The American Spectator : The Politics of Gun Control

Martin kzovich| 12.24.12 @ 6:52AM

Yes and step one is to get rid of Boehner and the current leadership to be replaced by those with a
backbone,ingenuity and a will to fight.

SUBVET| 12.24.12 @ 11:11AM

The "dangerous mentally ill" sounds like most polititicians...........don't let a crisis go to waste gee.... where have I herd that before.

Sit back and pop some corn and watch the show......

Sean| 12.25.12 @ 9:03PM

I will solve all of this. Pass out of the House a budget that make all tax cuts permanent. Cuts real spending by over a trillion. Doesn't increase the debt ceiling and then let the Democrat Senate and President reject the real solutions. Take into account that election are over two years away and sit back and watch the Dems cave for once.

Peppermint Tea | 12.26.12 @ 11:39AM

Sean, that makes too much sense. Next thing, you will suggest a return to the gold standard.

Americanpatriot| 12.26.12 @ 9:21PM

Until there is laws put into place to stop voter fraud it is going to be hard for any conservatives to win. Almost all of the states that had voter ids laws in place Romney won.

Jack in Wi| 12.24.12 @ 7:53AM

I csn't disgree with Mr. Babbin on much here. Item number one is to replace Boenher and Cantor with wartime consigliaries. We need agressive and articulate defenders of conservative values. We also need to dump our war proganda and work out a far more peaceful foreign policy. The party needs to sound a lot more like Ron Paul then Dick Cheney. Romney's wacky foreign policy cost him a close election. There can be no return to fiscal sanity until wasteful spending is confronted in both the civlian and military budget. Item number one to eliminate is all foreign aid. Before one penny is cut from programs for americans in this depression every penny should be cut from the criminals and kelptocrats which get almost all foreign aid. Foreign bases are a huge waste of trillions. Let the world defend itself. For 100 years we have been fighting wars that have led to more wars. The world would have been a far better place if we just had stayed home and minded our own business. We are bankrupt fighting wars for no sane reason.

C. Vernon Crisler | 12.24.12 @ 12:24PM

The Republican Party does not need to start sounding like George McGovern.

Occam's Tool| 12.24.12 @ 6:35PM

Why not hang the shootings around the neck of the ACLU? They have made it damn near impossible to medicate the mentally ill involuntarily long term through their litigation.

nathan| 12.26.12 @ 8:20AM

Umm, the problem is this and I'll repeat it later, what exactly does the Fifth Amendment say. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Jed, and Occam seems to support him says get the dangerously mental ill off the streets. Drug them out of their minds. Turn them into mindless zombies. Rights, what rights?

The problem is, medical science especially when it comes to mental health areas is an oxymoron here. Medicine even today is a lot of art. How pray tell do we determine RELIABLY who is dangerously insane before they go off and kill 20 people? And I'm sorry Jed and others are making the "good intentions" argument. Well we can't violate people's rights because of our "good intentions". We can't torture people to "save lives". We can't waterboard KSM 187 times in the name of "saving American lives". We can't involuntarily incarcerate people because some "specialist" thinks he may grab a gun and go on a rampage. I'm sorry no. Free societies are risky societies. Madison understood when he wrote the bill of rights that some bad guys were going to be left on the streets. Some innocent people were probably going to get killed. Better that than a government with the power to throw most anyone they deem "crazy" into an asylum like the Soviets did. They involuntarily medicated dissidents sir, or did you forget?

Ghost of Cicero (NB) | 12.26.12 @ 2:06PM

Its morons like you who saw the shooter in Rochester released after only 17 years in the clink for killing his mother with a claw hammer. And now, all of a sudden, you see fit to piss & moan about laws that would've kept schmucks like that off the streets? Your ideology is as dangerous as those who shoot up places like schools & people like little kids & fire fighters. G*d freaking FORBID we take a look at the piss poor mental health systems in this country. Yeah, let's blame the sword for the hand that wields it. Because THAT makes sense.

cowgirl| 12.26.12 @ 2:21PM

Please explain to all of us like we are four year olds how it is acceptable to leave a mentally ill person to live on the streets of NYC in order to preserve her "Fifth Amendment Rights"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Patricia_Brown

Joyce Patricia Brown was depriving everyone she met on the street of NYC of their Fifth Amendment Rights.

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:54PM

For the 4-year-olds: in the 1970s, the Supreme Court, the highest court in our nation, ruled in a court case (called the Donaldson case) that no person can be forced into a mental hospital unless they're dangerous to self or others.

The Brown case went a step farther: it said that even if you can hospitalize a person who appears dangerous, you can't give them medication unless they say that's OK.

So in New York, dangerous crazy people can't be stopped by action to get them into the mental hospitals, and even if they can be placed there, they can't be medicated unless they agree to the medication.

So crazy dangerous people can continue to get worse and worse in New York and they can't be treated unless they say it's OK.

cowgirl| 12.26.12 @ 4:27PM

Thanks for the explanation which I was already aware of, but dearly wanted Nathan to explain this all so we can understand his reasoning, which is a oxymoron since his ability to reason is slim to none. Obviously, Nathan has a lot in common with Joyce.

nathan| 12.26.12 @ 3:46PM

No "person" shall be deprived of life liberty or property without due process. We can't put people away because we THINK it's a good idea. Because we THINK they might be dangerous. There are tens of millions of people in the country with some sort of mental illness. You want to gaze into your crystal ball and tell me how you determine which of those people are going to go beserk? Or do you just want to open camps and put ALL of them away? People, even mentally ill people have rights. Sorry. And we're going to violate those rights because we think it will, and where have we heard this one, "save one, two ten pick a number lives". NO That's not what the Founders intended and frankly I stand with Madison here, not people who don't understand that free societies have risks associated with freedom. Or as Patrick Henry put it, Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Answer for yourself. I know my response and that of the Founders.

cowgirl| 12.26.12 @ 4:25PM

Someone running around the city of New York exposing herself and slimming herself with her own excrement is not mentally ill? Really?

Yes Nathan and you speak for the Founders. Great I am sure they are doing sommersaults in their graves right now.

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 9:23PM

How about the fundamental right, contained in the Second Amendment, to keep and bear arms, including semi-automatic ones, even rifles made to look like (but not perform like) military rifles (because such arms operate in some ways very much like militia arms, which the Second Amendment expressly mentions in the same sentence as keeping and bearing arms?

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 9:28PM

We deprive people of their liberty, often without Fifth Amendment protections, as in the case of temporary restraining orders, which are granted by courts without a hearing, tens of thousands a day every day.

What if we balance the Second Amendment rights of scores of millions of Americans against the Fifth Amendment rights of a small number, perhaps a few thousand, of mentally disturbed people? What if we consider that the loss of Second Amendment rights will last for years, possibly forever, while the loss of freedom of the mentally disturbed will only last for a few days of mental observation?

How would such an equation work out for a reasonable person? What side do you think a reasonable person would cast his vote for?

RCV| 12.26.12 @ 3:40PM

Nathan says "we can't violate people's rights" by treating their mental illness without their consent. What rights are those, Nathan? The right to lay in the gutter ill without treatment? The right to be victimized by others wtith criminal intent?

And how does one get knowing "consent" from a person who is mentally incompetent?

