EnviroLink Forum

When I was younger I took a hunter safety course and before I got my concealed carry permit I was required to take a class and show my ability to shoot. When I applied for my drivers license I had to pass a written test and show my ability to handle a car safely. If we carry this to the concept of gun purchase we could make a small difference in keeping people from doing something like we saw in Sandy Hook school. I have no problem with a similar program of license for gun ownership as in the concealed carry permit program. A background check, which is done for purchase now, but the check included medical records which indicate whether there are any known problems or concerns other than with the law. A safety program and a final test that included shooting would help ensure those who own guns can safely use them.

Of course, it does not preclude those who steal guns or acquire them through illegal means from getting them. It does not preclude the relative of a legal gun owner from gaining access to the guns either. Nothing will prevent the access to a gun because one can build thier own from scratch if one desires and has a bit of mechanical knowledge, but it will give a measure of reasonable checks to protect everyone, including those who buy guns and do not use them safely.

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With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein

I suppose they could check for a schizo record, but how about those effectively treated for other things, like PTSD and depression? Why threaten their rights?
I agree that owning a firearm should have a prerequisite of training, but that is often done by a responsible relative, who should be able to sign them off.
The Connecticut shooter was using illegal firearms for that state, with the 5th toughest gun laws in the country. So why punish 80 million law abiding Americans with extra expense and restrictions?
I believe gun control should be hitting an authorized target, whether at the range or an intruder trying to hurt you. The Constitution states firmly that the right shall not be infringed.
A 20 year old outlaw should not cause infringement anymore than an armed bank robber should. If teachers at the school were not restricted from carrying, they could have stopped some of the carnage of the 20 year old outlaw. More must be found out about him before calling for infringement on 80 million Americans 2nd Amendment Right.
If the guy was overly angry at his mother, why wasn't he reported as a possible threat? How did he get the illegal firearm? Is he like the Colorado theater shooter who had people know of his condition but through PC did not report it enough, and use confidentiality to hide their culpability?
Was he somehow brainwashed by billionaire anti-gunners? Kind of like the intent of "Fast and Furious", also with its PC cover-up.

I just heard the latest on the shooting. the man who did the shooting had a significant altercation with FOUR school personnel the week before. He killed 3 of them the day of the shooting and would have got the 4th but he had the day off. WHY didn't they report him????

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"With every decision, think seven generations ahead of the consequences of your actions" Ute rule of life.
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”― Chief Seattle
“Those Who Have the Privilege to Know Have the Duty to Act”…Albert Einstein

_________________
With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein

Wayne; you beat me to starting a thread just like this. I was going to wait a couple weeks, till the knee-jerk media calmed down but now's as good a time for this discussion...

Seems to me treating firearms like car-ownership is a start....

Whadda think about Obama's comments? My persal guess is he'll renew the ban on assualt rifles(What ever they are) and then push for a ban on all gun-shows: since purchases there are claimed to be untraceable. Also; I suspect he'll take first steps to make all firearm purchases must be registered with at least local lawenforcement.
The age of father's passing firearms down to their kids or neihbors purchasing from one another may be something of the past.

_________________
With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein

How about addressing school security? If you're going to keep schools as "gun free zones" you'd better make the schools "whacko free zones" also. Video monitoring of school entrances and only authorized personnel are granted entrance. Of course the entrances and exits would be unlocked from the inside. Make the so called school "lock downs" actual....lock downs? Complete with classroom locks that have to opened with a key from the outside but via a simple manual latch from inside. Windows and doors that have shatterproof glass.

Then maybe we should address all the violence children are immersed in day after day via the TV, movies, and especially video games. And all these kids that are on drugs for ADD, and all the SSRI's, like prozac, zoloft, cymbalta and paxil, for depression? My god, these drugs are given out like candy not by professional psychiatrists but by general practioners.

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I can have oodles of charm....... when I want to.

I think the prison school approach is long over due. We need to build schools more like bunkers and add bullet resistent glass to prevent snipers. The buses could be fitted with the same glass with kevlar armor and maybe even add armed guards to ride them. Then we could work on the shopping malls to make them more defensible too.

_________________
With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein

_________________
I can have oodles of charm....... when I want to.

If they reinstitute the "Assault Weapons Ban" of 1994 they only rifles that covered was foreign made imported rifles. The rifle used in this horrific shooting was American made and completely legal. Plus two handguns.

I think what will come out of this is another magazine limiting law. The Aurora Theatre shooter had a rifle with a 100 round magazine. Thing of it is anyone around the AR platform would never use one of these magazines because they terrible magazines that have huge jamming problems.

Just a question. When these modern mass shootings happen what stops them? Answer. When someone shows up and points a gun at the shooter. The shooter usually takes his own life, or the person with the gun takes his life. So, if your top priority is to save lives what do you need to do?

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Potato chip enthusiast.

_________________
With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein

_________________
With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein

The overarching fact is that some people are evil. You can't completely stop evil, but you can slow it down. These evil people target schools for a reason. They are certain they will not be met with an immediate armed response. Another mass shooting at a chruch in Colorado Springs was ended by a female CCW holder. She saved lives that day. No extra laws imposed on the law abiding population will have any impact on future shootings. No extra laws imposed on the law abiding population will save any lives in the future. The only proven method of saving lives in these situations is an immediate armed response.

There is only one way I would consider giving up my firearms. When evil can no longer get one, and when the police and military no longer need them.

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Potato chip enthusiast.

If anecdotal examples make the case:

One shooter and nine innocent people shot by police .......

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/25/justice/n ... -shooting/

On a busy Friday morning in Manhattan, nine pedestrians suffered bullet or fragment wounds after police unleashed a hail of gunfire at a man wielding a .45 caliber pistol who had just killed a former co-worker.

The officers unloaded 16 rounds in the shadow of the Empire State Building at a disgruntled former apparel designer, killing him after he engaged in a gunbattle with police, authorities said.

Three passersby sustained direct gunshot wounds, while the remaining six were hit by fragments, according to New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. All injuries were caused by police, he said Saturday.

_________________
With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein

_________________
I can have oodles of charm....... when I want to.