http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/14/we-are-an-awful-nation Comments On: We Are an Awful Nation by Goldy en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Fri, 24 May 2013 11:15:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
This nation was founded on genocide, plain and simple.

It isn't just guns, and it isn't just issues with mental illness and/or the social safety net - it's US.


Posted by Mr. X]]> Sun, 16 Dec 2012 01:51:10 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Billy Chav]]> Sat, 15 Dec 2012 13:04:22 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty]]> Sat, 15 Dec 2012 05:16:38 -0800 The Stranger
I'm glad (and not surprised) that you didn't bother with any of the posts here today. They were, for the most part, knee-jerk, reactionary vitriol. A waste of time.

Gun control is like abortion control. Trying to stop it by cutting off supply is laughably ( and sadly) futile. You won't get anywhere until you address demand.
Posted by Urgutha Forka]]> Sat, 15 Dec 2012 02:35:51 -0800 The Stranger
Heh. As if that were possible. Maybe they're expecting Tinkerbell to come through and spread some fairy dust or something. Talk about being deluded.
Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty]]> Sat, 15 Dec 2012 00:41:26 -0800 The Stranger See the comment @33.

There you go. A call for an outright ban on guns.

There are so many comments in so many posts today I can only assume others have made the same suggestion to ban all guns.
Posted by Urgutha Forka]]> Sat, 15 Dec 2012 00:12:31 -0800 The Stranger
Can you let us know why anyone needs a gun? Other than to kill someone, that is. And all of you guys who say "knives kill also" can have your knives. Have all the knives you want. Knives are useful for other things. Guns aren't.
Posted by sarah70]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 21:10:28 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Stranger'sWorstNightmare]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 19:45:47 -0800 The Stranger
I don't believe anyone is calling for an outright ban on guns. There's a big range of options between a total ban and what we have now. How about we start with sensible regulations and see how that works out?
Posted by HelpMeJebus]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:59:55 -0800 The Stranger
yeah,
but you're totally good with banning the 3rd amendment,
right?
Posted by let's get our priorities straight here....]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:47:31 -0800 The Stranger Ok, yes, I often make sarcastic posts... this will be a non sarcastic one.

I definitely do not casually accept horrid, terrible events like this. Murders like these, probably more than any other major event, have a huge impact on how I feel about our country, guns, laws, and human nature in general.

For the record, I don't own any guns and never have. I've fired many guns (my father was a duck hunter and I was an infantryman in the National Guard some time ago) but it's been years since doing so.

I'm in favor of strict regulations on guns, scrutiny on gun owners and on people who've expressed interest in gun ownership, and harsh penalties for people who sell or give away guns without doing serious background and mental health checks.

That said, I can't help but notice that the "ban guns" crowd is eerily similar to the "ban abortions" crowd. Both want to get rid of something they hate, but don't seem to realize that banning it won't actually get rid of it (just like banning free speech wouldn't actually get rid of free speech.... which is the point of my original post).

I just want the knee jerk reactionary cries to at least be tempered by dialogue on trying to solve the REAL problem, not just getting rid of one of the symptoms.
Posted by Urgutha Forka]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:42:47 -0800 The Stranger
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/homicid…

Spree murders are a tiny percentage of murders. That's the entire problem. We are completely desensitized to just our day-in-day out rate of homicide. Which in and of itself is insanely high.

Posted by tkc]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:30:12 -0800 The Stranger
...to the time of the Nazi invasion BEFORE the US was a superpower or before there were atomic weapons and hence before the entire concept of global superpowers.


Posted by tkc]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:22:49 -0800 The Stranger Posted by emma's bee]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:09:35 -0800 The Stranger
If you really want types of people to profile against - white men commit the vast majority of mass murders in this country.
Posted by raku]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:08:38 -0800 The Stranger
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012…

It's been gravely irresponsible to have let gun massacres (not to mention the usual murders that are little reported on anymore) become the norm, and to let gun advocates and politicians try to chalk it all up to lack of character education.

For once, both parties really are to blame for lack of leadership on this, and it starts with the cynicism at the top that decided that common sense gun regulation was an election-loser.
Posted by YellowPup]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:15:20 -0800 The Stranger
The simple fact is, we don't have any answers for most mental disorders. Short of locking everybody up -- and where do you draw the line on Asperger's, exactly? A fourth of the US has mental illness issues at some point in their life -- there isn't any amount of money that's going to make this problem go away.

What makes guys like that terrifying is that they have virtually unlimited access to firearms of all sorts. Simple possession laws in one state obviously mean nothing; this guy was loaded for bear.

The only way to reduce these situations is to reduce the number of firearms and the amount of ammunition for them. Every "legitimate" firearm owner enables the spread of more weapons, whether directly by losing their guns to theft, or indirectly just by keeping gun shops and sellers in business.

I would hope that every gun owner in America would take out their weapon(s) tonight and say to themselves "I can't be a part of this anymore". But that won't happen; tomorrow morning the gun shops are going to be full of people buying new and stocking up.
Posted by Fnarf]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:04:24 -0800 The Stranger
If the Stranger wants to help, maybe they should moderate their coverage a bit. Two, three Slog posts would cover it (the tragedy, gun control, a late day followup, done). There are other things happening in America and the world, some just as tragic, some actually happy and good. This wall to wall coverage you guys are doing is CRAP.
Posted by dwightmoodyforgetsthings]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:53:26 -0800 The Stranger
how dare people have the freedom to act in legal ways, the government should restrict all actions that might be used improperly.
Posted by meanie]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:52:38 -0800 The Stranger THANK YOU!
Posted by Urgutha Forka]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:49:49 -0800 The Stranger
This stupid continent.
Posted by GermanSausage]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:47:52 -0800 The Stranger Posted by quix]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:47:50 -0800 The Stranger
the same people who demand no laws regarding drugs, gay rights, and prostitution, want to enact heavy laws on guns. does nobody recognize how futile it is?
Posted by 34x42]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:46:02 -0800 The Stranger Posted by j.lee]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:45:07 -0800 The Stranger
hint....there are none
Posted by Goldy. Self-Deport Your Ass....]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:43:11 -0800 The Stranger