Anyone familiar with the criminal justice system knows that the courts are filled with the homeless mentally ill, whose untreated mental conditions lead to their incarceration for a host of crimes stemming directly from their mental illness: minor assaults, disturbing the peace, sleeping on the sidewalk or in parks, indecent exposure, defecating in public, shoplifting, etc. etc. But Nathan thinks its a bigger violation of their "rights" to treat them medically, effectively and quickly, than to let them die in the street, clog up our courts, destroy their lives, get imprisoned, and -- God forbid, but all too often -- explode into unspeakable violence against other people.

Jimbobogie| 12.26.12 @ 4:55PM

I'm not sure that Nathan is advocating the system as it exists-he is simply stating "What Currently Is". Why would you release somebody who "Hammered" his mother to death? Perhaps to make room in jail for the other ones lined up to enter? I agree-it makes no sense, but how do you think that lawyers pay for their new cars? It's not necessarily the media-it could be a legal system that thrives on "volume" (this coming from Canada-the home of concurrent sentencing).
As for Wayne LaPierre-do any of you think that his message may have been better received had it not been delivered by the NRA, but by somebody representing police?
Finally, with respect to automatic weapons-what if owners had to keep these weapons at the range (since that's the only place they're shooting them)? One would hope that shooting ranges have tighter security than "accidentaly" leaving them in an unlocked home gun cabinet.
Just some thoughts from North of the Border-where we have a Conservative Majority Government...

nathan| 12.26.12 @ 5:51PM

I obviously touched off a fire storm here didn't I? At RCV: If people break "real" laws shoplifting etc, deprive them of the "liberty" after suitable "due process". But again if they are not harming anyone we err on the side of not putting them away against their will. Sorry. Because as we saw with the Soviet Union, how was "mentally ill" defined there? It all too often defined as being a dissident. And we saw and see this elsewhere. We err on the side of individual rights. We have to.
Cowgirl: The Constitution limits what the government can do to individuals. Go back and read the first eight amendments. The right of the people, Congress shall make no laws, we can go on. And honestly how much power are you prepared to give any government given what we saw last century? We cannot base our actions on "good intentions". Again, all evil actions start there. The Holocaust, the Ukraine, the Trail of Tears, the Japanese internment all of it. Slavery was justified in part here on the idea that those blacks were too mentally deficient to live free. A form if you will of involuntary confinement based in on lack of mental competence. You want to confine people who break no laws for their own good, because they pose a risk. How different are you from gun controllers who want to ban evil weapons "if it saves one life"? Good intentions all around but you see if we allow "some" violations of rights to take place, more will follow. Like Lays chips, you never eat just one.

John Navratil| 12.26.12 @ 6:32PM

nathan,

What's not "due process" about a commitment hearing. I personally know a child who killed his mother before being committed. When last I heard he was in the position of being treated to the point of knowing what he had done and wracked with guilt.

The test is a DANGER to himself or others. Habeus corpus is not suspended. Hearings to become a conservator when people are incapacitated by other ailments are done regularly. I can't understand the principle you are arguing.

RCV| 12.26.12 @ 6:39PM

I don't think it's a violation of the rights of a person who is mentally ill to treat them and get them to the point where they can make informed decisions about themselves. And as John N rightly notes, holding a commitment/treatment review hearing provides due process and assurance against arbitrary or political confinement.

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 9:29PM

You'll always initiate a firestorm of controversy any time you bring up restricting firearms ownership. It isn't difficult; in fact it's easy.

cowgirl| 12.27.12 @ 3:29PM

Horse manure: Comparing the Holocaust, the starvation of millions by Stalin in the Ukraine, The Trail of Tears, Japanese internment and Slavery to holding someone because they are mentally ill, a danger to themselves and society is
ludricous. You obviously did not read the Wiki Link about Joyce Patricia Brown. She willing partook in illict drugs which made her mentally ill and a danger to herself and the public.

I am against gun control - it doesn't work, but I am for taking care of people who hurt themselves and in turn hurt other people. Matter of fact if Joyce Patricia Brown wants to feed her body with drugs, I am all for it. I am not for her running around in public acosting and abusing innocent people. What would have happend if she got a hold a gun, knife, car, tazer, etc? You make no sense at all.

Cats1cowboy| 12.26.12 @ 9:24PM

McGovern learned, too late.
McGovern had made several real estate investments in the D.C. area and became interested in hotel operations. In 1988, using the money he had earned from his speeches, the McGovern’s bought, renovated, and began running a 150-room inn in Stratford, Connecticut, with the goal of providing a hotel, restaurant and public conference facility. It went into bankruptcy in 1990 and closed the following year. In 1992, McGovern's published reflections on the experience appeared in Wall Street Journal and the Nation's Restaurant News. He attributed part of the failure to the early 1990s recession, but also part to the cost of dealing with federal, state and local regulations that were passed with good intentions but made life difficult for small businesses, and to the cost of dealing with frivolous lawsuits. McGovern wrote, "I ... wish that during the years I was in public office I had had this firsthand experience about the difficulties business people face every day. That knowledge would have made me a better U.S. senator and a more understanding presidential contender

Spike| 12.25.12 @ 2:11AM

Ron Paul is a nut-bag, and had no, let me repeat, no idea what he was talking about relative to foreign policy and national defense.

Romney's foreign policy position, that he articulated effectively at the Virgina war college was brilliant, Reaganesque. As we watch things play out in the Middle East, as the result of Obama's (and Paul's) extended hand of peace, we will very soon recognize the result, on our door-step.

For 100 years, we have been fighting evil. When evil no longer exists, we can stop fighting.

aware| 12.26.12 @ 5:59AM

Yeah and Romney LOST, brilliantly. And by the way in case you haven't noticed Reagan is DEAD. One sign of a movement that is headed to the dust bin is it constantly looks BACK and lives in a sentimental past that never was.

Kwan| 12.24.12 @ 7:53AM

The Democrats are not really interested in solving the problem of these nut-job shooters killing our citizens, only in using massacres like Newtown to advance their agenda, which is quite similar to the Borg ultimatum: Resistance is futile you will be assimilated. An unarmed population is more pliable and able to be intimidated and collectivized by leftist Dictators, who believe as Mao that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

Jack in Wi| 12.24.12 @ 8:11AM

Hitler Stalin Mao, and Pol pot had gun control and and almost 100 million died. The government can not be trusted with all the guns. Obama and his followers want all the guns and all the power. Hell no! Free people are armed. Let the rulers be scared of the people instead of vica versa. In fact our ruling elites are afraid of us. That is why they want gun control.

TW in SC| 12.26.12 @ 6:10PM

"The Newtown, Connecticut massacre of children has changed the gun control debate to an extent no other event has in decades."

Um, no. It hasn't. Not one bit.

Bob K| 12.24.12 @ 11:02AM

Governor Cuomo is already considering Gun Confiscation and Forced Selling of them to the government. This from the NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12.....html?_r=2&

Lawrence Kennon | 12.24.12 @ 8:28AM

A Bushmaster carbine (short rifle) like what was used by Adam Lanza is the perfect weapon for home defense. Yes, everybody does need one if they take home defense seriously. The Army in WWII and Korea often gave officers an M1 Carbine because it is easier to learn to use, and shoot accurately compared to a handgun. It shoots a cartridge that is a little more powerful than a handgun, but less powerful than almost any other centerfire cartridge in existence. You can buy cartridges specifically designed not to penetrate walls, adding to the safety of using it in your home. With a large capacity magazine you don't have to worry about loading in the dark defending your home. You can concentrate on what you need to concentrate on.

