What "meaningful action" would suggest to prevent more mass shooting in the US?

[TDoc]

I personally don't think there is a valid reason to own assault weapons...that said I know that there are people that feel there are valid reasons and it's likely someone loses out on what they want.

I grew up around guns...it was on a ranch and they were locked up and we were taught at a young age how to handle them and to respect them. As teenagers, my cousin and I didn't always follow these lessons and while, luckily, no one ever got hurt there are definitely times I think back and say "WTF was I thinking?...I say that about a few things in life...The answer is "I wasn't." All the stupid crap we did as kids growing up in the 1970's still shocks me that I survived...some of us didn't obviously. But now it's intensified and increased on a massive level...from what I can tell.

If someone had a gun or 2 that was something...now people need a dozen and a grenade launcher. It's ridiculous that they even have access to them to me...again that's me, obviously some people need them. I don't think I run in their circle as far as I can tell.

There are restrictions on things like materials to manufacture meth or fertilizers to make bombs...can't even buy spray paint at the hardware store anymore without "going into the cage"...so it seems at the least there could be an increase in restrictions on how people obtain them and perhaps needs to be some sort of penalty for certain behaviors...if you get into a scrap and commit a felony assualt perhaps that takes you out of the running to buy or possess weapons. Obviously, I have no idea on how you'd do that and I agree that there's no easy or quick solution.

I think the armed guard deal at schools is unrealistic...at least for public schools...so only the good schools will get the good guards? Not to mentions the quality of employee it would attract. I work with some "armed guards' and while I'm sure there's some good ones...there's plenty of bad ones. I've had to call the company that provided the service and have them remove clearly inept (or worse)...people with guns protecting our business...this was mostly just after 911

The armed populace solution? I always think back about the scene in Boogie Nights when Don Cheadle is buying donuts and the armed citizens trys to stop the robbery...no thanks. I'm sure armed citizens have thwarted crimes, I'm sure some have gone sideways as well.

I'm just tired and done with this...there's no reason in my mind that we just go on as we have after this one.

My daughter wouldn't go to school this morning and she's really upset by this. She's supposed to fly to DC from Oregon tomorrow morning with her school choir to perform at the...[not allowed to say where due to security concerns]...and she is pondering not going because she's so unsettled by this. I hope she goes, but I worry too.

I'll be on the side of increased restrictions...I doubt any well reasoned argument for continuing on the current path of unfettered access will sway me.

[Bean]

SUPerSwede, you remind me why I don't enjoy spending more than a week at a time with my Scandinavian relatives.  Whenever someone begins a thought with "in your country" I know I'm in for a long night.

So, let me get this straight, on one hand you object to the tight rules of entry into the US and on the other want to tighten up gun control. Is that right?

[SUPerSwede]

No, I don't object to the rules of entry, those decisions are yours to make. I just observe that things are changing and not in a pleasant way.
The gun regulations are your decision too. I just don't think that the pro-firearm crowd have a lot going for them right now. Nor presenting a very strong case. The "it's our right" record is really scratchy.

I can rephrase that to "the US" if it makes you less defensive. But I can't pretend that it's my country.

[Bean]

I think the armed guard deal at schools is unrealistic...at least for public schools...so only the good schools will get the good guards? Not to mentions the quality of employee it would attract.

Not armed guards, but police officers.  Check out the SRO (School Resource Officer) programs that some schools have already successfully implemented. 

[JeanG]

I just can't resist:

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3q72wb/

[Celeste]

I think I can do you one better
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/12/17/1346491/tea-party-group-attributes-connecticut-shooting-to-teachers-unions-and-sex/

[stoneaxe]

The 2nd amendment has nothing to do with hunting, personal protection or anything like that...it's all about maintaining an ability to fight tyranny at the citizen level. It may not have quite the same relevance as when it was written but I and obviously many of my fellow countrymen feel it is far from irrelevant.

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"

I think part of the answer to my earlier question about the political nature of this is that folks that like big government don't see government as a threat. The other side sees government as a potential enemy...and you can't say that it isn't deserved. We all have to remember that every country has a shelf life. Most are born and die in war. Some with violent coups, some not so violent, some internally rot. There is the potential for any government to go too far. That is the seed of the 2nd amendment. While I don't think the U.S. is anywhere near that...if I did I'd be buying guns and bullets.....who knows. It doesn't always happen in a way that anyone could predict....sometimes a single incident lights a fire. You also have to admit that individual rights, part of the core of our existence, are being impinged on to say the least.

[PonoBill]

So say you were appointed czar of making this not happen again and your charter is to stop these kind of occurrences. As usual you have X-amount of political capital to spend. Is your choice of immediate action to take "ban assault weapons" or even "ban all guns"?  Even if you were able to pull it off, how long do you expect it to take for the number of guns available to be reduced enough to have an actual effect?

I think if that was your choice you'd be czar for a day, not because a ban on certain kinds of guns in the USA would necessarily be a bad thing but because you would be demonstrably incompetent at executing your charter. If you weren't immediately shitcanned there would be many additional occurrences on your watch. You'd make TSA look like security wizards.

