I hope our national discussion will include more logic than
emotion

In 1985, my 14 year old daughter was murdered. Not with a gun, but with a baseball bat. Perhaps we should outlaw baseball.Or simply baseball bats.

The person who commited the atrocity in CT broke numerous existing laws before ever arriving at the S.H.E.S. He murdered his mother, stole her firearms, illegally possessed handguns before he was 21, stole his mother's car, and carried firearms into a prohibited area. He clearly demonstrated a disdain for the law. No additional number or more stringent laws would have caused him to veer from the intention of completing his heinous acts.

In 1934, Congress passed the National Firearms Act. That act severly restricts who can legally possess fully-automatic (FA) weapons. For the uninitiated, FA weapons fire continuously so long as the trigger mechanism is depressed. An "assault weapon" is a shoulder-fired weapon capable of firing an intermediate-caliber cartridge in a selective fire manner (both FA and semi-automatic). As such, a true assault weapon such as the M-16, plus its variants, and the Kalashnikov AK-47, -74 are covered by the Firearms Act of 1934. To own one requires an extensive background check, payment of a special transfer tax to the Treasury, and numerous other expensive hurdles.

The semi-automatic AR-platform so demonized by the press, media, and gun control advocates fires a bullet that weighs up to 60 or so grains at a muzzle velocity of around 3000 feet per second (fps). It RESEMBLES the M-16 and fires the same cartridge, but the similarity ends there. These weapons have uses beyond the battlefield: national match target shooting, three-gun target matches, and varmint control. Many farmers and ranchers use this weapon to take feral hogs on their property because they are lightweight and provide for rapid follow-up shots on the tough feral hogs. There are, by last best estimate, millions of these destructive beasts in the U.S.

The functionality of a semi-automatic weapon (SA) means that you get one shot for each pull of the trigger. There are literally millions of rifles, shotguns, and handguns in America with this functionality. Other hunting rifles that are SA fire larger-caliber, more powerful rounds, such as the .30-06. Virtually all of their owners have never used them to take a single human life. That is because they are responsible individuals.

There is the rub in this matter. Violence boils down to the individual and holding that person solely responsible for his or her actions. Since the Supreme Court ruled that police departments have no requirement to provide police protection to individual citizens, Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005), et al, who will provide self-defense to the individual in a life-threatening situation?

Depending on where one lives, a 9-1-1 call may result in a police response in 5 or 10 minutes. It may take 30 minutes or longer in rural areas where some of the counties are as large as Rhode Island (see west Texas). Many individuals have made a conscious, well-informed decision to protect their families and their property by whtever means necessary. That often means using a firearm. In the case where there are multiple antagonists, such as most home-invasions, a single-shot or limited shots is a recipe for disaster. That bit of wisdom comes from my 20-years of service in the military.

Many of those who call for more stringent gun-control laws or outright banning of entire classes of weapons, do so from behind an armed-to-the-teeth security detail. Mayor Bloomberg has one, either paid by NYC taxpayers or from his own deep pockets. Senator Feinstein has a history of concealed carry when she lived and worked in San Francisco at a time when the average citizen could not get a permit. Even the late Senator Ted Kennedy had trouble at an airport when one of his security detail tried to get through airport security carrying an Uzi.
They can hire someone to protect and defend them.

Columbine, Virginia Tech, Newtown and others are all suicides where the perpetrator, for whatever sick reason decides to kill many other people before taking their own life.

They will kill until stopped by force, i.e. a good person with a gun.

Earlier this month in Oregon, the Clackamas mall shooter, also heavily armed with plenty of unfired ammunition, was confronted by a legally armed citizen, Nick Meli (who drew down on the shooter but never fired), and the next shot of the shooter took his own life, two innocents died. Everyone has heard of Adam Lanza, have you ever heard of Nick Meli?

Also, earlier this month in San Antonio a man shot one man in the parking lot and ran inside the movie theater where he was able to fire a single shot before being shot several times by an off-duty sheriff's deputy.

In Newtown, there was no legally-armed citizen; they had to wait for the police. Twenty-six innocents died until police arrived and the shooter, upon becoming aware of their arrival, took his own life.

Add Fort Hood and Aurora, Colorado to this, where the shooter was not suicidal but was in a "gun-free area", and you see one common element, THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS WAS ONLY LIMITED BY THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT ELAPSED BEFORE AN ARMED RESPONSE.

Every shooter was at least of average intelligence. They knew the history of previous similar attacks.

They sought out a "gun-free area".

At Virginia Tech the shooter conducted two separate attacks, killing thirty-two people in the deadliest mass shooting by a single person ever (with two handguns, no "assault weapon"). In a triumph of hope over experience, Virginia Tech remains a "gun-free area".

It may seem counter-intuitive but the statistics are rock solid; "gun-free areas" increase the lethality of mass shootings.

If people could get past the hysteria and emotion, they would see that the logical thing that could be done immediately, right now, to "prevent another Newtown" is a nationwide ban on "gun-free areas".

The only thing that stops a bad person with a gun is a good person with a gun.

"Gun-free areas" only ensure that the good people with guns are farther away, when evil strikes.

So whatever happened to "personal responsibility?" You're saying its the fault of the gun? The gun drags itself into a position where it can self fire and maim and kill without the help of anyone? Get real. A gun is an inanimate object made of steel, plastic, and wood. It has no brain, no soul, and no way to self fire. It is the Human who decides to pull the trigger. Time to put the blame where it should be, square on the shooter.
There is a problem and it is the Government & courts who have over the years gone to great pains to blame society for personal ills. Time to start realizing there are evil and/or sick people who do not belong out on the streets who should be locked up or incarcerated and kept away and out of society so they can do no harm. Time to realize there is no cure and no hope for some.
We don't need more laws, we need to enforce the laws we have.
The news media needs to start printing facts. An AR-15 is NOT and assault rifle. For civilian use it does NOT have full auto fire so it is simply a repeating rifle, NOT a machine gun. An assault rifle, as defined by the US Government, is a rifle capable of full auto, which the AR-15 civilian rifles do not do.

