Speakeasy forum: Multiple shootings at Conn. grade school

It's not guns, knives, machetes, bombs, it's people, bad people, crazy people, hateful people. If not guns, then there's plenty of other things to be done, as the world testifies.

Here's a listing of primary school attacks.

There's one in Bath, Michigan which killed 45 at a school and injured 58 in 1927. In other countries, one in Russia involving 1100 school children with deaths over 350 and many more injured as Chechen rebels took over a school and committed atrocities. Surprising is the number of school killings in such a totalitarian climate found in China, which just proves all the control in the world won't stop someone committed to violence against children.

a standing army still?

that also gives detailed instructions on how to build a homemade bomb, a gun wouldn't have been needed to do what this person intended to do....instead I think more concentration and focus on mental health for young people needs attention.

They are now reporting that the son of the kindergarten teacher is possibly the killer but that isn't confirmed and instead the mother could just work there and is one of those killed.....and another woman was found dead in a home nearby who might also be related to the teacher. The mother is dead, but now they aren't sure if she was killed at the school or if she's the one that was found in that house.

26 people dead (18 of them children) along with the killer........

No word on whether the brother committed suicide or was another murder victim.

I know it's more complicated than just guns. Toni's right about the Internet, the availability of all kinds of instructions, and probably sicko websites dedicated to fantasies about doing things like this. But the Internet is global (other than oppressive countries that regulate it), and yet these things still happen more often here than anywhere else. The sheer number of guns and the gun psychology of this country do play a part, and it's long past time to stop kowtowing to the NRA and do something about that.

Note that he shot his mother in the face. This would seem to indicate a special level of hate. He then shoots the kids in her school class. Teachers love their kids, and focus a lot of their attention on them. Could it be that he also blamed them taking away the attention or whatever he wanted from his mother, seeing them as the main reason he was "neglected" by her? Josh, I don't think it's an NRA thing.

Sorry, J, but there is no reason on earth that any private citizen should possess automatic or semi-automatic weapons larger than a pistol.

This madness must stop. I will hope against hope that this is the tipping point.

that I'd want anything like a military assault weapon in my house. I'd also be a bit nervous if I knew neighbors had them but that's mostly because my familiarity with these people is limited. There are plenty of other things I know people buy that could be dangerous and that I have no desire to own or understand why anyone else would want...but I also can't find that my reasons should be everyone's reasons nor that being reactionary is good management. To me, the underlying problem with such murders isn't so much that weapons are available but that the desire to kill is there. I want to know what we can do to stop that. These tragedies will continue whether a ban on gun purchases happen or not. They won't go away until people stop snapping like this.

was a gun enthusiast and had taken her sons to a shooting range to practice. She apparently had an extensive gun collection.

.....makes it a lot easier to kill a lot of people in a short time from a nice impersonal distance. Anyone seriously desiring to protect their home, hunt or possess a gun for any other legitimate purpose can do so without automatic weapons -- in fact such weapons are very poor choices for those purposes.

.....pump action shotgun was the best choice for home protection. If I was a burglar and I heard that "ch-chick" sound, that would be enough to get me to leave.

Risk/reward just doesn't bear out when it comes to assault weapons. Unless you're trying to capture Osama, there are better choices.

would run rather than face a possible equal.

A shotgun with buckshot makes an excellent close quarter protection. The only drawback would be extremely close quarters.

And while the very usefulness of buckshot, it's spread, could be a risk to others, buckshot that misses the intruder isn't going through 3 walls to kill you kid hiding in their closet.

Perhaps for in home use or approved practice range we should excempt the minimum length though.

the modern one is a 19" barrel shotgun.

adding one inch gives you a little legal leeway. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawed-off_shotgun#United_States

in the sense of if you're going to use a gun for self defense, you need to shoot it occasionally.

Another real danger is can you actually deliberately shoot to kill when you face the situation. Some cases people hesitate or freeze and end up having their gun taken and used on them.

If you're using a pistol particularly, you need target practice, which can be dangerous or expensive. Commercial gun ranges can be rather pricey plus the cost of the ammo. Some shooting in their back yard fail to consider how far the bullet may travel, particularly if they miss the entire target. They also often don't consider ricochet dangers either. Both travel and ricochet when people start trying to hit spots on a tree or such rather than a target on the ground.

A very basic rule for safety in improvised target shooting with a pistol or even more so witha rifle, make sure the target is lower than the position you're shooting from. If you're aiming down travel is less of a concern. Of course, that's on bare earth or suitable backstop. If you're shooting at targets backed by concrete, asphalt, or buildings, you're being reckless and dangerous.

Local events like turkey shoot often use some of those huge round bales of hay for backstop. Hopefully they compost or burn it afterwards, not feed it to livestock since they'd swallow the bullets too.