School shooting in CO

[disneypharm]

Grateful that all you know are fine; prayers for those who aren't going to receive the same news today. I can't imagine getting such a message.

Thank you. I will be giving them hugs all night. This is so sad for those parents with injured children. This could be so much worse. There are 2100 kids in that school and it is in a residential area. I am working from home today and had to text a coworker to let her know not to go home soon. Her street is probably blocked off.

 

[DWGal210]

Colorado also has some of the strictest gun laws in the country and even stricter ones were enacted this year after the Aurora theater shooting.

We have had 2 legislators recalled and another resign before she was recalled due to them supporting the new incredibly strict gun laws.

Magpul has threatened to leave the state, although they are still here.

And yet, even with the incredibly strict gun laws, we have another school shooting.

This is why I think there are more answers than just "get rid of the guns." I'm by no means saying that we shouldn't look at gun laws, ownership requirements, etc. It would be dumb not to. But that's just one piece of a much, much more complex puzzle. If someone wants to cause bodily harm to a person or a group of people, they will find a way to do it. We need to, somehow, discover and fix, if we can, why a child would take a weapon anywhere and use it against people. And I don't know the answer to that.

 

[DWGal210]

Even if they have been seeing professionals for mental health issues, there's no crystal ball and we can't lock people up just because they have depression or are bipolar, borderline, or whatever their issues may be.

It's all just very sad.

I believe that until mental health is treated exactly the same as other health, things like this will continue to happen.

Very true.

 

[goofy!]

I received two emergency alerts on my home and cell phone about the school shooting. DD13 is at a middle school on the same district that most of the kids go to Arapahoe High school. The whole district is on lock down. DD15 was planning to go to this high school but decided to go to a different high school that has an IB program. Most of her friends are at Arapahoe High school. She texted many of them and all are ok. She is on lock down too. DH is just waiting to hear from either schools to see if he can pick either one up. I am still shaking from the message I received about 45 minutes ago. This is so sad. DD15 was just a baby when Columbine happened in 1999. So sad

 

[Liberty Belle]

This is why I think there are more answers than just "get rid of the guns." I'm by no means saying that we shouldn't look at gun laws, ownership requirements, etc. It would be dumb not to. But that's just one piece of a much, much more complex puzzle. If someone wants to cause bodily harm to a person or a group of people, they will find a way to do it. We need to, somehow, discover and fix, if we can, why a child would take a weapon anywhere and use it against people. And I don't know the answer to that.

I agree, however it would take a teen with a knife a whole lot longer to do the damage an assault rifle would do in a couple of minutes.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Of course not. But, good lawd, it sure would be nice.

Meh, sick people will always find a way to hurt people - be it a gun, a bomb, driving a car onto a playground, etc. There are much easier ways to kill large numbers of people than a gun. A gun makes it easier to kill SPECIFIC people. That's all.

Thoughts and prayers for the wounded and the family of the deceased.

 

[DWGal210]

I agree, however it would take a teen with a knife a whole lot longer to do the damage an assault rifle would do in a couple of minutes.

I agree, completely. I was just making the point that it's not a cut and dry solution to only talk about guns. We need to talk about mental health, the proliferation of violence in our culture, etc etc.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I agree, completely. I was just making the point that it's not a cut and dry solution to only talk about guns. We need to talk about mental health, the proliferation of violence in our culture, etc etc.

 

[goofy!]

What is up with Colorado? I thought all the crazies were in Florida

We also have our own "stand your ground" law, referred to as the "Make My Day Law."

If you feel threatened in your home, you are allowed to shoot the intruder.

Although we have pretty tough gun laws in regards to purchasing and even tougher laws on the magazines (magazines over 15 rounds are not allowed, cannot be sold or transferred), some of the other gun laws are crazy.

For instance, both DH and adult DS got their concealed carry permits this summer. (I HATE guns, but they are both fanciers, I lost.). They took the required gun safety class online. Then went for an afternoon to the CCP class.

They were absolutely shocked that not once did they have to touch a gun, did not have to prove their ability with a gun. You just have to take an online course (was the applicant really the one sitting in front of the computer?), show up for an afternoon, pass a background check and voila, you have a concealed carry permit. Pretty scary in my eyes.