In short, they are better than a handgun, a hunting rifle, and a handgun for home defense. They are also good for defending your home from looters if something like Katrina happens in your neighborhood, and like in New Orleans, many police flee the city, or like in the LA riots, the police won't defend your stores.

Who Needs An Assault Rifle?
http://free2beinamerica2.wordp.....ult-rifle/

Frank Drackman| 12.24.12 @ 8:43AM

Its like Mrs. Drackman once said,
"You can have my Manolo Binaliks when you pry my cold, dead, fingers off of them!"
Guns are cool, fun, interesting, and unlike most other pasttimes, useful.
Ever tried to stop a rapist with a Stamp Collection? Even if he was a fellow Nuismatic, you're gonna run out of 1927 Lindberg Airmails sooner or later.
And lets do a little TAS Roll call, and this is just off the top of my head.
Revolvers S&W 19(2)27,28,29,37, Charter Arms 44 Special,
Semi Auto Pistols Beretta 92, CZ-75, 3(or is it 4?) Makarovs, Colt Officers model 45, 3(or is it 4) Raven 25 autos(they were included with the S&W Revolvers)
Bolt Action Rifles, Remington 700 in 30:06, single shot 22,
Pump Action Shotgun, Remington 870(LAPD surplus), Winchester 1300,
Semiauto Rifles, 3 AKs,(2 Polytek, 1 Norinco)3 AR15s, 2 H&K 91s, 2 M1A1'a, 2 M1 Carbines, M1 Garand, FN49, 2 SKS

and in my family, I'm on the lower end of total gun-age...

Frank "Don't Shoot till you see the Whites*" Drackman

* Fred Sandford, 1972

Butch22| 12.24.12 @ 9:19AM

Ride . . .

I used to take my horse and ride,

I wore a shotgun by my side,

I was so handsome women cried,

And I got shot, but I didn't die . . .

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Occam's Tool| 12.24.12 @ 6:38PM

Frank: Numismatic refers to coin collecting, Philately to stamp collecting, pissoir to what Obama uses Boehner's mouth for.

G-d damned RINO Boehner. No balls at all.

buckeyeman| 12.25.12 @ 9:54AM

Frank: I luv ya, man (but in a manly way). You really gotta try full auto sometime. You haven't lived until you've unloaded a full 32 round clip from a Sten into a farm pond.

Occam: True dat. Boehner's MY rep. Hanging my head in shame. On the other hand, that "Philately" thing sorta creeps me out. You sure that's what it means?

irish19| 12.25.12 @ 3:46PM

Don't worry. OT is right as usual.

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:48PM

Hey, guys! Drackman's house while he's at work; he has quite an arsenal, very useful for those drive-bys.

johnnytentpeg| 12.26.12 @ 9:54AM

Agreed!

Mr. Babbin continues to get it wrong.

The Israelis stopped their school shootings by arming teachers.

Arming teachers works.

The Founding Fathers "needed" that era's version of an "assault weapon" vs. the ruling empire of the world armed with that day's "assault weapons."

Hence "the creator" endowed us with the 2nd Amendment as a right to defend against "Tyranny" vs. Bambi or a house intruder.

Job| 12.26.12 @ 1:06PM

yeah but the average Israeli can't be mesmerized by the Media and hasn't been dumbed down by the NEA and pacified by the bread and circus; their reality is the ever present fight for existence. we know why some agendas call for gun bans; some of us just dont realize how deep the subterfuge is.

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:46PM

Everybody has his own taste, but I personally prefer the 12-gauge to the .223 for home defense.

I hate the idea of firing on an intruder and having the round go through the walls of my house, flying across the street, through the walls of my neighbor's house and into the sleeping body of my neighbor's 6-month baby sleeping cradle.

Jacob McCandles| 12.24.12 @ 8:58AM

Not sure why the author is trying to decide what type of weapon I "need." Maybe I don't hunt, but I would feel safer with a Thompson submachine gun. Or maybe I do hunt and want to put 50 rounds into Bambi. Not the governments business. I don't think the founding fathers put the second amendment in the Constitution to protect hunters' rights. I think they wanted the citizens to have a fighting chance against the government they knew would eventually make subjects out of the citizens.

Harry the Horrible| 12.24.12 @ 10:11AM

A Thompson would be great for home defense. Too bad you can't purchase new ones.
http://www.awesomestories.com/.....106b37.gif

OP4| 12.24.12 @ 3:00PM

Sure you can. (Semi-auto)

http://www.auto-ordnance.com/Firearms/Firearms.asp

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:43PM

Actually, the Founding Fathers were equally interested in the local folks having arms to defend against Indians.

I know it's not PC to talk about Indian attacks, but they were a reality in a lot of the former colonies back around 1787 or thereabouts.

Von Mises Jr| 12.24.12 @ 8:59AM

The reason that they want to take guns out of the hands of patriotic citizens is that it is imperative to do so if they want to horde us all into the Mao or Stalin style work camps of Agneda21. Here is what Dick Morris has to say about what the master plan of the UN and socialist elites is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuseFmC6at4
You cannot enslave an armed populace. So this is why liberal states such as New Jersey (with a Republican Governor whom intends to pass Agenda21 by Executive Order) have embraced Agenda21. Port Authority of NY & NJ, NJ Transit, and other so-called stakeholders become partners in your property ownership rights. They don't pay your mortgage or taxes but they decide what you can do with your own property. A Board of Seventeen cronies and people such as the Director of Planning Advocacy in Trenton whom get huge salaries and will double dip pensions scheme with the Sierra Club to be the new central planners while they engineer how taxes will be re-distributed to decide our children's future. They can't do that while you have guns and ammo.

JP| 12.24.12 @ 11:15AM

See my post below. I say allow the Dems to make gun control the main issue of 2014. It will be something that they will regret.

pogybait| 12.24.12 @ 3:10PM

NO, NO, NO....we need the guns to be removed because we need to recycle the steel into instruments of good for the environment and end the destructive cycle of the primitive lust for lower taxes, corporate greed and save the planet for any children we haven’t got around to aborting. Good grief Van Mises jr., the Earth's climate has remained relatively static and unchanging for millions of years, but thanks to evil Republicans and free thinkers who have ignored the essence of Agenda 21 the Earth is now spinning violently out of control. Global temperatures have risen 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit in the 20th Century alone, and there appears to be no relief in sight. Contrary to your belief, Agenda 21 is imbued with special powers that seem to transform terrorist leaders, flatulent political blowhards and self obsessed pin heads into beloved statesmen in order to save us from ourselves, but they'll need our complete, unquestioning obedience, and judging by this past election they are certainly be entitled to it. No doubt that they will be encouraging subjects to lead more carbon neutral lives and punishing those who choose to disobey. Make sure that you have your People’s Plastic Convenience Card ready, as it’s just not fair that you should be keeping so much wealth hidden from the collective.

7-08| 12.24.12 @ 9:28AM

This is not about “gun control,” this is not about “politics;” nor is it about hunters, firearm mechanisms, calibers, length or color of the particular firearm, not the device (or pocket) that carries spare ammo.
It is about enslavement. You will be or you won’t be.

