Editor,
With yet another school shooting comes another call for a nationwide ban on assault weapons. As if we magically take away guns, mass murders will cease. From Oklahoma City, in 1995, to Nice, France, in 2016, we have seen countless examples of mass murderers carrying out their plans without a gun.
We have a mental health crisis in this country, not a gun problem. There are millions of responsible gun owners in this country; why should we punish law abiding citizens for the actions of criminals?
We haven’t banned automobiles or alcohol despite the high number of people who die in car accidents and DUI’s every year. We don’t ban fast food or cigarettes despite knowing it leads to heart disease and all the problems associated with it. Why? Because we know the responsibility falls on the operator, not the tool. Until we can all accept that fact, we can’t move forward with conversations about real solutions.
Joe Guttenbeil
Redwood City
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(32) comments
“Blame the operator”? What a silly copout! What good does that do, after someone has been killed? Wouldn’t it be better to keep the “tools” away from potential operators? If “tools” for killing aren’t available, they’ll do no harm. Simple as that.
Yes, Jorg, let’s keep “tools” such as knives, swords, awls, pencils, and all other pointy objects away from potential operators. Oh yes, let’s not forget “tools” such as vehicles, bats, hockey sticks, and all other blunt objects away from potential operators. After all, if these tools for killing aren't available, they’ll do no harm, right? Simple as that? Not so simple. Perhaps you’ll get it. Eventually. Or maybe not.
TY: Back to basic education! You still don't understand the difference between the tools you are listing, and assault weapons, meant to kill as many as possible, as quickly as possible?
TY: How commendable, and how typical of your ilk, to make sick jokes upon the graves of so many people, including innocent little children, slaughtered by your favorite toy “tool”. It doesn’t sound like you have any children of your own, - which is probably a good thing, and rather a blessing.
Jorg: Your faux outrage is noted, and dismissed. After all, you don’t seem bothered, much less outraged, that one of your idols, Chuck Schumer blocked a school safety bill proposed by Republicans and the families of the Parkland School shooting. It sounds like they’re overtly, and you’re covertly, okay with the graves of many people, including innocent little children, slaughtered due to Schumer and recalcitrant Dems. As for children, they're able able to see through and refute your jibber-jabber just as easily as adults – which is probably a good thing, and rather a blessing.
All school shooting except one have been are committed by anti-social young men in their 20’s. They're loaners rejected by their peer group and blame their parents and their school for that. Some have schizophrenia that mostly affects young men in their late teens. Parents who fail to spend the time helping their young boys understand and accept societal norms bear a large responsibility. The shootings are a way to get back at parents and schools for their extreme anger over being rejected by their peers. No sane person could commit such violence unless they were extremely angry. Such anger will drive the shooter to get a weapon no matter the type.
Ed: Yes, you are right about the anti-social tendencies, but why not at least ban assault weapons to make it harder to kill so many so quicky? That worked during the 10-year ban in the 90s. Can you come up with a simple reason why not? These are weapons of war that don't belong in a civilized society.
Joe - the big problem is how do we make these criminal shooters realize that they are responsible? Most appear very aware of their actions and what these will cause. Criminologists agree that the best way to prevent most of these shootings is to have effective Red Flag laws. While these may interfere with our First Amendment rights, it seems obvious that most massacres could have been prevented had we taken action beforehand by taking these weapons away from these murderers. We, as in parents, friends and neighbors.
There will never be a rational argument for taking rights away from me because somebody else did something bad. Never.
Not even an assault weapon, if it could save many people, including little innocent school children, from getting killed? What do you need it for? For the fun of knowing that you can kill masses of people in just seconds?
Did you just insinuate that I am a killer, Jorge? First you say my faith in Jesus is a "joke" then you randomly say I want to kill people. You need to be institutionalized.
Read what I wrote! I asked what do you want an assault weapon for? For what?
Just to feel powerful, or what? There must be a reason that you feel is so important that it outweighs all the killing that has been, and is still, taking place? Why do you need it? Do you store ammunition for it as well? Why?
LittleFoot,
I'm afraid institutions would block entry to Jorg. Sadly, there is no remedy made for him. 🤣🤣🤣 Even more sadly, we must endure him.
Wilfred, my friend, nice to see you contributing to a few threads. I’d add that enduring Jorg isn’t much of a problem. Now, if Jorg could make decent arguments based on facts, then I might worry, but for now, a few minutes is enough to cause “I can’t handle the truth” Jorg to put on his dancing shoes.
Terence my comrade,
The table LittleFoot prepares for some of us, is a meal too delicious to pass up. I could not resist. As for the subject of my remark, Mark Twain said it best,
“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”
Agreed, Wilfred, LittleFoot, on a regular basis, has been preparing quite a number of delicious meals and they’re both enjoyable and filling, including bringing smiles and laughter to our days.
Terence,
The NYT, WAPO, MSNBC, CNN and others have been leading their customers around by the nose for many years. I can understand why they are hungry and distempered. But by the grace of God, there go I.
My friend...i never mentioned weapons of any kind. I said rights in general - which is abstract. You need to slow down and calm down.
Oh, I forgot. Most other countries who don't have near the rate of violent gun deaths as the U.S., don't have citizens who suffer from mental illness. Thanks for the reminder.
ALMC, how many of your “violent” gun deaths are caused by criminals and folks who shouldn’t have access to guns? Your statistic means nothing without context. Let’s subtract “violent” gun deaths from folks that shouldn’t have guns and compare that number to “violent” deaths caused by unlicensed drivers and underage alcohol consumption? Meanwhile, another month, another million firearms purchased legally, for the 43rd month in a row. More talk of gun control, more gun sales.
