Shooting at CT elementary school leaves at least 27 dead, 18 of them children

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

What a tragedy... I'm usually not an emotional person, and not a huge fan of kids (my point here being that a crying kid usually doesn't evoke a reaction from me), but hearing the description of the events from different students' perspectives really got to me.

And I think the President's address was very well written.  Watching it, I'm fairly certain he was thinking of his daughters when he began to get choked up... the way his expression changed was one where you couldn't help but think the same thing of young children you too care about.

[Tender Branson]

The guy's psychological report seems kinda like mine: Shy, Asperger-ish, semi-autistic, living retreated. But that's probably true for a lot of people posting on this Forum ...

[© tweed]

The guy's psychological report seems kinda like mine: Shy, Asperger-ish, semi-autistic, living retreated. But that's probably true for a lot of people posting on this Forum ...

I don't know what would drive someone to do something this horrific- I don't want to know.

we're all but a day or two removed from doing it ourselves.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Seems like most of these mass murderers have the same type of personality and relationships (or lack thereof) with people.

As for gun controls, the scary thing is, background checks and the like, which we need, wouldn't stop crimes like this. These guys aren't hardened criminals. They are sick individuals who are convinced the world is against them and have to get back at it by going on a mass killing before dying.

But today was disgusting. Truly. It just shows us what a scary world we live in today.

[Lief 🗽]

As for gun controls, the scary thing is, background checks and the like, which we need, wouldn't stop crimes like this. These guys aren't hardened criminals. They are sick individuals who are convinced the world is against them and have to get back at it by going on a mass killing before dying.

Sure, but if they went on a mass killing with a knife or something instead of guns designed to quickly kill lots of people, many fewer people would die in these attacks.

Gun control may not keep guns out of the hands of gang members or whatever, but I really do think it would make incidents like this considerably less horrendous, if it didn't prevent them completely.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Oh we certainly need to ban assault rifles and guns that are legal that are only designed to kill mass amounts of people at once. There's no reason anyone needs to own a gun like that. And it may help. But the threat remains.

These things are psychological in nature and is a much deeper problem than guns. It's just a scary thing to be aware that your child isn't safe in school anymore. We're at the point now where we need armed guards at all schools to deter this, and even then I'm not sure if that would help.

[Torie]

Due to past incidents - well publicized - sickies go for more to attend their final exit. I don't think there is any real solution to this, that would be anything other than degrade the lives every day of tens of millions - making schools for example into a lock down facility. The cost of living as it were just keeps going up in some areas, just like flying, which has become itself a most unpleasant experience. Technological advances are a very mixed bag sometimes, given that what, say 3% or something of the population is psychotic? That's ten million folks about whom you just don't know what they will do if they "break." I still look at my front hallway remembering it was a "break" site. Fortunately, the pool of blood on the marble floor did not mean a death.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Exactly. The publicity these events receive only drive the sickies to do it even bigger before they kill themselves. They want to do something "important" and "big" before they die to prove to the world they were worth something. That was the case with Columbine, VT, and here. It really has nothing to do with gun control. It's our culture and how we publicize these things.

But guns is a conversation we need to have. No use in selling automatic weapons and having them on our streets. At least make these crimes a bit harder to commit. But I fear they will continue to happen as long as sick people are sick.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The guy's psychological report seems kinda like mine: Shy, Asperger-ish, semi-autistic, living retreated. But that's probably true for a lot of people posting on this Forum ...

I saw a childhood friend of his on Pierce Morgan, and I was thinking that the guy sounded like me. But she never used the term "autistic." She said he was a little "off", which I took to mean mentally unstable in general.

Has anyone seen his picture yet? There is one floating around from 2005, but that is it.

[LiberalJunkie]

Very horrible and disgusting news. Something needs to get down now. I agree that it's our culture that creates these shootings... Yes the culture of our gun history and that even though the constitution has the right to carry arms it means nothing. 1776 and 2012 are two different times. Heck we were still fighting britian back then and guns have evolved. Time to stop putting the right to carry against innocent lives. I don't think anyone here should think that he would of been able to kill 26 people with no gun.