Butch22| 12.24.12 @ 10:19AM

An utterly ridiculous remark. Slavery, for God's sake! Talk about hyperbole.

Frank Drackman| 12.24.12 @ 10:47AM

Massah had gun(s)
Slaves didn't.

You wanna be a Massah, or a Slave?

Frank

Butch22| 12.24.12 @ 11:30AM

You pro-gun fanatics are afraid of people of color. This unspoken thought is what's behind the NRA propaganda.

Frank Drackman| 12.24.12 @ 11:40AM

How You Knows Whats Colors I Be Honky!!!!!!!!??????
OK, I'm about as Black as John Gruden, but hey, when Certain Demographic Groups with predilections to Rhythm, Roundball, and Rappin stop murdering the other Demographic Groups at 10 times the rate of ...now I'm confusing myself.
Its that whole" Man Bites Dog" thang
Martavious shoots Billy Bob, oh well, thats life in the big city,
Jim Don shoots Twa'taman'daris its a friggin War Crime...

Frank

Frekki| 12.24.12 @ 11:58AM

Defend yourself or die Butch, defend yourself or die.

7-08| 12.24.12 @ 12:34PM

Hate to pop your bubble dunce, but I am more Native American than anything. Code Red.

JmsA| 12.24.12 @ 2:28PM

Glad you brought that up, Butch. Remember the 1992 Rodney King riot in L.A.? You know, when all hell broke loose as the LAPD pulled a tactical alert and withdrew after the attack on the truck driver, Reginald Denny? Can you recall who he was dragged out of his truck by and beaten to pulp? Or for that matter can you recall who perpetrated the attacks on businesses in Korea Town, where five innocents were killed, and more, no doubt, would also have been killed had the store owners, etc., not resorted to arming themselves and fend off the attacks?

Stan Redmond| 12.24.12 @ 3:03PM

Way to repeat the racist talking points. Disagree with liberals and "THAT'S RACIST."

Did you skip civics when the "Dred Scott"? Blacks could not be allowed to be citizens because their unalienable rights to free speech and to bear arms would be protected.
The first gun control laws were introduced and supported by the democrat party to keep freed blacks from arming themselves. So tell us how we gun rights supporters are racist again?

Riff Raff| 12.24.12 @ 3:57PM

This is ridiculous. Gun control started in the late 19th century and continued through the 1st half of the 20th century by Democrats, specifically and intentionally as a means to disarm Black people (now Democrats want to disarm everyone except themselves and government). You really do not know what you are talking about. Furthermore, there have been NINE genocides in the 2oth Century, and in each and every case, the victims were disarmed by government beforehand. Maybe YOU trust government. But History teaches that to be unwise.

Occam's Tool| 12.24.12 @ 6:40PM

Indeed, Riff Raff. The problem with gun control advocates is that "madness takes its toll" on them.

Bill8472| 12.27.12 @ 10:04AM

Actually, it's traditionally the gun-c0ntrol folks who are afraid of "people of color." In the 19th and 20th Centuries, quite a lot of gun control was passed into law to keep the blacks folks from having firearms. It was too easy for armed black people to defend themselves from night riders and the like. In my lifetime, I can remember the flap it caused among whites when Malcolm X advised black people to organize and join gun clubs.

irish19| 12.25.12 @ 3:48PM

7-08, huh? I hear that's a pretty good caliber.

Sjccoach| 12.24.12 @ 9:35AM

Mr. Babbin you are part of the problem. You legitimize the left by calling civilian versions of military weapons assault weapons. Semi automatic weapons are not assault weapons. We can never beat the left as long as we cede control of the language to them.

C. Vernon Crisler | 12.24.12 @ 12:28PM

In fact all weapons are assault weapons. What is the point of having a weapon if one isn't going to assault the person who is attacking?

pogybait| 12.24.12 @ 3:21PM

Correct, control the language as the 1994-2004 ban list these definitions:
(i) a folding or telescoping stock;
(ii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon;
(iii) a bayonet mount;
(iv) a flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor; and
(v) a grenade launcher;
(C) a semiautomatic pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least 2 of–
(i) an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip;
(ii) a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer;
(iii) a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the nontrigger hand without being burned;
(iv) a manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded; and
(v) a semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm ....
How about banning aids patients as this makes about as much sense as all the above and the law as it was written...We are dealing with the Moron Voters and Politicians who feed them!

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:40PM

The "bayonet mount" issue is long overdue to be resolved by a ban; just remember all those nut cases and gang-bangers who fix their bayonets to their assault rifles before entering the schools and doing their drive-bys. Gotta stop that kind of thing, all right.

Stan Redmond| 12.26.12 @ 3:41PM

I remember how often I was thrusting and parrying on my way to school before those were banned.

Petronius| 12.24.12 @ 9:46AM

The Republican Party has rolled over exposing its empty belly for the last time. If they fold over the Second Amendment, they had better consider their places of exile, because WE will not.

OP4| 12.24.12 @ 3:03PM

Yep - hope they understand they are flirting with political death.

Anthony| 12.24.12 @ 9:50AM

On this Christmas Eve things do indeed look grim for the conservative cause.
Even Fox News took a cheap shot at LaPierre who proposed the same thing Clinton did in 2000 on the aniversary of Columbine. It was called "Cops in Schools".
David Gregory, when not hectoring LaPierre as America's #1 criminal, violates D.C. gun laws on national T.V. and nothing is said. Not to mention of course, that Gregory sends his kid to Sidwell Friends, a school with numerous security personel.
Of course, Obozo & Holder have blood on their hands with the deaths of Zapata and Terry in Fast & Furious. Not a word from the MSM.
Meanwhile, on the fiscal cliff front, Obozo is on a 3M taxpayer holiday in Hawaii and the whores in the MSM chide the Rs to fix the problem.
Bush couldn't even go home to Crawford TX for Christmas without the media whores in full ridicule mode.
Merry Christmas all; 2013 is gonna be a bumpy ride.

C. Vernon Crisler | 12.24.12 @ 12:29PM

Well said Anthony....

Al Adab| 12.26.12 @ 10:40AM

Somehow over Christmas Day the following kept running through my mind. When things look darkest as they did to the poet he yet wrote:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
'God is not dead nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth good will to men.'

Job| 12.26.12 @ 1:14PM

Dark Lords of newspeak strike again

Anthony| 12.24.12 @ 9:50AM

On this Christmas Eve things do indeed look grim for the conservative cause.
Even Fox News took a cheap shot at LaPierre who proposed the same thing Clinton did in 2000 on the aniversary of Columbine. It was called "Cops in Schools".
David Gregory, when not hectoring LaPierre as America's #1 criminal, violates D.C. gun laws on national T.V. and nothing is said. Not to mention of course, that Gregory sends his kid to Sidwell Friends, a school with numerous security personel.
Of course, Obozo & Holder have blood on their hands with the deaths of Zapata and Terry in Fast & Furious. Not a word from the MSM.
Meanwhile, on the fiscal cliff front, Obozo is on a 3M taxpayer holiday in Hawaii and the whores in the MSM chide the Rs to fix the problem.
Bush couldn't even go home to Crawford TX for Christmas without the media whores in full ridicule mode.
Merry Christmas all; 2013 is gonna be a bumpy ride.

woodsman1st| 12.24.12 @ 9:53AM

We have the body with which to fight (Congress); but the head (Boehner) is weak and fearfull!