[lucabrasi]

What's at the root of the mass killings....we have a society that doesn't prepare kids for dissapointment nevermind failure....everyone gets a trophy, no recognition for hard work, or consequences for sloth. So when they do experience it thay aren't ready for it.  How we deal with mental health issues.....SSShhhh....don't talk about the fact that little Johnny (you know the kid...the one that burned cats alive for fun) is a little touched in the head....we have to be inclusive. Parents don't want the stigma of mental health issues associated with their family and teachers and others are not willing or able to say anything for fear of hurting feelings or being sued. We have an entertainment industry (movies, TV, and games) that schools children from the time they are old enough to use a clicker or game contoller that violence and particularly the use of guns is a great problem solver. By the time the average teenage boy reaches 20 he has killed 10's of thousands in his virtual world (that is often more real to him than day to day life and obviously always more fun). That same industry is now wringing it's hands and saying we need more gun control. Try pushing for more control over what is allowable for children to see and use and see how fast they fight that.

You see that all the time now.  Media coverage about media coverage.  Often, it's an excuse for regular media to publish tabloid stories.  The sleazy tabloids will do stories on scandals involving children of celebrities, or maybe some sex scandals. Then the mainstream outlets follow up with "Have Tabloids Gone Too Far in Invading Privacy of Children of Celebrities?" or "Is the Media Obsessed with Sex?" then publish all the same info and photos that were in the tabloids.  You see those types of headlines all the time on msn and yahoo.   At least the tabloids are honest about it.

How can anyone possibly argue these aren't some of the issues at the root of this kind of behaivor? That these are really what needs dealt with.
Sure, I am pro gun, absolutely and positively 2nd ammendment but many of the arguments coming out (everywhere) are just....not dealing with the problems at hand. No one wants this to happen again. I don't think anyone wants otherwise. To blame it all on guns and really think that is some sort of real solution is just not looking at the real issues at hand I thnk.
And no, I don't think many of you out there who favor some sort of restricitions don't see those points either (no, I am not totally opposed to...I don't know..better control??)......but there do seem to be some who think more gun control is the real issue at hand and I am seeing it plastered everywhere online, on the radio, and in the papers today. I have not turned on the tv, but I am sure it is there. The real issues at hand are being lost in.....the hysteria of the feel good, do good, this is something that can actually be done, knee jerk reaction. (I know, that's been said far better than I just did) We get some more gun control passed..."yayyy, a great thing, we are trying"...what about the real issues at hand?

What do we do about the mental health thing tho? How crazy is bat shit crazy? We all know someone with a few screws loose. Wierd, antisocial, a loner, whatever.....we all know people like that. What do you do? Who will snap? We knew them growing up...we know them now. Yeah some of it we don't want to offend, but some of it out there...who knows.
Makes me think of the Adam Sandler (I think) movie where the drag queenie thingie crosses him off his hit list after he calls and says he is sorry 20 years later.

[supthecreek]

Unfortunately this cat is out of the bag, and we cannot just wish it back in.
We have driven off a cultural cliff that breeds this increase in psychopathic behavior as an unintended consequence.

We have integrated immediate mass media into kids daily lives. They are no longer isolated from the barrage of daily horrors and misinformation. They are subject to media manipulation every minute of the day.

The prevailing political emotion is a sense of urgency and of fear. Politicians at work, do not walk.... they run. Everything is deadly serious and urgent. The world is at stake. A political party is a group at war, and this mentality turns every potential voter into a victim. Victims can be controlled by promise of protection and care.

We have created a society of "victims". Everybody is being told that it's not their fault, someone else is to blame for their failure to succeed in the challenge of the moment. Is it surprising that disenfranchised kids look to punish those "responsible" for their failures?

If we continually look to social programs, government involvement, and all other emergency repairs, we can expect the problem to grow... not shrink.

Emphasis needs to be placed on every person to be responsible for the children they produce or seek to raise.

Good families are built on the personal sacrifice of responsible parents, not the self fulfillment of parents outside the family. Strong, committed families exist even after divorce, they exist in non-traditional families... families are the people who raise children.

The place where children need to get their strength, direction and values from is the family. A solid loving and supportive base, creates well adjusted kids that are better equipped to handle daily challenges and stress.

The only really meaningful thing that any one person can do in life, is raise good children. Period. Your job is irrelevant, your wealth is irrelevant, your successes are irrelevant... if you fail to raise good children.

[lucabrasi]

The only really meaningful thing that any one person can do in life, is raise good children. Period. Your job is irrelevant, your wealth is irrelevant, your successes are irrelevant… if you fail to raise good children.

Very nice.......and everything else you just said too.

[upwinder]

I just can't resist:

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3q72wb/

and while we're indulging

[SUPerSwede]

This is another idea, not mine

[Weasels wake]

A very dark thought~

If he didn't kill his mom, could you just imagine the hell she'd be experiencing by both her own sorrow, and by the hate of the public blaming her for showing her son how to shoot?
He probably did her a favor by killing her first.

[Tom]

I've got a question for all the 'don't take my assault weapons away from me' supporters.

How do you suggest we keep assault weapons out of the hands of crazy people?

Or do you feel that crazy people that may kill people in malls, movie theaters, schools, anywhere, have a constitutional right to possess guns and ammunition capable of creating mass killings?