[SPQR]

What's the threshold in terms of deaths until something is really done on gun control?
100? 200?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

What's the threshold in terms of deaths until something is really done on gun control?
100? 200?

Higher, most likely.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I hate to have to ask this, but don't American schools all have some kind of campus police / security people running around. Or does that not apply to primary schools?

No. If it's in a good neighborhood you can probably walk right in and wander around.

[Joe Republic]

What's the threshold in terms of deaths until something is really done on gun control?
100? 200?

Higher, most likely.

More like every last man, woman, and yes, child, in America.  The gun lobby would never settle for anything less.

[Franzl]

So when is it acceptable to talk about the political implications? When is "too early" over?

1 day? 1 week? 1 month? Unless another shooting happens before then, I guess, then the clock gets reset and we have to show our respect by ignoring what causes these tragedies.

[Silent Hunter]

So when is it acceptable to talk about the political implications? When is "too early" over?

After the funerals, I'd say.

[Ronnie]

As demonstrated by this and many other recent incidents, male violence is a real problem in society.

[AndrewTX]

Just to put a combo breaker to the political bitching, I finally got in touch with my friend Scott who I went to school with, who's daughter was in the school when it happened. Everyone is okay, but they havent found a way to tell her that a friend she had has passed in this event. So please, keep the insensitive fighting going on the tragic event that just happened. It's appreciated.

And I really am sorry for your friend's family and their daughter's friend.  This is something that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

But how does ignoring the elephant in the room while being melodramatic and pretending to "mourn and grieve" (which is really inappropriate since I don't know any of the people involved and can't relate to what they went through in any way) going to make things better?

Maybe it's insensitive.  But I'm pretty sure sensitivity didn't come into the equation as the guy was shooting small children in cold blood.  It was a disgusting act of violence that happens over and over again because people get all butthurt when gun control is brought up after these tragedies... but we barely have time to get over it before the next tragedy comes along.

I'm sorry, but the debate has to start right now.  Taking action to prevent this from happening again is the best thing that the non-personally involved public can do to honor to lives of those that were killed today.

The debate doesn't have to start right now. Nobody here is going to do a damn thing about it, except to yell at each other, with maybe the exception of Moun. In the time I've served in office, I did tried to do something to help society, not argue over the internet. Connecticut has strict gun laws. My good friend was murdered my senior year of high school. How did Arley die? They bought the gun on the train station from someone from New York, and drove over and killed him. It doesn't matter how strict the laws are, people are going to find them. Unless you all want to just ban guns all together, people will find a way, and people will kill. If they can't get a gun, they will get a knife. Ban knifes. If they can't get that, they will get a baseball bat. Ban baseball bats. Ban everything.

 I'm done with his post, and by some of the things I've read on this thread, I'm done with this forum for a while. I'm signing out, and don't know when I'll be back. Those who need to get me can get me on the facebook, twitter, and however else they need to.

[Negusa Nagast 🚀]

It was too soon after Columbine. It was too soon after Virginia Tech. It was too soon after Tucson. It was too soon after Aurora. It was too soon after the Sikh Temple. It was too soon after the Empire State. It was too soon after Portland.

It's "too soon" after Connecticut.

[k-onmmunist]

As demonstrated by this and many other recent incidents, male violence is a real problem in society.

?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

As demonstrated by this and many other recent incidents, male violence is a real problem in society.

Uh, in some ways it kind of is...

[k-onmmunist]

i don't see how gender has anything to do with this. i do see how the fact it's so easy to get a deadly weapon does.

[politicus]

i don't see how gender has anything to do with this. i do see how the fact it's so easy to get a deadly weapon does.

Cmon. Has where ever been a female school shooter? If so, at least the gender ratio regarding mass murder is extremely skewed.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It is very much the elephant in the room in terms of acts of extreme violence in general, yes.

[k-onmmunist]

i don't see how gender has anything to do with this. i do see how the fact it's so easy to get a deadly weapon does.

Cmon. Has where ever been a female school shooter? If so, at least the gender ratio regarding mass murder is extremely skewed.

i'm sure there has, somewhere in the world. and yes, it is skewed, but what's your point? the best thing to do with regards to that would be to stop encouraging males to be aggressive and competitive, but we can't have that. that would be too threatening to the status quo.