Shooting in Connecticut

[GregWeld]

Great post Jer!



Here's the CANNED response I received from my "mom in tennis shoes" aka Senator Murray... Note that (spare you reading it) she has immediately jumped straight to voting for an assault weapons ban. Fine. It just doesn't do anything except to make unknowing people feel good.


Dear Mr. Weld:

Thank you for writing me regarding the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. It was good to hear from you.

As a mother, grandmother, and former preschool teacher I was shocked by the tragedy that unfolded in Newtown. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the victims whose loss is difficult to comprehend.

Unfortunately, this horrific tragedy was another in a long line of gun violence episodes that have ranged from places like Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Aurora to coffee shops in Lakewood to the corner of South Byron Street and McClintock Ave South in Seattle. These episodes have plagued our cities, our schools, and our shared sense of security. This cannot go on. As a society we need to come together to begin a real conversation on all the factors contributing to those horrific instances of gun violence, but we also need to take specific action to bolster our current gun safety laws.

There is no question that we can and should limit access to the assault style weapons of war that are on our streets and that are too often being used to kill innocent people indiscriminately. I have repeatedly voted for an assault weapons ban and will do so again as soon as we can get a bill to the Senate floor.

But preventing tragedies like the one in Newtown will take more than just common-sense gun policies and enforcement. It will also take a renewed commitment to understanding and dealing with the root causes that lead isolated individuals to carry out these atrocities. At this moment, everything needs to be on the table for scrutiny.

Our nation is at a crossroads moment, and we must take the path that protects future generations from re-living these gun violence tragedies over and over again. It will take the courage of people with opposing views but a common purpose sitting down with one another and agreeing that the status quo is unacceptable.

Please be assured I will keep your views in mind as I work with my colleagues and please feel free to share with me your ideas on how to address this crisis. If you would like to know more about my work in the Senate, please feel free to sign up for my updates at http://murrav.senate.gov/updates. Thank you for contacting me, and please do not hesitate to contact me again.

Sincerely,
Patty Murray
United States Senator

[Stuart Adams]

Putting a ban on is not going to stop this stuff. The gunman killed himself. No crime for the gun because he's dead. Peolpe will find ways to get guns. Like drugs right, they are illegal but are everywhere.

It sucks bigtime, but these issues are way deeper than a piece of legislated paper. Mental health is very serious and common.

[Vegas69]

Originally Posted by intocarss

HUGHSON, Calif. —Marine Sgt. Craig Pusley was on duty Wednesday. Desert camo fatigues, knees slightly bent, the young father stood a self-imposed watch at Hughson Elementary School.

One man. No rifle. No pay. No breaks.

"When I enlisted, I swore to defend this country from all enemies, foreign and domestic," said Pusley, 28. He served two tours in Iraq, in Baghdad and Ramadi, and one in the Helmand province of Afghanistan before leaving active duty.

"Schools are kind of against the rules over there," he said. Over there, he stood guard for 24-hour stretches with a "battle buddy." The pair spelled each other through short breaks for bare necessities.

He has no battle buddy in this small Central California town near Modesto, about 80 miles south of Sacramento. But after reading a Facebook post urging soldiers be posted at every school in the wake of last week's tragic shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut, he decided to take action on his own.

To the surprise of his very pregnant wife, Kristina, Pusley got up early Wednesday and dressed in uniform. He walked out of the house and around the corner to the kindergarten through third-grade school at 7:30 a.m.

"I was just praying and hoping the principal would say yes," he said.

Principal Laura Fong did. "I said, 'Absolutely!' In light of all that's happened, this is especially the time to make sure we help students and families feel safe," she said.

Kristina Pusley, expecting in two weeks' time, brought future Hughson Elementary kindergartner Canon, 3, to visit daddy midmorning. "I'm proud of him for it," she said.

From 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Pusley stood his post, greeting kids as they arrived and saluting the flag with the kindergarten class of Annette Diliberto.

"I just want to have a word to this community that I stand between them and any danger," he said. Asked about his lack of firepower, Pusley said, "I don't need to be armed to do this. I don't have a fear in the world that if someone came here, I'd have the strength and the ability to protect them."

But by Wednesday night, he was facing a different type of threat.

By wearing those fatigues instead of a dress uniform in public, the Marine reservist said, he violated Marine Corps protocol and could face up to a $10,000 fine and five years in prison. Worst of all for a proud veteran and provider for a growing family, "dishonorable" could be stamped across his honorable discharge.

He said he was warned by phone by former Marine Jordan Pritchard, who stood a similar guard earlier this week at an elementary school in Nashville, Tenn. Pritchard was notified by the U.S. Marine Corps that he was the subject of a formal investigation, Pusley said.

"I made a mistake. I shouldn't have worn it. I apologize to my community, my nation and the Marine Corps," Pusley said, adding he's written a letter of apology to President Barack Obama as well.