 

[Deb in IA]

So horrific and sad.

And no doubt, the NRA will soon be saying that we need "more guns" and "guns in schools", so that the "good guys with guns can shoot the bad guys with guns".


Yeah, guns for everyone. That's gonna solve the problem.

 

[goofy!]

Meh, sick people will always find a way to hurt people - be it a gun, a bomb, driving a car onto a playground, etc. There are much easier ways to kill large numbers of people than a gun. A gun makes it easier to kill SPECIFIC people. That's all.

Thoughts and prayers for the wounded and the family of the deceased.

Yup.

The Boston Marathon is a prime example.

 

[Domo]

Yeah, guns for everyone. That's gonna solve the problem.

As someone who taught marksmanship to cadets, I know the destructive power of firearms and what they can do. They demand respect. Personally, I am most content with things the way they are in the UK - no concealed firearms, no handguns, huge restrictions on firearms storage and usage. My aim would be to give legal users access to the weapons without making it easy to lay one's hands on them.

I guess here I should bow out an just bob on down the thread. Let's all vow not to turn this into a debate any further than I just did!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

So horrific and sad.

And no doubt, the NRA will soon be saying that we need "more guns" and "guns in schools", so that the "good guys with guns can shoot the bad guys with guns".


Yeah, guns for everyone. That's gonna solve the problem.

There is no "one size fits all" solution, but the fact of the matter is that knowing your intended victims possess the ability to fight back can be a real deterrent. And when the two primary forms of defense fail (escape and hide), fighting back with enough force to incapacitate becomes the best remaining option. That may mean throwing things, rubber bullets, beanbag rounds, water cannons, or even full power ammo.

 

[lauradis]

This needs to end. No more guns.

No more mental illness, I have never seen a gun kill someone.

Maybe it's time to arm teachers, not ban guns

 

[Domo]

No more mental illness, I have never seen a gun kill someone.

Maybe it's time to arm teachers, not ban guns

One itsy bitsy intervention, not all shooters are mentally unstable and not all mentally unstable people are shooters. Sometimes they are just plain misguided (from our point of view). It is very possible to argue that the 9/11 bombers were completely sane, just subscribed to a different world view, one that you or I would probably consider misguided.

 

[lauradis]

I know you guys think I'm nuts about this but rise in drugging children has seen rise in school shootings and higher violence rate in teens.

You can ignore it all you want but I swear the adhd Meds are part of it.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I know you guys think I'm nuts about this but rise in drugging children has seen rise in school shootings and higher violence rate in teens.

You can ignore it all you want but I swear the adhd Meds are part of it.

Thats interesting! I didnt know that. Kinda makes you wonder.

 

[3boymthr]

Taking away guns won't solve the problems, and better mental health treatments may not help either. People don't have to be "sick" to want to do damage to people, things, etc. When I was in high school, way back in early 1980s three of the boys in my school decided to make a bomb, with timer, real gun powder and shrapnel and everything. Why? Because they wanted to see if they could. There was no motive beyond, let's make a bomb and see what happens when we set it off. There was no mental illness, no desire to kill any specific people, no political motivations. Just three of the smartest kids in the school with a desire to test the limits of their scientific knowledge and a desire to see what happens when you blow things up. Oh, and it blew up. In a big way. The FBI was involved and the ATF. Happy days around here. The only people injured were the kids who made the bomb but it could have been sooo much worse.

Best wishes to everyone at the school. So sad this happened so close to the anniversary of Sandy Hook.

 

[lauradis]

One itsy bitsy intervention, not all shooters are mentally unstable and not all mentally unstable people are shooters. Sometimes they are just plain misguided (from our point of view). It is very possible to argue that the 9/11 bombers were completely sane, just subscribed to a different world view, one that you or I would probably consider misguided.

We are talking school shootings. Which are 90 plus percent students.

It's really funny how armed commercial flights don't get high jack in pre 9/11 know terrorist countries!

 

[amichaell]

I agree, however it would take a teen with a knife a whole lot longer to do the damage an assault rifle would do in a couple of minutes.

Very few people have real assault rifles. Most people, including incompetent dishonest politicians, have co-opted the term to mean just about every gun.