We not only have to have a debate on guns but also on the decay of our society. We have to accept that we are allowing evil people to exist and find ways to stop them from acting out their terrible deeds. Remember Timothy McViegh did not an assault rifle, Richard Speck did not use an assault rifle and Charles Whitman did not use an assault rifle. You can create all the laws you want but do you think an evil person is going to obey words on a piece of paper.

Ok. It was a tragedy, but how will putting a ban on any kind of weapon be in the best interest of the law abiding citizen? A ban on anything weapons related, won't stop the criminals from acquiring whatever they need to do their crime.

The guns in Newtown were purchased legally, BY HIS MOTHER. He tried to purchase guns for himself, yet was turned down. Hmmmm interesting how it's RARELY stated that the current gun laws ACTUALLY WORKED! Why weren't the guns locked up and stored away from him?!? His mother knew there were some mental issues with him..... that's just irresponsible gun ownership on her part. He acquired and used guns that were not legally his. How would banning these weapons have stopped him, or anyone else looking to commit this crime, or any other, from acquiring the tools to do them? IT WON'T! They'll still get them illegally!!

Personally, I would rather have a rifle like this in my possession if there is ever a home invasion at my home. I do not want to pull out a little pea shooter if someone breaks into my home illegally and has one of these types of guns. That's like bringing a spoon to a knife fight....obviously I would prefer to have something that is BETTER than what the person committing the crime against me has.

Statistics show that there are over 3 MILLION of these rifles in the general population currently. In the past 30 years, 62 or so, "mass shootings" have been committed. In those 62, 35 of these "assault rifles" have been used. That's a total of .001166667% of all of the assault rifles legally purchased have been used. That is in no means a viable percentage to be demanding bans on these weapons. The VAST MAJORITY of these legally purchased firearms don't get used in this horrendous way.

Why not properly train parents that are out of work, former military, or people that just want to volunteer to keep their children safe, and place extra "peace keepers", armed or not, at schools. That will allow extra people watching over the children, not needing to focus their attention on trying to teach them better, but focus their attention on things that seem out of place at a school. The training will help them deal with the situation at hand. If that means to arm the people, either concealed or not, then by all means, do so!

Take the guns out of law abiding citizen's hands, criminals will still get them and do their crimes. Put guns INTO law abiding citizens' hands, that criminal will think twice about pulling out their gun.....

Remember, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

If you notice, the people that are for banning "assault guns", and "high capacity clips/magazines"; don't really know what they are talking about. They are uninformed, misinformed, confused and are getting the basics about firearms wrong. Most are getting all of their information from movies and television programs. Assault weapons and assault guns are banned since 1934. What these people are talking about are guns that look like the military assault guns. High capacity magazines are normal for that firearm. Those that don't know are wanting to push low capacity magazines on the population. The one question the media or these misguided people don't bring up is how many time these firearms are used to prevent murder, rape, assault, home invasions, just by the criminal seeing a citizen bringing one of these out. Here in Florida, most boats that go out beyond 7 miles have AK-47s or AR-15s on board because of pirates (yes they are here), drug smugglers and human traffickers. If there is a ban...the United States will become a much more violent country. Statistics prove (FBI Crime Stats) where ever there is gun control, crime goes up, not down. The 1% want the general population unable to revolt. This banning will water down the constitution.

It has been reported that more people were killed with a ball bat
in 2011 than were killed with a gun. In addition, how many of the
commentators above are aware that gun death stats are contaminated because suicide by gun is conveniently folded into
those stats by anti gunners to inflate those stats in favor of their position on guns. Why? Suicide is against the law in so many states. Somewhat over 80% of suicides are done using a gun.

AOL, YOU NEED TO BE QUIET NOW.

Anyone remember Fast and Furious' If not, you should google it.

PROUD GUN OWNER

I don't have a solution. No one does. There will always be evil doers in this world. Banning "so called" assault rifles,multi clip magazines, or all pistols will SOLVE nothing. I think if you have armed guards in all schools someone will board a school bus, or plow into a line of school kids or take a ball bat and wack the little ones to death. My God people it is NOT the instrument that's used it is the person. AND, unfortunately we have a society that does not value sick, or EXTREMELY ANGRY individuals. We need to go back to mental hospitals with no stigma for seeking help, so we'd have someplace for people like this shooter AND the parents get the badly needed help they so badly need. If THAT happened I would feel better about locking away mt MAC 90 and .40 cal. Glock 37 special.
Who agrees with me?

ventually with very strict gun control laws (this can take a generation) the amount of deaths related to killings will drop drastically. This is proven by other countries that have these laws. Obviously the mother of the killer couldn't protect herself with the arsenal of guns she acquired. These acts will not stop until strict laws are enacted, mental health becomes a priority and not just to those who can afford it. WAKE UP AMERICAN!! These are lives we are talking about, its bad enough we kill animals for sport, our children and adults are becoming sport as well. Perhaps all the people who love these weapons should move to a state where their politicians embrace owning the type of firearms that only law enforcement and the military should have.

why don't you start by increasing the number of psychiatric visits like we have for physical ailments. Maybe then we can treat those who are mentally challenged instead of pushing it under the rug like what was done with Adam Lanza who murdered those poor innocent children and teachers. Stop blaming the video games and blame the insurance companies!!!

GOOD JOB AOL.YOUR IGNORANCE HAS JUST MADE ME DECIDE TO DROP AOL.