You want "context"? How about the "context" that over 30,000 people die in this country by guns? How about the "context" that gun violence is now the number one cause of death among children in our country...I could go on with more facts but don't want to confuse you.
Another round, ALMC? There you go again with the bombast and statistics without context… Let’s again take a look at your claimed “gun violence is now the number one cause of death among children in our country” (yes “again” because you’ve previously tried to push this misleading statistic). You can easily research and find that this CDC-reported “number one cause of death among children” is misleading because the CDC counts 19 year-olds as “children.” Unfortunately for the CDC, many, if not everyone, would say anyone older than 12 no longer counts as a child. At a stretch, you could go up to age 17, but even then, I'm sure the CDC statistic no longer holds. As such, I consider this CDC statistic just another misleading “sound” bite not to be taken seriously in any argument. Yours is no exception.
Now, let’s address your 30,000 people dying in this country by guns… How many of those 30,000 were killed by folks who shouldn’t have guns? How many were suicides? I could go on, and I’ll probably have to, because you’re unable to provide context in your effort to confuse our dear readers.
Ed: Why shouldn’t tools like assault weapons be taken out of civilian use, so that they can’t be used for mass murder? What purpose do these “tools” made for war, have in a society, - other than killing as many as possible, as quickly as possible? Give us a single good reason! These weapons are so dangerous that even the police were afraid of entering the classroom in Uvalde, while the shooter kept killing innocent little school kids! That’s OK in your mind?
And don’t forget, you need training and a license to drive a car, and you lose it if you don’t follow the rules.
Sorry, I meant Joe, of course, not Ed!
Jorg, training and a license is needed to drive a car? Maybe legally, but plenty don’t have either and they’re still roaming around the country – not following the rules. Of course, plenty of illegal gun owners also float around the country and nobody appears to make a concerted effort to grab their guns. Instead, continual, and unconstitutional, attempts are made to penalize and restrict legal gun owners. As long as that silliness continues, there will be, as Mr. Guttenbil says, no moving forward with conversations about real solutions.
And let’s not forget Chuck Schumer blocking a school safety bill proposed by Republicans and the families of the Parkland School shooting. Would results from this bill have prevented any recent school shootings? We’ll never know because Schumer and complicit Dems apparently value politics more than our kids. That’s OK in your mind?
TY: Oh, my goodness, you still keep harping on that silly “gun control” idea, that Chuck Schumer was bright enough to turn down, fortunately. Why not simply outlaw assault weapons for civilian use? Give us a single good reason why not!
Jorg: Oh, my goodness, it’s obvious you have no clue what Schumer blocked, and it’s not a “gun control” idea. Come to think of it, you have no idea what incendiary ammo is, either. And now you’re tossing around “assault weapon” throughout this thread? I doubt you can define what an “assault weapon” is, either, similar to many gun control zealots. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what you or I think, it matters what the courts think, and they continue to uphold the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. BTW, why so stingy with your exclamation points (the only valid points you ever have)? Share!
TY: Which part of my LTE “Who are ‘the people’ in the 2nd Amendment?” (DJ 2/21/23) didn’t you understand? There, I have explained in very simple terms, how the 2nd Amendment has been misinterpreted, both grammatically, logically, and not the least from a social safety and welfare standpoint, - the latter in clear conflict with the US Constitution.
I received a lot of favorable comments to that piece, from people who clearly understood my point, and agreed.
And you get hung up on exactly what an “assault weapon” is? An AR-15 and the like aren’t?
Jorg: Which part of my response “Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what you or I think, it matters what the courts think, and they continue to uphold the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.” didn’t you understand? I have explained in simple terms and have minimized the use of polysyllabic words. You seem to think you know better than our founding fathers and judges but if you don’t understand our Electoral System, incendiary ammo, or the definition of an assault weapon, why would we take your interpretation seriously? Your explanation, your alleged favorable comments and a nickel will get you a nickel.
And which AR-15 do you believe is an assault weapon, the pistol or the rifle? Trick question – it doesn’t matter. No AR-15’s are assault weapons. If I’m hung up on anything, it’s the fact you insist on using “assault weapon” when you don’t know the definition, which reflects badly on you. Meanwhile, in associated news, Florida today became the 26th state in the union to allow constitutional carry and the 46th state to allow open carry. Happy National Tweed Day!
TY: Where on Earth have you been hiding, if you haven’t grasped yet that an AR-15 is commonly referred to as an assault weapon, including by the police, and that the ammunition explodes and does a lot of internal damage, as well as leaving a much larger exit hole than the entry hole? And do you really believe that all those killed by such a weapon, really care what you prefer to call it?
But, let me leave it at that, you probably have more than enough now swallowing what’s happening to your idol Trump, - with much, much more to come. About time, and also about time that his cult members wake up and realize how incredibly naïve they have been for following such a conman so blindly.
Jorg: Where on Earth have you been hiding, if you haven’t grasped yet that it doesn’t matter what your definition of an assault weapon is? Again, it doesn’t matter what you think, it matters what the courts think, and they continue to uphold the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, including AR-15s. But let me leave it at that while you put on a new pair of dancing shoes.
As for our (yes, our) great President Trump, we have yet another idiotic Wile E. Coyote plan that has resulted in Road Runner Trump becoming stronger and more influential and clarifies for American patriots that Dems prefer division to unity. Just another giant nothingburger to distract from your idol, treasonous Biden and his crime family. Time for you and your fellow lemmings to wake up and realize how incredibly naïve you’ve all been for following bumbling Biden so blindly.
TY: It is quite apparent that you don’t follow the news, or perhaps you just don’t understand what’s happening: a black man is Making America Good Again! And he doesn’t even brag about it, - unlike your idol!
You’ll get it. Eventually. Or maybe not.
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