He's a stay-at-home dad right now. The family is living on savings and his Reserve pay, enjoying being safe and together after his years away.

He will not be at Hughson Elementary on Thursday, he said. Besides fears for his future and his family, Pusley was clearly taken aback by the publicity and attention showered on him at the school.

Many Hughson residents drove by; many stopped to shake his hand. A television crew checked in. Facebook spread the word.

School receptionist Angelee Martin said she spent the morning leaking tears every time she looked out at him. "Everybody feels so safe with him there. He just impresses me so much," Martin said.

Parent Danielle Batteate said having a Marine on campus was wonderful. "Somebody, out of their own heart, is actually protecting our children," she said.

Other parents posted the news on Facebook, bringing well-wishers who offered the Marine cup after cup of coffee. But too much coffee would mean leaving his post before school let out, so a growing collection of cups sat cooling around the flag pole.
.

That's a real American.

[GregWeld]

Stuart -- That's exactly my "position" on this whole sordid affair. I would like to NEVER hear about something like this again... but in fact... we all know that regardless of how many rules we design - we will. It's why I'd prefer to see guards of some type at the schools.


Here's something I did not know... about Mexico.

The country with the strictest gun laws in the world, and the one nearest to us, Mexico. It is virtually impossible under law in Mexico to own a firearm and look how well gun control is working there.


A look at what they changed in their constitution:


By the 1960s, fear of the growing anti-government sentiment and the growing number of citizens arming themselves, prompted the government to modify Article 10 of the Constitution and to enact the Federal Law of Firearms and Explosives. And so begun a systematic disarmament of the population by limiting gun ownership to small-caliber handguns, heavily restricting the right to carry outside the home, and ending a cultural attachment to firearms by shutting down gun stores, outlawing the private sale of firearms, closing down public shooting facilities, and putting in control of the federal government all firearm-related matters.


A look at their (Mexico) murder rate:


24 per 100,000


The U.S.A. murder rate:


4.2 per 100,000



Gotta love the government banning stuff!! Works like a charm every time.

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Unfortunately, this horrific tragedy was another in a long line of gun violence episodes that have ranged from places like Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Aurora to coffee shops in Lakewood to the corner of South Byron Street and McClintock Ave South in Seattle.

Wow, thats all that she listed. Did she refer to Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona being shot in the head and her assistant killed? Im shocked. 300 million guns in the US and only 5 incedents are in her mind. I bet 2 weeks from now she would only list 3. Well I probably could not but its not my job to know the facts just remember it happened.

but we also need to take specific action to bolster our current gun safety laws.
Thank you....but in one ear out the other. Guns used were not stored properly, access and training was given to a metally ill person. We need to enforce the laws not make absurd new ones that just cost more money to produce. How much does it cost to draft a bill and get it rolling again?

There is no question that we can and should limit access to the assault style weapons of war that are on our streets and that are too often being used to kill innocent people indiscriminately. I have repeatedly voted for an assault weapons ban and will do so again as soon as we can get a bill to the Senate floor.

again, out one ear bounced around a bit then lodged in a crevasse.

When will they learn, Ban threats sell more guns to people that can not control them properly and in turn potentially creates more gun violence.

[Bucketlist2012]

The Virginia Tech shooter killed 32 and injured 17 people...

All with just handguns..

A ban on assault weapons won't stop the violence if someone is determined to go crazy and kill people...

[GregWeld]

[parsonsj]

Originally Posted by Greg

By the 1960s, fear of the growing anti-government sentiment and the growing number of citizens arming themselves, prompted the government to modify Article 10 of the Constitution and to enact the Federal Law of Firearms and Explosives. And so begun a systematic disarmament of the population by limiting gun ownership to small-caliber handguns, heavily restricting the right to carry outside the home, and ending a cultural attachment to firearms by shutting down gun stores, outlawing the private sale of firearms, closing down public shooting facilities, and putting in control of the federal government all firearm-related matters.


A look at their (Mexico) murder rate:


24 per 100,000


The U.S.A. murder rate:


4.2 per 100,000

Cherry picking. A better comparison would be to other countries with similar histories, cultures, and rule of law that have strict gun laws and aren't in the middle of a virtual civil war. Have a look at western European countries, and you find something markedly different.

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by parsonsj

Cherry picking. A better comparison would be to other countries with similar histories, cultures, and rule of law that have strict gun laws and aren't in the middle of a virtual civil war. Have a look at western European countries, and you find something markedly different.

Do yourself a big favor - go back and actually read the thread - you'll see we've covered that ground already.

[Sieg]

Originally Posted by parsonsj

Cherry picking. A better comparison would be to other countries with similar histories, cultures, and rule of law that have strict gun laws and aren't in the middle of a virtual civil war. Have a look at western European countries, and you find something markedly different.

Personally I'll rely on comparison data from the continent and region in which I reside...................especially when it's 15 hours on the Interstate from the Mexican boarder.