JP| 12.24.12 @ 11:11AM

The perfect weapon for home defence, the H&K P30 9mm.

Frank Drackman| 12.24.12 @ 11:42AM

OK, I like over engineered Teutonic gadgets as much as the next guy, but...
Remington 870, loaded with 3 inch magnum shells, 00 Buck, with a few slugs thrown in for variety...
Its a Mack Truck compared to your cute VW Bug...
Who won WW2 anyway?

Frank "100% Made in America" Drackman

Frekki| 12.24.12 @ 12:00PM

I like my Mossberg 12 riot action police. For back up it's a Glock 19. The only reason I would not open fire, is if the intruder was still wearing my dogs.

Frank Drackman| 12.24.12 @ 12:05PM

HAHA "Wearing my dogs"...
well, you haven't seen a Guard Dog until you've met Mrs. Drackman's Pommeranian, I mean when those annoying Jehovah's Witnesses get within a 1/4 mile she turns into friggin Cujo.....

Frank

Frank Drackman| 12.24.12 @ 12:07PM

Damn English and its indefinate pronouns,
Mitzi the Pommeranian turns into Cujo, NOT Mrs. Drackman..
except during that time of the Month, Nome Sane??? dat be when I's stays on my side of the Red Seas...

Frank "Praise the Lord and rack the ammunition" Drackman

Occam's Tool| 12.24.12 @ 6:41PM

Isn't that "check the rack" Frank?

irish19| 12.25.12 @ 3:51PM

Apparently not when one is in the vicinity of the Red Seas.

Job| 12.26.12 @ 1:23PM

wearing my dogs, funny stuff Frekki. my favorite line in the movie white fang is when Alex Larsen (Klaus Brandauer) tells his girlfriend "feed the dogs" as his boat is rowed away at a time when you would have expected him to say buh bye or something a little more cheerful

7-08| 12.24.12 @ 12:37PM

Para Bellum - German for cartridge with which to lose wars.

Peppermint Tea | 12.26.12 @ 11:48AM

Forget the hand guns and semi-automatics, if you want to stop an intruder....use the 12-gauge.

If you want to stop a government intruder...use the 12-gauge.

JP| 12.24.12 @ 11:13AM

The Left will and are over-playing their hand. Even in place like New England, legal gun purchases are up, as are weapon safety courses. Niether Obama nor his party can hear outside of their own echo chambers. Just let NY Dems try to confiscate legally owned weapons. If the Dems want to lose the Senate and morse seats in the House let them make gun control the number one issue for 2014.

Bob K| 12.24.12 @ 5:03PM

If you can legally own a firearm; in the state of Vermont you do not need a permit for to carry one concealed.

Bob K| 12.24.12 @ 5:04PM

should read "for or to carry"

Marc Jeric| 12.24.12 @ 11:16AM

In another triumph for the ACLU, some 30 years ago the insane were given the "right" to refuse the interment in asylums for the dangerous lunatics. As the consequence of the newly found "human right" hundreds of asylums for the dangerous lunatic were closed out, and these were let free to roam city streets as the new homeless, with some of them free to plot mass murders.
Families of such dangerous lunatics must be given back the right to confine their insane to asylums. All mass murders in the past 30 years have been committed by the criminally insane, and no new gun control laws will do anything useful to remedy this monstrosity imposed on us by the ACLU (formerly the legal arm of the Communist Party USA).

OP4| 12.24.12 @ 3:09PM

It sure does seem like the ACLU defends everyone's rights except mine. Not a peep out of them when my Second Amendment rights are threatened. Not a peep when a leftist President (with a compliant Congress) tramples all over the Fourth Amendment with drones and warrentless invasions of privacy.

Occam's Tool| 12.24.12 @ 6:43PM

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Marc. It is so nice to know that I am not alone in despising the ACLU's view.

This is one psychiatrist who BELIEVES in institutionalization and involuntary long term injections of antipsychotics.

Stan Redmond| 12.26.12 @ 3:43PM

The current revision of the truth says Reagan is to blame for the closing of mental hospitals.

Cats1cowboy| 12.26.12 @ 9:34PM

Then, many of these insane people were rounded up, dressed up in suits and ties and elected to government positions.

Rhoetus| 12.24.12 @ 11:33AM

Children of a Lesser God? That's what the Branch Dividian Children were in Waco, Texas in 1993. First there was the defective warrant, then the siege, all out war. After the killing the cover up. None of the Left gave a damn about those children. Nor do they understand the agenda of ultimate unlimited government power.

Stan Redmond| 12.24.12 @ 2:55PM

There is a great interview with the local sheriff Harwell who offered to serve the warrant as he was on good terms with the people of the "compound." Wasn't going to happen. Reno's ATF and FBI wanted blood and Reno's ATF and FBI got it.

The FBI and ATF agents killed just as many children as Adam Lanza but they got paid for it.

Peppermint Tea | 12.26.12 @ 11:50AM

I still marvel that we blame Reno and ATF.

Wasn't Bozo the President at the time? Do you really think after the siege that he let Janet make the call?

Stan Redmond| 12.26.12 @ 3:48PM

Of course Clinton approved and scape goated Reno in the situation. But Reno had to pass on or approve of those orders to invade the "compound." The FBI agents and ATF drove the tanks and pulled the triggers.

Butch22| 12.24.12 @ 11:37AM

There is no sane reason why citizens should own rapid-fire weapons with 30-round magazines. How will they use these weapons? For squirrel hunting? No, not hardly! They were purchased with nefarious intent, and will likely be used for mass human slaughter.

OregonBuzz| 12.24.12 @ 12:00PM

This statement is too stupid to respond to rationally.

Frekki| 12.24.12 @ 12:01PM

Defend yourself or die Butch.

TNRebelRouser| 12.24.12 @ 12:23PM

It never ceases to amaze me how those individuals on the left have no qualms about telling me what I need or don't need and then do so while at the same time inferring that I am less than mentally fit if I disagree with their positions. For some reason, probably just the lack of good manners, they seem incapable of having a debate on any topic without the need to name call and insult the intelligence of those in opposition to their position. "There is no sane reason why a citizen should own"... (you fill in the blank). "There is no sane reason why a citizen should need to have"...(you fill in the blank). "There is no sane reason why a citizen should be able to say"...(you fill in the blank). "There is no sane reason why a citizen should be able to do"...(you fill in the blank). This is the long but inevitable road to tyranny and serfdom and I for one will not travel this path. You sir, are at liberty to live your life as you choose, but don't you dare assume that you will have any sway with me on how I choose to live mine. I doubt that you would be willing to tolerate me filling in the blanks of the afore mentioned statements and then insist, by force of law if necessary, that you abide by my decisions. Liberty must be afforded to all men or it will be afforded to none.

Stan Redmond| 12.24.12 @ 2:46PM

I think Butch meant to say SUBJECT instead of citizen.

irish19| 12.25.12 @ 3:53PM

Well said, sir or madam.

Drunken Sailor| 12.24.12 @ 1:54PM

There is no sane reason why criminals should be the only ones armed.

