gun control laws in effect, it should be appropriate for others as well.

[soulflower]

If having a group of armed security guards is good enough for a Quaker school like the Sidwell Friends School in a area that already has the strictest gun control laws in effect, it should be appropriate for others as well.

I don't oppose armed security or cops in schools. But keep in mind that the Columbine mass shooters knew there was armed security at their school so they came heavily armed and with explosives. In a gunfight, the bigger gun usually wins...

[octoburn]

I don't oppose armed security or cops in schools. But keep in mind that the Columbine mass shooters knew there was armed security at their school so they came heavily armed and with explosives. In a gunfight, the bigger gun usually wins...

And let's not forget that there was an abundance of warning signs ignored in that instance that might well have prevented it ~

Reported numerous threats against others posted online as well as posting about owning explosives!

Previous arrests for both of the killers for felony~break in.

Failed drug tests after being ordered into treatment.

The Columbine killers gave plenty of reasons for the authorities and parents to reasonably suspect that they might pose a danger to the school and others.

And it was ignored.

[banner1124]

Monte some do forget how racist the Democrats used to be.

And others seem to forget that those racists all left the Dems to join what is now the modern Republican party

[slapshot]

Parents should be responsible for what their kids watch or the videogames they play.

Its absurd to argue that violent entertainment is to blame for gun violence...

Without some metrics and comparisons between now and back 25-50 years ago, it will be hard to say if the problem has gotten worse, and if it has, what might be some of the reasons.

Certainly, 50 years ago, we did not have the violence in movies, on TV and no video games....back then, corny western movies was about as violent as it got.

I would be interested to see if there is a correlation before I would say there is, or is not a relationship between mental, or violent behavior...and the media/TV/video games/etc. I simply don't know?

[MDvet]

Some problems have no solution and we just have to accept it and work to minimize the unpleastness as best we can.

It's a wishful thinking that we can ban guns or confiscate guns in the United States.

It's also a wishful thinking that we can favor someone's specific rights over another person's specific rights.

We can't prevent gun violence. We can minimize gun violence, except most of current gun control or proposed gun control targets wrong people - law abiding citizens. Some folks talk about if we can one life. Well, I can think of many things we can do to save one life or many lives, but most folks will object to it. Think about how many lives we can save if we ban beer? Think about how many lives we can save if we ban sugarly snacks.

In a way gun control for Sandy Hook worked as the shooter didn't purchase the gun himself. I blame the mother most. Not for recognizing that her son might do something, rather for not securing her weapons and ammunition.

[soulflower]

Without some metrics and comparisons between now and back 25-50 years ago, it will be hard to say if the problem has gotten worse, and if it has, what might be some of the reasons.

Certainly, 50 years ago, we did not have the violence in movies, on TV and no video games....back then, corny western movies was about as violent as it got.

I would be interested to see if there is a correlation before I would say there is, or is not a relationship between mental, or violent behavior...and the media/TV/video games/etc. I simply don't know?

As a young guy(born in the 80s) who grew up constantly exposed to violent movies, videogames, gangsta rap, and all types of other crazy content available via the web, I'm skeptical of the idea that behavior is somehow linked to what type of media a child is exposed to. It's pretty easy for any rational person to separate right from wrong and bad from good.

If a child or adult doesn't know it's wrong to hurt people then his or her parents failed to do their jobs.

Most of these mass shooters know exactly what they're doing. They intend to harm people. They know it's wrong but they obviously don't care.

[songfourone]

If having a group of armed security guards is good enough for a Quaker school like the Sidwell Friends School in a area that already has the strictest gun control laws in effect, it should be appropriate for others as well.

Sidwell is the exception to the rule, we are stripping our educational system to the bone and now everyone thinks we need to have an armed security police in place?????

[octoburn]

Sidwell is the exception to the rule, we are stripping our educational system to the bone and now everyone thinks we need to have an armed security police in place?????

Why is no one protesting Sidwell's use of armed guards if it's so horribly wrong and dangerous and especially since it is located in a place where gun control laws are much stricter than those in other places?

Is Sidwell a more dangerous school because it has a group of armed guards protecting it? Has their presence there harmed the school's educational results of its students?

[songfourone]

Why is no one protesting Sidwell's use of armed guards if it's so horribly wrong and dangerous and especially since it is located in a place where gun control laws are much stricter than those in other places?

Is Sidwell a more dangerous school because it has a group of armed guards protecting it? Has their presence there harmed the school's educational results of its students?

It is a private school, they can do as they please. I believe it is a very expensive school, and the parents pay for that level of security.

[songfourone]

We are stripping schools of music, art, infrastructure and will replace it all with armed guards.

[octoburn]

It is a private school, they can do as they please. I believe it is a very expensive school, and the parents pay for that level of security.

I realize that is a private school and expensive But the questions I asked about were whether Sidwell is a more dangerous school because it has a group of armed guards protecting it and whether their presence there harmed the school's educational results of its students?

Two of the arguments I hear is that having armed guards in a school is a bad thing because of concerns some have about safety because guns are involved and that it creates an environment that is detrimental to learning because of their presence.