Butch, if you want to be a sheep waiting for the wolf, be my guest. Keep in mind, cops are at best 8 minutes away when seconds may count.

Tim the Enchanter| 12.26.12 @ 10:33AM

I take it "criminals" is entirely interchangeable with "government". A distinction without a difference.

Stan Redmond| 12.24.12 @ 2:42PM

Yawn.

Stan Redmond| 12.24.12 @ 2:45PM

There is no reason any sane person needs 500 channels of TV, internet communication, print magazines, print newspapers, millions of books, CDs, DVDs. What will this information be used for? You can use information contained in books for mass human slaughter.

Why does any sane person need a rental truck? Just ask Timothy McVeigh.

Riff Raff| 12.24.12 @ 4:02PM

This is a ridiculous comment. Who are you to say this? I have such magazines, so you are saying that I purchased them with nefarious intent. No, I did not. How do you arrogate unto yourself the authority to judge my intentions and actions when you have no knowledge of me whatsoever? If your last statement is even remotely accurate, we can expect about 20 million people to commit "mass human slaughter" and day now. You are an idiot.

Rhoetus| 12.24.12 @ 11:48AM

Butch22, Were you in Poland in 1940 you might have a different attitude regarding defending your life, liberty and property. No man can be trusted with the power that our government how holds over people.

OregonBuzz| 12.24.12 @ 11:56AM

Of course we can't afford to "put a cop in every school." Neither could the Israelis when their school children were being terrorized and shot by very real terrorists. So, they trained teachers and administrators and armed them, and they are armed to this day. End of problem. That is the simplest, most direct solution. Of course, when it's simple and direct and solves the problem without creating chaos, don't expect the government to get on board. There are many training facilities in the nation, Front Sight in Nevada among them, that are offering to train teachers/administrators for free. So far, no takers. It is a solution going begging. As to the "politics of gun control", let's hear from an expert.
"Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal." Janet Reno
That folks is the REAL agenda and shootings like Newtown only add fuel to the fire that burns in the heart of every tyrant in Washington.

Stan Redmond| 12.24.12 @ 2:39PM

I would suggest janitors. 99% of all educators are liberal wussies that think guns are magically controlling murderous impulses.

Even a full timed armed officer isn't necassary. A parked squad car with a random schedule of an officer patrolling local schools will deter. Local armed men, a militia I dare say, are available in seconds in my little local town school.

However you're still going to have any citizen protection condemned by a power hungry police force and political system that demands we are all little sheep. Even children cowering in the corner of a classroom are a tool to advance the liberal agenda and expand government power.

Rhoetus| 12.24.12 @ 12:02PM

What the State to have all the guns? Move to Syria and experience "reality" first hand, problem solved.

Intelligent Design| 12.24.12 @ 1:18PM

Fortunately, incidents like Newtown, CT are rare in the U.S., and there is no way to completely prevent a few from happening. A gun isn't even necessary, since similar deaths could be caused by a car driven into a crowd at a playground, shopping mall, sidewalk cafe, sports venue, etc. This often happens when an older person is sick, such as having a heart attack or is diabetic, but it is also an option available to deranged killers. Are we going to ban cars, trucks and buses? How about banning airplanes too, to prevent another 9/11? Dumb.

The people who were in the best position to prevent the tragedy were the killer's parents and other adults who knew him as he grew up. Many are calling for new federal legislation or an executive order from the president, banning certain kinds of weapons. This is the modern version of tilting at windmills -- an exercise in futility and also in violation of the Second Amendment. New laws won't prevent criminals from obtaining weapons. They won't prevent the nut case down the street from coming to my house tonight and shooting out the front windows with a shotgun.

Life is full of risks which cannot be eliminated. An authoritarian or totalitarian state isn't the answer, since then we would all be slaves and our very lives would be at risk at the hands of tyrants. The founders knew that when they wrote the Bill of Rights and specifically the Second Amendment.

Tim the Enchanter| 12.26.12 @ 10:37AM

Funny, isn't it? A group of people get mowed downed by a car; they don't blame the car. Someone gets knifed; they don't blame the knife. Someone gets shot, they blame the gun. Consistency is not their long suit.

Stan Redmond| 12.24.12 @ 2:32PM

No amount of gun laws would have prevented Newtown. NONE. Murdering one's mother is illegal, that didn't stop Adam Lanza. Stealing firearms from the mother you murdered is illegal, that didn't stop Adam Lanza. Carrying firearms on a public school in Conn. is illegal, that didn't stop Adam Lanza. Shooting children is illegal, that didn't stop Adam Lanza. The ONLY possible thing that could have prevented or limited the carnage was a forceful response from someone. Can a principal even carry a smoke grenade in a school? A brick of firecrackers? An armed response from a janitor? Training in schools is a joke as they are run by liberals indoctrinated in liberal educator mills. The response trained is cower in a corner lock the door and pray to your lord and savior Obama. Same with zero tolerance bully or violence nonsense. Bunch a bully in the nose and he either runs off crying or you get your ass kicked but the bully knows you're going to be trouble so goes away. This theory was proven in the Oregon shooting where the murderer killed himself when confronted with an armed citizen.

Kingofthenet| 12.24.12 @ 5:26PM

You know 'safe rooms' in schools that are bullet-proof might be a good idea.

Stan Redmond| 12.24.12 @ 9:10PM

Until someone is armed with a 5 gallon can of gasoline as well.

allanius | 12.24.12 @ 5:30PM

The kids in Newtown were killed with a Bushmaster. Nice killing machine there. Apparently the majority of commenters on this thread and on similar threads on the conservative Web have their knickers in a knot at the idea that they might not be able to purchase these killing machines in the future. Some hint openly at armed insurrection against their own government; others seem to think they may need to kill ten or fifteen intruders some day the way Arnold or Bruce do in the movies. For conservatives like me who do not own a gun, this is a sad display. Conservatism should be rooted in the value of life, as it has been since the time of Aristotle. It should not be in a hurry to become the steel-hearted parody that its enemies want to make of it. I can understand defending the Bill of Rights. A love of semi-automatic weapons is beyond me.

Pecos Pete| 12.24.12 @ 7:00PM

As reported by USAToday. http://www.usatoday.com/story/.....t/1769367/

"Three weapons were found — a Glock and a Sig Sauer, both pistols, inside the school, and a .223-caliber rifle in the back of a car."

The rifle was not used.

Jack London| 12.24.12 @ 7:59PM

Are you really so ill-informed that you didn't follow one of the biggest stories in recent times? You didn't know that most of the early reports were wrong? The Bushmaster AR-15 was the weapon used to kill the children.

Bob K| 12.24.12 @ 8:50PM

Is it possible USA today was wrong?

Remember the "Dudley Doright" maxim from the "Rocky and Bullwinkle Show?" "But if it's in the newspaper it must be trooo!"

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:59PM

How did the press get that part of the story wrong? You would think that the kind of gun used, especially where an "assault weapon" was in the mix, would be reported on.

Pecos Pete| 12.25.12 @ 8:19AM

As reported by the New York Times on 12/16/2012:

"... police said used one made by Bushmaster on Friday to kill 20 young children and six adults in an elementary school in Newtown, Conn ..."

I was wrong, as Jack states. The rifle was used.

Jack London| 12.25.12 @ 11:04AM

Many of the early reports were wrong, including that the mother was a teacher at the school.

Thanks for checking but I must say that all you people here who cling on to flooding our country with lethal weapons are alive but the children are not and neither are two firefighters, several police officers and about 200 other people shot dead since Newtown.

Bob K| 12.25.12 @ 4:17PM

Speaking of "people here who cling.....;" you really like that phrase "bitter clingers" which your hero Obama came up with when he was raising money from all those lovers of children in San Francisco, don't you?

Pecos Pete| 12.25.12 @ 6:01PM

As reported by the AP 12/25/2012:

"A man angered by a court ruling in the murder of his daughter rammed a car loaded with a gas tank and firecrackers into a group of middle schoolers, injuring 13 in the country's latest attack on students.

The man ran down 23 students at Fengning No. 1 Middle School in northern China's Hebei province on Monday, the official Xinhua News Agency said."

While we are about it, let's outlaw cars too.

Pecos Pete| 12.25.12 @ 6:04PM

As reported by CBS News, 12/25/2012:

"William Spengler, who served 17 years in prison for the 1980 hammer slaying of his grandmother, armed himself with a revolver, a shotgun and a military-style rifle before he set his house afire to lure first responders into a death trap before dawn on Christmas Eve."

Let's outlaw hammers while we are outlawing deadly weapons. And let's let killers out of jail.

Jack London| 12.26.12 @ 7:37AM

Talking about other things that cause harm does not excuse guns from the conversation. But if you can seriously prove that the huge number of guns here does not in any way translate into the 30,000 plus guns deaths and many more non-fatal events a year then maybe we can.

Ghost of Cicero (NB) | 12.26.12 @ 2:12PM

Blame the sword for the hand that wields it. Gee, Jack. You're just SO F**KING smart...

Yeah, right.

Jack London| 12.25.12 @ 11:07AM

Oh and Happy Christmas.

Peppermint Tea | 12.26.12 @ 11:55AM

Thank God the Idiot used the rifle...

He could have killed more at close range with the 9mm.

He could have killed them faster.

And it would have taken less bullets.

I repeat, thank God the maniacal Idiot used the "assault" rifle instead of the pistols.

Stan Redmond| 12.24.12 @ 9:14PM

Thank you concerned conservative. However you blew your own argument out of the water. You stated we want them for self defense.

And in regards to your deep concern about these killing machines people want or own. Up yours. None of your damned business and don't tell us how to exercise our rights. Go show your concern and put up the "This house has no guns because I value life."

Frank Drackman| 12.25.12 @ 8:48AM

I'm with ya Allanus,
A Conservative without a gun is a sad display, ever try to stop a rapist with an issue of "The National Review"?
But I'm with you, we need to get rid of these killing Machines that have killed THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS in the last Decade.
WHY DO AIRLINES NEED 757/767's what with their hundreds of thousands of pounds of highly flamable jet fuel, if peoples feel the need to travel, they can go the old fashioned way, BY BUS!!!
thanks for enlightening me, AllAnus,

Frank "All about the Anus" Drackman

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:30PM

Actually, the .223 cal. (5.56 mm.) cartridge was first adopted for military use because it is a small round and was intended to wound, not kill, wounding being a more effective to tie up enemy troops in removing a wounded comrade from the battlefield and using up medical resources to treat the wounded.

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:33PM

The M-16 is not a "killing machine." It's more properly characterized as a "wounding machine."

Now the M-14, that's a killing machine, all right. That's why some military snipers use them.

Jakota| 12.24.12 @ 6:32PM

To put Mr Babbin's comments another way: The best defense is a goof offense.

Boehner doesn't even play good defense, why would we expect any offense from him?

JimP| 12.24.12 @ 7:42PM

It's inaccurate to say that LaPeirre offered nothing. He did call for armed security in all schools and alluded to other measures that can and should be taken. It's not the NRA's job to come up with every solution or to publicly pronounce them at a press conference. I'm sure, based on the NRA's past actions, that they will be making suggestions to lawmakers. The real problem is, as Mr. Babbin points out, the GOP. Except for the Reagan and Gingrich years, the GOP is, as it has been the last 60 years at least, a useless appendage. "Tea Party"/conservative Republicans MUST rebel against Boehner and the other lame leaders (Eric Cantor being one) and form their own caucus, or whatever, and take the lead in publicly taking action on this matter and all other conservative initiatives as well.

Mike Daly | 12.24.12 @ 10:00PM

Problem is we heard the same apocalyptic rhetoric after the previous school massacres in the last 20 years - and the Republicans wound up emerging better than the pessimists expected.

N8tivTxn| 12.26.12 @ 11:21AM

How does a thread about the Communty-Organizer-in-Chief's ability to use Alinsky tactics to crush Ned-in-the-First-Reader Boehner, transform into a discussion on guns?

If you've been charged with murder, but your lawyer loses one appeal after another, do you fire him? Evidently not.

Romney and the Republicans lost the election because they didn't recognize the argument. or refused to engage.

Has anything changed?

Job| 12.26.12 @ 12:55PM

some times in self defense you use the momentum of your opponent against him. i say give O his tax on the wealthy, it won't hurt them they will put their money elsewhere.

the World Government Class want this fiscal cliff and the feigned RINO punch counter punch defense is so much drama and studio wrestling with large bellied cheering fans in the front row who are oh so serious about the drama of it all not realizing it is staged.

George S| 12.26.12 @ 1:19PM

If you want to outlaw guns, be my guest. Petition your congressman to propose a constitutional amendment to repeal the second amendment, have 2/3 of Congress vote yes and then send it to the states for 2/3 ratification.

Otherwise just shut up.

Thank you.

Ghost of Cicero (NB) | 12.26.12 @ 2:02PM

In the wake of the tragedy in CT, the predictable "blame the sword for the hand that wields it" meme has once again resurfaced in the regressive political playbook. G*d freaking FORBID that these schmucks REFUSE to even LOOK at the ACLU's successful attempts to block a law that would've allowed for this doucheb@g to have been committed against his will. G*d freaking FORBID that we take a look at the liberal/regressives in the legal system who allowed the shooter of the fire fighters in Rochester out of the clink after only 17. FOR KILLING HIS MOTHER WITH A CLAW HAMMER!

Nancy Lanza, in MY mind, is the person to blame in this mess. She KNEW her son was mentally ill, to the point that she was about to try & have him committed. Yet she failed to secure her fire arms? In a safe or SOMETHING of that nature? And while she DID pay the ultimate price for her "mistake," so did those little kids. And THAT is what we need to focus on. Who DOESN'T secure their weapons at home?! Tasha & I don't even HAVE kids, yet MY brand-new AR-15 rifle is locked up in a stainless steel, foam-lined case. Its just gun ownership 101!!!

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:28PM

Did Lanza use the Bushmaster M-16 semiauto replica, or was the firearm left in the trunk of the car he used as was originally reported?

If he didn't use that firearm, then he used pistols (2, a Glock and a Sig Sauer) and maybe a shotgun.

Marc Jeric| 12.26.12 @ 3:11PM

If guns kill people then: pencils misspell words, cars make people drive drunk, spoons make people fat, matches result in arson, water drowns kids, heights make people fall, and socialism makes everybody rich.

President Obama sends his kids to a school where armed guards are used as a matter of fact. The school, Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC, has 11 security officers. This is standard operating procedure for the school. And this is the reason people like NBC’s David Gregory, a gun control devotee, send their kids to Sidwell; they know their kids will be protected from the carnage that befell kids at a school where armed guards weren’t used – you know, “gun-free zones”.

Marc Jeric| 12.26.12 @ 3:18PM

It was the ACLU that "secured the right of refusal" for the insane to be confined to an asylum for such. And it was in the tradition of the ACLU to do everything to destroy the USA - after all those lawyers used to be the official legal arm of the Communist Party USA.

JimmyMac1948| 12.26.12 @ 4:52PM

The really pathetic aspect of all the preening by the likes of Schumer and Bloomberg is that none of what they are proposing will stop tragedies such as Sandy Hook. The worst school slaughter was in Bath, MI in 1927. The perpetrator used dynamite and blew up a wing of the school. McVeigh and Nichols used explosives at the Oklahoma City bombing, and Harris & Klebold at Columbine had a propane tank wrapped with nails to be set off in the cafeteria. fortunately, it didn't function. If they didn't have access to the pistols and shotgun and focused on using propane tanks, the carnage would have been worse. The one area where a change in the law can have a positive impact is in the ease with which an individual can be committed. (Why aren't people picketing the ACLU instead of the NRA?) If sick people aren't treated, there will be more slaughters. What will the Bloomberg's tell those parents?

7-08| 12.26.12 @ 5:25PM

Dear G_d,
Why do you allow such violence in our schools?
Signed,
Concerned student
___________________________

Dear Concerned Student,
I am not allowed in your schools.
G_d

johnny reb| 12.26.12 @ 7:22PM

Gee, here's a thought, as long as no-one who owns one of these type of arms is minding their own business, why is it the business of any of the worthless freaks on the left what the hell we own? Molon Labe!

Cats1cowboy| 12.26.12 @ 9:10PM

Is there a word to describe a Constitutionally elected member of our government who refuses to understand "shall... not... be... infringed...? Why aren't these people in strait-jackets at an insane asylum?

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 9:35PM

Well, hold on, though; the Supreme Court, in D.C. v. Heller held that reasonable restrictions can be imposed on a constitutional right. Bad for us fans of the Second Amendment, but when people bring up the Fifth Amendment rights of potentially homicidal crazies we can call their attention to those "reasonable restrictions" that the Supreme Court said can be constitutionally imposed.

Americanpatriot| 12.26.12 @ 9:29PM

It is important that American citizens are armed for several reasons. One for personal protection and two because dictators or people who want to rule by tyranny do not want an armed populace. It should not be We the people who fear our government it should be the government who fear the people. The elites are scared to death of having an armed populace. It prevents them from completely shredding our constitution and having no civil liberties. Our founding fathers were very aware of that and that is why they made provisions for an armed populace.

Ducat | 12.27.12 @ 5:03AM

Yes This is Right Plotices of Gun cantrol.

I am immpresed this storie...

richard611| 12.29.12 @ 10:00PM

Once again Conservatives preach liberal pro-gun policies... when it is evident that the second amendment has nothing to do with the right to protect the rights of US citizens to possess killing toys... that when possessed by psychopaths turn into weapons of mass destruction... But no doubt conservative "Guns are us" nutters will stand strong to defend the right to possess such killing toys.

The American Spectator

Loose Canons

The Politics of Gun Control

About the Author

Letter to the Editor View all comments (152) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

Martin kzovich| 12.24.12 @ 6:52AM

SUBVET| 12.24.12 @ 11:11AM

Sean| 12.25.12 @ 9:03PM

Peppermint Tea | 12.26.12 @ 11:39AM

Americanpatriot| 12.26.12 @ 9:21PM

Jack in Wi| 12.24.12 @ 7:53AM

C. Vernon Crisler | 12.24.12 @ 12:24PM

Occam's Tool| 12.24.12 @ 6:35PM

nathan| 12.26.12 @ 8:20AM

Ghost of Cicero (NB) | 12.26.12 @ 2:06PM

cowgirl| 12.26.12 @ 2:21PM

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:54PM

cowgirl| 12.26.12 @ 4:27PM

nathan| 12.26.12 @ 3:46PM

cowgirl| 12.26.12 @ 4:25PM

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 9:23PM

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 9:28PM

RCV| 12.26.12 @ 3:40PM

Jimbobogie| 12.26.12 @ 4:55PM

nathan| 12.26.12 @ 5:51PM

John Navratil| 12.26.12 @ 6:32PM

RCV| 12.26.12 @ 6:39PM

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 9:29PM

cowgirl| 12.27.12 @ 3:29PM

Cats1cowboy| 12.26.12 @ 9:24PM

Spike| 12.25.12 @ 2:11AM

aware| 12.26.12 @ 5:59AM

Kwan| 12.24.12 @ 7:53AM

Jack in Wi| 12.24.12 @ 8:11AM

TW in SC| 12.26.12 @ 6:10PM

Bob K| 12.24.12 @ 11:02AM

Lawrence Kennon | 12.24.12 @ 8:28AM

Frank Drackman| 12.24.12 @ 8:43AM

Butch22| 12.24.12 @ 9:19AM

Occam's Tool| 12.24.12 @ 6:38PM

buckeyeman| 12.25.12 @ 9:54AM

irish19| 12.25.12 @ 3:46PM

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:48PM

johnnytentpeg| 12.26.12 @ 9:54AM

Job| 12.26.12 @ 1:06PM

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:46PM

Jacob McCandles| 12.24.12 @ 8:58AM

Harry the Horrible| 12.24.12 @ 10:11AM

OP4| 12.24.12 @ 3:00PM

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:43PM

Von Mises Jr| 12.24.12 @ 8:59AM

JP| 12.24.12 @ 11:15AM

pogybait| 12.24.12 @ 3:10PM

7-08| 12.24.12 @ 9:28AM

Butch22| 12.24.12 @ 10:19AM

Frank Drackman| 12.24.12 @ 10:47AM

Butch22| 12.24.12 @ 11:30AM

Frank Drackman| 12.24.12 @ 11:40AM

Frekki| 12.24.12 @ 11:58AM

7-08| 12.24.12 @ 12:34PM

JmsA| 12.24.12 @ 2:28PM

Stan Redmond| 12.24.12 @ 3:03PM

Riff Raff| 12.24.12 @ 3:57PM

Occam's Tool| 12.24.12 @ 6:40PM

Bill8472| 12.27.12 @ 10:04AM

irish19| 12.25.12 @ 3:48PM

Sjccoach| 12.24.12 @ 9:35AM

C. Vernon Crisler | 12.24.12 @ 12:28PM

pogybait| 12.24.12 @ 3:21PM

Bill8472| 12.26.12 @ 2:40PM

Stan Redmond| 12.26.12 @ 3:41PM

Petronius| 12.24.12 @ 9:46AM

OP4| 12.24.12 @ 3:03PM

Anthony| 12.24.12 @ 9:50AM

C. Vernon Crisler | 12.24.12 @ 12:29PM

Al Adab| 12.26.12 @ 10:40AM

Job| 12.26.12 @ 1:14PM

Anthony| 12.24.12 @ 9:50AM

woodsman1st| 12.24.12 @ 9:53AM

JP| 12.24.12 @ 11:11AM